Gregg Larabel, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 9 of 16

Matthew B. called me last night to see if I could find his wedding band that he lost while climbing on the sand dunes while vacationing in Grand Haven. He was enjoying the dunes with his wife Kristin and their young nephew. While climbing up on one of the paths Mathew had to use his hands to pull himself up on the soft sand. When he stood up to look over Lake Michigan he noticed that his ring was missing. After backtracking and an unsuccessful search, Matthew decided to search Google for metal detecting services. Matthew came across The Ring Finders. He contacted Tom Towsend who was not available but Tom referred him to me (Thank you Tom for the referral) and I said I could meet him the next morning. I contacted my Ring Finder partner, Dave Boyer, and off we went. We were there for about 20 minutes. I went up one path and Dave went up another path and at the top of the dune where Matthew had put his hands to lift himself up, the ring was found. Kristin had decided that if we couldn’t find the ring she was going to throw her ring away on the dunes and they would go buy another matching set. We are happy that the ring was found and Kristin didn’t have to throw hers away. As a footnote to this story, this is where I met my wife 55 years ago to this day. 

Scott W. sent me an email Sunday night inquiring about my services helping him find his wedding ring. I got back to him right away and made arrangements to meet him at the Lansing Sailing Club Tuesday morning.

Scott was spreading grass seed and straw over an area about 50′ by 50′. It was very muddy and had some standing water. Some time while spreading the grass seed and keeping an eye on his 4 year old child, his ring came off. Scott didn’t notice it until he got home. He went back to the club and looked for it but gave up and went on the internet and found The Ring Finders.

Tuesday morning Dave B. and myself introduced ourselves to Scott and set up our equipment.  I started a grid going East and West and Dave went North and South. There was an electronic dog fence running parallel to the property and giving me a lot of static on my F75 but I knew I was looking for a white gold ring on or just under the surface that would give me a good signal over the static. At about the 4th  sweep I got a hit just under the straw and there it was Scott’s ring.

Scott was happy and he were happy to have a successful hunt. We took some pictures and had a nice conversation and then headed back to Grand Rapids for the hour ride.

A friend of mine, Stephanie F., messaged me on Facebook that a friend of hers lost a ring in her yard 1 year ago. After giving me her name and number to me I gave Nora a call. The next day Dave B. and myself made a quick trip over to her house. After the introductions and meeting her dogs and getting the story as to how she lost the ring we started the search.

Nora said that last year Nora in a fit of anger threw the white gold diamond ring off her deck. Nora is about 5’5″ with a small frame but must have an arm like a pitcher. She threw the ring about 50 feet off the deck. She said she threw it towards the tree in her yard but I found it 20 feet beyond the tree and about 20 feet to the right of the tree. I guess when your mad you don’t know how far and what direction you throw things.

Nora and her husband made up and like the story goes lived happily ever after.

I got a Facebook message from a friend who told me about a woman who lost her white gold engagement ring and my friend would have her call me to see if I could help her find it. I answered her message and about a week later Jon V. called me and said his fiancé, Lisa H., lost her ring while brushing snow off her car. After clearing the snow she shook her hands off and into the snow went the ring. They went to Walmart and bought a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV and searched for it but couldn’t find it so he gave me a call.

They live in a mobile home park and have a double car parking space so the search would not be a big area. My brother Doug came along and it was around 6PM and we quickly lost daylight so not finding it then we decided to come back around noon the next day. Doug started on the grassy area which was snow covered and I started by the street at the edge of the drive which had some ice and snow. In about 1 minute and a couple feet of searching I got a great signal on my Fisher F75 and there it was.

I called Jon at work and told him I would be over later that night to give him the ring. Lisa would get home later and give me a picture of her holding the ring for our Book of Smiles.

Another happy couple who will be married in November.

I feel like the postman today, neither rain, sleet or snow will stop me from finding a lost ring. Andrew D. called me last week when the temperature in Michigan was a balmy 60 degrees. Andrew and his family live in a rural area of mid Michigan on a very old farm. He said he lost his platinum wedding band in his yard while walking from his barn to the house.  It was about a 20 square foot area but after hours of searching he couldn’t find it. I emailed Andrew back an said I could make it out on Thursday when it was still nice out and easier to search. After a couple days Andrew suggested he would be home on Friday December 18 so I said okay. Friday was the coldest and snowiest day this year, on the 100 mile journey to his house we started out through snow flurries and then arriving was cold and light snow. My hunting partner Dave Boyer and I got out our detectors and set up a grid. We thought we would do something different, thinking that the ring must be close to the surface and maybe stepped on when Andrew was searching, we gave Andrew our pin pointer. When we got a hit we had Andrew search with the pointer, this way he would be the one to recover the ring. Sure enough after about 10 minutes Andrew dug up the ring from a hit that we got. He was very happy with our service. After some conversation and photos, we headed home. From the photo above you can see that the flurries turn to ice on the roads and 3 hours later at sometimes a dead stop to 5 mph we made it home. As Chris T. always says « I love my job ».

I received a call from Sean T. Sunday evening asking me for help in finding his lost wedding ring. Late Saturday evening Sean was emptying out his cat litter box in has back yard. He walked in the dark from the back of his shed to the middle of the yard and felt his ring fall off his finger. He immediately put down the litter box and came in the house to have Jenna T. help him find the ring. The grass was 6 to 8 inches tall and they only had a flashlight and scissors. They started clipping the grass and throwing it in a pile but could not find the ring. Sean searched the internet for a metal detector and found the Ring Finders.

Sean and I worked out a plan for me and my fellow Ring Finder, Dave Boyer, to come out to his house and find his ring. On Tuesday afternoon we arrived at their house and after some introductions we started a grid search in the area where the grass was cut with no positive results. We then started from the back of the shed forward, still no results. I then set a grid pattern several feet from where the grass was cut and deep in a clump of grass I got a great signal on my Fisher F75 and there it was. Sean Is a little camera shy so I said I only want to share his smile with everyone who will read the story. Another wonderful  day in the world of ring finding.

Sean and Terra own a little store in the heart of Williamston, Michigan called Michigan Market and sell Specialty Foods and Unique Gifts made in Michigan.

I was called by Chuck M. yesterday to find his wedding band that he lost while setting plants in his yard. Chuck and his wife Sharmon live on an 80 acre farm in a small village of Lennon, Michigan just north of Swartz Creek, MI.

While doing the planting Chuck noticed his ring missing after planting 2 small bushes and taking some dug up sod and dirt across the yard and throwing it in a ditch. Chuck and Sharmon looked for the ring with no results, frustrated, they went to their computer and found The Ring Finders and gave me a call. I generally have my Ring Finder friend Dave Boyer go with me on hunts as I go with him on his calls. We make a pretty good team with a high percentage of finds.

We arrived at the farm and introduced ourselves to the Chuck and Sharmon and after they pointed out the area they were working in we got to work. Dave turned on his AT Pro and went to the first bush and up popped a penny. He tossed it to Sharmon and we all thought it was the ring which got a big laugh. A moment later my Fisher F75 gave me a hit and there was Chuck’s titanium wedding band. The total search lasted about 2 minutes. Smiles lasted longer than the hunt and another happy couple goes into the Book of Smiles.

It was our pleasure meeting this nice couple today and finding his lost ring.

On Monday August 10th Christy B. emailed me saying her husband Dave B. lost his wedding band while climbing the ladder on their water trampoline. She stated that the area was about 8-9 feet deep with a mucky bottom. Dave tried to find the ring with goggles but to no avail. The ring is a simple gold band with more sentimental value than actual value but would like to get it back.

Because it was going to require a dive I had to recruit my number one diver on the Ring Finders team, Chuck Raison. I called Christy and told her I would get my team together and come to help them out. A couple of days later Dave Boyer, Chuck and myself headed out for 150 miles to find the ring.

When we have a dive, the other non-divers searche the area leading out to the site in the shallows for a chance that the item might have been lost closer in or moved in the water. We also take advantage during the dive while the diver is down by cleaning any junk out of the water in the swimming area. It is amazing the glass, nails, cans, pull tabs and other trash you find in the lakes and rivers.

The first trip out the ring was not found. Chuck searched all around the area but the weeds and 6 inches of silt proved too much to find the ring. We talked to Christy and said we can come back after Labor Day and try again, so we all agreed to try again. Monday Sept 28 Christy made contact with me and I said we will be out on Wed Sept 30. It was just Chuck and myself this time and we packed up the Hookah and drove off to Fenton. The wind was blowing hard and the inland lake even had small whitecap waves. While Chuck did his thing I checked out the swimming area and found some more glass and junk but the more important find after about 30 minutes, was Chuck coming up to shore with a ring on his finger. He had found the ring with his Garrett underwater Pin Pointer. The ring was down in 6 inches of silt nestled next to the anchor bucket for the trampoline.

Christy’s husband Dave was out of town so we gave the ring to Christy and got our smile for the Book and we will get another pic when Dave comes home.

Another happy couple because of The Ring Finders. « We love our job »

Steve P. called me Monday Sept 14 and said he had discovered the Ring Finders lately and wondered if a ring could be found after 2 years in the ground. Steve explained to me that Jan, his wife, was working in the yard weeding the flower beds and working around the yard cleaning up. Jan was working without gloves and had her 18K gold ring on her pinky. While rolling up the garden hose she noticed the ring was missing. After looking all over the yard and through the weeds she had dug up and twigs that were picked up in the yard they gave up on the search. Now Steve is on the phone asking me to come out and see if the ring could be found. I told Steve I could make it out on Tuesday evening and decided to check out their yard on Bing Maps (I generally do this to get a lay of the land I will be searching). The yard was quite large so I called my Ring Finder friend Fred Johnson and another detectorist Denise M. We all met at their home and started the search. I arrived a few minutes early so after talking to Jan about the search I decided to detect the flowerbeds first as I had my 4 inch coil on my Fisher F75. When Fred and Denise got there I explained the situation and suggestion they start a grid search on the lawn while I finished the flowerbeds.

We were there probably less then 20 minutes when Fred got a good hit on his AT Pro and out popped the ring about an inch under the ground. A call to Steve and Jan brought them out to see a ring that had slipped off a finger over 2 years ago. Smiles and feelings of amazement came from them both. We took some pictures and went on our way. Steve promised to spread the word about The Ring Finders.

My Ring Finder partner, Dave Boyer and I always check Craigslist for possible ring finds and we came across a man, Peter S. who was camping with his family at a campground about 50 miles south of home. When he went out to the lake with his 2 boys they started jumping up and down and splashing around like young under 10 year old boys will do. They wanted dad to throw them up in the air so he did and off came his wedding ring in the process. His wife April S. marked the area on a map as to approximately where the ring went in. We emailed April and had her meet us to discuss how and when we would go search for the ring. Tuesday morning Dave and I traveled South to the lake and started our search. It took about 30 minutes in about waist deep water to get a good ring sound and there it was a beautiful men’s wedding band made of Black Hills gold.

We made arrangements with April to return the ring not telling her husband it was found. We came to the door and Peter answered I said « I’m Gregg and this is Dave » I opened a display case of rings that I have found in the past with his ring in the middle. I said « We are selling rings door to door from our metal detection collection » at that time Peter, with April standing behind him, he says « Hey there is my ring! » we all laughed and reintroduced ourselves and April fessed up that she wanted to surprise Peter. He could not believe that it was found and was a happy, happy man. After meeting his sons and taking a few pictures we said goodbye and got another entry for our « Book of Smiles ».