John King, Author at The Ring Finders

Lost ring in Ligonier, PA… FOUND!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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In April 2024, Kaylynn reached out to me for help locating her husband Jake’s missing ring. He had been fishing in a stream and, upon catching a fish and attempting to take a picture, realized his ring was gone. Jake wasn’t sure where exactly he lost it, but he did recall falling into the deeper part of the creek.

When I first met Jake at the stream, the water was high and bitterly cold, making the search incredibly challenging. After two hours of searching in the freezing water with no success, I advised Jake to contact me once the water level dropped in the summer, promising to return for another attempt.

Fast forward to July 10th, and Kaylynn reached out again, reporting that the water was lower. She asked if I could come back to search for the ring. I told her that I would handle the search and notify her if I found it. This time, the conditions were much more favorable, with the water being lower and warmer.

I immediately headed to the deeper part of the creek and began searching. Within about ten minutes, my metal detector picked up a promising signal. I reached into the water and pulled out the ring! I quickly texted a picture of the ring to Kaylynn, who responded with an ecstatic « NO WAY! ».

She soon arrived at the creek with her children. Jake’s wife and daughter were overjoyed to have the ring back. His daughter even joked about throwing the ring back into the creek just to see her dad fall in again. Moments like these, helping kind people, make this hobby truly rewarding.

Another successful ring find, and another happy family!

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The Tale of a Lost Wedding Ring Found in Fishertown, PA

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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In the quiet town of Fishertown, Pennsylvania, a seemingly mundane backyard became the setting for a remarkable story of loss, perseverance, and discovery. It all started when Dennis, a local resident, reached out with a desperate plea for help: he had lost his cherished wedding ring amidst the tangled brush and babbling creek behind his home.

Dennis his wife and their sons had scoured the area tirelessly in search of the missing ring. Determined to leave no stone unturned, Dennis spared no expense, investing in tools like a weed whacker to clear away the dense vegetation and even a high-end metal detector to aid in the search. Despite their best efforts, the ring remained elusive, slipping through their fingers time and time again.

Frustrated and disheartened, Dennis contacted me to help him locate his ring.
Armed with my detector and usual determination, I ventured into Dennis’s backyard, ready to search for the ring that had eluded him for so long. After an hour of meticulous searching, a glimmer of hope emerged from the depths of the underbrush. There, nestled among the foliage in an area previously searched by Dennis, lay the elusive wedding ring, gleaming in the dappled sunlight.

At that moment, joy and relief washed over Dennis as he beheld his long-lost treasure, now miraculously returned to him. Grateful beyond words, Dennis expressed his heartfelt gratitude. The moment of discovery was nothing short of magical, filled with a sense of triumph and joy that words cannot adequately describe. As the saga of the lost wedding ring drew to a close, a newfound passion was ignited within Dennis. Inspired by his encounter with the world of metal detecting, he resolved to embrace it as a hobby, eager to explore new avenues of adventure and discovery.

And so, amidst the tranquil surroundings of Fishertown, PA, the tale of the lost wedding ring served as a reminder that sometimes, the greatest treasures can be found not in riches or material possessions, but in the bonds of friendship and the shared experiences that unite us all. And as long as lost rings are waiting to be reunited with their owners, I’ll be there, ready to embark on the next great adventure.

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Lost 14K White Gold Wedding Band… Found in Woodbury, PA!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Alex called me and said he lost his wedding ring in his yard and asked if I could come out to try to find it. He had been working outside with his parents and been taking his gloves off and putting them on again, and it wasn’t until he got inside his house that he noticed he didn’t have his ring on his finger. I thought to myself that since he knows he lost it in his yard it shouldn’t be too hard to find, however, when I arrived at his house, his yard was the size of a couple of football fields. Alex had a pretty good idea of where he was taking his gloves off and searched for a couple of days, even using one of the old metal detectors that someone in his family had. As with the old detectors, it was picking up everything making the search nearly impossible. When Julie and I got there I had my Minelab Equinox 800 and set the discrimination so I would only pick up metal on the surface. It took some time, but after grid searching for a little over an hour, I found the ring. Alex was such a delightful young man, even giving Julie and I some handwarmers for inside our gloves while we searched. It was a pleasure helping Alex and meeting his parents!

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Lost Ring in the Snow Near Somerset, PA… Found!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Kim’s daughter lost her engagement ring in the snow while playing with their dog. She wasn’t actually sure where she had lost it, but after searching all through the house and in the trash, they concluded that it must’ve come off her hand while throwing a snowball to their dog outside. I got a call from Kim, who said she saw my success stories of ring recoveries on the internet and asked if I would come search for the ring even though I was about two hours away. She shared with me that the year has been rough for the family and was devastated that something like this had happened so close to Christmas. As she fought back tears, I reassured her that I would come out to look and do my best to recover the lost ring.

 

Julie (my wonderful girlfriend and somewhat reluctant assistant) and I made the drive to Normalville, PA, near Somerset, two days before Christmas to search Kim’s yard for the ring. After about an hour of grid searching the yard twice, I wondered if maybe Kim’s daughter had lost it somewhere in the house after all. Julie, ever so patiently waiting in the cold, told me to take another look near the steps closer to the house. I turned up the sensitivity on the machine a bit and went over to a deeper pile of snow near the steps and lo and behold, I got a faint signal. I pulled the ring out of the snow and yelled, “Hey baby, thanks!” as I held the ring up for her to see. Julie says there are times I don’t listen to her, but I’m glad I did today! Another successful ring recovery!   

 

Please contact me so I can help you recover what you thought was lost forever and you, too, will be smiling again! It’s never too late to recover a ring. Whether you lost it five minutes ago or fifty years ago, I’ll do my best to find it! Take a look at my book of smiles and follow me on Instagram @MrKingDigsIt.

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Lost Wedding Ring in Clarion, PA… FOUND!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Another successful ring recovery for 2020! Jameson contacted me to find his lost wedding ring. He had finished a run at the Sandy Creek Trail in Van, Pa., and was cooling down when he noticed his ring was no longer on the lanyard he was wearing. He had a general idea of where it came off, but he and his wife had already searched for hours and couldn’t find it. I met Jameson’s wife, Kalen, at the trailhead on a wet and rainy morning to search for the ring with my Equinox 800. I grid-searched most of the parking lot, looked in a few mud puddles and alongside the trail, but it wasn’t until I went to the edge of the lot that I got a good signal and finally located his ring. I am so happy to have found Jameson’s ring for him! 

 

Please contact me so I can help you recover what you thought was lost forever and you, too, will be smiling like Jameson’s wife, Kalen! It’s never too late to recover a ring. Whether you lost it five minutes ago or fifty years ago, I’ll do my best to find it! Take a look at my book of smiles and follow me on Instagram @MrKingDigsIt.

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Lost Ring in New Castle, PA…Found!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Seth called me and told me that his wife, Keona, had lost the engagement ring from her wedding set while in their barn feeding their horses. He said he tried finding it with a metal detector, but hadn’t had any luck and wondered if I would take a look. They were two and a half hours away from us, but Julie and I like to travel and visit state parks, and they happened to live near one, so I said we would give it a try. When we got there, I was able to use Keona’s wedding band to dial in my Minelab to match the missing ring. I did a grid search of the barn floor and in about 15 minutes, I found the ring. Seth seemed both surprised and relieved and we talked about how the lower-end metal detectors he had borrowed to search for the ring aren’t able to single out specific signals, so it was nothing he was doing wrong. The floor of the barn is dirt and the detectors he borrowed were picking up all kinds of signals, but the Minelab was able to zero in on the ones that mattered. 

Keona was beyond happy to get her ring back! No matter how many times I see someone get emotional when we find their ring, it’s always a special moment to witness. Seth was great and gave us directions to the state park that would take us through the town of Volant, Pa., which had a pumpkin fest going on. I thought the ringfind went pretty fast, but Julie and I weren’t in the car even 10 minutes when I got a text from Seth that was a screenshot of a post Keona had shared on social media. It was by far one of the fastest and nicest unsolicited testimonials that I have ever received:

“Soooo over a week ago, I did a bad thing. The baby was sick so I went directly from work to the barn to let in and feed the horses so everything would be done and I could go home and just take care of my sick baby. Unfortunately, coming straight from work I didn’t switch out my diamonds for my plastic ring I usually wear when I’ll be doing yard/barn work. I lost almost 30lbs recently and the rings had been a bit loose but with the covid the jewelers had been closed. I left the barn and realized my engagement ring had fallen off somewhere. I looked at work and at home for over a week with multiple helpers and even two metal detectors. Unfortunately there’s metal everywhere in a barn and after a week of searching I felt it was gone forever. I did a Google search and found a professional ring finder in Altoona, Pa. We were outside of his service area, but called on a hope and a prayer. HE CAME OUT HERE and FOUND MY RING! If anyone makes the same mistake I did and needs a professional ring finder, I 100% recommend you call John King from Altoona, Pa. Seth thinks he should’ve bought a Harley instead because you can’t lose a Harley as easily. I will be headed to get my rings sized today, and until then a plastic band will do.”

I had Julie read the text to me as we drove and when she was done, I looked at her and said “That’s why we do it, baby. We made someone’s day.” Best of luck to Seth, Keona, and their family!

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Lost Ring in Johnstown PA… Found!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Bob called me and said his wife, Shelly, had lost some rings two months ago while kayaking in the Stoneycreek River in Johnstown. She lost her wedding rings and her rings from renewing their vows for a total of four rings. Julie and I met Bob and Shelly at the site and Shelly had a pretty good idea of where the rings had come off her finger. There are large concrete flood control channels built in the 1940’s on either side of the river, but thankfully there were a set of stairs pretty close to where we needed to get in the river. The water was about knee high and much lower than when they were kayaking so I thought it would be a pretty quick hunt. When Julie and I climbed down and turned on the machine, there were a few more signals than I had expected. I wonder if the reason for all the signals was because of the floods in the past? Johnstown has had a history of floods, including the worst flood of the 19th century in 1889, and other floods in 1936 and 1977. I pulled out a golf club, rusted shovel, various pull tabs, and unrecognizable bits of metal but no rings.

After three hours of searching and finding nothing, I got to thinking that if the river was higher and Shelly was close to the sloped concrete channel wall, the rings could have been carried down along the wall by the current a little farther than where they came off her fingers. Sure enough, I found three of the rings just past where we had been looking most of the day. When I looked at the top of the wall to Shelly and Bob who were watching us hunt, I could hear Shelly starting to cry at the news we found three of her rings. I knew then Julie and I weren’t leaving the river until I found the last ring but we needed to break for lunch. Upon returning, two more hours of searching and countless bits of metal in the gold range later, I found the last ring. Bob and Shelly are really nice people and I appreciate their patience (and Julie’s) on what was a very long, difficult hunt.

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Lost Ring in Huntingdon PA… Found!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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I got a call from Rick who said he lost a wedding band while Kayaking in the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. The ring was a family heirloom and was inscribed with the date of his grandmother’s wedding. Hunts like these are particularly motivating to me because of the sentimental value of the ring. Like Rick said, it’s not about the monetary value.  The real value is in the significance it has to his family and he would like to pass it down to his kids. The only problem was the size of the search area.

Rick didn’t know where the ring came off of his finger but he remembered three spots where his kayak got hung up on the rocks and he thought he might have lost it at one of those spots. He provided Julie and I with kayaks and the three of us loaded up gear and headed to the most likely spot where the current picked up a bit after dropping down a ledge. On the way there, I got to know Rick a bit and how he fished the river as a kid and takes his family there now. The river is a special place for him and I thought it would be a shame if his lost ring would tarnish that. When we got to the spot, we beached the kayaks and stumbled over the slippery rocks to the search area. After about 15 minutes of searching, I got a good signal and I went in with a snorkel and pinpointer and pulled out the ring. We were so excited and amazed to find the ring with such a large area to cover. Rick was such a nice guy and I was glad to be able to preserve the good memories the river holds for him.

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Lost Ring in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania… Found!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Kurt called me up and told me his fiance’ Angela lost her ring while playing Frisbee with their dog, Bear. The grassy area she lost it in was a somewhat challenging search area. Woods bordered one side of a rather narrow plateau walkway with a sloping hill and long grass to the other side. Since Kurt and Angela had searched most of the day before and even into the night with flashlights, my fear was the ring had flown off her finger and landed somewhere on either side of the path. Luckily after about 20 minutes of searching, I got a good signal and was able to spot her ring in the grass and return it to them.

I couldn’t have asked to meet nicer people today. Kurt is a very pleasant young man and his lovely fiance’ Angela came outside afterwards to express her gratitude to Julie and I for finding her ring. Even Bear was happy and jumping all over us although I guess that’s just what dogs do. He seemed excited though. In yet another realization of how strange things are now living in the COVID 19 social distancing era,  Angela said she was so relieved and wanted to give me a hug but said she’d respect the six feet rule. Even though I missed the handshakes and hugs that usually go along with a successful recovery, I’m happy to have helped out Kurt and Angela (and Bear) in their time of need and wish them luck and happiness.

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Lost Ring in Findley Lake NY…Found!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)
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I got a call from Rachael P. asking me if Findley Lake in New York was too far for me to drive to find her lost Ever Us ring. Rachel had been cleaning out a bird feeder on her dock and her ring flew off her finger into the lake. She said she had a good idea of where it landed and that the water was about five to six feet deep in that area of the lake. Looking at the map, I saw she was about a three and a half hour drive from me and as luck would have it, I happened to be going camping up north the night before which would cut off about an hour and a half of the drive. Always up for a challenge, I loaded up my Garrett AT Pro metal detector and recruited the help of my somewhat reluctant girlfriend Julie to assist me in the search.

To say « the sea was angry that day my friends » (George Costanza) is an understatement. The lake was crowded with people tubing, on jet skis, powerboats, and the occasional pontoon boat that would drive in close to see why some guy was standing in a lake with headphones on. I was in the water up to my neck and the waves made by each passing boat made the search incredibly difficult as I could barely touch the lake bottom. After about 45 minutes of searching and floating around like a fishing bobber, I got a really good signal that I did my best to keep my foot on and scooped up the gravel below. When I dumped the rocks out on the dock I heard Julie yell with excitement « You got it Baby! » and Rachael jumped up from a nearby bench to see. Sure enough, there in the pile of gravel was her Ever Us ring that she thought she had lost forever. My persistence had paid off and I was grateful to be able to help Rachael find her lost ring. Julie was grateful too, saying with a laugh « I’m glad you found the ring because I couldn’t imagine a three and a half hour car ride home if you hadn’t. » I agree! 

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