Lost wedding ring, St. Augustine, Florida….Found and Returned!

Rob gave me a call and asked if there was any way I could help him find his lost wedding ring. Apparently while herding some horses on a small ranch where he and his wife live and work, his ring slipped off of his finger and landed into the soft sandy Florida dirt. He was amazed at how fast it disappeared and even knowing about where it landed, his efforts to find his ring in the sandy soil were futile.
About a week later, while searching the internet, Rob found one of my search and recovery stories on theringfinders.com web site. And that’s when he discovered that there is an amazing service of metal detectorists who help people find their lost rings.
As Rob explained what happened the day he lost his ring, I felt quite confident that his lost ring could be found. And this was great news to Rob! Especially as he had only been wearing it for two months.
Two hours later I arrived at the small horse ranch and met Rob. As I gathered my gear and followed Rob down a narrow sandy trail- I could not help but notice how peaceful and quiet a place this was. The smell of fresh straw and the unmistakable odor of horses gave me a calm feeling of being way out in the country. As we got closer to the gate, Rob showed me exactly what he did the day he lost his ring. The area was no more than 15 feet square and would not take long to search. And sure enough I walked no more than 5 feet when I got my first signal. It came in around 16 on my Whites DFX metal detector and I was almost certain it was Rob’s lost ring. And as I kicked back the sand, there was Rob’s ring. So glad to be able to help you Rob and it was a pleasure finding your ring!
Lost something special? Call or e-mail me ASAP!
Mike McInroe, proud member of theringfinders.com

Brandon was enjoying a beautiful day at NSB with his family and as he thought about going out into the water he wondered where he could put his wallet for safe keeping. Not wanting to leave it somewhere exposed, he decided to bury it in the sand under the corner of his towel. And as the afternoon wore on Brandon sort of forgot about his wallet and picked up his towel a couple of times to dry off. It wasn’t until later that he remembered his wallet.
Last Friday I received an e-mail from Iain asking if I could help him look for his lost ring. Apparently Iain was playing goalie for his young son who was kicking his soccer ball in an area with very soft sand that the Disney Caribbean Resort provides near all of their pool locations. Iain found himself diving to the left and to the right, blocking the ball with his hands. And having put on sun screen beforehand, added to the soft sand and sweat…well, that usually adds up to « Lost Ring! »
The other day my good friend Chris texted me about a lost ring in a small lake in the Heathrow area. In casual conversation a neighbor mentioned to Chris that she had lost her precious silver ring while feeding bread to the fish. It happened just after Christmas and Tina could not get her mind off of loosing the very ring her brother had given her just a few years ago. After hearing her story Chris told her « I know just the guy to help you get your ring back! » So the following day—Valentines Day–I made arrangements to meet Tina and have her show me where she lost her ring. The original information I received was that the ring was lost only a few days ago so when I arrived and got set up–I concentrated my search efforts in the water from the shore out to about three feet deep. After a thorough search in the water and coming up empty handed I called Tina to come out and explain to me again what all happened the day she lost her ring. Come to find out she actually lost it a few days after Christmas, so that turned out to be 6 weeks ago and we have had very little rain and the water level had dropped a good two feet or so since then. I realized just where she would have been standing and the drop zone area would be up the bank further. And sure enough after a few sweeps of my coil over the dry ground–there was Tina’s lost ring just under a thin layer of dirt and mud! Tina could not believe I had found her lost ring and was thrilled to get it back on her finger!
Amy was visiting the grave site where her precious little one–Jean Francis Butterfly Butler– was laid to rest. It was a rather warm January day and the rings on Amy’s ring finger were feeling tight so she removed them and slid them into her pocket-along with the keys to her van. It was a quiet and peaceful time, sitting there by her little one’s grave site, as Amy reflected on the many things she had to be thankful for. Soon it was time to pick up her 7 year old daughter from school, so she folded up her lawn chair and headed to the van, pulling out the keys from her pocket as made her way across the short grassy area. As she slid into the drivers seat she remembered her rings and reached into her pocket and discovered–NO RINGS! Frantically she retraced her steps to where she was sitting and after a thorough search she was able to find her wedding band, but no diamond engagement ring. She walked back and for over the small area–but could not find her precious ring.
Can you imagine it’s your wedding day and everything is ready?! The chairs are all set up, the guests have arrived and the ceremony begins. It’s the perfect day to be outdoors, in the gazebo, on the lake. And partway through the ceremony the bride’s sister-in-law is holding the rings in a small box and just to make sure they are ready, she opens the box and somehow the brides ring drops to the deck and bounces off into the 9 foot deep water! Stunned and in shock, she cannot believe what just happened. After the ceremony the sister-in-law actually jumped into the cold water hoping to be able to retrieve the ring, but with all the weeds and soft muddy bottom, plus being 9 feet deep—it was hopeless!
David was playing a lively game of « keep away » on his driveway with his two children and never even realized his wedding ring had come off! During the action of throwing the ball and jumping around, his gold wedding ring came off of his finger and landed on the concrete. At that exact instant his son, Jonathan, actually inadvertently kicked it and what they heard was the « clink » of his ring hitting the driveway and then the clink, clink as it bounced off into the grass. No one realized what it actually was–thinking maybe Jonathan had kicked a nail or screw or some other metal object. They finished up their game and went inside for the evening.
Jason called Thursday morning to see if I could help him find his wife’s lost engagement ring in some bushes at their apartment complex in Orlando! I asked a few pertinent questions to help determine where the rings might be hiding and if there was a good chance they could be found. Jason briefly explained what happened and mentioned that Amber, his wife, had actually lost both her wedding and engagement rings. And after a frantic search they were able to find the wedding ring but not the lost engagement ring! He went on to say that they contemplated renting a metal detector but then found theringfinders.com web site and decided to give me a call.
Bill was taking his little nephew for a ride on a small four wheeler and as he stood up to get off he noticed his heavy gold chain was unlatched and his special « Road Runner » pendant was gone. This pendant was given to him by his late father 30 some years ago as a very special gift. Bill immediately started looking for it and spent hours searching thru the long grass and sandy areas where they had unloaded and ridden the four wheeler. A few days later they used a metal detector and tried and still were not able to find Bill’s lost pendant.
Last November 3rd I wrote a short story about Shawn loosing a ring at New Smyrna Beach and how I was able to find it for him. Come to find out that his good friend Zack, lost his wedding ring that very same day, at the very same beach! Shawn, Zack and another close friend had taken a day off to relax and as they finished their lunch at the Breakers Restaurant they decided to throw the football around in the shallow part of the surf. (Does this story sound familiar?) The third friend decided to remove his wedding ring and leave it in the car, despite the lighthearted objections of Shawn and Zack. And guess who ends up loosing their rings?