Mike S. called me late Sunday evening asking if I could find a diamond ring in about 5 feet of water that His wife, Beth, accidentally dropped off her finger while untangling the tubing ropes. She was holding the ring on her finger for a family friend, Megan P, who didn’t want to loose it while tubing. Dave Boyer, my Ring Finder partner, drove 40 miles North to Hess lake Monday morning and met Patrice P. who showed us the area that she thought the ring was lost. Patrice had been riding in the boat as the kids were tubing so she was sure about the area. Dave and I searched the lake in a triangle shaped area about half the size of a football field. The lake had zero visibility at the bottom because of the silt that was knocked around as we swung or detectors. There were dozens of hits but after 4 hours we gave up the search and said we would come back. I called Mike and asked him if he could meet us at the cottage the next day and reenact what had taken place. Mike agreed and said he would cook up some hot dogs and hamburgers for us. We got up to the cottage and added another Ring Finder, Fred Johnson (Fred was going to be our ringer). It was around 4 PM so we got into the water and started our search. Mike backed the boat out and showed us how things went and that gave us a different perspective of an area that we had not searched. After an hour we still had nothing to show for our efforts so I started to search an area that we looked at yesterday and got a pretty good hit but was searching in a large hole that was dug the day before. I dug about three large scoops and checked in my scoop after clearing away decayed wood chips and a glob of sand, there it was. Mike was sitting on the dock and Dave and Fred was still searching and I started walking towards the dock and asked Mike if we could have those hot dogs and hamburgers (like I was giving up). Mike said « sure let me fire up the grill » and then I said is this the ring? Mike was so happy he couldn’t believe it, he immediately got on his phone and said « they found it »!
Mike started up the grill, the food and conversation was great and stories were exchanged and pictures taken. I am happy for Megan, she got her ring back and happy for Beth to be relieved of such an unfortunate accident. Have a great Labor Day everyone!
3 Replies to “Double set of diamond rings recovered in Hess lake, Newyago, Michigan”
Comments are closed.
Well done Dave, Gregg and Fred. Persistence is the key with all searches but particularly with the zero visibility underwater searches. My most satisfying one took seven hours and ten minutes (not that I was counting) on SCUBA. There is no better feeling than coming up with the treasure.
Happy hunting
Nick TRF Australia
Gregg,
My name is Dennis Pittman and I am the husband of Megan. A few days ago you and your crew shocked us all by finding Megan’s ring at Hess Lake. I just wanted to take a moment to personally thank you for your hard work and dedication to find Megan’s ring. When Megan called to tell me know her ring was lost we were all devastated and the thought of finding it never even crossed my mind. The next day was pretty rough trying to decide what to do next while still trying to figure out exactly how something like this could happen.
After hearing that you and your crew would be attempting to find the ring I honestly wasn’t sure how it would go. A big cloudy lake with a small ring just seemed like too difficult a task. However, after the first day of searching when Patrice told me how convinced you were that you would find the ring, my spirits started to change. I was shocked, amazed and so thankful when I got the call that the ring had been found. We now have an incredible story to share rather than a horrible memory of a lost ring.
Thank you again for bringing joy and laughter back into the family after some disappointing days. Your services and dedication are invaluable.
Sincerely,
Dennis Pittman
Gregg,
This note is long overdue but I didn’t want your efforts to go untouched. Here’s to many thanks to you and your team for not giving up on finding my wedding ring in Hess Lake! What you all are doing is incredible and takes so much passion and patience. My husband and I are grateful to you for not ceasing the search. What seemed like a one in a million chance, made us feel that much luckier! And although only a material symbol, there is not another ring that could ever replace the one which we chose to symbolize our love for each other, forever. It was an incredible feeling putting MY own ring back on MY finger! Thank you so much for everything you did and never giving up.
PS – I’m prone to things like this happening… I will forever remember you and your team for future scares or for others who hopefully never have to experience what we or the Sochacki’s went through on that day!
Megan Pittman