James Fuss, Author at The Ring Finders

Lost Wedding Band Recovered at Gordon Georgia Farm – Marriage Saved!

  • from Warner Robins (Georgia, United States)

On March 15th I received a call from Matt, who explained how while camping he had lost his uniquely crafted tantalum wedding band.  While on a camping excursion to his good friend’s farm, halfway between Macon and Milledgeville, Matt was taking care of the cooking and needed to remove his wedding band.  Sometime later Matt realized the ring was nowhere to be found on his person or around the area he was sitting during most of the evening.  Matt and his friend did a thorough search the next day, but the ring was lost.  That’s when Matt reached out to me. We arranged to meet at his friend’s farm on Good Friday.  When I arrived, I could not help but notice the beauty and peacefulness of the surroundings.  I enjoyed meeting Matt and we discussed in greater detail the circumstances surrounding his wedding band going missing. I could also see portions of the farm had been taped off for searching.  So with information in hand, the search was on.  I first searched the seating and fire pit areas where a coin spillage was found, but no ring.  My search then expanded outwards from the fire pit in a circular pattern.  After 20 minutes into the hunt, a promising strong tone was emitted from the detector.  A gentle excavation of the location revealed the hunt was a success; Matt’s wedding band had been found!   Matt was overjoyed and immediately contacted his wife to inform her that his wedding band was recovered and was back on his finger. I am extremely grateful for Matt contacting me through ringfinders.com and allowing me to find his wedding band.  Thank you to Matt for his very generous reward.  Your generosity also led to a person in need being blessed.  God is so good!

 

Lost Wedding Band Recovered at Climax (Bainbridge) Georgia Hunting Property

  • from Warner Robins (Georgia, United States)
On Easter Sunday I received an unexpected phone message from a Florida number.  The message said, « Do you serve the Bainbridge Georgia area?”  When we spoke the next day, Lee explained that he had lost his ring while cutting a firebreak on his heavily wooded property in south-central Georgia.  The site was 2 hours away; as good fortune would have it, my wife and I had planned a trip to Florida so we arranged a rendezvous.  Additional text messages from Lee conveyed logistic and site environment details for the search (beware of the Georgia gnats, snakes, and some very muddy conditions). We arrived at the property, which is being developed as a hunting retreat, with lodging and all the equipment to maintain the property.  Lee explained the different locations where the ring may have slipped off, and I explained how metal detecting would effectively search those areas.  The ring itself holds a unique story. It was constructed by a master jeweler from a platinum base with inset gold and diamonds from parts of a gold chain, a family ring, and other jewelry pieces.    After considering the merits of the three locations, I suggested we search where Lee had washed all of the equipment at the end of his workday. Sweeping the wash area with my Equinox 800, I first detected a rifle casing, then a bullet casing, and then incredibly, just 10 minutes into the search, the detector chirped a loud 20-tone for a target close to the surface.  The detector’s pin-pointer function directed my gaze to a bright, shiny loop segment just barely visible, like a flower pushing through the soil in the springtime.  I immediately called Lee over and pointing to the location I asked him, “Is that your ring?” It’s hard for me to describe the joy when Lee plucked the ring out of the ground, but having lost and found my wedding ring in the past, I can testify there is a fullness of joy that makes such an event unforgettable.  I am deeply humbled and extremely grateful for Lee’s incredible act of generosity in finding his ring.  Also, as a result of Lee’s generosity a cancer patient and their family have been blessed.  God is so good!

Whoever thought playing with the dog would lead to this?

  • from Warner Robins (Georgia, United States)
It was just around noontime when my phone alerted me to an incoming call. Looking at the phone number my gut reaction was: « I don’t know anyone from this area code, this must be another spam call », but then, the unexpected text and a voicemail message came in.
The text said: « I found you in Ring Finders and could sure use your help. I’m in Monticello GA. I lost my ring in a house, but not a beach or somewhere like that, but was still hoping you could help me find it. I know the exact room I was in too. The ring has always been loose on my finger. I was playing with the dog so he could let out some energy and be happy. I must have moved too fast though. When my hands quickly moved away, my ring went flying. I flung it somewhere in this room, but I haven’t had luck finding it. »
My first impulse was: « I can help this person out, since I have nothing important planned this afternoon, and I could even get the car packed and start the journey in 30 – 45 minutes. I would also need to consult the local retirement coordinator (wife) for clearance to travel. Next, I searched the information superhighway for logistical information on Monticello Georgia. According to Google maps, the distance between Warner Robins and Monticello GA is 58 miles and would take 1 hour and 8 minutes travel time. The trip traverses middle Georgia backroads which includes scenic landscapes along Lake Juliette and historic Jarrell Plantation. In all, the roundtrip would be at least 4 hours, but would not be surprised if this treasure hunt took upwards of 6 hours to complete.
Now I was ready to call the lost ring owner back. Robert was very friendly and grateful to receive my call. After introducing myself, I gave him some background on my experience with the ringfinders organization and metal detecting as a hobby. He then explained in greater detail the location where his ring was lost and his efforts to find it. The ring itself is a simple, narrow gold band and the room where the ring was lost is being used for storage. The room’s dimensions are approximately 8 feet 4 inches by 12 feet four inches. Since losing his ring Robert searched every square inch of the room to no avail. He even moved objects in the room around to be certain the ring was not hiding in plain sight. His conclusion was that the ring must have found its way into the gap between the walls and floor, which according to Robert was plenty wide enough to swallow up his wedding ring. His request for me to search the wall/floor gap with my metal detector in hopes I could find his lost gold wedding band. As we discussed further, Robert revealed that the house was quite old and the room where the ring was lost has original hardwood flooring installed above a crawlspace. This likely meant the floor is tongue and groove construction nailed to floor joists. I let Robert know that the floor nails and metal fasteners in the wall could prevent the detector from finding the lost gold band as the ring would be surrounded by a sea steel nails and to the metal detector, and each steel nail would be detected as a possible target. This revelation led me to suggest one more avenue before I undergo a journey that may not produce the location of the lost wedding ring. I asked Robert how thoroughly he has searched the objects being stored within the room. Robert expressed with certainty that the ring had been lost at floor level and was not on or in any of the room’s contents, but then the next words that came out of Robert’s mouth changed everything. « You won’t believe this, but I just found my lost ring! It seems the moment I suggested a different search approach, Robert’s eyes locked onto his elusive target; his ring was found resting upon a tray used to store ratcheting wrenches. And all this occurred within the span of a 5 minute phone call. As we concluded our call, Robert humbly expressed his thanks for my remote help which I reciprocated in gratitude for him searching out my services through ringfinders. I also mentioned how helping others and finding lost valuables brought me a kind of joy and satisfaction.
It just goes to show you that when all your efforts seem to be leading to dead-ends, consider « maybe I could be doing this a little differently ». What do you have to lose, or possibly, what might you find by trying a different approach, or reaching out to someone for help or maybe even saying a quick prayer?