July 4th found Manitowoc, Wisconsin residents, Emily Zucchi and her family, enjoying a swim on Eagle Springs Lake, near Eagle, Wisconsin. As she waded out into the water from shore, Emily suddenly realized her wedding rings were missing from her hand! Everyone began searching but, given all the activity, visibility in the churned-up water was minimal.
I received a phone call from Emily asking for help. She found me on the Ring Finders online directory of metal-detecting specialists. Arrangements were made to meet up with Matt, Emily’s brother-in-law, at the public boat launch later that afternoon. After a 20-minute boat ride we arrived at the location. Other family members were waiting.
Water searches can be challenging. This is because it is often difficult to recall where exactly one was in the lake when the loss occurred. In Emily’s case, a log on the shore acted as a reliable reference point.
I set out four marker buoys to establish the initial search area. Being a popular gathering place, the lake bottom was littered with bottle caps, pull tabs and other metallic debris. It would be a challenge to ferret out the white-gold wedding rings from amongst all the other targets.
Being a weekday, hardly any other boats were on the water. Visibility was amazingly clear, clear enough for Emily’s brother-in-law, Billy, to spot a tiny circular structure in the sand, not far from shore. Imagine his surprise when, reaching into the water, he retrieved Emily’s wedding band!
This discovery meant Emily lost her rings very soon after leaving the shore. Forensically, this raised a question. Did Emily lose her engagement ring before or after the wedding band? Most women wear their wedding rings in a traditional order; the wedding band first, followed by the engagement ring. If this was true in Emily’s case, the engagement ring had to have come off her hand closer to the shore, that is unless she happened to be wearing them in reverse order.
I decided to continue checking the marked area with the goal of ruling it out. As it turned out, the engagement ring had indeed come off after the wedding band. A signal some 20’ away in the search zone proved to be Emily’s precious ring. The love tokens were reunited again at last! Since Emily was not present, Matt, her brother-in-law, did the honors in posing for the photo with both rings in hand. 
If you or someone you know has lost a piece of jewelry, recently or long ago, on land, in the water or in the snow, don’t let its story end. Call right away. I’d love to add your smile to the growing list of clients who, like Emily, are so glad they did.
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