June 6th proved to be a delightful day for a boat ride on picturesque, Okauchee Lake in Southeast Wisconsin. But the day turned to sadness when a man’s gold-braided necklace disappeared into the lake’s depths. But it wasn’t any necklace; it had once belonged to the owner’s grandfather.

It happened when Milwaukee resident, Maggie House, was transferring a cooler from the boat to the dock. Ben, Maggie’s boyfriend and owner of the necklace, had removed it for safe keeping. He placed it into the pocket of a knapsack. But as fate would have it, the knapsack was sitting on the cooler when Maggie lifted it onto the dock. In the process, the heavy gold chain slipped out of the pocket in what can only be described as an inconceivable turn of events. But it didn’t make the loss any less acute.

Later, someone told Maggie about my ring-finding services. She soon found me on the Ring Finder’s directory of metal-detecting specialists and we arranged to meet at the lake on June 15th, 9 days after the necklace went missing.

Upon arrival, Maggie showed me the location where the incident took place. I donned my search-and-rescue drysuit and waded out to the site in chest-deep water. Maggie hovered close by on the pontoon boat.

The underwater frame of an aluminum boatlift crisscrossed the area. Its proximaty to the necklace made it almost impossible to use a metal detector. However, Maggie’s precise description about where the necklace landed helped pinpoint the location. Using a metal scoop designed for this purpose, I was able to excavate and explore the contents of several scoops; mud, aquatic plants, rocks and shells. Finally, as I brought up another full scoop up out of the water, Maggie was the first to spot the glint of gold—Ben’s heirloom necklace! And the smile on Maggie’s face tells the rest of the story!

If you, or someone you know, has lost a ring or other piece of jewelry, on land or in a lake, don’t let its story end. Give me a call. I would love to add another smile to my list of over 160 happy clients.