Jeff Lubbert, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 7 of 8

Tungsten carbide ring found in Aurora, CO

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Rick Smith lost his tungsten carbide ring while playing in the March of Dimes mud volleyball tournament held each year in the Denver suburb of Aurora. A contributor that led to the loss of the ring is the fact that Rick has lost in the neighborhood of 50 pounds since his marriage.

Rick was changing positions when he actually saw the ring leave his finger and fall in the knee deep soupy mud. He and five of his teammates searched for several minutes but at last the officials of the tournament made them play on.

Now nearly two months later while posting my ad for “Ring Finders metal detecting service” on Craigslist I noticed an ad posted by Amy, Rick’s wife, about the loss of the ring. I sent Amy an email and told her I may be able to help find the ring. That evening I received a call from Rick and we made arrangements to meet the following morning at the site of the volleyball tournament. During our phone conversation Rick mentioned that he was contacted by another metal detectorist about searching for the ring and that this gentleman did not have any luck.

Sunday morning we met at 8:00 and Rick showed me the site of the volleyball tournament. This hunt site was HUGE with at least 30 volleyball mud pits set into a field. Rick had a good idea as to which court he was on when the ring came off but he was not 100% positive that the court he was pointing out was the one we needed to search. After a quick look at the vegetation growth and reading of the site we determined which court we needed to search.

Our first pass with the metal detector yielded no signals to dig. The work then began as we started to pry up the dirt clods in the area of where Rick’s loss occurred from the now dried out mud pit. Each dirt clod was about 10 inches in depth and fairly heavy. We moved each clod off to the side of our search site placing them upside down so that we could search the bottom side of the clods with the metal detector. I first scanned the bottom of the newly formed hole and then the clods without any success. Rick was starting to lose hope but we removed more dirt clods and I once again scanned the newly exposed soil, no luck. I made my way over to the clods and the first clod I scanned, the last out of the hole, I received a signal. I pulled the clod up to look at it and there was the edge of Rick’s ring exposed to the daylight. I let Rick see the clod and the edge of the Ring, he as ecstatic!  Though this ring was not a very expensive ring, it was HIS wedding ring and he finally got it back.

Ring recovered September 25, 2011.

Ricks ringRick happy to have his ring once againRing in dirt cloda challenging hunt site

Platinum and diamond stud earring found in Littleton, Colorado park

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Brenda reunited with her earring

Brenda Speedy had loaned her platinum stud and diamond earrings to a friend’s daughter. While preparing to go into a soccer match one of the earrings went missing. The two adults searched on their hands and knees without success. They later rented a metal detector at a local store and searched the area. Finding a stud earring is no easy task as there is not a lot of metal to make a metal detector react. Once again their search did not give their desired results. Later that night the two searched the area for another two hours using headlamps hoping the diamond would reflect the light, still no luck. They even went as far as using a shop vacuum the following day in hopes that it would suck up the lost jewel.

Brenda contacted me Monday night telling me of her predicament and her efforts to find the earring. We set a plan to meet at the park the next morning to search for the earring. I arrived at the assigned meeting time and location and we walked the area where the earring was supposed to be while Brenda once again explained the events that led to the earrings loss and her efforts to find it.

I set up my machines and tested them both on the match to the lost ear ring to make sure they were picking up the signal. I selected one of my machines and started my grid search. After an hour and a half I had found the earring within a few feet of where they had used the shop vacuum and within the area that they had searched using the rental metal detector.

The pair of platinum and diamond earrings had been given to Brenda by her father and they held a sentimental value that far exceeded the monetary value of the pair.

Item recovered: September 13, 2011.

          

Not an easy target to find

The lost ear ring, now returned to it’s proper owner.

 

Ring recovered from bushes in Greeley, Colorado

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

The night before their scheduled departure to return to Arizona while visiting the family of her boyfriend in Greeley, Colorado Danielle Crook lost a ring that was given to her by her boyfriend. A hand full of people searched the driveway and area of rock and bushes that separated the neighbor’s property from theirs. They searched in earnest for over two hours with no luck. There was a mat of leaves that blanketed the river rock area that contained the bushes that made a visual search seem nearly impossible.

Danielle found my profile on « Ring Finders » and sent me an email around 11:00 that night explaining that she was leaving the next day so time was a critical factor. I responded to her email early that next morning and told her to call me ASAP and we should be able to work something out. Within minutes I received a call from Danielle and we arranged for me to search for her ring which was white gold with a diamond adorning its top. I readied my gear, strapped it onto my motorcycle and headed out to meet Danielle.

Upon arrival introductions were made and I further inquired as to how the ring became lost. Come to find out a dispute had come about and the ring was tossed aside in the heat of the moment. Almost instantaneously Danielle regretted what she had just done and wished she could take it back. She could not remember how she had tossed the ring, right or left handed. I had her toss another ring with a several inches of sting tied onto it with both hands while in the seated position she was in the night before.

I began my search in the area of the consistent landing spot from her right handed toss. Using my metal detector I began searching the leafy rock area first without success. I then switched to searching the branches of the bushes, the branches were small in diameter but long and filled with leaves.  Within a minute I heard the tone of white gold come from my machine. I separated the branches of the bushes and there was a pretty little ring hung up on a branch in the middle of the bush about 24” above the ground. I called Danielle over to see the ring for herself, I almost had to put my figure on it for her to be able to see the ring. Within 12 hours of contacting me Danielle had her ring back on her hand. She was quite happy to get her ring back and this made their flight back to Arizona a much better flight.

 

Ring recovered July 29th, 2011

Danielle with her ring back

 

Tungsten wedding ring found in Washington park – Denver, Colorado

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Joe Gaughan was preparing to play in a volleyball tournament when he plut some sun block on to protect his exposed skin. While doing so he placed his Tungsten wedding band into his pocket of his shorts so that he wouldn’t loose his ring. After playing a couple of games he realized that his ring was gone from his pocket. Both teams stopped playing and got on their hand and knees and searched the court in a organized directional search. No ring was found and tournament had to go on.

Joe is a personal friend of mine and so he texted me that afternoon explaining the situation. We met at the location of the tournament the following Monday afternoon as Joe could not get away from the office till lunch time. He explained the events that took place around the loss of  the ring one more time and took me to the locaiton of the volleyball court. I tuned my detector and within a few minutes Joe had his ring back on his fingure.

Ring recovered June 28, 2011.

Joe happy to be holding his wedding ring. Joe's Tungsten ring

Joe's Tungsten ring

Ring found in yard near Longmont, Colorado

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Marshall Lipps lost his platinum wedding ring while doing yard work in the spring.  He had trimmed some ornamental grasses and bushes and taken the clippings to a composting pile towards the back of the property. Since they live on a small acreage the ring could have been along a sizable path or someplace not thought of. Marshall even went to a rental place and rented a metal detector twice in an attempt to recover his ring. But he was not able to locate the ring using the rental detector.

Marshall then came upon the “Ring Finders” site and contacted me to assist in the search for his ring. By now it had been three weeks since he had lost his ring. Marshall and I walked the area where he was working and talked about what it was he was doing along with a demonstration of his actions.

I set out the search for Marshall’s ring searching the area of the ornamental grasses and the path to the compost pile. I ended up finding it near the compost pile but in an area that wasn’t expected as he didn’t recall being quite that far to the side of the pile. Marshall was happy to see his ring, but his wife was even happier.

Ring recovered on Mar 20, 2011.

Marshall reunited with his ring

 

Ring recovered in Northglenn front yard

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Joe Pfifer lost his 14 karat white gold wedding band while doing yard work. Something as simple and mundane as removing dried up leaves from the shrubbery in front of their home on a cool spring morning had caused Joes ring to slip from his finger.

Joe had tried searching for the ring visually and even researched on-line on how to search for lost rings which is how he found “Ring Finders”. And with the thought of somebody who knew what they were doing as opposed to Joe giving it a go on his own, Joe contacted me.

When I met up with Joe he explained what he was doing and the location of his efforts to clean up the yard. Within a few short minutes I had recovered Joe’s ring from under the tree bark mulch that was hiding it from sight. This search area was being hindered by metal edging, but when you know your machine interference from such can be minimized.

Ring recovered on March 25, 2011.

Joe Pfifer and his ring

Joe happy to be holding his ring once again

 

Joes 14 kt white gold ring

Wedding ring found in back yard – Lakewood, Colorado

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Olivia Frank had lost her wedding ring in her back yard. The couple had searched the yard extensively without any luck. After 6 months of worry and frustration they found “Ring Finders” and through that my contact information. We made arrangements and set a meeting date for me to join them at their home for a brief talk and survey of the site.

My first trip to their house gave me the story of the rings loss and the layout of the yard. I managed to get in about three hours of search time before rain and snow drove me off the hunt site. I was certain that the ring was not in the portion of the yard they swore it in.

Upon my second trip to their house I went over the area that I had previously searched with two other detectors and no ring. I then expanded my search area and started running another search pattern. After another three hours of searching I ended up finding the ring several feet away from the expected location.

“Liv” was so excited and happy that she began to tear up when she got her hands on her ring again. It did need a good cleaning by a jeweler, but that is what happens when a ring is left to the elements for several months.

Ring recovered on December 4, 2010.

Liv and her ring

Livs ring

Tungsten Carbide ring found in Denver lake

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

While placing anchors for an inflatable float platform in a private lake in northern Denver Erin lost his Tungsten Carbide wedding ring. He had repositioned the float and anchors a couple of times before finalizing its location.  He had made a few attempts to recover his ring by using a snorkel mask and free-diving the site.  Three weeks later Erin had heard of my attempts to find one of his neighbors ring and contacted me.

The search area wasn’t too large but due to the fact that the lake was a former sand and gravel pit the depth of the water varied from only about 3 feet deep to chin deep. With one of my underwater detectors in hand I began my grid search of the area. Not knowing how a Tungsten Carbide ring would read on my machine I needed to pull up all metal targets. After retrieving several nails, pieces of can and other miscellaneous debris and placing this debris in my trash pouch, Erin’s ring came up in my scoop. Once again the proper equipment, in this case an underwater metal detector and a proper scoop, along with the knowledge and experience in using this equipment saved the day.

Ring recovered: July 8, 2010

Erin with the search site in the background

Wedding band found in grass parking strip – Denver, Colorado

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Adam lost his white gold wedding band one night while walking to a friends house after a night of festivities at one of the local “watering holes”. Due to the amount of libations consumed the true path to the residence was not know for sure. Best guesses as to locations of stopping points to try to rid himself of severe hiccups seemed to be the likely spots of the rings disappearance. The search area could have been several blocks worth of grass strips within the public right of way. But with the information that I had in hand I began my search in what seemed to me the most likely of all the spots. I started my search in a grass strip that Adam had searched on his hands and knees for several hours. Within 10 mintues of search time the ring had reappeard under my search coil. I called Adam who was doing a visual search in one of the alleyways near by. He was a very happy man to get his ring back.

Ring recover June 29, 2010.

Wedding ring found in ditch – Aurora, Colorado

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)

Recently I was contacted by Melissa. One night while in a heated debate with her husband her wedding ring found its way out of the car window. After a few hours cooler heads prevailed and the search for Melissa’s ring was on. They searched the site, which was marked by a field driveway, several times without luck.

I made arrangements to meet the couple and discussed what had occurred the night of the loss. After a quick re-enactment of the events that lead to the rings loss,  in which a « test ring » was thrown from the vehicle, my search began. Because of quality equipment, which includes a good set of headphones, I was only slightly hindered by the noise of the traffic on the road just feet away. However, with the Air National Guard taking off in their fighter jets just a short distance away and hitting their after-burners while directly overhead, I decided to take a short break. After about an hour of searching the ring was recovered not more than 6 paces from the location where our “test ring” had landed.

 Ring recovered: June 4, 2010