Doug Hardy, Author at The Ring Finders

I received a text from a woman who had lost her wedding ring after a « discussion » with her husband. He saw the ring fly up in the air, but it was nighttime and they hadn’t been able to find it the next day. As I was out of town on vacation, I contacted two friends and asked them to visit the woman and see if they could locate the ring. They each went to her house and searched but were unable to find it. When I got back to town I contacted her and asked if I could come out and give it one more try. She agreed and I made the hour drive to her house. Her husband explained the backstory and then detailed where they had looked for the ring, which seemed to cover all the obvious possibilities. I didn’t see much point in going over ground that had already been searched, but it seemed like he had thoroughly searched all the out-of-the-way places (in the rain gutter, on the roof, in the flower bed, etc.). Anyway, I decided to really scour the yard on the off-chance that it had been missed. On my third sweep across the front yard I got a solid signal and found it! As you can see in the pictures, it’s an impressive ring and when the husband told his wife that I had found it, she was absolutely beside herself. Very glad to be able to reunite the wife with her ring. Another Happy Ending!

Got a call from a gentleman whose wife’s ring had gotten lost in the front yard. He was positive he knew where the ring was, but had not been able to find it, which is when he contacted me. We set up a time to meet and he took me through the scenario about how it came to be lost in the yard. It’s a somewhat personal story, so suffice it to say that there was a marital discussion and we’ll leave it at that. The good news: front yards are usually grass and are usually mowed, which makes recoveries easier. The bad news: front yards are typically where water lines, cable connections, and electrical power come in from the street, so it can be difficult to pick out a ring signal with all the interference and background noise. Apparently the ring-finding spirits were with me this morning and I was able to find the ring in 15 minutes or so. Although the husband is the one I spoke to, he assured me that his wife would be thrilled to have her ring back on her finger. Happy Ending! PS – Please excuse the gaping mouth in the photo – I was talking when I took the picture.

I got a call from a young woman who had lost her engagement ring – not an unusual situation – and I agreed to help her recover it. In talking with her, the story emerged… she had been in the parking lost at work and in having a discussion with a co-worker, flung her hand in the air and the ring came off. The good news: she actually saw the ring come off and go over the fence. The bad news: the area where she thought the ring had landed was large and fairly trashy (gum wrappers, pop tops, bottle caps, etc.). After thoroughly searching through the trashy area and not locating the ring, I expanded my search and found the ring considerably farther out than I had originally thought, nestled in a nice (and relatively clean) grassy area. Being able to reunite the ring and the distraught fiance was a great feeling for both of us.

 

I got a text from a woman saying that she was newly engaged and had lost her engagement ring. Everyone I’ve related this story to has had the same reaction: « Oh My God! » Anyway, I told her I could come out to search for it in about an hour and I drove to her house. I met her there and she showed me where she thought it had come off her finger. [As a side note, virtually everyone who contacts a Ringfinder is sure they know where they lost the item. As it turns out, that’s rarely the case…] I told her she was welcome to watch me detect or she could go back in the house with the A/C. She said that between her newborn and her parents who were visiting, inside the house was the better option. I turned on the detector, found it in less than 10 minutes, and it was pretty much right where she said it was! As a new fiance, a new Mom, and host to her visiting parents, I was really glad I could take a little bit of the unnecessary stress off her plate. You can see in the picture that she was so happy to have the ring back on her finger!

   

I got a call from a nice woman in Chapel Hill (about 45 minutes away). She had been walking in a wooded park near her house when she tripped over a tree root and fell. She wasn’t injured in the fall, but a little further down the path, she noticed that her wedding ring was missing. She explained that because she had lost weight, the ring was loose on her finger, and that was probably the reason it had come off. She and a friend had looked all over the area and hadn’t found the ring – probably because the area was covered with fallen leaves.

We met at her house and she walked me to the spot where she took the tumble. Fortunately (and this is a good tip for any potential ring losers out there), she took her hair clip off and clipped it to a bush to mark the spot. Because she had done this, she was able to show me the exact root she tripped over. I turned on my detector and not only was the ring my first target, it was under my coil on my first swing. She was ecstatic to get the ring back! In our conversation on the way back to her house, I suggested that she look into getting a ring guard to help keep it on her finger. She replied that she had ordered one that morning!

Anyway, very happy to be able to get the ring back where it belonged.

I got a text from a very nice woman in Chapel Hill, saying that she had lost her wedding ring and asked if I could help her find it. She had parked her car at the neighbor’s house (long story), and walked through a short section of woods to get to her house.

I scoured the woods and areas where she said she’d been, but no ring. I decided to expand the search area in all four directions and after another 20 minutes or so, found the ring well hidden under some leaves. Not entirely sure how the ring got to where I found it, because she said she had stayed on the path (the ring was a good 8-10 ft away);

I returned the ring to her, but wasn’t quite prepared for the joy she showed when I gave her the ring. A little teary eyed, she explained that it was a family heirloom and she’d been sick over the loss. To say that she was happy to have it back on her finger is an understatement.

Glad to be able to get the ring back where it belongs!