Deputies return prosthetic leg that was lost during a skydiving excursion

CLOVERDALE, Calif. (KTVU) - The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is getting a lot of attention for solving a case that ended with a pretty great outcome. 

On Monday, sheriff's officials said they got a call about an unusual find at a lumber yard in Cloverdale. A person contacted deputies after stumbling upon a prosthetic leg.

The leg was intact with a Nike sneaker still on. 

Investigators checked the area for clues, talked with possible witnesses at nearby Cloverdale Municipal Airport, and soon figured out what happened.

"Turns out that an amputee went skydiving yesterday and his leg fell off in mid-flight from about 10,000 feet up," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook. 

Deputies said skydiver Dion Callaway and his friends searched the area for the leg, with no luck.

So when sheriff's officials contacted Callaway to notify him of the find, no doubt he was relieved to get his $15,000 prosthetic back. 

But there's more to the story. Deputies learned a lot about the man, his spirit of determination, and got a dose of his positive sense of humor. 

It turns out Callaway ended up with a prosthetic after he first lost his leg in what deputies described as a "freak" skydiving accident two years ago.  

"...but that hasn't held him back," sheriff's officials noted, adding, "He jokingly quipped that this was his second leg lost while skydiving."

They said while Callaway was very happy to get his leg back, he was even more grateful it didn't injure anyone when it fell from the sky. 

Deputies called Callaway a great guy with a great spirit. They said this mishap would not be stopping him from jumping out of planes, but noted he'll implement some changes from here on out.

"He promises to make a tether and learn from this," deputies said, "but fully plans to stick with his passion. Good luck Dion!! "

Since posting the story on Facebook, it's been shared more than 7.2K times, with hundreds of people commenting and thanking the sheriff's office for what they called a positive, uplifting story.