Another publication in a local paper, the Burnett County Sentinel. They wrote up a nice article about our Webb Lake lost ring find. Click on the link below for the complete article.
http://www.presspubs.com/burnett/news/article_4346a47e-338a-11e4-8715-0019bb2963f4.html
I received a call from Keith in May. He said he had lost his 1980 Eagles Championship ring while doing yard work. He was heartbroken and told me how much the ring meant to him. He has worn it since he received it 34 years ago.
Our schedules weren’t lining up. He was going away in a few days, and then I was going away. I told him I would come over later that day even if it was still raining out. We agreed on 1o’clock in the afternoon. He gave me his information.
It was raining very hard at 1pm. I was prepared, raincoat with hood, rain pants and waterproof hiking boots. I brought my water proof detector Minelab CTX-3030. It was a nice size yard. The street in front of the house was flooded from all of the recent rain.
Keith showed me what he was doing the day he lost the ring. I thought if it is here it should be an easy fine. WRONG!! Keith had trimmed all of the bushes & hedges, raked the entire property, put a lot of the debris in the street which is now flooded, started a mulch pile and planted new items in a flower garden. He remembers at one point looking at his hand saying this ring is giving me a blister.
I started in the easy sections, the open yard, nothing! I started moving to the different gardens. Uh-oh, they are all lined with iron to stop the roots from entering. Metal detectors love iron. It makes them sing. Even when trying to discriminate iron out of the range, there was so much it was hard to determine if there were any other signals. The machine I brought had an 11 inch coil on it. I could search the street because there is metal rebar under the surface. There was way too much debris out there to shovel onto the grass. If it’s out here the leaf sucker is going to get it.
I spent about 3 hours looking. No luck. Keith was disappointed and so was I. I really wanted to return this ring. I have been an Eagles fan for too many years. What an awesome story this would have been. I offered to come back at a different time when the weather was better. We said we would keep in touch.
A few months passed and I called Keith. He was staying in his summer cabin and wouldn’t be back in this area for some time. I asked if there would be anyone around, because I didn’t want to be on his property without someone being there. He said his wife would be there this week and it would be ok to go over to look. He had already started the inquiry of what he had to do to get the ring replaced. He needed approval from the Eagles & the NFL plus a police report.
I went over a few days later and met Michelle. She added a few other tid bits, like when he was done the yard work he traveled to North Jersey. My heart sunk. I thought to myself, that is why I didn’t find it last time. It’s not here.
I returned with and older but reliable machine, a White’s Spectrum XLT with a 3 inch coil. This is to help reduce the amount of signals from all of the iron in the gardens. I started searching the areas I couldn’t do in the rain, like the large slope of ivy in the back yard. The only thing I found back here was hundreds of mosquitoes. I moved to the mulch pile, moving stuff around, nothing. I’m getting frustrated. 2 hours later the last things to check are the gardens.
I expected the ring to pretty much be on the surface. It wasn’t lost that long ago. I finally get a good signal at close to 3 hours from when I started. I climbed under the bushes and moved away the debris. Nothing. I dig about a half an inch down. Is that gold? I dig a little more. It’s the ring!! I must have jumped about 10 feet in the air. The ring was very heavy, and very muddy. I went back to my truck and cleaned it up. Took many pictures, then I called Keith.
When I told him that I found it, he started to get choked up. He couldn’t believe that I had found it. He told me that he thought that is was gone forever. He said someone told him to pray to St Anthony, so he did. We made arrangements to meet a few weeks later when he would be back in town. He even let me keep the ring for 24 hours so I could show it off before I returned it to his wife. When we met we took pictures & he signed a few Topps Football cards that I had brought with me from his playing days.
Here is a letter from Keith Krepfle Philadelphia Eagles Tight End #84
Dear Dave,
From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for finding my lost 1980 NFL Conference Championship ring with your metal detector.
I was reasonably sure I lost the ring while doing spring clean-up in the yard. The day I called you in desperation for help, you came over immediately to try and find the ring. Although the weather was miserably cold and pouring rain, you nonetheless scanned the yard for hours trying to find it. I was obviously disappointed when you could not find it, however you said you would like to return in warmer weather to try again.
I was not absolutely sure I lost the ring in the yard, and for weeks looked everywhere but unfortunately it did not turn up. By summertime I had completely given up hope and contacted the NFL League office to inquire about replacing it (custom molds for all Super Bowl rings are kept on file).
Then out of the blue in August you called me again, offering (at no fee) to come back for another search. On your second search, to my unbelievable surprise, YOU FOUND THE RING! under a landscaping bush. I was so thrilled when you told me, I actually broke down and cried with emotion/thankfulness.
I cannot thank you enough for your dedication, honesty, integrity and persistence, and whole heartedly recommend anyone contact you for help locating lost items.
You are truly and Angel of God!
Keith Krepfle
Philadelphia Eagles- tight end
I got a call from Mark and Rachel, owners of the All Star Value Inn in the Wisconsin Dells. Rachel said that her husband had been playing volleyball the night before with friends. The court was recently redone and was part of their property in the Wisconsin Dells. He did not remember it specifically flying off, but does remember having it on throughout the match. Rachel said that he even thought to himself, « I should probably take off my ring so that I don’t lose it ». Famous last words, right? Seconds later, while about to serve, Mark felt two of his fingers rug together and there was no ring on his finger.
The good news is that they were the owners of the court, but how would they find it? Mark had plans to rent a metal detector and find it himself. However, he would have found out that operating a metal detector isn’t as easy as it might seem. The average person wouldn’t believe how much junk is located in the ground, even in a freshly redone volleyball court. Rachel went on Google and searched for « Rent a Metal Detector ». One of the pages she found was www.TheRingFinders.com, and there just happen to be someone specifically located in the Wisconsin Dells area. She sent a quick email to me, and I immediately responded. I set up an appointment the next day to take a look.
When I arrived, Mark and Rachel were having a friends and family picnic right next to the volleyball court. My son and daughter were along for the hunt. I started the hobby of metal detecting and ring finding as a way to spend time outdoors with my kids. They love the hobby, and love helping others find what was lost. My daughter was first on the metal detector. We found 4-5 pieces of trash: a pop top, a Matchbox Car, some small metal objects, and a nail. The mosquitoes were pretty bad that night, but we kept on hunting.
All of a sudden we got a pretty strong signal from the metal detector, which is usually a good sign. My daughter reached down, grab a fist full of sand and pulled out Mark’s ring! We walked over to the picnic table and handed the lost ring back to Mark. Everyone was surprised that we had found the lost ring, and so quickly. Mark’s ring had a unique inscription on the inside, « P.S. I Love You », so there was no question it was his. My daughter was probably the most excited, as it was her first lost wedding ring recovery all by herself.
Mark and Rachel were generous with their reward for finding the lost ring. They then asked if we had eaten anything that night. I responded no, and that we had to head back home as my kids had started school already. She asked if we had ever eaten at the Top of the Rock on the strip in Wisconsin Dells, which was their favorite place to eat. We had never been there, so she called the restaurant and opened a tab with our name on it. She said, « Order whatever you guys want and put it on our tab ». What a cool reward. We felt like celebrities when we walked in. The manager of the restaurant practically greeted us at the door, « You must be the people who found that lost ring ». We responded yes, and he showed us to our seats. After a nice dinner, the kids and I headed back home.
So remember, don’t waste your time figuring out how to rent a metal detector, just rent a Ring Finder!
A visiting California detectorist, Jim, was detecting on a Cape Cod Beach when a stranger, Arty, struck up a conversation. The conversation got around to items Jim had found. Artie asked Jim if he had found a Celtic Knot wedding band. Jim had but it was not at “this” beach. However, Jim did know of one found at the beach Jim and Arty were standing on. Jim gave Arty the detectorist’s contact information and Arty passed it along to Matt, the man who had lost the ring two weeks prior.
Within some fifteen minutes I was talking to Matt who could not believe I had found the ring and wanted to return it for just a Thank You Note. Long story short a few days later I returned the ring to Matt.
The strange twist in the story Jim is on the board of directors of a company who’s President had hired Matt several years ago. It sure is a small world and the meeting of strangers and a the ring’s return was just meant to be. Call it what you like, but strange occurrences do happen for a reason believe it or not!
A posting by Matt:
It was Tuesday, July 22 and I was spending the day with my family at Glendon Beach (Dennis Port, MA). My friend Brian and I were throwing the football around in shallow waters when I noticed that I nearly lost my wedding ring after making a diving catch into the ocean. At this point, the normal person would have walked up to his belongings and taken the ring off but I, of course, didn’t do that!! Sure enough 3 minutes later I noticed that my ring had slipped off.
I spent nearly an hour looking for the ring and assumed it was lost forever. Later that week I ran into a lady with a metal detector and asked her if she had found a ring but no luck. Nearly two weeks later, and a day after we left the Cape, my friend Arty ran into a guy who also had a metal detector. He asked about my ring and this guy hadn’t found it either but he said it sounded ‘familiar’ to a ring his friend Rick had found at this same beach. He gave Arty a business card for the “The Ring Finders” which had Rick Browne’s contact info on it.
Shortly after Arty texted me Rick’s info I sent an email to The Ring Finders. Only 13 minutes after I hit send on that email Rick was calling my cell phone. Amazingly he had found my ring!! I thought for sure this ring was long gone and my wife and I were already considering replacement options. I cannot thank Rick and the The Ring Finders enough for finding my wedding ring!
You guys are awesome!!
Sincerely,
Matt
Found White Gold Wedding Band
I received a call a couple of days ago to locate a men’s white gold wedding band. The gentleman described to me how he lost the ring in his back yard years earlier. During the call, I could hear the sense of urgency in his voice and knew I had to find it. We decided on a day and time to meet and started retracing his steps. Just hours after I uncovered the ring and returned it to its owner, I received this testimonial:
A white gold wedding band inscribed with personal tributes to our love. That ring means so much to me. I kissed it every day. I would sometimes ask my wife to kiss it to “seal it.” I lost a lot of weight to get healthy when my first son was born. My ring no longer fit, and I used to remove my ring when I went swimming or exercised. I would take it off if I sat in the sun as I was afraid I might sweat and it would slip. One afternoon, I was sitting in my backyard enjoying the day. I did what I always did: Put my book, water-bottle and my ring under my chair.
I got on the phone and paced a bit around the yard. I went up to the deck and around and down the stairs. I also had moved my chair a few times to face the sun. After an hour had passed, I decided to go inside. My ring had disappeared.
I was mortified. I got on my hands and knees and looked for hours. I took a rake and combed every piece of the area in which I had placed my chair. When my son came home, I had him looking with me. My ring was lost.
I kept thinking of renting a metal detector but put that off. I read some articles, and it seemed a difficult prospect for me to pull off. Then I resigned myself to it being lost. I guess I had not entirely lost hope. Two-plus years later, I happened upon Mr. Wille and theringfinders.com. I called Mr. Wille up, and he was so very kind and patient. I explained the situation, what the ring meant to me. Mr. Wille understood and told me what he would do to find it. I must say that I was taken aback by his level of confidence. There was no “if” or “but” in his words or even in his voice. He was going to find this ring. I will also add here that all he asked for was money to cover gas. This was not possible, but I figured I would try it.
We set up a date within days of my call, and Mr. Wille arrived exactly when he said he would. I walked him around my yard and through all my paces from that day and then returned to work at 9 AM.
I was in a meeting with a colleague when a text came through at 11:20.
It was a picture Mr. Wille sent to me of my ring. He had positioned it gloriously atop a rock, and it still glistened in the late morning sun. I swear it took everything I had to not cry at that moment (later, I cried after the meeting ended).
I called Mr. Wille and sped home soon thereafter, where he showed me the ring. I was at a total loss for words. He showed me the spot where he found it. It was not far from where I had been sitting, but it was 2-3 inches underground.
He also shared some old coins and various “treasures” he had found in my yard. I must say, I was too stunned to hear and too blissed-out to listen. I really could not believe that the ring had been returned to me.
Mr. Wille would not accept much in terms of a reward, but I plan on sending him more via mail anyway and hope he will be hard-pressed to send it back. His genuine compassion, paired with his obvious love for what he does, is astounding. I work in a field where empathy, compassion, and kindness are highly valued. It is nice to know that people like Mr. Wille are out there compassionately, gently reuniting people with truly priceless things. My ring, in terms of monetary value, not much. My ring, in terms of what it means to my heart, my soul to see it again – I could never have enough money to pay for that. Thank you, Mr. Wille.
Namaste~
If you have a lost ring or something of value, contact Keith Wille now.
Call or text | 860-917-8947
Email | uncoverthings@yahoo.com
Website | www.metaldetectionkeithwille.com
Lost Engagement Ring Houston,Texas (Recovered)
I received an e-mail from Christopher 07/29/2014 Tuesday night regarding his Fiancé’s Lost Engagement Ring. Christopher and I spoke a short time later and he explained he and his Fiancé were playing around in his front yard when her ring came off and was lost in the front lawn. Christopher said he has been looking for the ring for over two days and not be able to find her ring in the deep grass in his front yard. Christopher said after a short internet search he came across “The Ring Finders”
Christopher sent the following photographs Tuesday night of the area that would need to be searched.
07/30/2014 I met with Christopher at his residence this morning and was given an overview of where he believed the ring had been dropped.
Still learning the ins and outs of the GoPro
Equipment Used:
Garrett AT Gold
Minelab PinPointer Pro
GoPro Hero 3
The Ring Finders Metal Detecting Service
We can search virtually any location, some of the most common places are parks, lakes, beaches and even your own front yard…If you lost your « Ring » or other precious item…We can find it!
We train regularly and use the best Metal Detecting Equipment available insuring the greatest possibility of finding your lost possessions.
www.theringfinders.com/john.volek
Don’t wait… Call now!
John Volek
281-330-7758
Lost Engagement Ring Colorado River Wharton, Texas (Recovered)
I received a call from Sarah Saturday evening who was clearly upset about having just lost her engagement Ring in the Colorado River in Wharton, Texas. Sarah said she and her Fiancé Walsh and several friends were playing in the Colorado River this afternoon when her ring fell off and landed in the river. Sarah said she new the moment it happened and sat down immediately to mark the spot. Another friend found a stick on the shoreline and marked the location in the river as a reference point. (now that was some good teamwork and quick thinking)
Sarah sent the following photographs of the location on the Colorado River, you can just make out the branch in the water where their marker stake was driven into the ground. Sarah wanted an immediate response, but it was already late and working in the dark on the river was not an option.
I met Walsh and Sarah at their River house 07/27/2014 Sunday morning , and was very graciously greeted by both in the driveway of their residence. I found out later the Diamond in Sarah’s engagement had belonged to Walsh’s great grandmother and simply could not be replaced.
Walsh and I made the descended down to the river. The river crossing wasn’t really bad, mostly only a few feet deep and a nice sandy bottom.
The beach on the far side was my target for getting set up and establishing my search pattern and grid. Sarah provided oversight from the high bank and would often provide additional search details from her location.
About and hour into the search I got a nice low tone on the CTX3030. I had pulled numerous false signals at this point and I knew this was going to be something different. The river had a nice sandy bottom, and the current would flush the bucket with little or no effort. I pulled the bucket out of the water looked in it and saw Walsh’s great grandmothers diamond.
A Bear Hug from Walsh immediately followed. 🙂 and then Sarah disappeared from sight on the high bank, turns out she was rolling on the ground overwhelmed with happiness.
A great couple Walsh and Sarah
Walsh and Sarah were some very kind and friendly people, and it was a pleasure to return something of such great importance back to them.
Equipment Used:
CTX 3030
Scoop
The Ring Finders Metal Detecting Service
We can search virtually any location, some of the most common places are parks, lakes, beaches and even your own front yard…If you lost your « Ring » or other precious item…We can find it!
We train regularly and use the best Metal Detecting Equipment available insuring the greatest possibility of finding your lost possessions.
www.theringfinders.com/john.volek
Don’t wait… Call now!
John Volek
281-330-7758
A Wedding Ring Lost 4 years ago in Lake Livingston, Texas (Recovered)
07/22/2014
I received a call from Jane regarding her husbands lost wedding ring in Lake Livingston. Jane said her husband had lost his ring off the dock at her parents house on Lake Livingston a little over 4 years ago, She said his birthday was coming up and she was hoping we could find the ring and she could surprise him on his birthday. I asked Jane some additional details about the search and received the following photographs of the search area. Arrangements were made to meet on 07/26/2014 Saturday morning to search for the lost ring. I arrived early Saturday morning and Jane walked with me to the dock and pointed out the area needing to be searched. Jane explained how the ring had been lost and pointed out where in the water she believed the ring may have landed when it came off her husbands hand.
The search area water depth was between 4 and 5 feet deep in most areas.
The bottom was a thick gumbo mud and sifting the scoop after finding a target was an impossible task. Jane’s brother John assisted in laying out a tarp on the dock were every scoop containing a target was dumped. John used one of my pin-pointers and sifted through the mud hoping to uncover the ring.
A little over an hour into the search, I pulled up another target and sitting right on top of the mud in the scoop was the missing ring.
Some of the many targets found during the search. (sinkers, pennies, bottle caps, and assortments of nuts and bolts)
Jane, brother John and her husbands birthday gift this year.
Equipment Used:
Minelab Excalibur II
Anderson’s New Extreme Carbon Fiber Detector Shaft
Custom Scoop
GoPro Hero 3
The Ring Finders Metal Detecting Service
We can search virtually any location, some of the most common places are parks, lakes, beaches and even your own front yard…If you lost your « Ring » or other precious item…We can find it!
We train regularly and use the best Metal Detecting Equipment available insuring the greatest possibility of finding your lost possessions.
www.theringfinders.com/john.volek
Don’t wait… Call now!
John Volek
281-330-7758
Mandy and I were looking forward to a long weekend to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. After enjoying a night at Madison’s Concert on the Square, a round of golf another day and exploring some of Wisconsin’s hidden gems we decided to meet family at Devil’s Lake State Park for a pleasant Saturday afternoon.
The sun was shining and Max (our beagle) was by our side. After a full day of activities, including Wollersheim Wine, New Glarus Beer and of course cheese curds in hand, we decided to hop in the lake. Although the water was chilly, the volleyball was flying and we were having a great time. Not even five minutes in the water, the weekend became ever so memorable. I turned to Mandy and calmly told her my wedding ring had just flung off my finger. She thought it was a joke until she glanced down at my hand.
I was able to see exactly where my ring hit the glossy water but the vision didn’t last long as it disappeared into the cloudy lake water. Everyone froze … not a movement was made. A friendly family on the beach offered their snorkeling gear to us to aid in the search. I stayed put while Mandy and family member Cody swam in circles, periodically coming up for air while trying not to stir up the mucky sand on the lake floor.
We thought it would be easy to spot a shiny ring sitting atop the muck but we were sorely mistaken. After the remaining afternoon and the entire evening (over 5 hours in total) was spent searching, daylight was gone and we called it quits. Needless to say the ride home was quiet.
We threw around ideas: « Should we go back and search the next day? », « Do we call the jewelers right away? », « Call the insurance company? ». Late Sunday night as we were getting ready for the week ahead it dawned on us, maybe there are such people as treasure hunters? It was worth a Google search at least.
Sure enough, the first website that popped up was www.TheRingFinders.com. We entered Wisconsin Dells as the location and a man by the name of Dan Roekle was revealed. I got on the phone right away and explained exactly what happened. His response, « We’ll find it, guarantee it. » While we knew nothing is ever 100%, his statement was enough to bring a huge smile to Mandy’s face.
The very next day, Dan and I coordinated our schedules and decided to meet at Devil’s Lake in the evening. Cody and I headed up to the State Park and after securing the proper paperwork from the Park Warden to use a metal detector in the park, we headed to the infamous spot where my ring was lost. Dan often takes his two children with him on treasure hunts, teaching them patience while having fun at the same time. I stayed back as to not stir up the sand. After only five minutes, Dan came back with his son by his side and sadly told us the conditions just weren’t ideal that evening to search for the ring.
My heart sank.
Mandy was going to be so disappointed? The ring itself wasn’t important but the sentiment and memories behind it were invaluable.
Not even 10 seconds later with a huge smile on his face, Dan’s son pulled his hand out of the water and revealed my ring!!! I couldn’t believe it. After spending our entire Saturday afternoon in the water, it took them only five minutes to locate and dig up my ring, which had sunk about 3 inches below the mucky sand. I got Mandy on the phone and tried to tell her the conditions just weren’t right. Of course, she could tell by the tone of my voice that wasn’t the case. When I told her, she was overjoyed and couldn’t believe how quick the ring was retrieved! The ring is now safely back on my finger and after four years I finally got it re-sized as to avoid anything like this in the future.
Thank you Dan and family for your enthusiasm and confidence. Although it’s just a ring, it means a lot to us and we are incredibly grateful for your assistance. One thing is for certain, we will probably never forget our four year wedding anniversary!
Best,
Allan and Mandy G.
Alan’s Text to His Wife Right After Finding the Ring The Lost Ring
The distress call came in at noon,” I have lost my diamond ring, can you help me “My response was, I will be there in 30 minutes. Michelle was on vacation in Kelowna, from the lower mainland. The temperatures in Kelowna have been over the 35 degrees Celsius, they were at Gyro Beach, so a dip in the lake was in order. Michelle gave her wedding band and engagement ring to her mother for safekeeping, mother put them on a safety pin. When they arrived at the car only the wedding band was on the pin. I arrived and they showed me the part of the beach where they were sitting, hoping that the ring would be at that location. Talk about lucky within two minutes the ring was returned to the exited Michelle. My reward was the smile on her face, and the applause of all the people on the beach who all tried to find the ring.
