Thanks to 2 boys, captain reunited with badge he lost nearly 30 years ago

NISSWA, Minn. (FOX 9) - Thanks to two young boys, Captain Joe Meyer with the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office has been reunited with his badge nearly 30 years after it was lost.

According to Meyer, about three decades ago, he responded to a report of a driver who had spun out on the icy road. As officers helped get the car out of the ditch, Meyer's badge fell off his jacket.

It wasn't until Meyer returned to the station that he noticed his badge was gone.

"I went back to the spot and looked for hours and couldn't find it in the deep snow," he explained.

Then, earlier this month, Meyer got a call that two boys found his badge. When he got the news, the department decided to capture the moment on video and post it on Facebook.

Zeke and Rex Larson of Nisswa were on a bike ride when they spotted something unusual.

"We were on this trail, and I saw something that looked kind of like a police badge, so I picked it up," Zeke said.

In the video, Meyer said the badge is still in great shape and then gave the boys Crow Wing County Challenge Coins to thank them for their good deed. 

A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion bearing an organization's insignia or emblem and carried by the organizations members. They are often used for recognition or to prove membership.