Dave Boyer, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 3 of 7

 I received a text from Dan, saying he had lost his wedding band. He and his wife, Emily, were visiting from their home in Missouri, vacationing at a private home on the shore of Lake Michigan. Spending the beautiful day on the sand beach with lots of family and friends, Dan noticed his ring was missing shortly after they had played some catch. He pointed out two areas where he suggested I start: right next to the water, and an area right in front of the whole group of family and friends who were sitting on the beach, watching, not wanting to get in the way of the search. Checking the area next to the water produced only a rusty can lid, but on the third sweep of the area in front of the group I got a good solid hit. Bingo! There it was in my first scoop. Whoops and hollers and high fives from the group watching, and Dan and Emily’s 11 year marriage was back on track. Saving good memories of the 2022 vacation in Michigan!!

Engagement ring lost in Grand Rapids in the driveway: Gregg got a call late last night about the lost ring, and he went alone to look for it. Unfortunately he came up empty. I went alone this morning (daylight is helpful) and also came up empty. Around noon we both showed up to give it one more try. About 5 minutes into the hunt I got a good signal (45 on the AT-Pro) next to the driveway in about a foot of snow. Kicking the snow out onto the driveway and scanning with a pinpointer still did not get it. Tried the metal detector one more time and the target was in a clump of snow over to the side. Picked up the clump of snow and there it was. A 3 carat diamond gets your attention! To put it mildly, emotions were overwhelming. Dong collapsed and sat on the ground and Amy was jumping for joy and giving both of us hugs. Was a little worried about Dong until he finally got to his feet. Wedding date is not set yet but at least they now have the ring for the occasion.

 I received a call last night from Ryan, stating he had just lost his gold Saint Christopher medal. It was a valuable piece, but priceless to Ryan as it had been his grandfather’s — just talking about the loss kind of choked him up. He had been playing with his daughter in about 3 feet of water when the gold chain broke, and chain and medallion dropped into the water. With some searching he found the chain but not the medal. He had a pretty good idea of where it was lost by lining up landmarks on shore and some boats nearby (good job Ryan). Gregg and I met them within an hour of his call and the search was on. I was on my second leg through that area when I got the unmistakable sound of gold and had it in my scoop. After a few whoops and hollers and some pictures we were headed home after our second successful search this weekend. Picture is Ryan, Melissa and daughter, Shayla.

Yesterday I received a call from Rachael, stating she had just lost her wedding ring in about waist-deep water at Oval Beach in Saugatuck.  She and Dylan were spending some time with relatives, relaxing and just being together after the crisis of losing their 31 year old cousin and attending the funeral a few days ago.  She simply couldn’t handle the loss of her ring after that other huge loss.  Anxious to help, Gregg Larabel and I arrived at the beach within an hour, and Dylan showed us where they thought we should look — an area of water about 30 feet by 40 feet.  I started searching straight down the center of that area, and in about 5 minutes I got a terrific signal that I knew had to be the ring.  A couple of scoops later and I had Rachael’s beautiful ring in my scoop.  Announcing the find brought Dylan, Rachael and a bunch of their relatives over to see the prize.  Their somber week had just turned into smiles and laughter for everybody.  These are the memories we strive for.                                                                                                      

Ring was lost near New Era.  On Sunday Clayton was playing catch with a football in just about one foot of water when he felt his wedding ring slide off his finger.  Gregg Larabel and I headed out right away on Monday afternoon because the wave action of Lake Michigan has a way of burying rings forever.  Although Clayton had to work and couldn’t be there, Gregg and I met about 15 family members and friends at the waters edge of the rental cottage, and Clayton’s dad, Mike, showed us where to start:  right where Clayton had stuck a stick in the water where he thought he lost his ring.  After about 10 minutes of searching I got a good hard signal of 55 on the At Pro detector about 6 feet from Clayton’s stick in the water.  Then the digging started.  After lots of scooping with no results I called Gregg over, and he scooped some more, but we didn’t have the ring.  I rechecked the huge hole we had dug to see if the 55 signal was still there and it was.  Just one more big deep scoop into the hole and ring was in my scoop!  The whole crowd on the beach erupted in a cheer!  After only about 24 hours the ring was already buried over 12 inches, we got it just in time.  Clayton’s parents, Mike and Jennifer, stood in for the picture in the absence of Clayton but we got a happy picture of Clayton and his wife after receiving his ring back.  Good memories saved for the 2021 vacation on Lake Michigan.

Gregg Larabel got a call for a lost ring and since he was unavailable he gave it to me.  Chelsie had been working in her parents’ yard on Mother’s Day when she lost the ring, which she described as a silver metal heirloom handed down thru fiance Dylan’s family.  She and Dylan met me at the house today to show me what she had been doing and where on the property.  Chelsie was pretty sure about the specific area, but checking that area didn’t get me any silver signals from my metal detector.  We checked other parts of the lawn and finally came back to the original spot so I could check ALL the signals there.  When I got a tin foil signal, which is close to that of gold, I called Dylan over.  He bent down and parted the grass and there was her ring.  Turns out the ring is white gold instead of silver.  Chelsie shed a tear or two and our day just got a little brighter.  These moments never get old.

I received a text today from Stephanie, stating the engagement ring she received in January is missing.  She remembers taking if off by the kitchen sink when she was making a cheesecake a few days ago, but couldn’t say she remembers putting it back on.  As a volunteer fire fighter, she was called to a house fire that day, and then immediately after to a grass fire.  When she arrived at the grass fire she realized her ring was missing.  A few days later a friend told her about RingFinders and she sent me the text.  Gregg Larabel and I headed out immediately and met Stephanie at her house.  She recalled the day for us, and we quizzed her about her search so far.  She said she searched all over the house and in all the clothes she was wearing that day.  She invited us into the house and showed us where she remembers putting the ring, on the counter next to the sink.  She had already checked the drain in the sink.  Our standard question for everyone is, « Did you save the trash from that day? ».  She said « Yes, and it’s in the bin outside ».  She also recalled taking off her wet gloves at the house fire, which is a common way for a ring to come off the hand.  Seeing that she had checked the house so thoroughly we decided the site of the house fire was our next place to search.  As we were leaving we passed the trash bin and decided to check that first.  There was one small bag right on top and she said, « this was all the trash since the day the ring was lost ».  Gregg opened that small bag and I stuck the pinpointer on a brown paper bag crumbled up which was right on top.  The pinpointer started to vibrate and buzz right away, and I thought there must be some tin foil in there.  But when we unfolded the brown paper bag, THERE IT WAS!!!!!!  All three of us stood there with our mouths wide open for a second, in shock, but what a way to brighten your day.