This adventure started just before 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2026, when I received a call from Rick about a lost ring. He said his wife Rona had lost her Engagement Ring somewhere in a field. They were in the process of checking out of a Howard Johnsons Hotel and loading a truck to continue their trip when her ring slipped off her finger. I asked him to send me the address, and I’ll send him my ETA once I got on the road.
It took just under an hour and a half to get to the address; unfortunately, Rick had been given the wrong address to give to me. I quickly asked Siri for directions to the nearest Howard Johnson, which ended up being another 3 miles down the road. Once I drove the 3 miles, I didn’t see a Howards Johnson in any direction. I pulled into a gas station and called Rick. Luckily, he was standing in the field across the highway and saw me walking around the gas station parking lot. We finally met next to the field where the ring was lost, which maybe was half a football field. He showed me the suspected loss area, where the truck was parked and the area he and Rona had been. Looking at the whole situation, loss was that day, grass was short with bare areas I’m thinking this would be more of a visual search. None-the-less, I turned on the Equinox 800 and tested Rona’s Wedding band, a solid 13 on the VDI (visual display indicator). I started a north/south grid search starting at the curb and working towards the Howard Johnsons. There were a lot of targets, but they were all trash, mostly pull tabs which were ringing up as a 13 on the 800 and bottle caps. Rick was sure of the area it should be in, so I shortened my grid lines. It finally got dark enough to use head lamps for a visual search, thinking that gold ring should shine when the lights hit it. I finished up the area and moved to the far end of one side and started an east/west grid, moving my grid line further out from my original grid lines. Before I did, I talked to Rick and asked him if he would get my other head lamp and start a grid search of his own, going back over my search area. As I got finished with my first east/west grid line, I saw Rick and Rona arm in arm bent overusing their phone flashlight and my headlamp searching like pros. I stopped to see how things were going and as I was talking to Rona, Rick rose up and said, “I just found the ring!” He showed both Rona and me and boom, with the light shining on it, it was obvious as could be. I joked with Rick that he needs to become a ring finder now.
Rick and Rona – Thank you for contacting and trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Best wishes to both of you. Take care!
Jim
