Uncategorized Category | Page 481 of 496 | The Ring Finders

While metal detecting in four feet of water with about one foot waves at Grand Haven State Park, Michigan, I found a class ring from Davenport University class of 2005. We were on a hunt with our metal detecting club (Wolverine Research and Recovery Club) and I showed the ring to the members and said tomorrow I will be on Craigslist and Facebook to find the owner. When I got home that evening I went to Facebook and found several Mike Harders but only one from the area in Middleville, MI. I friend-ed Mike and asked him if he graduated from DU. He messaged me back and after answering several questions I found he was the  owner of the class ring.

Mike was skipping a ball with his nephew  in Lake Michigan when he noticed the ball and another splash, the other splash was his ring. He has lost weight due to Parkinsons that he has and as an Air Force veteran is 100% disabled. Mike graduated from DU in 2005 with a degree in Computer Engineering and shortly before his moms death she gave him the money for his ring. It has a lot of sentimental value to him and when he told his sister that someone  had recovered his ring that sat down and cried.

As a retired Air Force veteran myself  it was very special to meet Mike face to face and hand over the ring to him.

Forty minutes after Brian Ingle lost his wedding ring, he was on line looking for smeone to find it, finding « theringfinders » he looked in the directory at Michigan and found my name. Brian immediately got on the telephone asking me to come out and find his wedding ring. I told him I could be out the next morning.

Brian, Kelsey (who is 7 months pregnant with their first child) and his mother and father in-law were staying at Brians parents cottage on Crystal Lake and decided to play water volleyball. They have a net set up in 3 to 4 feet of water with a sandy bottom, it was ideal for detector hunting. Kelsey told him to be careful not to loose his ring while playing volleyball but as luck would have it, his ring came off. He showed us where it must be and that he didn’t hit the ball hard because it was just  family funtime in the water.

My brother Doug and I set up a grid search of the volleyball court, him taking one side and I the other. After finishing one way with no results we started the other grid search going perpendicular in the court. Two hours had passed with no results however we did clean out several screws, bolts, bottlecaps and coins. We decided to go several feet outside the court to no avail, than lunch. From 9:30am to 3:00pm we searched. I decided to go way outside the box and there it was on the opposite side of the court where Brian thought it was on.

Brian and Kelsey were smiling and a very happy couple bing reunited with his ring. The couple is from Fairborn, Ohio and Kelsey’s parents were visiting from Cincinatti, Ohio. We showed them some Pure Michigan hospitality.

While metal detecting in about four feet of water at Kirk Park near Grand Haven, Michigan I was using my Fisher CZ21. After about an hour of trying my best to grid off the open water I came across a  good signal and after a few digs I rescued a « large » Titanium wedding band. Wanting to reunite the lost ring to the rightful owner I got on Craigslist and went into Lost and Found. About a day later I got an email from J.O. (fatkid). He had lost his ring on July 5 while playing football in the water with a bunch of friends. A day earlier he had gone to the jeweler to try to get the ring sized due to some weight-loss but wasn’t able to at that time.

After he lost the ring Josh went on the internet and saw www.theringfinders.com but didn’t act upon it until he had seen the Craigslist posting and emailed me. After a few emails it was determined that Josh was the rightful owner and this ring, rescued from under the sand and four feet of water, finally was coming home to its owner.

Happy days are now in store for Josh and I think he should think about changing his email handle from « fatkid » to something else he has trimmed down.

Ben called late Saturday evening to report a lost wedding ring while swimming at Lake Ann Beach in Chanhassen. By the time I received the message it was to late to call him back. The next morning I called and he he informed me of the location of the lost wedding ring. It was very important to get out to the beach ASAP as many detectorists hit this beach on weekends in search of lost items – The only problem with these detectorists is that they have no intention of giving the items back to the rightful owner. I headed out as soon as I got the information from Ben and 30 minutes later I had his ring in my scoop. We had beaten the « scavengers » as we like to call them; and recovered Ben’s ring and it is now back on his finger where it belongs – Congrats Ben!!!!!

 

Ya mon, no problem!!

June 21, 2012

My first morning in Jamaica and I was out on the beach at 5:30 am with my detector, searching the warm waters. This is the 1^st time I have traveled outside of the USA with my detector. Very relaxing!! The water was very warm and I had the beach to myself, watching the sun rise.

I was having fun finding coins when a man called me over to the dry sand. He said that he knew where there was a gold ring. I asked him several questions. He said he lost it yesterday while playing catch in the water. He was about chest deep when he felt it fly off. I asked him where he was. He took me down to the beach bar and said “out there”. He said it was a yellow & white gold band with no inscription.

I told him I would look for him. He said that there was a problem. He was leaving the resort in 45 min to fly back to Wisconsin. Nothing like pressure!! I told him to leave his information at the desk so if I find it I could make sure it gets returned. He said he would.

I went out to the area he pointed to. First signal was a set of room keys. About 15 minutes later I had another signal. Two scoops later I had a white & yellow gold ring in my hand. Wow! I found it! I quickly left the water, ran back to my room to drop off my equipment and to grab a camera. My wife was still sleeping so she couldn’t come with me.

I was hurrying up to the resort lobby. I saw Matt walking down the path toward the beach, scanning the water. I can only guess the thoughts going through his head. Where did he go? Did he find it and leave? He then spotted me walking toward him.

He asked how I made out. I reached into my pocket and produced the ring. He said “No way!!” He couldn’t believe it! He said he was so happy he was ready to cry! He said that he wanted to give me a hug. I said I was wet and smelly. He didn’t care. He gave me a hug. He said that I needed to follow him to the lobby to meet his wife.

When she saw Matt walking toward her holding up his finger, she screamed “No way!!” She said to me that she needed to give me a hug. I told her that I am soaked and smelly, but she didn’t care. She gave me a hug. They told me they were there celebrating their 10^th wedding anniversary. We had a bystander snap a quick picture because their bus was there waiting to take them to the airport. We exchanged some basic information. They offered me a reward, but I declined. I was happy that they could end their vacation on a happy note.

They had a long travel day ahead of them. Both of them now wet and smelly!