Lost gold chain and cross in Lake Howell, Winter Springs, Florida….Found and Returned!
I received a call from Mr. Robin inquiring information about « Underwater Metal Detecting ». You see, he runs a unique day camp for kids during the summer months and has a number of young adults that help work with the little ones doing all sorts of outdoor activities. In January of 2018, one of the young adult men, named Frankie, was on the dock, horsing around with some of his friends, when he decided to dive into the chilly water. And yes, the lakes are fairly cold during the winter months here in Central Florida, at least to us thin blooded Floridians! Well, Frankie dove in a couple of times and after his 3rd dive, as he was coming up the ladder he noticed his gold chain and cross were not around his neck! This chain and cross was a gift from his grandmother and he just had to find it and get it back around his neck. He and the others dove numerous times hoping to find it, but each time they came up with only weeds and clam shells. Later on they even had someone with scuba gear try and locate it but soon they realized they needed someone with a metal detector. Thankfully I was able to get my scuba certification and I agreed to try and find Frankie’s lost chain and cross.
I arrived at the camp Saturday morning with all my gear and was shown just where the target area was. It was only a 15X20 square foot area but the challenge was the lack of visibility in the murky water. Once you dig a target the whole bottom gets all stirred up and from then on you go by feel. I was able to hold the shaft of my Tesoro Tiger Shark metal detector in my left hand and go over a small area and then with my right hand I would use my Garrett AT Pro pointer, (the Garrett Carrot) to check out each signal. It was a really slow and difficult process and to add to it all I could not go in a straight line and would invariably angle off to one side or another. I did find numerous targets, like a brass whistle, a bunch of pop cans, a few coins, some screw tops and an assortment of nails, screws and other junk. About 35 minutes into my dive I felt the chain under my coil and as I pulled it from the sand and weeds, I realized there was no cross on the chain, so I continued to search. Three targets later up came Frankie’s cross. I said a short prayer and thanked God for helping me find this sentimental treasure and headed to the surface! It is hard to express in words how it feels when one is reunited with something so precious and valuable! Lost something valuable? Call, text or e-mail me ASAP!
Mike McInroe—thankful to be a member of TRFers
Mark and his dear wife were in the middle of packing up their belongings for the big move and he could not stop thinking about the special gold ring he lost in the yard over 20 years ago. This unique ring was a gift to Mark from his late father, who hand crafted the ring from gold he collected as a dental technician. One day while washing his hands off in the yard he realized his ring must have fallen into the thick grass. Mark desperately looked around the spigot and along the short path he had taken from the garage, but could not find his lost gold ring. Years passed and Mark sort of gave up hope of ever getting his ring back and then the day came for him to sell his house and move to another location. As the moving day got closer, Mark toyed with the thought of renting a metal detector to look for his ring and that led him to one of my stories on theringfinders.com web site. Mark was intrigued with all the success stories and decided to give me a call. We made arrangements for Friday and I showed up ready for the challenge. Mark showed me the small area where he thought the ring was lost and I fired up my Garrett ATMax, set it to ZERO mode, ground balanced and put on just a little iron discrimination. (Mark was not real sure of the gold content of the ring and I did not want to miss being able to detect it.) I looked around the water spigot and gradually made my way out into the super thick St. Augustine grass! I dug a couple of pennies down four inches or so and 10 minutes into my search I got a solid signal that showed « 50 » on the display. Mark had watched me carefully dig the pennies with my 10 inch pointed screw driver and on this target he was ready with his shovel, assuring me he could pop out a nice big plug in no time. What could I say, it was his lawn! As I laid the big plug on it’s side I poked my trusty Garrett pro pointer into the dirt and it sounded off a good 8 inches down in the hole. And as I brushed the dirt from the target, a glint of gold showed itself and low and behold there was Mark’s long lost ring!! You talk about one happy camper! He gave me a big hug and then ran into the house to show his wife the ring and then he ran to the neighbors house to show them. What a thrill it was to dig up Mark’s ring and to see the sheer joy and happiness on his face. Maybe you have lost a ring and want me to try and find it for you! I would be honored to help! Call ASAP!
Jennifer was enjoying a cool afternoon walk along her favorite grassy back road and thinking about how loose her engagement ring felt on her finger. As she walked along she was thinking, I wonder if my ring would come off if I shook my hand a bit and sure enough, the motion was enough to send her ring off into the thick grass! Shocked at what just happened, she immediately stopped and tried searching through the grass, desperate to recovery her now, lost ring! After searching for several hours she realized she needed to at least mark the spot and by using her foot she scuffed a bare spot on the grassy road and then went to her truck to find something to better mark the area. All she could find was a machete and some red surveyors tape, so she returned to the mark and stuck the machete into the ground along side of the road directly across from the bare spot. She then called her fiancee and together they talked about renting or buying a cheap metal detector. Later they went on Google and typed in « Metal Detection Professionals » and up came theringfinders.com. Jennifer gave me a call and we met later on that afternoon and drove out to the unique machete marker along side of the road. I set out four flags and began my grid search and did not walk more than 5 steps before I got a really nice signal on my Whites DFX metal detector. Because the grass was so thick I decided to use my Garrett Pro Pointer and there was Jennifer’s lost engagement ring! I motioned for Jennifer to come pick up what I had located and you talk about one happy young lady! Here’s what Jennifer wrote two days later. « While out walking,my favorite ring fell off my finger and even though I knew the location where it fell off, I was unable to find the ring after several hours of looking through the tall grass. I contacted Mike after finding his information on the internet and he responded as soon as he was able. Mike asked a few questions, set up a boundary and started looking. And within minutes of him arriving at the site, my ring was found!! I am so grateful to Mike for his help and my fiancee and I would like to give him a big thanks! Again thanks so much! »
Mrs. Connie called me Friday afternoon from St. Augustine with a very special request. Apparently on Wednesday Mrs. Connie had walked down their driveway to check the mail box and as she was walking back to the house she spotted some weeds and palm debris in one of her flower beds. She carefully set her mail and glasses on the edge of the concrete and proceeded to pull the weeds and pick up the debris. Then she said she walked over to the fence and with her left hand she threw the sticks and weeds. And as she swung her arm in a side ways motion, she felt her rings come off of her finger. (Usually when ever Mrs. Connie would do any type of yard work she would leave her rings inside the house but not this time!) Mr. Bill, Mrs. Connie’s husband, had this ring made special for their wedding and the rather large diamond was from his late mother’s wedding ring, so you can imagine the pain they felt in not being able to find the lost rings!
Shaunan called me on Friday and asked if I could possibly help her find a very special lost ring. She explained that Saturday night she was playing with her dog in the back yard and when she came back into the house, her ring was not on her finger. She said she was almost 100 percent positive that is where her ring came off. The lost ring was a gift from her parents when she started college and that was over 4 years ago!
James called me on Thursday and wanted to know how theringfinders services worked and asked if I could help him. He told me that while mowing his yard and doing some trimming he lost his wedding ring and having only been married for 5 months, he said it was not a good time for losing his ring! I explained briefly how I operate and that I would be more than happy to help him find his lost ring. So I arrived at James’s house around 4pm and was met by Tamra and Chloe. Tamra proceeded to show me the back yard and the chain link fence where James had pulled some weeds and later trimmed some small banana trees. It took an hour and a half to find James’s ring and it was not where I thought it would be! There it was in the middle of the yard hiding in the thick grass and no where near the fence or the banana trees! Later that evening James wrote: « Hey Mike, I just wanted to express to you my gratitude and thankfulness for finding my lost wedding ring! My wife and I so much appreciate what you have done for us and want to say a heart felt thank you, thank you!!
February 12th, 2018 Kyle wrote, « This is less of a review and more of a testimony. After an evening with my wife and some friends on the beach, tossing the football around, I realized after we had left that my wedding ring was no longer on my finger. To say panic set in, would be an understatement as this was the ring my wife and I had picked out together just over a year ago and she had put it on my finger at our wedding shortly after. After searching as thoroughly as possible, all hope was lost. How could I replace something that was irreplaceable? Turns out I wouldn’t have to! Thanks to some quick searching online by my wife, we found Mike’s information and I quickly contacted him. You would have thought his services would cost more than the ring I lost by the amount of detailed questions he asked, trying his best to narrow down the most likely location of my ring. After a few emails back and forth late in the evening, Mike put my mind at ease and said he was on the job. I thought, surely this was a lost cause, a ring lost on the beach….good luck with that! But Mike didn’t need luck, he’s a skilled veteran and within an hour of setting foot on the beach, he recovered my lost ring and saved my wife and I both heartache and money. There is no way I can thank him enough for his services. He’s living proof that miracles happen and sometimes you have to lose something to find them. As I told him before I left, I’d hoped I’d never need his services again, but you can bet that if the occasion ever arises, I’ll be calling Mike, The Lord of the Rings, to bring my precious back home to me! »
Jan. 1st, I received this comment on one of my ring search stories. Rich wrote, « I believe I lost my ring on the beach approximately 50 yards to the right–facing the ocean–from the end of the Oceanview parking lot wooden walkway. It may have slid off my finger when I shook out my wife’s towel. It is a simple gold Florentine wedding band with « Marla love Oli 1974″ engraved on the inside. By some stroke of luck if anyone finds it, please notify me. Thanks, Rich » So I sent Rich an e-mail and asked him my usual questions, like: « What day and what time of the day were you on the beach and shook out your towel? » And « When can you meet me and show me the exact place where you were on the beach? » And, « And it sounds like you are not exactly sure that you lost it on the beach! » Rich’s response was « I am sorry, but I forgot to mention that I am in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and was vacationing in Florida when I lost my ring. »
Rich was thrilled to hear that I found his ring and I was able to mail it to him the next week. All told, I searched 5 and a half hours and dug 185 targets, while looking for Rich’s ring. And it was so worth it!! Lost your ring? Call ASAP!
As Nick stood at the end of the dock looking out over the water, he realized he was getting rather warm. So he decided to take off his sweatshirt and as he pulled it over his head he felt his gold ring slip off of his finger and watched as it dropped into the water. This was a very special ring, given to him by his grandfather and he immediately felt his heart sink! What was he to do? How could he retrieve his special ring?
Danielle called me on a cold, wet Saturday morning in November, desperate for help. Apparently her sister’s fiance, Levi, had bought a beautiful engagement ring and wanted to do a practice run on the « Big Proposal » and somehow lost the ring. She explained that Levi had decided to go to Lake Eustis, with his older brother, and find the perfect spot to practice his proposal. Levi was standing along side of the rail and as he opened the ring box, to his horror, the ring popped out of the box, hit the concrete and dropped into the water below! He was stunned! His precious gift, the white gold ring with the .8 carat diamond was gone! He could not believe what just happened. He called his dear future sister in law, Danielle, and explained his dilemma. She immediately looked on line for someone to help and typed in « Lake Salvage » and nothing came up. Next she thought of « Ring Finder » and bingo, up came one of the ring finders stories. 
