Rich Hageney, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 4 of 6

Gold and Diamond Wedding Band Lost in Snow, Found and Returned in Paoli, PA

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Vijay found me via The Ring Finders Directory. He texted me looking for help in locating his lost gold and diamond wedding band. We spoke on the phone and he told me he was on an early morning walk around his neighborhood in Paoli, PA admiring the snow that was really coming down hard. He went to take a picture with his phone and while reaching for the phone he felt his ring fall off his finger straight down into the 8 or more inches of snow at his feet. At the time he didn’t have gloves on so he went home to get gloves so he could dig around and find the ring but by the time he got back…uh oh…the plow came through. I live about 15-20 minutes from Paoli so I was there within 30 minutes. First thing Vijay said to me was that next week is his 1 year wedding anniversary…and he made it clear the ring must be found! We met at the area where he dropped the ring, it was a parking lot of a school, and he showed me exactly where the ring was dropped. It was clear that the ring was definitely swept away by the plow and most likely was in one of the 3-4 foot mounds of snow near where the drop occurred. I had 2 detectors with me…One with a small coil and one with a larger coil. I started searching first with the larger coil but it was tough going and I couldn’t sweep the mound very effectively. I switched to the smaller coil and after each pass without a signal I took my shovel and dug the mound down by a foot or so. The detector depth is only a foot so I was assuming the ring was probably deeper toward bottom of the mound. After 20 minutes and on my 3rd pass I finally got a really good signal(a 22 on my Equinox 800). I called Vijay over and told him I’m liking this signal…we looked together as I dug down in snow. We were both elated to see his bright yellow gold band appear! I tell this to people all the time…being a Ringfinder is a lot « funner » when you are able to come through for the person! I’m so happy that Vijay can celebrate his 1 year anniversary next week with his beautiful band on his finger.

Gold wedding band lost, recovered and returned in Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

I’m still laughing about it….Hopefully Taylor and Scott are too!

Taylor found me via the Ring Finders Directory after her husband, Scott, lost his large gold wedding band. They live in a row home in the Manayunk area of Philadelphia, PA. Apparently, Scott was horsing around with their dogs on the front porch when he felt(and heard) his ring slip off his finger and bounce into the front yard. Unfortunately, the sloping front yard is quite unruly with the presence of 2-foot deep ground Ivy vine. They had been searching for hours in the dark the night before and then again the next morning before they finally asked me to come with my detector. I showed up around lunchtime the next day(1/18/21). When I walked up to their front door I noticed the search area was going to be quite a challenge….it was quite overgrown and sweeping my detector was not going to be possible. Not to be deterred I made me way into the deep brush with the intent to poke in and out of the brush with my small search coil. I worked my way up through weeds to the top of the slope closest to porch and noticed that they had been hard at work cutting away and removing the first 2 feet of deep weeds. Scott and Taylor were on the porch looking down on me and talking me through the actions that lead to the loss.

Now keep in mind…I’ve been there 60 seconds and haven’t even turned on my detector…I look down in the middle of the small area that they had cleared that morning…and hey….that looks like a ring???? I bend down and ha!….it is a ring. A large, white gold wedding band. I pick it up and hold it out to Scott…who is clearly shocked? dumbfounded? amazed? embarrassed?

We laughed and laughed. Who knows how they could’ve missed it…I just told them how happy I was to be able to find for them. And then I told them it was their loss that they didn’t get to witness my mad detector skills!

So much fun to be a RingFinder!

 

 

 

Diamond engagement ring lost in snow, recovered and returned in Bensalem, PA!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Received an email from Catie on December 17, 2020 looking for help finding a lost diamond engagement ring. I gave her a call and she shared the details of what happened. Here in the Philadelphia area we had a significant snow storm Wednesday night through Thursday morning. Catie was clearing snow off her car in the parking lot of her apartment in Bensalem, PA when she suddenly noticed her relatively new engagement ring was no longer on her finger. She was quite certain it was on her finger prior to her starting to clear the snow off the car. In somewhat of a panic she dug around in the 10 inches of snow with no luck. Prior to calling me she had actually borrowed a metal detector but told me it was of no use and she didn’t know how to work it. After speaking to her I told her I would be there the next day at lunch time….I stressed to her not to touch, move or shovel anymore snow and to make sure no one shovel the snow around the area.

I met Catie at her car at around 130 pm and we re-enacted her movements that led to the lost ring. Based on her description of her movements I guessed it couldn’t be far from her car and most likely in the snow behind the car. I learned over the years to prioritize search areas…start a quick search in the most likely area it fell…even if that area is sort of in the middle of the entire search area. I made a first pass along and behind the tail gate of her car with no luck…the snow was deep! I turned and began making a 2nd pass a little more distant to the rear of the car and BOOM! A surface 8-9 tone on my Equinox 800 detector! Those of you who are detectorists know…if you get a solid surface signal in 10 inches of snow…its going to be a winner. The signal was so clear and obvious I wasn’t surprised when i bent down and wiped away a few inches of snow to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. Total search time – 2 minutes?!

Catie happened to be standing 10-15 feet away….watching with hopeful yet anxious eyes. When I got the signal…even before bending over….I gave her a wink(like babe Ruth calling the homer!). After bending over and picking up her ring I think she was in a bit of shock when she saw it in my hand. Then tears of joy of course! To this day I find the best part of being a Ringfinder is the visceral joy and relief on faces of people when I hold up their lost ring. What can I say…its a rush!

Catie is scheduled to get married September of this year…I certainly wish her the best!

 

 

Platinum wedding band lost, recovered and returned in Berwyn, PA!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Dan found me via The Ring Finders directory. He was deeply worried about losing his very sentimental platinum wedding band. He said he just celebrated his 1 year wedding anniversary and the ring was so important to him. He told me the previous Saturday he was at his niece’s wedding reception in the backyard of his brother’s house in Berwyn , PA. The reception was a big affair with a DJ and a dance floor set up in the middle of the grassy backyard. He was partying and dancing up a storm when he decided to head in the house to use the bathroom….that’s when he noticed his ring was missing. He was 100% sure it was on his finger before the party started. He and family started searching immediately both at party and next day. He finally contacted me on a Tuesday and and I agreed to start to search on Wednesday. Dan lives in NJ so he put me in touch with his brother since it was his yard I would be searching. I met his brother that afternoon in the backyard of his house…it was a 50 x 5o foot grassy yard with much of the grass compressed and still littered from the big party. In the middle of grass you could clearly see the 20×20 foot square where a wood dance floor was installed and then removed.  As you become more experienced as a Ring Finder you start to get more intuitive on where the lost ring might be when starting a search. You prioritize the most likely areas…not only based off details and circumstances of how it was actually lost but also considering the fact that many people have been looking for it for many days with just their eyes(not a metal detector). Most of the grass in backyard was very short or non-existent…if the ring was there they would have found it themselves. However, there was one area off near the dance floor where the grass was higher…if it fell there it would be difficult to find without a metal detector. Soooooo…..I started there. Bingo…I immediately got a perfect ring signal. I bent down…pushed aside the high grass to reveal Dan’s ring! I immediately texted Dan’s brother who came out and was just amazed how quickly I found it after so many people searched for hours. He, in turn, immediately called Dan to share the good news! It brings me great joy to be able to come through for people with a successful recovery!

Cell Phone lost recovered and returned in Chadds Ford, PA!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Greg found me via The Ring Finders directory. He contacted seeking help to find a very important lost Iphone. We spoke on a Friday night and Greg shared with me that 2 weeks prior while enduring some very difficult and personal trauma he absent-mindedly left the phone on top of his car prior to pulling out of driveway of his home. He got to the end of the 400 foot driveway when he realized he left the phone on the roof of the car. Unfortunately the phone was no longer there and obviously slid off at some point during the short drive. To further complicate things the driveway was lined on both side with either leaves or pachysandra ground cover. Greg spent several hours over the last 2 weeks searching with a rake for the phone. I agreed to meet him on a Saturday afternoon. When I got to his home he was prepared with an old phone to reenact the incident… while I observed he put the phone on the roof of his car and once again pulled to end of driveway. It was clear that the phone must have slid off to the left side and most likely in the curved area of the driveway with thicker ground leaves. I booted up the detector and made a first pass parallel and closer to driveway…no luck. Halfway trough a 2nd pass quite distant from driveway in an area of thick leaves I received a screaming loud signal on my detector…to me there was no doubt what that was! I gently pushed away a a few inches of leaves to reveal his Iphone 7! I called Greg over and asked him to look down…the relief and joy on his face when seeing his lost phone made my day!

Massive platinum wedding band lost, recovered and returned in Chadds Ford, PA!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Jay found me via The Ring Finders Directory. He told me he was in the front yard of his beautiful Chadds Ford, PA home putting up Christmas lights when he took a break to throw a football with his son. His son threw him a deep high pass and while reaching to catch it he felt(but didn’t see!) his large platinum wedding band fly off his finger. He actually borrowed a metal detector from a neighbor and spent several hours looking for the ring himself prior to contacting me. When talking to him I told him that I have had many people contact me after renting or buying a metal detector themselves…I feel the experience of the operator of these machines is as important as the machine itself when searching for something as important and valuable as a ring. Anyway, I met Jay on a Saturday afternoon and we reenacted the incident. Jay was convinced the ring must have flung off his finger straight back and far toward the side yard. After 20-30 minutes and not finding…we reenacted the incident again and considered other angles and expanded our search. Still nothing! We decided to reenact the incident one more time but this time Jay was going to actually fling a ring sized object to see how far and what direction it might go. He just returned from his garage with the ring sized object in his hand and was preparing to fling it…I was standing next to him in an area he never thought possible his ring could be…but sure enough I got the perfect signal on my detector. I bent down with my pin pointer and sure enough…there was his massive platinum band! The funny thing was Jay had his back to me still about to fling his mock ring….when I tapped him on shoulder and told him to stop! I held up his ring and we both started laughing…he couldn’t believe where I found it. We had the angles all wrong! All’s well that ends well! Jay was very happy to get get his ring back!

 

Important keys lost, recovered and returned in Wilmington, DE!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Got an email from Dan in Wilmington, DE. Apparently his wife was making snow angels in a huge leaf pile in her parent’s backyard when her ring of important keys came up missing.  They had been raking leaves and had created a massive pile on top of a tarp…after playing in the leaf pile they dragged the leaves to a secluded part of the backyard. Not a 100% certain the keys were lost among the leaves they spent several hours over several days searching for the keys inside and outside of house. Dan came to the realization that his only hope might be a metal detector to search the huge pile of leaves. He said he briefly considered buying a metal detector but after a quick google search came across the Ringfinder directory. I got his email around 1 pm on a Wednesday and arrived at the house by 330 that same day. I met Dan and his mother-in-law in the backyard and was shown three possible areas where they thought the keys might have been mixed in with all the leaves. Like I always do,  I took a minute and demonstrated how my equipment works so they can have confidence that if the keys are there…I’ll find them. I had a few options as far as where to start the search…I decided to start in the very middle of the largest pile. Within 30 seconds I had a very strong signal deep in the pile…I broke out my pinpointer which immediately confirmed a good target. After a quick pushing aside of leaves…there they were! Its always fun to see the amazement on peoples faces when you are able to find something so quickly that they thought was gone forever. Dan was extremely happy and immediately called his wife to share  the news of her recovered keys!

Rich Hageney, local Ringfinder, in the News for Miracle Recovery

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

https://thecoaster.net/wordpress/gold-cross-lost-in-storm-then-found/

Gold Cross Lost in Storm, Then Found

This gold cross was lost in Bradley Beach during the tropical storm last week.

By PETE WALTON

While swimming in the ocean recently off Bradley Beach, 15-year-old Nicky Schneider lost his grandmother’s chain and crucifix.

Nicky and his mother Terri were devastated. Terri’s father bought the chain while on a trip to Europe for Nicky’s grandmother, who died four years ago.

The next day, Tropical Storm Isaias hit.

“I decided to post the missing chain on the Bradley Beach Facebook page figuring it was a long shot, especially now that this crazy storm had come through,” said Terri’s friend AnnMarie Neary Bergwall of New York and Spring Lake.

Six days later, Bradley Beach resident Jane DeNoble was on the beach and spotted someone with a metal detector. DeNoble later learned it was Rich Hageney of Doylestown, Pa., a sales representative for Medtronic and a member of theringfinders.com, a group of independent metal detecting specialists.

“I have been metal detecting since I was 10 years old,” Hageney said. “Having returned countless treasures over the years, I have found returning these items as thrilling as finding them.”

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“Jane went over to him and half jokingly asked if by chance he had found anything,” Bergwall said. “She then told him to go look on Fifth Avenue because someone lost a gold chain and crucifix six days ago.

Rich proceeded to go down two avenues to look. Within 10 minutes, he located a gold chain and crucifix under the wet sand.”

“I saw a man with a metal detector and mentioned it to him and to keep his eyes peeled,” DeNoble said. “And seriously, less than 10 minutes later, he’s back with it in his hand.”

DeNoble sent Bergwall a message through Facebook.

“I called Nicky’s mom, Terri, to tell her that there was a possibility that her mother’s chain was found,” Bergwall said. “I put Terri and Jane in touch with each other. They wanted to see a picture of the chain and crucifix before showing it to Terri to be sure it was hers. Terri could not find one, but swore if it was not the right one she would not say it was. Jane and Rich then sent a picture of the chain and crucifix for Terri to look at. She burst into tears because it was her mother’s crucifix.”

Bergwall drove to Bradley Beach with Terri and Nick from Spring Lake, where the Morristown residents had been staying.

“We jumped in the car to go meet these selfless and kind people to pick up the chain,” Bergwall said. “Our faith is restored. There are great people out there.”

“You can imagine how [Nick] felt when he lost it,” DeNoble said. “It’s amazing how the necklace survived the storm. People were watching us as she was overwhelmed with happiness. I’m just so happy to be a small part of the miracle that happened that day.”

 

Lost Platinum Wedding Band Lost, Recovered and Returned in Chadds Ford, PA

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Steve found me in the Ringfinders online directory after losing his platinum wedding band while doing yard work at his home in Chadds Ford, PA. He told me he was familiar with the Ringfinders because he lost this same ring 3 years prior on a beach in California…the local ringfinder saved the day back then. I arrived at his home and he showed me the area where he was working in the yard… it wasn’t a large area and he was quite confident that the ring fell off exactly in area he was working. I scanned it the first time with my Minelab Equinox 800 detector quite quickly. After not finding it on first pass we decided to dump bucket of yard waste he had picked up that day and see if it was mixed in….but no luck there either. I decided to extend my search area beyond the area he had originally pointed out. Sure enough within a minute I received a solid « 13 » signal on my detector. There, after pushing aside the high grass, was his beautiful platinum wedding band. I was very happy the Ringfinders came through for him again with this same ring!

 

Gold Class Ring Lost, Recovered and Returned in Spring City, PA

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)

Gabriel contacted me via the RingFinders directory regarding his lost high school graduation ring. Apparently 6 months prior he had been playing with his new puppy in his back yard and while throwing a ball he felt his prized gold class ring fly off his hand. He and his family spent an entire day searching for it on their hands and knees. After an exhaustive search he finally gave up and figured it was a goner. I guess he couldn’t stop thinking about it because he googled for metal detecting help and it led him to the Ringfinders and me! Gabriel was at work the day I arrived to search so I met his father, Hector, in the backyard. He was very familiar with the details of where the loss occurred and pointed me in the right direction. The great thing was that Gabriel is a twin and his father had his twin brother’s identical class ring. I was able to scan the available ring with my Minelab Equinox 800 detector so I could laser focus on just those #s when searching for the lost ring. The available ring rang up as a solid 20-21…so I set my detector to specifically focus on those #s. Well….30 seconds into the search I received a solid 20-21 signal. I bent down with my  pinpointer and sure enough the target is  just poking through the level of the dirt beneath the grass…with a hint of gold. I called Hector over and we dug very gently with our hands and with laughter, joy and surprise we revealed Gabriel’s lost ring! Hector immediately called Gabriel to put him on speaker phone and tell him the good news. Not sure if I ever heard anyone so happy!