An 89-year-old Florida man has spent three decades finding lost treasures along the beach and reuniting them with their owners.

Over the years, Don Neilan and his metal detector have returned 23 class rings to their owners. He's stumbled upon the remnants of a bank robbery with the loot colored red from a dye pack. Neilan, a Navy vet who served in WWII, also said he found debris from the space shuttle Challenger disaster washed ashore in Indialantic.

He once helped a girl recover her lost driver's license. She sent him a handwritten thank you because it was her first license. He also found a wallet with more than $300 in it. The owner sent him a ticket to get into SeaWorld as a thank-you.

But it's not really about the buried treasures. Neilan told Florida Today it's important to him to let the owners know there are people out there who care about them.