Lost Engagement Ring in Chesapeake Bay Three Days After Proposal...Found by Ring Finder Brian Rudolph

Brian Rudolph, Lost Item Recovery Specialist (Land, Water, Sand, Snow, Leaves, Cliffs, Houses & Vehicles) Will Find Your Lost Keepsake! Call ASAP (301) 466-8644!

Madeleine was proposed to by her college sweetheart Matt up in the Boston, Massachusetts area. He tried to make the proposal really special by taking his girl to a Boston Red Socks game where he had originally planned to pop the question while sitting in the well sought after « Green Monster » seating section in the ball field.

Note: The Green Monster offers a view that very few people ever experience and an electrifying connection with history. The famed left field wall is the perfect spot for socializing, networking and especially for proposals!

Unfortunately, the Socks didn’t do so well on the field that day and Matt decided to keep the special jewel box in his pocket just a little bit longer. He figured that he had already spent 2 years searching for the perfect ring for his beloved, so he wasn’t about to get down on one knee under such sad circumstances at the ball park. Instead, the young man who was deeply in love decided to wait for another opportune time to ask his princess the big question. Eventually, after a night out with friends, Matt made the monumental move and asked Madeleine the golden question in the couple’s kitchen. Happiness filled the air that evening and the young lady was awe struck by the triple diamond spread on the bridge of the engagement ring along with additional diamonds mounted on either side of the band! It was absolutely exquisite!

The timing of the proposal could not have been more perfect as it coincided with a large family trip down to Queen Anne, Maryland, located right on the Chesapeake Bay. I believe there were about 16 people who stayed on the beautiful estate overlooking the gorgeous view of the water. It was a perfect vacation planned for much fun and partying – not only for the relatives and friends of both Matt and Madeleine, but also an appropriate time for everyone to celebrate the newly engaged couple!

Unfortunately, soon after the couple started having their fun out on Maryland’s lovely Chesapeake Bay, something terribly wrong happened…Madeleine lost her irreplaceable diamond engagement ring out in the water, along with another ring that was suppose to keep the engagement ring on Madeline’s finger (the couple did not have enough time to resize the band before their trip to Maryland).

It turned out that while Madeleine, Matt and a bunch of others were playing volleyball in the water, the sterling silver « security » ring slipped off of the newly engaged young lady’s finger, which caused the gorgeous diamond ring that Matt proposed to Madeleine with 3 days earlier to slide off as well and disappear down into the water and silt below. At some point, Madeleine looked at her hand and with great remorse, she saw no jewelry on her finger! She couldn’t believe what had happened! The poor young lady had only wore the band for 3 days prior to it being lost in the Chesapeake Bay! Madeleine was devastated and she felt horrible for what had just happened. Though Matt was very disappointed, he kept a very positive and calm frame of mind during the whole dramatic ordeal.

That afternoon, for several hours, many family members searched for the lost engagement ring but sadly there was no recovery to be had. The next day, more people joined in the hunt, including a couple of very young family members (one of which owned a toy metal detector that was utilized to try to find the ring in the water). That too turned out to be a failed attempt. Later on, the couple was able to rent a metal detector from a shop in the area, however, it wasn’t waterproof and the machine was giving off all kinds of erratic signals that made no sense to the users. Dozens of hours of searching were expended by all of the vacationers and yet with all of their valiant efforts to find the lost ring, nothing turned up in the end.

It was so sad for the family and friends to watch poor Madeleine continue to enter the water, always trying something new to see if she could recover her one-and-only engagement ring from the bay. The young lady would take a strainer out into the bay and with great innocence she tried her best to scoop up pockets of silt with the hope of finding Matt’s very special betrothal gift to her. Unfortunately, there were no happy results.

With all of the many recovery attempts made over the next several days by all sixteen guests, no one could find the lost jewelry. Yet, in the midst of great dispair, a new light of hope would soon appear onto the scene! Madeleine stayed calm and poised during the whole ordeal and she decided to look online to see if she could locate an expert metal detectorist that might be able to help her. It turned out that she did find such a great source of assistance…THE RING FINDERS!

As soon as the desperate newly engaged young lady searched for a ring finder on the detectorist directory who deals with special recoveries in water on the Maryland Eastern Shore, Madeleine found my profile information and immediately contacted me.

I was excited to take the 3 hour trip to Queen Anne, Maryland to help Madeleine and Matt recover the lost jewelry. I vividly remember my client on the phone sounding as if she had a new sense of hope and relief just by what I told her that I could add to the search efforts. I couldn’t wait to get there!

When I arrived in the area, it was evening time and the sky was filled with strikes of lightning. Madeleine and I talked on the phone and we both agreed that it was best to wait until morning when the weather would be safer. I stayed overnight in the local town and prepared to arrive out on the water the next morning.

I met up with the newly engaged couple early in the day. The property where they were staying was simply beautiful! The calm water and long private dock out back made the entire scene absolutely picture perfect! They showed me where Madeleine moved about in the water during that one afternoon when the two rings were lost. I asked many questions just to be certain that I had all of the facts before I formed my plan of action.

As soon as I was updated with all of the details, I knew I had to focus on two main areas. One, I needed to search over by the boat lift area where Madeleine retrieved the ball once or twice. Two, the second section was the largest area of water to metal detect which was a 50 foot by 40 foot square section that was parallel to the wooden pier. It was where Madeleine and the others were predominantly playing when my client noticed that her precious keepsake along with the other ring had vanished from her finger.

I made no promises to the couple that I would recover the rings, but I did share that with God’s help all things are possible. The reason I said this was because I didn’t know how much metal content was down in the water. That would determine whether I was looking for the very small treasure in the midst of very large metal « haystack ».

After checking the conditions of the water (which were absolutely perfect) and praying to God with the couple for much success, I returned to my car to gather up all of my gear to bring down to the water’s edge.

I believe the search lasted about an hour and a half. I metal detected all around the boat lift area and there was nothing but miscellaneous metal to be discovered. I then set up a water grid search pattern and scanned section by section, lane by lane, pulling up out of the water every potential target to be identified. At the bottom of the bay I found various non ferrous objects such as: coins, pull tabs, bottle caps and other random pieces of metal. Then, at some point, as I was half way across a particular grid lane, I picked up a very encouraging signal. I was almost certain that I had found Madeleine’s one-of-a-kind engagement ring. As it turned out…it in fact was the very special piece of jewelry that I had been searching for! I was simply elated for the couple! That special betrothal piece was exquisite in design! Matt did an awesome job searching for his future bride’s perfect ring!

Not far from where I scooped up the engagement ring, I recovered the sterling silver ring as well! I couldn’t have been happier for Madeleine and Matt now that all of the jewelry had been accounted for! It was only a matter of minutes before I experienced the excitement of revealing the wonderful news with my clients! They were simply overjoyed! We celebrated together out on the back porch and also gave thanks to God for favoring me with the search efforts!

Prior to the loss of the diamond ring, Madeleine only had three days to wear and stare at that precious keepsake! But now, the happy fiance was reunited with her princess piece which was properly placed back on Madeleine’s finger where it would be celebrated and enjoyed for a lifetime ahead!

I am very happy to share that that irreplaceable jewel that I was able to recover for the couple would soon be greeted by yet another band that would forever keep it company…yes, the wedding ring!

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