Dan Beale Tag | The Ring Finders

Beautiful Diamond Ring Rescued from the Lake at Kensington Metro Park

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

Ricky called me early Monday morning to ask for help finding an engagement ring his fiancee Rhonda lost while swimming at Martindale Beach.  The ring, he said, was gold and silver and he could not afford to lose it.  Rhonda and Rickey were both very upset over the ring, he was hoping to get off work early to show me where the ring was lost.

Kensington Metro Park is a very difficult lake to find a ring in.  It is popular and while clean and clear, the swimming area rarely has good visibility.  The lake is spring fed and there are springs through out the swimming area, the water is always cold and the springs move from day to day. On top of the difficulty presented by the lake, the park does not allow metal detecting in the swimming area.

Even though I obtained special permission every park employee questioned my permit.  We were on the beach when the most aggressive employee yet, Hal,  drove up on a cart and examined the permit again.  I told him I had no intent to fight about it, I have searched the beach before and I knew it would not be fun. If he had more authority than the park director, I would gladly yield.

Rhonda saved the day and expressed to Hal her misery over the loss and melted his heart.  With Hal on our team,  we now had the support of all the park staff.  I went into the water  determined to search until I recovered the ring.

I’m not exactly sure how long it took , but I came out of the water frozen cold with the ring.  Ricky was right there with me the whole time while a sizable group of friends cheered us on from shore.

I have tasked this wonderful couple with paying forward the cost of this recovery.

 

 

It is impossible to fail with a team like this.

 

 

 

Beautiful Ring Lost for Years Recovered in Beaverton Michigan

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

I received a text one afternoon that seemed a little strange.  Debbie had lost an expensive ring and was losing sleep over it. The message focused on how far I was willing to drive and the cost of a several hundred mile ring call.  I asked about the ring and got a very vague description of a costly ring with a big diamond and that she was sick over losing it.  She was asking me to drive several hundred miles to  search, but she was not willing to pay a large amount, and that was assuming I found the ring.

When someone is having health problems and losing sleep over a lost item, I figure I will have to go, regardless if they can afford me.  I offered to drive up the next day. I was almost releaved to find she no longer lived in Michigan and would not return for many months.  « I will let you know the details later » she said.  Perfect I thought,  I will likely not hear from her again.

The next time Debbie contacted me it was with a date several weeks in advance.  I agreed to the date and got a precious few more details. It was a very expensive ring and she knew exactly where she lost it several years ago.  She left me with the impression it was a huge diamond on a thin white gold band.

So now I have a commitment to drive several hundred miles, the promise of a relatively small reward, the ring was lost a few years ago and it is tiny so it will be difficult to find.  She knows right where it is in the back yard and has looked hard to find it herself, so no doubt it is now below the surface.

The appointed day came and because I couldn’t interest anyone else in taking the call, I got in the car and drove for two and a half hours to meet Debbie and her mother at her mother’s home in Beaverton.  About half way there it started raining so hard I could hardly see to drive.

I tried to maintain my confidence as I realized the back yard was about 40 acres and it was overgrown.  Debbie led me across the mowed yard and into the brush.  Eventually we reached a very non descript spot on a almost non existant trail.  Debbie stopped abruptly and declared « this is the spot » and  starts wacking at the brush.  Her mother behind me is also wacking at brush.   I cant even swing the detector and in fact, I haven’t move a step from where Debbie  abruptly stoped.

I had enough of this ever worsening scenario. They were destroying the site and all I could detect was the oversized mucking boots both ladies are wearing.  I have never ordered a client to leave a search before, and I knew both ladies were worried as the ring was very valuable.  They wanted to watch but it was raining and I talked them into going back to the house.

As they walked away I swung the detector in the original spot Debbie had just trampled and got a hit, a faint but clean repeatable 40 on the meter.  My pinpointer located the ring a second later. I had not moved from the spot where I was standing when Debbie halted the procession.

I shot a little video of the ring in the hole because it was difficult to see the ring in a picture.  Click here to watch me find this beautiful ring:  https://youtu.be/oRjJsu1IWq4  Sadly the video I made  minutes later when I went to the back door did not come out well. It was hard to keep a discouraged look on my face while I explained it was raining too hard to continue searching.  She was shocked when I  handed her the ring.

I think this was the most beautiful ring I have ever found.  It was nothing like the ring Debbie described.  Yes it had a big diamond but it was so much finer than the plain band they led me to believe I was looking for.

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Lost ring recovered from snow in Livonia Michigan

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

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1971 Farmington High Class Ring Lost 51 Years Returned to Owner

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

It is not that huge a feat to find a lost ring.  I becomes much easier if the person who lost the ring can point to an approximate spot they think they lost it.  Finding a ring with just dumb luck is easy too.  I have handfuls of rings I have recovered in my travels from schools, ball diamonds, parks, and beaches.  Finding a ring and then locating the owner is almost an impossibility.  I have only done it one other time.

George lost his ring playing baseball.  He and his friends looked up and down and could not locate the ring.  Fifty one years later on a different ring call, I found George’s long lost ring.

Lost class ring from 1971

Close up Farmington High 1971 Class Ring

To find George I joined face book.  Our graduating class is working on a reunion and I was sure someone would know the owner.  Our yearbook does not show middle initials; but George quickly surfaced as a candidate and soon after that we were talking on the phone.

The happy owner is reunited with his ring

Ring returned to owner after 51 years!!

George and I are actually classmates, we both graduated from Farmington High School  (Farmington Michigan) in 1971.  I knew George’s name and that he had a cool car; but we never socialized.  I wish we had talked years earlier.

 

If you have lost something dear and think you know where it might be,  I would love to help you recover it.  Even long lost, as George found out, is only a temporary condition if you know where to start looking.

Lost Class Ring Found!! Farmington High 1971

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)
I got a ring call the other day that was interesting.  Another one of those « she threw it out the window » stories.  They were driving down Shiawassee road in Farmington.  Just kids, and they would not agree to let me photograph or blog.  I found the ring, his mothers previously, without too much trouble.  While I was searching I came up with a second ring, a 1971 Farmington High class ring.

I almost had a coronary because I graduated from Farmington High more than 50 years ago.  I lost my 1971 class ring in the student parking lot a few months before graduation.  I could almost see that parking lot from the spot I found this ring.  Wrong initials, sadly, it is not my ring.

I have a few guesses as to who lost it from my 1971 yearbook; but I cant be sure because there are no middle initials in the yearbook.  Both my brother and I graduated from Farmington High in 1971 and neither one of us received any mention anywhere in the yearbook, so there may be a few more candidates than the three I have so far isolated.

There is a class reunion this September, stay tuned while I attempt to find the ring owner.

I posted a quick recovery video on YouTube  https://youtu.be/wulmhXtBi6U

Lost class ring from 1971

Close up Farmington High 1971 Class Ring

Almost perfect after decades? in the dirt.

Two lost rings found in Grand Blanc, Mi

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

It is not unusual to find a stray ring or two, when looking for a lost item.  I have a good collection of rings I have found by chance over the years.  It is unusual to have the misfortune to lose a second ring while searching for the first.

Jeremy called me and explained that he had been searching for a lost ring in a wooded area next to a parking lot and needed help.  It was an expensive ring, and it had a lot of sentimental value.  We met the next day hoping to recover the ring.  Using a simulated ring with a streamer Jeremy reenacted the events that sent the engagement ring flying.  As we were estimating how far a ring might have landed from the spot they were standing, Jeremy mentioned  Amber, his fiancée, had lost a second ring in the search for the engagement ring the previous day.

While Jeremy worked at a more precise search area for the engagement ring I started beating the bushes for the second ring.  I found it in just a few minutes.  Sadly it was not even close to where Jeremy projected the engagement  ring should be.  After a very through search we were back to tossing the simulated ring with the streamer.

Watching the streamer waive in the wind as it flew through the air gave me the idea I had to go much deeper into the underbrush.  The strategy paid off.  In about two hours of searching we found both of the lost rings.

A short U-Tube video   https://youtu.be/79h-PI_8Mpg

 

 

Lost Ring Found – A Midnight Recovery in West Bloomfield Michigan

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

I was sleeping and it took a few tries for Michael to wake me.  I heard the phone ring on his his fourth call.

It was cold and windy when I went to bed and I could hear through the phone connection that Michael was cold.  Hurriedly, he explained he had accidentally tossed his wedding ring out his car window.  He had a good idea where it landed; fortunately he had not been driving more than 5 mph when he lost the ring.  He called for help and along with several friends, he and his wife had been searching since 7:30 pm.  It was almost midnight and I could tell he was desperate.

We talked for a few minutes longer and I knew he would be there all night without help.  I took a little longer getting to the spot then I planned as I made a few wrong turns on my way.  Michael had faith, and was waiting for me when I found the cold but determined group.  It did not take long to recover Michael’s ring.

Short you tube video – https://youtu.be/1Xv0UlVoivM

A glint of gold hiding in the snow

Moral of the story – Don’t throw things out the window of your car and don’t search futility for hours, call the ringfinder while the light is still good.

 

A Happy Ending

Special thanks to my AAA Insurance Agent Adam Hukkala for providing the reflective vest I wore while working on the road side.  Always keep safety first.

Lost Wedding Ring Found Northville Michigan

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

I received a call from Paul at his Northville, Michigan home requesting help to find his son Michael’s wedding ring.   The ring was lost in the yard during a celebration following the wedding.

At first Paul attempted to find the ring himself.  With the help of many of the guests they walked around looking for the jet black ring.  They even used a rake to comb the grass.  Not about to give up, Paul turned to the theringfinder.com web site and found my Wixom, MI listing.

It did not take long to find Michael’s lost ring. It turned up in a small pile of grass and leaves that had been raked up in the previous day’s search.

Michael’s ring hiding in the snow

Paul told me about the wedding as I was packing up my gear.  The priest had reflected in his sermon on the lifetime of challenges and rewards their relationship represented and offered the couple a small jar of salt.   A grain of salt, small but important to good health, makes food taste better.  He advised when difficult situations arise they should take them with a grain of salt, like the old idiom, remembering how small and temporary their difficulties are compared to their relationship.  The very next day the couple took the priest’s advice and after reflecting on the little bottle of salt, put the search for the ring aside, and departed on their honeymoon.

I did not get to meet the newlyweds; but you can see Paul was delighted.  The happy couple will return home to the good news that the ring was recovered.

Dan the ring finder with Paul holding the recovered ring.

 

We made a short You Tube video:   https://youtu.be/1UvFKsuRmTM

 

 

Lost ring found at Island Lake in Novi Michigan

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

I was just finishing dinner on a beautiful summer evening when I received a call from Randy who had lost his wedding ring at a subdivision beach in Novi, Michigan.

While Randy was swimming he left his belongings, including his platinum wedding ring, on a towel in a grassy area by the beach.  When he returned for his towel he accidentally flipped the ring into the grass.  Since he saw it fly off the towel he was confident he knew where it was and that he could find the ring.

After almost two hours of searching Randy started calling everyone he could think of who might own a metal detector.  Unsuccessful at locating a detector he could borrow, he tried the internet.  Lucky for Randy, the Ringfinder web site led him to my phone number.

Since I live close, it only took me about fifteen minutes to reach the beach where Randy pointed out the spot he last saw his ring. 

It took less than five minutes to find the ring.  There it was hiding in the grass.

This could be a record.  Randy had his ring back on his finger 30 minutes after calling for help from theringfinders.com.

 

Lost Ring Found – Troy Community Center

  • from Wixom (Michigan, United States)

Narenda was at cricket practice when he noticed he lost his ring.  As they searched in declining evening light his coach Raj  visited my Ringfinder Directory listing and called me  for help.  I was home, but an hour away, so when I arrived  at the Troy Community Center it was just getting dark.  We searched without success until well after dark.

Naren explained the ring was a very dear gift from his mother, it was clear he was not ready to give up the search.  I knew the ring was somewhere on the field, and thanks to Coach Raj, I had a good Idea where to look.

I returned the following day in very poor weather for another unsuccessful hunt.  On my third attempt I set the marker flags for my search over a much larger area than the markers Coach Raj had made indicating Narenda’s position during the cricket drill.  Sure enough the ring turned up just outside the area of the original search.

When I recovered the ring I was dismayed to find it had been bent.  Knowing I had to beat the lawn mowers I started early hoping to prevent the possibility of damage.  Indeed there had been no mowing due to the rain.  The ring looked reparable and I told Coach Raj of the damage when I called him with the news of the find.

Narenda came that evening eager to pick up the ring.  I asked him again to describe his ring, a small gold ring with white stones in a square pattern.  He laughed when I told him it had been damaged, he admitted to denting the band himself and pantomimed the catch he made when he dented it. His smile told the story when he slipped the ring back on his finger.

Short video on UTube:  https://youtu.be/iNLPon36nA8

Happy Ending

Mother’s Lucky Ring Returned