Social media stranger helps reunite Southlake Carroll football alumnus with stolen championship ring 20 years later
Blake Pool remembers 2002 well. It was the year his football team, the Southlake Carroll Dragons, won the state championship.
"I wasn't the star of the team, but here's my beautiful bleach-blonde hair," Pool joked while showing pictures from the season.
After the victory, each team member received a championship ring. But the following year, a home invasion in 2003 resulted in his ring being stolen, along with other family heirlooms.
"It was just one of those things that was like, 'man... it was special.' It took a lot of work to get it," Pool said. "It's been 20 years at this point, but at the time, it was a pretty big deal."
As the years passed, Pool almost forgot about the ring. Then on Monday, a Facebook post caught his wife's attention.
Dusty Steele, a stranger, had come across a Facebook Marketplace listing selling the ring for just $50.
"I knew people would see it, knew it was a prized possession, and that they'd try to help find who owned it," Steele said. "My first thought when I saw it was, 'This has got to be lost or stolen.'"
Steele decided to buy the ring with the intent to find "Pool"—the only clue being the last name engraved on it.
Within 30 minutes of posting on social media, he found the rightful owner.
"I knew on social media it wouldn't take long," he said.
The pair met within a matter of hours and Pool finally had his ring back in his hands.
"You can tell it means a lot to him," Steele said.
Tuesday, Pool spent the morning reminiscing on those good times, excited to share the ring and his old photos with his own son.
"It's refreshing to see people care enough these days to help someone out," Pool said.