Larry Fluckiger, Author at The Ring Finders

Tiffany and Justin volunteer to help with their church youth activities every week. Recently, the whole group floated on inner tubes down the Provo River. When one of the tubes got hung up in the river, Tiffany jumped out of her tube to help out. Unfortunately, when our hands are in cold water, our fingers shrink, and the wedding ring that she had worn securely for over 20 years slipped off her finger and disappeared into the knee-deep river. Justin searched for three hours the next day, hoping to see the ring among the rocks on the river bottom, but he couldn’t find it. They found my blog posts online, contacted me, and we met the next morning at the river to search with my water metal detector. Because the water was so cold and fast, and because we weren’t exactly sure where the ring was lost, it took almost 2 1/2 hours to find it, but I did find it!

This recovery is my 40th. I’ve found and returned rings, cell phones, car keys, earrings, and other items. I’ve helped many people move from the sadness of loss to the happiness of finding their cherished or needed items. I’m happy I can help.

I was on a metal detecting trip at a popular resort at a natural lake in Idaho. Tourists come from all over to enjoy the spectacular views of the Saw Tooth Mountains, and to play in the lake. In water about four feet deep, I retrieved a ring. It turned out to be a high school class ring. With many of the rings I find, I have little chance of finding the owner, but class rings are different. This ring had the name of the high school, the year of graduation, and the last name of the owner. I called the high school and left my name and phone number with a counselor there. She contacted the student, and a few days later I got a call from Marianne! She gave me her address and I sent the ring. Now it’s back on her finger, where it belongs.

Maria was on vacation, hiking through the Narrows in Zion National Park. About knee deep in the cold Virgin River, her grandmother’s family heirloom wedding ring slipped off Maria’s finger and disappeared into the water. Maria, together with friends and strangers, searched for the ring, but couldn’t find it. After she returned home to Connecticut, she found me on TheRingFinders.com. While she contacted the National Park Service for permission for me to find her ring, I packed my metal detectors into a backpack. I left home before 3:00 am, drove 4 hours to Zion, and hiked for an hour through the Virgin river, through water that got as deep as my chest, so I had to hold my backpack over my head to keep it dry. Thanks to Maria’s detailed instructions, I found the location where the ring was lost. I selected the best metal detector for that terrain and started searching. It was literally about 30 seconds into the search when I got a beep, and there was her ring! They hadn’t found it earlier because it was nestled between two rocks, but rocks won’t hide gold from a metal detector. It took another one-hour to hike back through river, and another four hours to drive back home. I sent Maria a video of me sealing her precious ring into a box and attaching a UPS label. Her ring is now back on her finger.