Iqaluit (Nov 20/06) - A mysterious ring has travelled thousands of miles, but has returned to Nunavut.

Morris Schneiderman is looking to solve a mystery that has been nagging at his family for 25 years.

It could be right out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel: a ring that disappeared from Nunavut 25 years ago has returned, and one man is on a quest to find the rightful owners. Morris Schneiderman holds a bag containing a ring that was given to his family, and they want to give it back. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo

When Schneiderman moved to Iqaluit to work for the government in August of this year he brought a family heirloom: a wedding ring given to his parents in Iqaluit a quarter-century ago.

Before they flew off to see the midnight sun, his parents checked with a cousin at home in Montreal.

He was shipping auto parts to a person in Iqaluit, and they arranged to meet the man during their Northern stay.

The Schneidermans were good guests - they brought a box of groceries and a bottle of booze for their cousin's customer.

Because Frobisher Bay was a dry community at the time, the bottle was quickly hidden. The groceries - $10 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables - aroused a very grateful response from the customer's wife.

"It was the end of June, and before food mail existed. She was so appreciative that she insisted on giving my mom her wedding ring," said Schneiderman.

All these years later, when his parents found out that their son was heading North, they gave him the ring and asked him to find the owners.

Schneiderman only knows a few facts about the couple who overpaid their gratitude.

"We know he was shipping auto parts, and he was thinking about setting up a satellite dish to offer television," he said. "They were in their late 20s or early 30s, and the woman was between 5'8" and 5'10"."

He has the ring with him, but isn't disclosing its features to ensure that false claims aren't made on it.

"I'm holding off on a description of the ring. That way, the ring can be returned to the right people," he reasoned.

"I don't want anything from this. I just want to give the ring back to the right people."