Ron Wilton, Author at The Ring Finders

Apple Watch Dropped in Rushing Water of Lytle Creek, CA- FOUND With 1% Battery Left!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
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We Almost Ran Out of Time!

I received a call in the late afternoon from Maria, who said she found me (somehow) via Chat GPT. I don’t know anything about Chat GPT, but she found me.

Maria said she and the family were enjoying a hot day playing in the cool rushing waters of Lytle Creek. Maria explained that she had taken off her Apple Watch and had set it on her hat that she also had removed. When she was getting out of the creek, she grabbed her hat and the watch fell into the water. There were several large rocks by the shore in the rushing current. Maria’s Apple Watch app on her phone showed the watch was still in that area. The family looked but to no avail.

I told her it would be dark by the time we met up, so we opted to meet the next day. We caravanned to the spot where she smartly had placed a large branch on the guardrail to mark their position adjacent to the creek where they had been playing, which was about 100 yards from the road. The Apple Watch app showed the watch was still there. Maria, her two sons, and her sister and I climbed down to the spot in the creek and I saw a large bunch of boulders. The water was flowing fairly fast. I had bought a clear plastic bin in hopes that I could use it as an underwater “viewer”. Unfortunately, the water was too turbulent. So that left trying to hand search around and under the big rocks, where they felt pretty confident it had dropped. Not finding any success, I pulled out my Garrett Pinpointer and checked the rocks closest to me. The watch had a metal band. No luck. I then handed it to Maria, as she was better situated a little higher by another large rock with water flowing by it. I explained to her that if there was something metal it detected, it would vibrate. She began probing down in the water between rocks and she suddenly looked up and said it was vibrating. I took it from her and put it back down into the void and, sure enough, it started vibrating. I reached in and began feeling around. Unfortunately, it was full of roots. But a bit more searching and I felt the watch and band and brought it to the surface.

Maria is a strong woman of Faith. Before this adventure got started, we had met up at a gas station near by and would convoy from there. As we started to leave, a homeless man and his dog were walking by. Maria stopped her car and got out and interacted with the gentleman and dog. Just taking the time trying to uplift another less fortunate person and canine companion.

She kept telling me that she just had a good feeling about today and that God was leading her. The smile on her face when I brought the watch up was a sight to behold. They all started cheering! Then, Maria looked at her watch. There was only 1% charge left on the battery! I guess her good feeling about the day was true.
I was happy to be a part of this happy ending, because when you drop something in a fast moving creek or river, the outcome many times isn’t as happy.

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Lost Wedding Set in the Gravel While Playing with Her Toddler in Phelan, CA – FOUND!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
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I received a text from Kimberlee who said she lost her wedding and engagement rings in the gravel at her house. She said, like many others who I’ve helped, she debated trying to rent a metal detector. Some have gone out and bought a cheap one then realized they don’t know how to use one. Don’t waste your time. Call/message or email me right away! 

I told Kimberlee I could meet up at her house the next morning. When I got there, Kimberlee said she was playing with her toddler in a graveled area where they were looking at shiny rocks. She said she had her rings in a pouch she was wearing and at some point they fell out.

The rings were lost 2 weeks ago and Kimberlee said she has been visually searching the area, with no luck. She checked on a metal detecting club site and heard about TheRingfinders.com and found me.
I started a grid search of the area and eleven minutes later found the wedding ring sitting in the gravel. While showing Kimberlee her ring I confirmed her engagement ring was also lost. When I looked back down by where the wedding ring was, I saw the engagement ring. The expression on Kimberlee’s face and watery eyes said it all. She asked if she could give me a hug? I’ll never turn one down.

Kimberlee’s teenage son had come outside and she had told me earlier he was interested in metal detecting. Since I located two other targets during the search that I believed would be coins, I let him put on my headphones and use the detector to hear what the tones were like. He then dug two quarters. Happy mom, happy son.

 

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A Lost « Smart Ring » During a Walk in the Park in Eastvale, CA- FOUND!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
Contact:

Lost a ring, necklace, keys, or other metallic object and you know the approximate area? Call or text me IMMEDIATELY (951-415-6007) and don’t buy a cheap metal detector off Amazon that you won’t know how to use.

The first Ringfinder call-out of 2026 started on a wet Friday night, January 2nd. I received a text from Natalia saying she was interested in my services for a ring she lost in a park in Eastvale the night before. She explained it was a Titanium “Oura Smart Ring”. I agreed we’d meet at the park on Saturday.

When I met up with Natalia, she told me she had been walking her dog throughout the park, and at some point she noticed her ring was missing. What is incredible is that the “Smart” ring is just that…SMART. She had an app on her phone and it shows the location of the ring, however she couldn’t locate it. I looked at the app and it showed the ring in a small grassy area next to the baseball diamond. Not being familiar with this type of ring, I Googled what the accuracy of the “Found” app was. It said it could be 10′-15′ from the shown location.
I began a grid search, but after some time, and checking other locations she had been with her dog that night, I found nothing. This was extremely frustrating. As it started raining, I told Natalia I would be back after it stopped. Unfortunately, the rain lasted all of Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, I went back to the park to resume the search. I brought a friend as I was confused how a Titanium ring that would have been on the surface, yet maybe hidden in the grass was not being detected by my metal detector. We spent about a half hour searching that same grassy area. All we were finding were coins and junk. A short time later, ringing up as a nail or piece of foil, there was the ring, hiding in the grass! And it was within the area the app on Natalia’s phone said it would be! Pretty SMART! I was probably as happy as Natalia was when I texted her the picture of her ring. The lesson is, never overlook the « trash » settings on your detector.

I met with Natalia on Tuesday to return her ring, and I got to meet « Winston » from that fateful walk in the park!

 

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Calimesa Newlywed’s Platinum Ring Falls Off While Playing With Dog- FOUND!!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
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I received a frantic text message from Loni yesterday stating “My husband and I just got married last Saturday, October 11th, and he lost his platinum wedding band in our back yard on Monday. We’ve been searching endlessly with no luck. Is there any chance you’d be available and willing to help us?” I responded that sure, I would come out.

Upon arriving, I met Loni, and her husband, Jesse. Jesse told me they had been searching for a week trying to find the ring and they even bought a metal detector but didn’t really know how to use it, only finding nails and metal. Jesse said he was wearing a jacket with longer sleeves and took their dog outside to play. He pointed out two areas of the backyard where he was flapping his arms “like a chicken” and said he believed the ring came off there.

Standing by the first spot in the yard, I had him put the jacket on and I pulled out my test men’s band and handed it to him and told him to let it go as he was re-creating his « flapping » so that I could get an idea of where it might fly or fall to. Surprisingly, it fell almost straight down by his feet. So I started my search of the tall grass in a grid pattern, spreading my search pattern out as I wasn’t getting the signals I was looking for.

I went to the 2nd area and repeated my grid search, still with no luck. I was beginning to second guess myself. So I re-contacted Jesse and asked him to tell me what he was doing and where, right from the point of leaving the house. It turns out he had walked over to the unattached laundry room with the dog, which has a large tree and grassy area adjacent to it. But he said he wasn’t really playing with the dog then. He also added that they had been searching there too.

We walked over to the area and I started to search the grass. I had just swung the detector and saw a shining perfect thin circle in the grass. It was a ring. I picked it up and asked him if his ring looked like that? He got very excited saying that it did, and he hugged me and called out for Loni. Both were happy beyond belief! I was very happy that I could unite this newlywed with his wedding band, especially learning later the ring had been passed down.

Don’t waste your money on a metal detector you won’t know how to use and get yourself all frustrated. Call or text me right away!

 

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Pioneertown Pit Thrown with Grandpa’s Platinum Band…FOUND!!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
Contact:

Don’t waste precious time buying or borrowing a metal detector you don’t know how to use. Call or text me ASAP…1-951-415-6007.

I received a text message from Skylar this morning asking for my help. Her message said she had been eating a nectarine while sitting on the front porch of her house. When she went to throw the nectarine pit out into the bushes, she said she felt her grandfather’s platinum band she was wearing, go flying off with the pit.
Her property was out in the desert by Pioneertown and I had a 4 mile washboard dirt road off the pavement to take to get there. When I arrived she was visibly upset. Skylar told me she and her boyfriend borrowed a metal detector and searched and searched with no luck. She then found me on the Ringfinders website.

I have a man’s (inexpensive) band that I have attached to a lime green string just for these “throwing” occasions (I also have a woman’s ring). I handed her the ring and told her to throw it like she had the pit. This would give me a better idea of where it may have landed, since there were a lot of bushes and weeds around that area. She gave it a throw and I had a generalized area to work from, taking into account it could have rolled further. I began my search with my Garrett AT Pro around a tree that was in line of where she threw it. There were so many junk and deep signals I decided to just use my pinpointer since I knew it would be pretty much on top of the ground. I got down on my hands and knees and began slowly going over the weeds and dirt, finding wire and even a razor blade. In less than  10 minutes I got a signal and saw the band laying in the weeds.
I called Skylar over and asked “Does it look like that?” pointing to it. She grabbed the ring and became extremely excited that I had found it. Her look of happiness was worth the washboard road!

 

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Parkway Groundcover Hides Lost Gold Wedding Band in Chino, CA- Found!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
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Don’t delay in calling me! Time is of the essence!

I received a text from Harvey, asking if I was available to help find his white gold wedding band that was lost in the parkway in front of his house. When I got to his house, he pointed out the area of the parkway that he believed it fell off at, which was about a fifteen by six foot section between a light pole and a tree. Harvey said he had reached into his pants pocket to retrieve his car keys and upon pulling out his hand, he felt the ring fall off. The parkway has thick groundcover plants that are about 4″ thick.

I began sweeping the area pointed out with my metal detector, but failed to get a good signal. After re-sweeping the area, I decided to go beyond the tree boundary. About 2 feet on the other side of the tree, I got a strong signal and pinpointed it. As I squatted down to check the area, I immediately saw it just under the top of the groundcover, entangled in the growth.
Harvey was extremely excited that I found it, as was I!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost Gold Wedding Band in the Fall Leaves of Moreno Valley, CA – Found!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
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Don’t Wear Your Rings Gardening!

I received a call from Andrea who was quite upset. Andrea said she had been clearing the Fall leaves and weeds from around a bush in her front yard when she said she felt like one of her rings fell off. She checked, and her gold band had fallen off, but her other wedding ring stayed on. So she stopped right away and tried finding the band, with no luck. Andrea said she went online and found me on The Ringfinders website.
I drove out to her house and she pointed out the area where she had been working. I checked that area with my metal detector and Pinpointer but only came up with trash signals. We went through all the leaves and branches that she had put in a large plastic trash can, which was filled to the top. Still nothing.
I went back to the area she pointed out and checked a different spot and immediately got a strong signal. After clearing about two inches of leaves away, there was her gold band.
Needless to say, Andrea was very excited that I had found her ring in less than a half hour, and gave me a big hug! Another great call-out and recovery!

 

 

 

 

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Lost and FOUND gold wedding band at the Koroneburg Renaissance Faire in Corona, CA

  • from Corona (California, United States)
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I received a call from Jesse, who said they found me on The Ringfinders website. He told me he and his wife work at the Renaissance Faire on weekends. Last weekend, his wife lost one of his gold rings. Jesse said it was his small, thin, yellow gold wedding band. He explained that the Faire was over and they were loading up their belongings from their booth. He gave his wife his three rings for safe keeping as they cleaned up, and she was holding them in her hand. Jesse said an insect suddenly bit his wife and as she jumped, his one ring apparently fell out of her hand onto the dirt road way.

They searched and searched the fine-grain dirt, gently raking it, but with no luck. So he reached out to me. I met him at the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival gate and he brought me to the area where his wife said she was standing when she dropped it. Fortunately, it was a small area. After discriminating out the metal “chain mail” pieces from the soldiers’ costumes that had fallen off around the area, I began my search. It didn’t take long before I got a signal about an inch under that fine dirt. As I scooped it out of the dirt onto my hand shovel, I said to Jesse “Does it look like this?” Jesse ran over and said “It sure does!” He could not believe I found it so quick. Another happy reunion!

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Diamond Engagement Ring Thrown Across a Street in Lake Elsinore, CA After an Argument – FOUND!!

  • from Corona (California, United States)
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I received a call from Eddie, asking if I could help find his girlfriend’s diamond engagement ring that was lost a week ago. He proceeded to tell me that he had the ring at work after they had gotten into a huge argument. He had been drinking after work, and in a fit of rage, threw the ring from the parking lot across a 2 lane street. On the far side of the street was a sandy drainage ditch.
Eddie said he and his co-workers later searched several days for the ring with no luck. He bought a metal detector and still had no luck because he didn’t know how to properly use it. That’s when he found me on The Ringfinders website.

He showed me the approximate 30 yard wide area across the street that he felt it would have landed and said that he had to leave to pick up his son. So I began my search, starting at the edge of the drainage ditch next to the road. There were large rocks along the embankment for runoff. With no luck, I started checking the sandy bottom. Within about 15 minutes I found it below the opposite embankment of the ditch.

I took a close-up picture of the ring and was about to send it in a message to Eddie when, at the same time, his boss came out asking if I had found it. I told him I had and he immediately called Eddie. You could hear Eddie yelling with excitement.

Another good day!

 

 

 

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Lost, and then Found, Platinum Diamond Wedding Ring in Chino Hills, CA

  • from Corona (California, United States)
Contact:

Available almost any time of day! I have the proper equipment for both land and shallow water recoveries. Time is of the essence! Call or message me right away – 951-415-6007!

I received a text message from Dennis saying his wife, Hellen, lost her wedding ring in their 2023 Honda Odyssey minivan and they were unable to find it, and would I be able to come over and help. I explained to him that I would not be able to use my metal detecting equipment due to the high metal content of the vehicle, but I would still help him look with other tools I have.

He told me that they had been out to pick up some fast food and that Hellen had been in the back seat when they pulled into their driveway. She was reaching into the front center console to get her drink when she felt her Platinum wedding ring with diamonds fall off her finger.
Because it was late and dark, they decided to look for it the next morning. They pulled up the carpet where they could and searched both the front and rear compartments, but to no avail.
After several days of searching for it, they went on The Ringfinders website and found me.

Upon arriving, I immediately recognized that this was still a brand new vehicle with a pristine interior. Searching the floorboards and under the seats, there were no obvious places where the ring could have gotten lodged in. The carpet was still tight against the sides. Where did it go? Dennis and I were both perplexed.
I then went into the back seat and started checking from there. I found that Honda has located the spare tire in the center of the floorboard, covered with a particle-board type cover with the carpet on top of that. Dennis said because the car was new, he had never opened this compartment.

We removed the carpet and cover and, with a flashlight, I checked all around the spare tire, with no luck. On top of the spare was a molded accessory holder that held the jack and other related items. Nothing was obvious until removing it completely and then, there it was. Her ring had fallen down into one of the empty molded holes. But how? There were no obvious ways for this to happen! Upon closer examination of the passenger front seat, looking from the back seat floor, I found an approximate 1.5″ hole in the carpet at the base of the seat’s left leg. Somehow, that falling ring was (un)lucky enough to find that 1.5″ hole, where it fell down through to the spare tire.
We looked at each other in amazement and then Dennis took the ring into the house to Hellen. What a great reunion!

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