Ed Hart, Author at The Ring Finders

Lost White Gold Engagement Ring-Found!

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

I received a text from Leslie on Monday afternoon concerning a lost engagement ring.  She had found me with an internet search.  As it was late in the day I told her I could come the next day, becase it was about a two hour drive from where I’m located.  I got to the site at around 11:00 AM Central Time.   The couple had been pulling a boat and pulled off into the parking lot of an old convience store that had been converted into another use.  As they got out to adjust the boat straps, (the ring had been placed in the shallow tray under the door handle), the ring somehow went flying.  They looked on the pavement and didn’t see it, but there was a grass strip between the pavement and a shallow ditch, then more grass just beyond the ditch.  I started my search in the grass strip, then the ditch, then just beyond the ditch.  Being this had been a convience store at one time I expected a lot of metal trash in the ground, and I was right.  She did have a metal detector that had been her grandfather’s, but was overwhelmed by the abundance of metal trash.  I searched slowly and methodically while listening for the white gold tone and looking for the target ID I typically get for white gold rings.  After searching the entire area, no ring.  Of course I found several pieces of foil.  I turned off my CTX detector, and was explaing the process, where I search the most likely area first, then expand the search area if the ring is not found, (a visual scan of the pavement was next).  At that time someone from the building, I’ll call him « Tom », came out and we explained what we were doing, and that a visual scan of the pavement was next.  He struck out towards the highway, and in around ten seconds I heard him call out, « is this it? »  He had found it around 10-12 feet from the edge of a busy highway!  The ring was intact, but had some minor damage where it looked as though it had been run over and stuck in the tire treads before dropping off just before the highway.  In a visual search, the more eyes the better.  All in all, another successful search!

 

 

White Gold Wedding/Engagement Band Set-Found!

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

Ryan contacted me several weeks ago about his wife’s white gold wedding/engagement band set she had lost in a grassy area of the apartments where they lived in Chattanooga.  Because of his busy work schedule he had a difficult time getting the search arranged.  I think he had actually purchased an off-the-shelf metal detector at a local store, but was apparently overwhelmed with the large amounts of metallic trash in the ground.  We finally managed to arrange a search on June 9th.  I arrived at the location at 7:15 PM on June 9th.  I started my search as soon as I got the story from him, because we didn’t have much daylight left.  Around 35 minutes later I found the engagement band portion totally hidden below the grass around four feet from the base of a large tree.  It took me right at an hour more to find the wedding band portion, and it was about twenty feet from where I found the other half.  It ended up being in an area outside of the original search zone.  The grass had been cut, so maybe that’s how it ended up being over there.  This portion of the ring was in full view of anyone walikg by, so it’s amazing nobody had seen it.

 

Gold Pendent Lost in Nashville-Found!

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

Brooke contacted me even though she was in Nashville and I was in Chattanooga.  There are two ring finders in the Nashville area, but neither of them were available.  I agreed to go, even though it was about a two-and-a-half-hour drive for me.  She had lost a gold pendant while she was competing in a charity event at a local golf course.  The pendent was from her late grandfather, so it had a lot of sentimental value.  I left early enough from the Chattanooga area to get there by 6:00AM so we could get started before the course opened.  That event was a sack race. They were not on the fairways, but in the grass off to the side.  I’m not familiar with the course layout, but I think it was off to the side of tee box #10 where they had the sack race.  Brooke had previously gotten permission from the course manager.  The first thing I did was scan the edges of the cart paths, and it was not there, except for a square pull-tab.  Yep, those are everywhere we go.  Fortunately, someone had taken a video clip of the sack race, and I could clearly see she had the pendent on during the race.  But more importantly, I could use that to hone in on where the race took place. From the viewpoint of the video there were several small trees on the left background.  In the left foreground there was a grassy hill that had been scalped on the top by the mowers.  On the right very edge of the screen I saw a homeowner’s metal fence that was bordering his back yard.  So, using those landmarks I was able to pinpoint exactly where the sack race took place.  Most of the grass there was short enough to see the pendent if you walked close to it.  Some of the grass was tall enough to hide an object that small, so that’s where I focused my detecting first.  While I was scanning the taller grass, Brooke asked if there was anything she could do.  I said most of this grass is short enough that you could most likely see it if you walked right over it.  So, knowing exactly where the race had taken place, I had started scanning around halfway to the finish line where the taller grass was, and Brooke started walking ahead of me near the finish line where the shorter grass was.  After around twenty minutes or so, I saw Brooke lean over and pick something up, she said, “I found it!”  It was visible if you walked right over it, so someone else could have seen it before we got there.  Fortunately, it was still there.

  

Gold Wedding Ring Lost in Calhoun, GA-Found!

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

I received a text this past Monday 11th from a wife.  She said her husband had lost his wedding band in the backyard about a month ago while cleaning out a pool skimmer trap.  She was searching the internet and came across www.theringfinders.com where she found my contact information.  I made the trip to Calhoun that afternoon and met up with her.  She said her husband was still at work, but should be there pretty soon.  She said they had actually purchased a metal detector for themselves, but no luck in finding the ring.  When Alfred got home he was showing me how he lost his ring cleaning the skimmer with his left hand and throwing the trash over the chain link fence with an underhand motion.  He said he felt the ring leave his hand but didn’t see where it went.  With that underhand throwing motion I immediately figured the ring had gone over and into the brushy area behind the fence.  I eliminated the grass and the plant bed first of course, but no luck.  With the chain link fence there I couldn’t get close to it at all without sending my detector into an overload condition.  So that part would have to be searched by hand if I didn’t find the ring back in the brush.  I started back behind the fence, (poison ivy there too), as well as a snake, but didn’t get a good look at it, it was leaving the area.  I started from the right side and went left directly at the back of the fence.  The second pass was from the left back to the right, on a steep slope.  Of course I was finding bits of metal trash, we all do.  On the third pass from right to left I got to right where I figured the ring could have gone with that underhanded throw.  The first thing I found there was a rusted bottle cap, then about three feet away I got two signals on my CTX.  A strong 12:40 showing four inches, but literally inches away from that signal was another one, a strong 12:28 showing one inch.  I hadn’t seen it yet, but that 12:28 at one inch brought a grin to my face.  I stooped over and under my coil I saw a faint hint of something shining back at me.  I snapped a picture of it before I moved it, and you can barely catch a glimpse of something out of place under the layer of leaves.  The 12:40 signal turned out to be a toy car.  The search took about 1.5 hours.

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Gold Signet Ring Lost for Four Years-Found!

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

I received a call from Mike on Tuesday 28th and he said he had lost his gold signet ring in his backyard several years ago.  He said they were moving and the ring was a gift from his wife and he really wanted to find it before they moved.  We made arrangements for Wednesday afternoon.  Around four years ago he had been clearing brush in the backyard and towards the end of the day he noticed his ring was gone.  They had been piling the brush next to the street on the side yard, so that’s where I started my search.  I really didn’t think the ring would be there, but I had to eliminate that area of possibility.  The huge problem I had to deal with was underground power lines next to the street, (around 14 KV), and it was really messing with my detector.  I had to go very slow in that area until I got far enough away that my detector started to settle down a little.  After a little over an hour I finally eliminated the side yard.  The back of the house had a pretty steep slope that was covered in pine straw mulch.  I know from experience that pine straw on a slope can be very slippery.  He had mentioned that he had slipped a couple of times on that slope, but didn’t remember exactly where that happened.  That’s where I focused my attention next, and after I looked at it more carefully, towards the corner of the house the slope wasn’t quite as steep, so I figured anybody coming through that area would would pick that spot.  As I got halfway down the slope I got a consistent 12:20 on my CTX, and it was shallow, (showing one inch).  If you’re looking for a gold ring that’s a very good signal.  I brushed the straw away and didn’t see anything visible, but my pinpointer said there was something there just under the surface.  I brushed the soil a little with my fingers and saw the corner of a gold rim showing through!  I called Mike over, as he was just about to go back in the house.  His wife came out and she was elated!  She said she figured it was gone and never to be found again.  I think I was as excited as they were, because that was a tough search having to deal with the underground power lines.  Knowing your machine, and asking the right questions makes all the difference.  The entire search took around two hours.

Lost Gold/Diamond Ring in Chattanooga-Found

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

This lady had lost her gold and diamond ring in her yard on the day before, during a family event. I found the ring in less than 30 minutes about 4-5 feet from the edge of the driveway.

Lost Platinum Wedding Band at Lake Ocoee…Found

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

I was contacted by Phillip on November 29 about his ring that he lost at a park on Lake Ocoee in Eastern Tennessee.  He had lost his platinum wedding band on the Saturday before while at a roadside park. He was brushing the leaves off a tablecloth when his ring came off. He felt it come off, but wasn’t sure which direction it went.  They had been married for only about two years, so they were both just a little upset.  He and his wife searched the area until well after dark to no avail. He had even gone to a local sporting goods store and bought a low cost metal detector, and went back on Sunday morning.  He quickly found out there were a lot of targets in the ground there and was quite overwhelming! After that they did a Google search and www.theringfinders.com popped up. He works for the local Volkswagen plant here and couldn’t get off until the coming weekend, so I met him there the next Saturday morning on December 4th.  The leaves are all pretty much gone from the trees now and on the ground, so I knew the ring wouldn’t have been visible to someone walking by. The picnic table was at the bottom of a steep hill and the hill by the table was covered with leaves that were nearly a foot deep.  I searched that area first and found the usual pull tabs and foil that are common at parks. There is a paved walk right next to the table, so I searched the ground next to the walk, across from the table.  Just as I was about halfway past the table I got an interesting signal.  It was obviously trash, but mixed in there was a good strong signal.  I slowed down my sweep and used the short wiggle motion to help identify the target I was hearing.  It was the low tone that I was expecting for platinum, and I was getting a consistent 12:09 on my CTX.  I brushed away the layer of leaves with my foot and immediately saw it.  Phillip was a little distance away with his metal detector and didn’t notice that I had found it. So I started taking pictures of it right where it lay. I picked it up and pretended to continue my search for a little while.  After about another ten minutes I quit searching and walked over to where he was and started asking more questions. He assumed that I hadn’t found it yet, so he was quite surprised when I held up my hand and showed him the ring!  The ring was less than a foot from the walk directly adjacent the table.  The actual search time was about twenty minutes.

Lost Diamond Engagement/Wedding Band Set-Trion GA…Found!

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

I was contacted by a couple this past weekend that had lost their engagement/wedding band set in their front yard.  They had looked for it for several days themselves using a metal detector, but he admitted he didn’t know how to use it.  Although he did manage to find one part of the ring, but not the other half.  The ground there was literally saturated with metallic trash so I knew the search could be difficult.  I was initially told the ring was silver, so I concentrated on the high tone that silver makes.  I like to hear all the tones as well to make sure I don’t accidently discriminate out a good target that is close to junk.  After searching a fairly small area for around 40 minutes, no ring, and I was running out of options.  That’s when their jeweler called back, (he had the other half of the ring), and said the ring was not silver, it was white gold, (I had asked them to check).  During my search I was ignoring the low tones that white gold makes since that is the same tone that foil makes.  So I searched the same area again, and in around 5 minutes I got a 12.02 on my CTX.  The ring was hiding in a bowl shaped depression totally covered under the grass.

 

High School Class Ring Lost in Chattanooga TN for 16 Years…Found

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

High School Ring Lost for 16 Years, Found!

I had a guy to contact me several months ago about a high school class ring he had lost in 2005.  He had since moved out of state up to Pennsylvania.  This weekend being Mother’s day he was in town visiting family and had obtained permission from the current homeowners to do a search in the yard.  So this has been several months in the making.  He thought it was white gold, but wasn’t certain.  I wasn’t sure what kind of signal I would get on my CTX, and I knew it would be several inches deep, so I was doomed to dig just about everything.  I started up towards the house and worked my way down to the street, drawing my grid lines.  I had been there about three hours and had dug a bag full of trash and modern coins.  It’s slow going when you have to dig nearly everything.  We had only about five feet of yard left before we got to the street when I got a signal that at first looked like trash.  The CTX didn’t give me a VDI number, (I think there was trash very nearby), but I did have a consistent tone and a small tight target identification picture on the screen.  Since it was consistent I dug it and out popped a ring that had been in the ground for 16 years.  It was 3-4 inches deep, a little deeper than I thought it might be.  Another happy ring owner!

Lost Diamond Ring Maryville Tennessee…Found

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

This couple had been reseeding their back yard last weekend when Sarah S. noticed her ring was missing.  They hadn’t been married long, I think maybe a year and a half.  She was very distressed, putting it mildly.  They had tried to find the ring on their own.  Even going out and purchasing a very low end metal detector, but with no discrimination he quickly found out how much trash metal was in his yard, (the house dates from the 40s).   The drive to the site was nearly two hours.  I listened to her story, as well as asking a few questions.  The ring was a white gold and diamonds engagement/wedding band set.  I set up my grid, and made one pass across the yard.  About halfway back on the second pass I got a solid 12.02 at zero inches on my CTX.  I knew that tone and VDI was exactly what I was looking for with it being white gold.  Sure enough, my pinpointer found the wedding band portion just below the layer of straw.  I marked the location with a flag and continued on.  Two steps later I got another 12.02 at zero inches.  This was the larger engagement band portion.  She had a good cry when I showed her the rings, it would have made a great video had I been recording.