Paul Humphreys, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 4 of 12

Here in Southeastern Wisconsin USA, June 14th was the hottest day up to that point in 2022. The outside temperature gauge in my VW Tiguan showed 95-degrees Fahrenheit. That’s 35.5 degrees Celsius for the benefit of my family members and friends in Canada and Australia. Either way, it was a warm day for Wisconsin. And a good reason to be cooling off at the lake.

Franklin, Wisconsin resident, Niko Savic was doing just that with friends and their boats on a sandbar close to the shore of Browns Lake, near the picturesque town of Burlington. While standing in waist-deep water, a toss of a football was all it took to catapult his Tungsten Carbide wedding ring off his hand into the water’s murky depths. Friends quickly joined in the search using goggles and snorkeling gear but it was as though the Lake had swallowed Niko’s ring whole, never again to see the light of day.

The next morning, a kind and considerate lakefront property owner gave Niko permission to access the area from her home. Niko spent several hours searching carefully, but the ring was nowhere to be seen. That’s when his wife sent him a link to The Ring Finders Directory of metal detecting specialists and my contact information. He texted me and soon we were speaking on the phone and arranged to meet on location that same evening, unless the threat of a pending thunder storm would put the search at risk.

As it turned out, the weather cooperated and we arrived to clear skies. The usual boaters and lake lovers were gathering in the same location where Niko had been the night before. They were understanding of our mission and cooperated beautifully by giving us the space we needed to conduct the search. Indeed, they became our cheerleaders!

Typical of Wisconsin vacation lakes, the bottom was a minefield of metallic targets of every description. I ignored most of the signals, listening intently for the unique sound of tungsten carbide, a high-pitched but solid tone attuned to my ears over 40-plus years of underwater detecting. About 40 minutes into the search, I heard it. And Niko’s ring appeared shortly in my scoop!

Making my way towards Niko, he called out to me saying, “I think you are in the right area!” Little did he know I had his ring in my hand. I responded, “I think you are right, Niko. It is the right area!” Then I gave the ring to him.

That’s always the fun part. The jaw-dropping look of disbelief, the hugs, the high-fives, the raised beer cans and cheers and shouts of “congratulations” from the crowd that had gathered. It would all have made a heart-warming end to a televised docudrama. Wish you were there. But the smile on Niko’s face really tells the story!

My thanks goes to Niko’s wife who searched for and found me on the The Ring Finder’s Directory. And thanks to all the friends who moved their boats and gave us space in the water to search. And a special thanks to one very kind and considerate home owner who gave permission to access the area through her backyard. Success, sometimes, takes a team working together.

TESTIMONIAL: After searching for my ring for several hours the morning after losing it, I had little hope of finding it. After giving Paul a call, he assured me that it was possible. Paul took the job very seriously and met up with me that evening. Sitting down and talking to him afterwards assured me that not only was this service rewarding for him, but his life’s work is all about others. Amazing man, and amazing service! Niko Savic (Client)

The evening of June 9th found Damien Rushing reaching over the back of his boat as he neared shore on Eagle Lake, Wisconsin. As he did, the unthinkable happened! His 18k gold wedding ring slipped off his finger into the murky water. As his precious ring disappeared into the lake’s depths, it was like watching a slow-motion video with the sound turned off. Could it really be happening!

Despite Damien’s valiant attempts to retrieve his ring with the help of friends and strangers who came to his rescue, the ring seemed destined to remain forever hidden in the lake’s muddy crypt of secrets, never to see the light of day again.

Just after 5:00 a.m. the next morning, my phone let off a text-message alert. It was Damien. A long and sleepless night led to the discovery of my metal-detecting services @ The Ring Finders website directory. Could I help?

I rearranged my work schedule as a Hospice Chaplain and agreed to meet on location at Eagle Lake, a half-hour drive away. Damien was waiting for me @ 7:30 when I pulled into the parking lot close by the boat dock. The chilly morning, overcast sky, a light drizzle and the desperation on Damien’s face made our meeting a somber one at best.

I quickly donned my Minelab Excalibur underwater detector, gathered my extraction equipment and waded out into the area where Damien believed the ring had come off his hand. The lake bottom bore witness of years of human activity. Metallic signals, like a football stadium, competed for attention in my headphones. Additionally, a large retaining wall made of heavy iron was close by. Distinguishing a small gold-ring from amongst such a cacophony of sounds was challenging even with my 40-plus years of metal-detecting experience. Not to mention the deep mud.

Finally, after about an hour of eliminating targets in an especially “busy” patch of signals, Damien’s precious ring lay in my sieve, glistening once again in the light of day! And the smiles on both our faces tell the rest of the story!

TESTIMONIAL: Paul’s metal detecting skills and prompt attention are amazing. He took time out of his schedule to look for my lost ring on short notice. The area that the ring was lost was loaded with metal and underwater debris. The dark murky water reduced the visibility to only a few inches so I had little hope of seeing it they the water. I am forever grateful I found him on ring finders. Paul has a great personality, is passionate about his work, and has a very helping heart. Damien Rushing (Client)

On Thursday, May 26, 2022, thunder, lightning and torrents of rain joined forces to demand the attention of long-time Elm Grove, Wisconsin resident, Michael Kelnhofer.

As Michael looked out into the storm he suddenly remembered that one of the down spouts from his roof was plugged. Not wanting to risk a flooded basement, he sprang into action. Grabbing a ladder from the garage he raced outside and began removing wet leaves and debris from the rain gutter with his hand. He threw each handful out into the garden area behind his house. It was only after he retreated back inside that Michael realized his wedding ring was missing! But it wasn’t just any wedding ring. The ring belonged to his dear father who had passed away four years prior. It was a precious keepsake! Indeed, Michael’s mother had given it to him when he was married. Now it was gone!

Michael and his wife searched frantically. They tried using a metal detector but the ground only emitted confusing chirps and cackles. Michael even hired a company to check the underground drainage from the house to the road in case the ring had gone down the drain. All to no avail. That’s when I received a text message asking for help. But as it turned out, I was preparing to leave the country early the next morning and was unable to respond immediately as I normally would do. And so, I arranged to search for Michael’s ring upon my return.

On Saturday, June 4th, I met Michael at his residence. As with all searches, I take a forensic approach, asking lots of questions. He showed me where he obtained the ladder and the pathway he took and the general grass area where he had thrown the debris from the roof. I noted the presence of bushes and foliage in the vicinity, places a ring might have gotten hung up. It is a matter of systematically eliminating where the ring is not.

For those interested, on this search I used an XP Deus II detector and 9” Coil. I had pretty much searched the entire backyard area and was moving towards the side of his house when I encountered a signal consistent with a 14k ring. Parting the thick grass, I confirmed its presence!

I left the ring in its place and called Michael over. Giving him a hand-held probe (pin-pointer), the kind we use for isolating targets, I showed him how it responded to the wedding ring on my own hand. He was impressed. Then I directed him to use the probe and check the grass area around our feet. When the pin-pointer sounded off it didn’t take long for Michael to locate his precious keepsake. The smile on his face tells the rest of the story.

And it is those emotional moments that make ring finding so meaningful!

TESTIMONIAL: Paul, first I want to say thank you for finding my wedding ring. There aren’t many items I have of my father that means as much as his wedding ring. Thank you for taking the time to search my yard and most importantly being so passionate about finding my ring. Thanks again Michael

When Waukesha, Wisconsin resident John Harstine realized his wedding ring was missing late in the evening of March 7th, his mind went into overdrive retracing his movements that day. Where had it gone?

An electrician by trade, he called the client where he had been working but there was no sign of the ring in that vicinity. John checked his work van with the same result—no ring. He recalled that his wedding ring was fitting loosely. He had planned to get it resized. Now it was missing and he fought the feeling of regret deep down in his heart.

John’s wife happened to see my car the next day in Oconomowoc, about 20 minutes away. She noticed the signage in my window, “Lost Ring? Call Paul!” My accompanying phone number and QR code prompted her to take a picture of the car. The chance encounter with my vehicle turned out to be providential. John called me the next day and we reviewed his timeline of activities.

The evening of the loss, John recalled throwing some hay bales down for the horses he was feeding. As he described the situation, it seemed highly probably that his wedding ring may have flown off his hand with the hay. Did one of the horses swallow the ring? The thought was not comforting.

We arranged to meet on location at the farm the following evening. On arrival, John showed me the stalls, the hay in storage and how he had pulled the bales down and thrown the hay into feed nets for the horses. We also went outside to the corral and met Abe and Saul who were happy for the company and attention. But when I saw the size of their pasture, images of an extended night of searching flashed in my mind. The search was definitely a long shot. The possibilities, almost endless!

To begin, I chose an XP Deus detector with a small High Frequency coil, one that responds well to gold rings. It would ferret out the smallest signals in the confines of the horse stalls. But there was a heavy presence of metal inside the building requiring careful analysis and adjustments. It would be a matter of elimination, of systematically ruling out where the ring was not located.

As it turned out, I didn’t experience a long, cold night of searching through horse manure in a vast pasture. John’s ring appeared right where he threw the hay bales two nights before!

John’s smile tells the rest of the story! But you know, I can’t help but wonder. Was it really just by chance that I was in Oconomowoc that day?

It happened on Saturday, January 22nd in Menomonee Falls, WI.

Resident, Michael Zeddies realized his gold wedding band was missing from his hand! Michael and his wife, Roxanna, searched frantically throughout their apartment without success. The following Friday, I received a text message from Roxanna asking if I might be able to help and so we arranged a telephone interview that afternoon to explore the circumstances surrounding the loss.

It is always my goal to help people find their own rings if possible and so after establishing a forensic timeline of events I provided Roxanna a list of places they could look. The list included clothing, shoes, boots, pockets, closets, bed, couch, recliner, kitchen drain, heat vents, washer, dryer, drawers, clothes hamper and car. Situations also have to be considered such as outsiders (contractors) in their home, children, pets (large dogs swallow rings). Had they vacuumed or thrown out any garbage? Had they gone anywhere? Did they drive, walk, run? If so, where had they gone and what did they do? What was the fit of the ring; was it loose? What were Michael’s habits; did he remove the ring often and if so, where did he place it? Such is the line of forensic-type questions that often help guide individuals in their search process. But there is still a limit to how much one can do without the assistance of an experienced metal-detecting specialist.

In the course of our interview, Roxanna briefly mentioned how Michael had cleaned the snow off the car in the public parking lot behind their home. I made a mental note about this because freezing temperatures, cold hands and the act of scraping ice and snow from a vehicle can present a lethal combination of circumstances, a perfect storm that has resulted in people losing rings without realizing it at the time.

Despite the couple’s best search efforts, Michael’s ring evaded discovery. I reached back a few days later and offered to search the parking lot area where Michael had cleared the snow from his car. It was a long shot because the couple’s activities had included a trip to visit friends on the Saturday. They had also stopped to buy gas. The ring could be anywhere. But the parking lot stood out in my mind as a place that needed to be ruled out.

We arranged to meet on location at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 1st. eleven days after Michael’s ring had gone missing. He showed me the approximate location where he was parked. The pavement was clear of snow except for a small ridge in front of the car where a plow had pushed it. If the ring had fallen onto the pavement, it would have been visible and anyone could have picked it up. The thought was disheartening.

I set about detecting and immediately picked up the steel reinforcing in the driveway and parking barriers. Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) was also present from buried electrical cables in the area. After making adjustments to my XP Deus detector, I concentrated on the non-ferrous signals and quickly found a couple pennies. I even gave one to Michael to keep as a souvenir. Some 20 minutes later, a mixed signal caught my attention. After moving the snow, there lay Michael’s wedding ring where it had fallen on January 22nd.

Thank you, Michael and Roxanna, for the privilege of searching for and ultimately finding your wedding ring! I’m so happy for you both! And thank you too for your kind reward.

Winter-driving conditions here in Wisconsin, USA can be challenging at times. Lake Mills, resident, Nick Nienas experienced this first hand around mid-day on January 28 when he attempted to navigate a snow-covered driveway entrance. As it turned out, the road was not where he thought it was and the front wheels of his car sank into the crusty snow leaving Nick’s vehicle high and dry in the ditch. Despite his best efforts to dig his car out, it was the kindness of a passerby that finally got him back on the road. However, in the process of excavating through the snow, Nick felt his one-month old, 10K gold wedding ring fly off his hand!

« Four out of ten married men in America will lose their wedding bands, » says Chris Turner, CEO of The Ring Finders, citing a survey done years ago by RingSafe.com, which sells a ring accessory. « That’s just the men — not including women. So, the number of rings being lost is unbelievable. »

Nick was only married four weeks! Now he was a statistic. He couldn’t believe his precious love token was gone! It had seemingly vanished into the whiteness.

Once his car was safely back on the road, Nick went back and combed frantically through the snow with his hands. The ring was nowhere to be found. He even made a trip to a local hardware store and purchased a metal detector. But the detector proved futile when it kept sounding off erratically. After a long, cold and disheartening afternoon Nick was at his wits end. Then he discovered The Ring Finders directory of metal detecting specialists and telephoned me about 7:30 pm. I could hear the desperation in Nick’s voice.

Immediately, I drove the half hour to Lake Mills and met Nick at a local service station. Following him out into the countryside we arrived at the location and surveyed the ditch. It looked like a war zone with its craters and evidence of digging. It was also cold, 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12 Celsius) and a very dark night.

When I turned my equipment on, buried electrical cables instantly made their presence known in the form of what detectorists refer to as EI (electromagnetic interference). Little wonder Nick’s detector was futile in such a challenging situation. From experience I was able to make appropriate adjustments using my XP Deus high-frequency equipment. The search didn’t take long, only 10 minutes at the most. The clear, unmistakable tone of 10K Gold invited investigation into the now hardened, crusty snow. A detecting probe helped pinpoint the exact hiding place of Nick’s ring. The warmth of the ring had caused it to melt down some 8” into the snowbank where it landed. And it was still pristine, with hardly a scratch.

So glad to have found your ring, Nick! May its story and your marriage continue for many, many blessed years to come. While you are now a 4 out of 10 statistic you can be comforted in knowing you are also included in the approximate 80% of clients I’ve successfully helped to recover their lost rings!

Franklin, Wisconsin resident, Dallas Schurg, was clearing trees and brush along his backyard fence line when he suddenly realized his wedding ring was missing. He had clipped the ring to a carabiner on his belt loop for safety while cutting and moving the brush. He had heard horror stories of rings catching and causing serious injury. And so, he was being cautious.

But his efforts to stay safe himself somehow failed to keep his ring safe. Now it was missing, presumably lost amongst the huge pile of brush alongside his fence line. Or was it lost in the house somewhere? Dallas wasn’t entirely sure.

I received a text message from Dallas explaining his situation saying, “I have a very good idea of where it ‘should’ be as a starting point.” The “should” be, left room for the unknown. This is typical of many ring searches. But one has to start somewhere and after speaking with Dallas, I felt his presumption was a reasonable one.

Arriving on location, Dallas led me to the back of his house where a huge pile of brush bore testimony to his long hours spent cutting and dragging the baseball-bat-sized diameter trees away from his property line. We agreed to search the areas around the piles of brush and eliminate those locations first of all. If the ring was underneath the brush, it would have to wait until Spring.

The fence line bore evidence of decades of discarded metallic debris. Old gardening and farming implements, cans, bottles, wire, foil and nails seemed to join forces to hide Dallas’s ring. Such large targets can mask the presence of smaller non-ferrous targets. But 20 minutes into the search, the lost ring appeared beneath a clump of leaves and sawdust! It was pressed deeply into the mud, barely visible.

Dallas shared how he and wife had been praying about the ring, asking God for wisdom and for grace to accept the outcome. I too am a man of faith. I work as a Hospice Chaplain, journeying with people at end of life. I love God, the Creator-Owner of the universe, the One who sent His son to die in our place. I don’t pretend to understand just how God works behind the scenes in life but I truly believe He cares about the things we care about and He delights in answering prayers. He is keenly interested, even in a lost ring!

Thanks, Dallas, for the opportunity to search for and find your wedding ring. Your smile, and that of your wife, speak volumes. Praise God!

March 20, 2021 was destined to be a fun-filled day for Brenda Teela and Jim Nachreiner at the popular Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures near Lake Geneva, WI. Ziplining was a new experience for Brenda, one she will never forget. The sheer thrill of riding the tree tops was unlike anything she had experienced. But the day took a sudden and heart-wrenching turn when her highly-sentimental bracelet vanished from her wrist. The silver bracelet was a Christmas gift from Jim.

Fast forward 8 months.

I received a phone call from Brenda asking if I might help find her cherished keepsake. Initially, the prospects of trying to locate such a small target in 100-acres of Wisconsin woodlands was daunting—a long shot. But after cross-examining Brenda’s account of her activities in a forensic manner, it was Brenda’s own careful analysis and detective work that made the search a viable one, even after all those months. A photo clearly showed the bracelet on her wrist at one of the zipline staging points. Then another, taken a short while later, revealed it missing. The bracelet had to have been lost somewhere in between. This photo evidence gave a reasonable glimmer of hope.

We arranged to meet on location November 21, a gorgeous fall-day. Stephanie and Dana, the managers working at Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures, together with their helpful staff, were most cooperative. Their kindness spoke highly of the company’s care for its clients.

We began probing the forest floor near one of the staging points. Jim worked ahead of me, carefully moving fallen branches. The remains of several sunglasses, camera lens caps, a company camera, some small change and other metallic debris quickly filled my pouch, evidence of zipliner traffic over many years. A couple hours into the search found us beneath a long swinging bridge, one of the amazing features of the Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures property. It was there that a promising signal from my search coil invited investigation. It was Brenda’s bracelet! It lay in a clump where it had fallen from the bridge some 25’ above. A broken link bore evidence of what happened, answering so many questions in Brenda’s mind.

The smiles tell the rest of the story! It was a tearful and emotional reunion to say the least.

Thank you, Brenda & Jim, for the privilege of searching for and finding your precious bracelet.

And our heartfelt thanks to the wonderful people at Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures whose cooperation and kindness made it possible.

You can check them out at:

lakegenevaadventures.com.

A bitter cold wind ripped across the vacant lot beside the Oconomowoc, WI home of Timothy and Wendy Thorn. The drop in temperature was a jarring reminder that winter would soon be upon its residents. It was also the night before Halloween, October 30th. Family members gathered together for the weekend, including newly engaged Olivia Pszeniczny and her fiancé, Jordan White. Olivia proudly wore the token of her marriage commitment, a one-of-a-kind rose-gold ring with a sunburst of diamonds radiating from its center stone. She pinched the ring often and spun it around her finger as though doing so would magically speed up their wedding day.

It was late in the evening when they disbursed. Olivia and Jordon walked together with other family members towards their car in the darkness. As they cut across the empty lot, Olivia’s ring suddenly slipped off her finger in the cold, disappearing into the tall grass. Horrified, she immediately dropped to her knees and began feeling for the ring in the darkness. Others soon joined the search. Flashlights appeared. Finally, the cold and darkness militated against all their efforts and the decision was made to resume looking the next day.

Someone placed marker flags in the general area to serve as a guide. At one point, half a dozen people raked and fingered through the grass on their knees. But the precious ring eluded these efforts. A metal detector was even purchased. Surely this would be the tool that would bring Olivia’s ring back to the light of day! But hope turned to disappointment when the machine was overwhelmed by all the iron in the ground. The empty lot had previously served as a dumping ground for construction debris.

My phone rang early in the afternoon, Halloween night. Would I come and assist? I had family supper commitments but arranged to meet the Thorns on location early in the evening. When I arrived, Wendy met me and together we viewed the search area with all its marker flags. I listened carefully while she explained the chronology of events. Piles of raked grass bore testimony to many hours spent scouring the ground. The team had sure worked hard. They were also extremely thorough.

This thoroughness prompted me to search outside the marked area even though the narrative seemed to indicate Olivia was within the flagged boundary when the ring came off her hand.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon. This, coupled with the wind, sent the temperatures plummeting. “I should have brought my gloves,” I thought to myself. But then I turned my full attention to the myriad of signals emitting from my XP Deus High-Frequency search coil. The ground was loaded with iron. This was concerning because iron can mask precious non-ferrous signals, the kind that gold produces. Concentrating on the numbers and depth readings, I abruptly encountered a signal that invited further investigation. The grass was quite long and even after brushing it backwards and forwards in different directions, I was not able to see anything resembling a ring. But when I rechecked my signals and pinpointed the exact location, the bottom of the ring suddenly appeared! Funny, the icy cold suddenly disappeared at the same time!

I took a photo of the spot before touching the ring, evidence of how well it was camouflaged in the grass. Then I went to Tim and Wendy’s home and knocked on their door under pretense of needing to ask more questions. When Jordan appeared, I presented the ring and said, “I’m thinking this is the ring you all have been looking for!” The heaviness that was so apparent in the eyes and voices of the family only a half hour before, lifted immediately! I received hugs, then more hugs.

Olivia soon arrived and I was the recipient of yet another giant hug amidst tears of joy and gratitude! And the smile on her face tells the rest of the story!

This family certainly did everything possible to find the ring. I was very impressed with their efforts, even down to buying a metal detector. In the end, it was a matter of experience and the benefit of a fresh pair of eyes on the situation that contributed to a successful recovery.

Thank you, Timothy, Wendy, Olivia and Jordan, for a most-memorable story. This is my 76th recovery since coming to Wisconsin. But it sets a record for the number of hugs I’ve received! May the story of Olivia’s ring continue for many, many happy years. And what a gorgeous ring it is!

Forty-four years ago, Waukesha, Wisconsin residents, Don and Lynne Holle built a house out in the country. At the time it was far from municipal water and sewer services. The solution was to install a traditional septic tank which has worked just fine. But now, all these years later, the tank needed servicing and the company would not come until the tank’s access hatch was unearthed. The problem was, neither Don or Lynn could recall exactly where the tank was located.

Don dug around in various places, hoping to land on the concrete surface, but to no avail. He recalled how the hatch lid bore a metal handle. Maybe he could locate the handle if he rented a metal detector. It was then he stumbled across the ring finder’s website and my blogsite. I received a phone call from Don with his unusual request. It was not so unusual really. After all, we are metal-detecting specialists. Whether the metal is ferrous (iron) or non-ferrous (precious metals such as gold, silver, etc.), my metal-detection equipment is suited for the job. Indeed, just the night before I had helped a man locate his iron survey markers for his property. And so, I agreed to meet Don at his home and try to find his long-lost septic tank.

Shoulder-high trees had begun to sprout in the area where the tank was located. This meant using a small coil, one that could be maneuvered around the new growth. The ground was full of ferrous targets, etc., wire and old rusty fencing nails. Eventually, I checked out a little indentation in the ground not far from the entrance lane and when I did, a significant ferrous signal showed on my controller screen and howled its presence in my headset. A little bit of digging soon revealed what Don was hoping to find, the metal handle on the lid of his long-lost septic tank!

No, it wasn’t a gold wedding ring. However, I must say, the smile on Don’s face matched many a smile from clients whose rings I’ve found! Mystery solved! And now the trusty old septic tank can be serviced for many more years to come.

If you need a metal detector and are considering renting a machine, try giving a member of the ring finders a call. He or she has the equipment and the experience to find what you are looking for. Let them put a smile on your face!