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Portland, OR—Throwing a party when your parents are away is a time-honored teenage tradition. But mixing rowdy teenagers with who knows what substances can result in situations ranging from messy to tragic.

In the case of one Oregon family, a party thrown 15 years ago by one of their then-teenage daughters thankfully didn’t result in a life-ending tragedy, but it did spark sadness when some heirloom wedding bands disappeared. The daughter, Margot Riphagen, now 31, was stunned when the rings reappeared recently, accompanied by a letter from the thief. He or she apparently had kept the rings all these years and only recently found them again while cleaning, then tracked down Riphagen’s mother through her workplace, and sent the rings back with a letter of apology. The rings included the mother’s wedding ring, a ring given her by their father on the birth of their first child, and their grandparents’ wedding rings—originally slated to be handed down to each of their daughters.

The rings and letter—seen here on The Huffington Post—went viral on social media, but the family is just happy to have its sentimental jewelry back. The letter was signed, “A dumb kid who wants to right a wrong.”

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