Tantalum Wedding Ring Recovered - Durham!

I was contacted by Nick, who had lost his tantalum wedding ring while playing with the dog. He was in the backyard and gave the dog toy a toss; when he let go of the toy, his ring flew off and cleared the fence. Although every situation is unique, I had run into this scenario before, so I’m thinking « No problem! I’ll get the ring back in no time! » Nick had said on the phone that there were some briers and I again thought « No problem! » I got to Nick’s house and he pulled up a video from his house camera that showed him losing the ring. With the whole thing on video, I’m again thinking « No problem! » The area that Nick showed me (where he thought the ring had gone) was about 60′ x 60′.

I searched for maybe 30 minutes and gained a whole new appreciation for briers. I promised to return with thicker clothing, a machete, and a friend. Between my two visits, Nick and his wife had cleared a portion of the briers, so when my friend John and I got there, we alternated searching for the ring and hacking/clearing/hauling remaining briers. By the time we finished, probably 40′ x 40′ had been cleared enough for us to use our detectors, but no ring.

In a last-ditch effort, I searched an area that was far to the left of where Nick thought the ring might have gone. After several beer and soda cans, I managed to turn up the ring for him. As I’ve come to understand, it’s not just « A » ring, it’s « THE » ring. In this case THE ring decided to hide in the briers but is now back where it belongs!

The first photo shows the ring after I pulled it out of the mud in which it was sitting. The second photo is a very happy Nick!