Ellen was sitting out on her dock bench when her wedding ring slipped off her hand into the water. Her Husband tried to find it, though it is a tough task with poor visibility in the water and the ring is easily hidden by the muck at the bottom of the lake. Ellen called the ring finders and it was a quick find. Only a few minutes. Glad we could help!
I receive a call this morning from a young man who told me he lost a very special silver chain that was given to him by his girlfriend. He lost it at Kits Beach in Vancouver the evening of the fireworks.
That’s the worst time to lose something on the beach because after the fire works many metal detectorists will search the beaches all night long. I thought fore sure someone would have already found the chain.
I put out a few calls but no one heard of a silver chain being found on Kits Beach so I called the young man and we set a time to meet at the beach that day.
After about 20 minutes of searching for a parking spot we hooked up and discussed the search area and I told him that our chances where low and he understood.
He took me to the area and I set my grid and started to search, the people around the area were curious and watched as I searched. One pull tab, one bottle cap, one washer and then…Up from the sand hanging half out on my sand scoop was his beautiful silver chain!
Within seconds of seeing the silver glinting in the hot sun people started clapping and cheering… The young man and his girlfriend were all smiles.
I have found lots of rings and things over the years, this recovery made me smile to see how such a young man was so happy to see his silver chain that was given to him by his sweetheart. He told me how much it meant to him and another one wouldn’t be the same…
I Love my job!
Lost something? Call Me ASAP
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Kathy F. e-mailed with a request for help in finding her husband’s wedding band. The specific location of where the ring had been lost was perfect. Unfortunately the weather, tide and sea state were not so perfect. As timing is an essential factor in searching the salt waters we had to try at the next low tide. Team member Jim W. and I met at the beach, looked at the conditions and almost gave up, but did not. Jim detected in his bathing suit and shoes, I forgot my shoes so I wore my fishing waders and could not get out as far or deep as Jim could. The seaweed was a challenge to work in as were the high, crashing waves. It took Jim about 20 minutes to find the ring at chest depth in the very rough water. Before our search started I had to ask a fisherman to move from where he was fishing so we could search for the ring with out getting « caught ». Needless to say he and his girlfriend were amazed that we found the ring. In the time we were in the water the fisherman had not caught his dinner. The best part of this story lies within the children’s hand made Thank You cards given to both Jim and myself and of course the Happy Ending with many Smiles will never be forgotten.
Others using several different detectors over many hours had search the beach area during a ten day period before I had my chance to detect the area. In an hour and forty minutes on the beach I dug over 50 pull tabs and bottle caps before locating the platinum ring holding onto its nine beautiful diamonds. Somehow it had hidden from the onslaught and waited for me to unearth it from beneath 5 inches of wet sand, just one inch above the water table. Cell calls to Maine and frantic runs up the hill for better reception to communicate correct information culminated in another Happy Ending with a big Smile on Nicole’s face for my memory book. I will also cherish the wonderful hand made ceramic crab ornament and two candy dishes I was given.
July 4th weekend was supposed to be a family holiday, a fun time. But for Phil & Becky Saubetin of Madison, Wisconsin, the day ended on a sad note. Missing, was Phil’s wedding band. It went astray at Egg Harbor Beach on the Door County peninsula.
Becky wrote, “No matter how much I tried to tell myself that it was just a token of our marriage…a thing…it’s not.” She remembered the gold-band’s inscription, “FOR MY PRINCE CHARMING LOVE B.” Adding to the frustration was the fact that they had glimpsed the ring momentarily in the water. But as they tried to reach it, the currents of Lake Michigan pushed it out of sight into the sandy silt. Despite their best search efforts and those of strangers who came to their rescue, including one with SCUBA gear, the ring seemed destined to be lost forever, as if swallowed by a sinister monster.
A search on the internet raised the Saubetin’s hopes when they discovered TheRingFinders.com and Metal Detecting Specialist, Paul Humphreys. He lived 3 ½ hours away in Waukesha, WI. Would he even consider helping them? Yes, he would. But on the day he and his wife, Kathleen met with Phil and Becky on location at Egg Harbor, the waves were unusually high, whipping the lake’s bottom into a swirl. The water quickly washed over Paul’s equipment and despite protective measures, the moisture silenced his machine. But Paul was more determined than ever. He promised to continue the hunt another day armed with underwater equipment. And he did just that, returning in the wee small hours of August 4th, exactly one month later.
After nearly two hours, a “loud and proud” bark from his Minelab Excalibur detector was like a trumpet blast announcing an important event. As sand filtered out from Paul’s stainless-steel scoop, early morning rays reflected off a gold wedding band. Was it Phil’s? This question was answered immediately when Paul caught sight of one of the words inscribed inside the band, “CHARMING.”
That night, Phil received an email from Paul. Its subject line read, “Prince Charming Rides Again!” And the photos attached bore tangible evidence of what Phil and Becky thought was lost forever.
Early this morning the Saubetin’s arrived at our home to collect their precious token. Phil placed it on his finger amidst family smiles that made the whole room sparkle. Then their youngest daughter put her arms around her Daddy’s neck, squeezed tightly and asked, “Do you feel married again, Daddy?” His answer; a mile-wide grin!
My wife and I went to visit some friends at Pacific Beach last Sunday and naturally, I brought my detector along to try my luck. I donned my gear and started to walk over to the life guard tower to begin my beach hunting when a man named Ray approached me and asked me if I could help find his wedding band that had slipped off his finger. He thought it was in the sand over by the blanket he and his wife were using. I said sure and headed there to take a scan of the area. A nice sound produced nothing but a wadded up clump of foil. After nothing else came to light in that area Ray said that it could be over in the shallow water too. I gave him my card, got a description of the ring (large yellow gold band with a hammered look on the outside), and asked if he was going to be there on the beach for a while. He said yes, so I told him If I found his ring, I’d let him know and headed toward the surf. Before I made it to the wet sand, I got a nice signal from Excalibur and in my first scoop, I see a nice big gold ring! I couldn’t believe that I found it that quick. After giving it a quick once over, it appeared that it wasn’t Ray’s ring as it looked smooth on the outside and had some initials (not his) stamped into the inside surface. No use getting him excited over someone else’s ring so I continued to search the area he defined. After an hour or so, I looked up and saw he and his wife were leaving and they just waved goodbye to me as I continued to hunt the wet sand. I hunted the rest of the afternoon with only some change and a couple of toy cars to show for it but with one nice ring already in my pocket, I was still a happy camper. When I got home and cleaned the ring off a bit (and got my glasses on!) I discovered to my amazement that It did appear to match Ray’s description even though he never said anything about there being initials stamped into it. Since I didn’t have his number, I figured I’d post it on Craig’s List and maybe he would see it or maybe he’d remember to contact me through my Ring Finders card. Sure enough, a couple of days later, my wife gets the call and has him contact me. We arrange to meet and reunite gold with the finger it had been on for the last 18 years. Smiles all around as I learned they were visiting from out of town and were heading home shortly. The trip will be a much more pleasant one now.
Hi all, I received a call about 3 + weeks back in regards to a search for a lost antique silver earring. The lady was heading out of town for a few weeks and due to work I couldn’t get out before she left on her trip. We agreed to touch basis later when she got back in town, I got the call and off I went to search for a silver earring.
When we met I could tell how frustrated Trudy was with the thought of never finding it. She really loved her earrings and it was only recent she had her ears pierced.
I started my search and 25 minutes into to it I found earring, I was as happy as Trudy when I found it. Its hard when people don’t know where the item is lost, sometimes these searches give people closure…This was a fun search!
I love my job!
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A sentimental and heavy custom-made gold ring originating from India seemed to be lost forever in Pike Lake near Hartford, Wisconsin, USA. The beautifully sculpted and cherished heirloom went missing on July 10th while its owner, Anurag Thakur, was swimming with his youngest son.
The loss was made more difficult by the fact that metal detecting in any body of water or river in Wisconsin is strictly prohibited by the State’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). These laws discourage would-be metal detectorists from taking up the hobby, a recreational activity enjoyed by families elsewhere across the country and around the world.
But when Anurag contacted Paul Humphreys at TheRingFinders.com, Paul made arrangements with DNR Head Ranger, Joe Sieweger, to receive a special Metal Detecting User Permit. The cooperation, understanding and support of Ranger Sieweger made it legal for Paul to enter the hallowed State waters with a Minelab Excalibur ll detector.
It took four searches before Paul’s detector barked out a ring-type signal in chest-deep water. Amidst the gravelly contents of the first scoop, Anurag’s ring glinted brightly as though happy to see sunshine once again. The ring was easily identified by its owner and upon permission from the DNR, Paul was authorized to return the lost personal property to its rightful and delighted owner.
Thanks, Wisconsin DNR, for the help and cooperation received and that helped to make this happy return happen!
On 07/31/11 @ 10:19 am, I received a phone call from a young lady who had lost her 14kt Gold Diamond Engagement Ring on the Beach at the Delaware Seashore State Park Bethany Beach, Delaware. The ring slipped off of her finger and fell into the dry sand while she was applying suntan oil. The sand had been searched for about one hour without any luck before I received the phone call. I arrived at the beach and found that the area of the lost ring had been marked with beach towels. I began my search and with three swings of the detector I received a familiar gold tone. I used my sand scoop to carefully recover the ring and as the sand filtered through my scoop the ring appeared. The young lady gave a cheerful yell as she said « He’s got it, I see it! ». Another great recovery!
Would You like fries with that ring?
Dumpster diving anyone? Yep that was the latest ring search. I received a phone call from a young lady who had just lost her ring. She wanted to know if I could help her find it. Of course I would, and I wanted her to tell me the story.
She had been at a local McDonald’s enjoying a glass of water with her friends. She had taken her silver ring off and had placed it over the straw that was in a clear plastic cup. Engrossed in her conversation, and half looking at the ring she wondered if she could push the ring into the cup over the straw. Somehow see was distracted and sort of forgot about the ring halfway into the cup. A few minutes later ready to leave, she well, left. And being the neat person that she is she put her cup into the trash bag on the way out.
A while later, she thought about the ring and to her horror, it was gone. She was able to remember that she had put the ring nearly into the cup and must have thrown it away. AAHHHHHHH. She has a very nice friend who remembered an add that I ran on craigslist for “TheRingFinders”, and that I searched for lost rings. They were able to track down the add and gave me a call.
It was kind of funny because she wanted to know if I could find a ring in a dumpster. I told her that unfortunately for me, I had experience with dumpster diving and that I would be happy to do the search.
Most of my searches seem to be hours from home, so this one being only ten minutes away was quite a treat. I arrived at McDonald’s in Selah, Washington and met them out at the dumpster. After the introductions the search was on. (I had her get permission from the manager to go through their trash prior to leaving for the hunt).
So in the massive dumpster, we found 8-10 trash bags full of, well, trash. So gloves on hands, we started to pull those bags out of the dumpster and lay them out on the ground. I fired up my metal detector and started going over the bags. I received the typical foil signals from all of the ketchup packets, and then the high tones of pop cans and other metal objects, but no ring.
So it was now time for hand to hand combat. It is at this point I was wondering what was going to be in the trash bags. It pretty much was what you are thinking, just room temperature and all squishy. An observation. I must say that most people finish all their meals, and that McDonald’s is losing millions on wasted ketchup. If you ever need a few hundred little ketchup packs then I have a secret spot for you, AND if you find the right bags, the ones from the kitchen you can have loads of French fries and a few old burgers as a bonus. But I digress.
Well, we were pawing through mounds of squishy cold garbage and each handful was placed under the metal detector. No ring. We spent what seemed like six years going through garbage, and the bad news was that we were running out of the good bags. I was starting to eye some of the remaining fries, when Finally, all the bags had been checked. I was crying because well, you know, I did not find the ring, and everyone looked so disappointed, and the fact that just a few moments earlier after avoiding any major gooey blobs of who knows what, a blob had flown into my left eye, which I did not want to wipe with my hands full of who knows what.
I was stunned we had not found the ring, and started actually thinking about going through the pile again, which would have required ME climbing into the dumpster. My helpers were all in there by now, but I have standards. No not really, I don’t have standards… we had managed to stay out of the container.
Part of being a good ring FINDER, is thinking, so I remember the ring loser saying that she had information from a reliable source in the store that ALL the garbage bags were out here in the dumpster. That sounded to final to me, so I asked the young lady who had lost the ring to go back into the store and grab the plastic trash bag from the container she dropped her cup into. My reasoning is that when I worked at McDonald’s, if the bag wasn’t full, I did not take it out to dump.
She was not to impressed with my idea, but after some brow beating, she marched in there and made off with the bag.
This now the final bag, the tension was palpable. Bit by bit, and fry by fry we started to go through the trash bag. Every bit of trash was slowly searched until we were halfway through the bag. Then just as suddenly as the blob went into my eye, I saw the ring. Tucked down deep in a pile of French fries. I slipped the ring over a sliver of fries and lifted it out of the bag, to the shouting of joy. We DON’T HAVE TO SEARCH THROUGH THE TRASH ANY LONGER.
The ring loser, now all smiles, was very happy to see her very special ring back. It was her 16th birthday ring, with her first diamonds. A gift from her mother.
Is this a great hobbie or what. It was a very special moment. Thanks for calling me to do the search, and I think I have to go take a shower now.
If you have lost your ring in Yakima, or Selah or anywhere NOT in the trash at McDonald’s (just kidding) give me a call.