Lost Engagement Ring Found! – Lake Winnebago, WI

Barely one month engaged, the unthinkable happened to Belgium, Wisconsin resident, Shannon Cooper. She was celebrating the 4th of July with her fiancé’s family on Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh. That’s when Shannon’s diamond engagement ring slipped off her finger and vanished into the lake’s murky depths. It was an emotionally shattering experience which left her feeling sick to her stomach. After a sleepless night, Shannon reached out to me through The Ring Finders directory of metal detecting specialists.

A couple days later, on July 6th my wife joined me for the ninety-minute drive and kept Shannon company for over seven hours while I swept the lake’s bottom with my Minelab Excalibur Detector. Unfortunately, the winds, waves and rains kept moving my buoys, making the grid search almost impossible. We would need to resume the search another time. Tears were visible in Shannon’s eyes when we parted. It was plain to see her heart was breaking. I encouraged her not to give up hope.

The next Saturday I arrived just as the sun peaked over the horizon. The water was like glass. Using photos taken from the boat 10 days before, I was able to triangulate off various shoreline structures and drop a buoy where the boat had been anchored. A grid search ensued from this point. Two and half hours later, Shannon’s beautiful ring lay gleaming in my sieve!

Matthew, Shannon’s fiancé, arrived not long after. He was prepared to spend the day searching with me. I outlined a search strategy, not letting on the ring was in my possession as I did so. I love being creative with the reveal! When I finally produced the love token, Matthew responded by throwing his arms around me. A text and phone call to Shannon conveyed the happy news!

I received a heartwarming note from Shannon a few days later. She wrote,

“Thank you for all the kindness you have shown to me and Matt in dedicating so much time and energy in finding my ring! While it wasn’t a pleasant trial, we got to see so many blessings through it, including the privilege of meeting you both… Thank you Paul for being relentless in your search.”