Ring Recovery in Wake Forest (Falls Lake)

Of all the places to lose a ring, « in the lake » has to be one of the most difficult. The ring moves as it settles to the bottom, you can’t see the bottom, and you need to use waterproof gear.

I was contacted by a man who had lost his wedding ring throwing a football at in a lake in a local state park. We agreed to meet at the lake so he could show me exactly where he lost it and also so we could get permission from the park staff to metal detect — it’s normally prohibited in state parks. (The one exception is to recover a lost item; in that case, the park management will usually allow someone to bring in a detector to recover something lost.)

We met, spoke to the park staff (who were great), he showed me the spot, and we made arrangements to meet back the following morning to search. This particular lake is anything but clear, so you’re essentially relying on the machine to tell you where the target is and then bring up sand from the bottom a scoop at a time until you find it. It took about an hour, but after 3 quarters, two dimes, a penny, a silver locket, and a different wedding band, I was able to pull up his ring.

His very pregnant wife was waiting patiently (anxious, but trying to be patient) on the beach while we searched, and was overjoyed when I was able to bring it up to the surface. I know she was glad that he had the ring back, but it was also very important to her that he would have his ring in time for the upcoming delivery. I was glad to have been able to help make that happen!