The young lady with the huge smile on her face is Anna. Just minutes before the picture was taken, she had been crying tears of joy after I found her gorgeous two piece wedding set in her Alvaton, KY back yard.
This story goes back to July of 2026, when on the 22nd, Anna’s ring flew off her hand when she threw a ball for dogs to fetch. The back yard was huge, mostly covered in grass. She and her husband spent hours combing through the grass, but couldn’t find the ring. They had one of their friends who owned a metal detector come and look for the ring, and he too couldn’t find it. Anna found my contact information on TheRingFinders directory, and we agreed that I’d search for her ring on July 29th.
Although I did not find Anna’s ring on July 29th, I doubt I will ever forget that day. It was hot and very humid. I still searched the back yard for nearly 12 hours, focusing on the areas where we collectively believed the ring would have landed. Several 100’ tape measures set out, like I was searching a crime scene for a key piece of evidence. I was spent. Exhausted, I had to accept that I was not going to find Anna’s ring, at least on this day. Before I left, I suggested to Anna’s husband that he might want to check the roof and rain gutters just in case the ring landed there, and to also inspect under the deck since I couldn’t get under there with the metal detector.
Anna kept in contact with me over the weeks. The roof and rain gutter had been checked and no ring. Under the deck, checked, still no ring. Anna’s friend with the metal detector went back and looked some more, still no ring. There was no question that I wanted to go back to look for and hopefully find Anna’s ring, but the unusually long, hot summer was making what could be a long search, not as appealing. Then Anna sends me a text on September 14th. “We are planning on having our backyard regraded.”
Fast forward to September 22nd. I just completed a successful ring recovery in Springfield, TN, about 45 minutes south of Alvaton, KY. I’d already planned to search for Anna’s ring the following day, but in my mind there was no better time than the present to find Anna’s ring. A quick text to Anna was made and she said come on up. The temps were in the 70’s and it was overcast. I set up the 100’ measuring tapes in grid patterns again, but this time in the areas that it was highly unlikely Anna’s ring would have landed. After three hours of checking hundreds of likely targets that my metal detector alerted me to, I got another good signal. FINALLY!!! It was Anna’s ring. It’s a beautiful two piece set (not soldered together), and they had separated, but were only about two inches away from each other. I blew off the dirt and grass and saw that the centerpiece ring slid right back into the outer ring.
When I showed Anna her ring, her eyes welled up immediately and the tears of joy started flowing. Her hands were shaking and she was momentarily speechless. Anna told me that her hope for getting the ring back had dwindled down to almost nothing. She remembered how long I searched for it back in July. She remembered spending countless hours combing through the grass herself. She remembered the hours her friend with the metal detector searched for the ring. Yeah, it would have been nice if I had found Anna’s ring back in July, but it just didn’t work out that way. I think the story behind this ring and its recovery is even more meaningful, at least to me it is. I have the best job in the world.
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