A one-acre house lot developed in 1929 has evolved into a park-like setting sprawling with mature trees, ornamental bushes and perennials of every description, not to mention its thick, well-established lawns. This was the scene where Beloit resident and property owner, John Clark, lost his custom-made wedding ring on October 25th while mowing and cleaning up freshly fallen leaves. He knew the ring was on his hand that morning but when he removed his work gloves at the end of the day, his ring finger was empty of its cherished love token. But where to begin looking?
I received a phone call from John the next evening. His son, Eric, who was visiting from Colorado, found The Ring Finder’s Directory online along with my contact information. After questioning John about his activities on the day of the loss, it was clear the ring had to be somewhere on the one-acre estate. Anyone who has embarked on such a search will understand the magnitude and challenge of locating a postage-sized piece of metal in such conditions. A needle-in-the-haystack metaphor seemed an appropriate description.
My wife and I arranged to meet John the next day. It was gorgeous. John met us at the door and introduced us to Kay, his lovely wife of 54 years. Kay showed us the ring on her finger which matched John’s. Mountains were carved into the ring’s circumference with three suns rising between their peaks, each representing one of their three children.
John retraced his activities as we walked around the property, stopping to remark on places he had stopped his lawn tractor or gathered up leaves and fallen branches. He had woken up in the night remembering how he had thrown some branches over a steep, leaf-covered embankment. I set to work sweeping these strategic areas with my XP Deus detector coupled with a High-Frequency elliptical coil. Ninety-years of human occupancy and numerous roof replacements impregnated the ground with nails and metallic debris, making it necessary to fine tune my equipment often.
After two hours of searching, the ring came to light in among the foliage where it had come to rest. I didn’t let on to John right away that I had found his ring. Instead, I made pretense of stopping for coffee and of moving to the next search area. It’s my sinister nature to create a memorable reveal. But I didn’t wait long—John was in enough agony.
Holding out my palm with the ring nestled in it, I stated in a matter of fact way that his ring couldn’t be in the lawn area because it was in my hand! Hugs ensued. Time to celebrate! And John’s smile tells the rest of the story.
Nice job!