Farmington Hills Tag | The Ring Finders
1971 Farmington High Class Ring Lost 51 Years Returned to Owner
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
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.
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
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
Almost perfect after decades? in the dirt.
Lost Wedding Ring Found in Park Northville MI
It was late in the day when Ron called me to tell me that his wife Chris lost her wedding ring in the park near their Northville home. I met Ron and Chris the following evening to hear the sad tale. The very special ring that was her mother’s, had been lost while playing Frisbee in the park. The whole family had spent many hours looking; but the ring was not found. Fortunately, they consulted The Ring Finder web site.
When we arrived at the spot the ring was lost I produced my lucky simulated ring with streamer and Chris did her best to throw it as she had tossed the Frisbee when the ring was lost. Using the landing spot as a starting point, I quickly found a penny that a family member had tossed out and also lost in the grass, while hunting for the ring. I knew I was close.
This simulated ring does the job again.
Using a standard grid I went back and forth across the park. I enlarged the search area until I found the ring. It was getting dark and I was soaked as it never stopped raining the entire time I searched. The ring was hiding at the far edge of the search area in line with the path of our simulated ring.
Hiding in the grass.
Here is a Utube video of the park and the search:
Ron called me earlier in the day, as rain was forecasted and indeed it had been raining. « Will it be ok if it rains? » he asked me and I told him we would dry the ring off when we found it. Sure enough, I did dry the ring off before I presented it with the entire family present.
Priceless generational ring is back on her finger.
A very special family treasure.
Two lost rings found in Grand Blanc, Mi
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
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
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
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
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
Mother’s Lucky Ring Returned
Ring Found at Gilbert Willis Park Commerce MI- Owner Located – Wedding Ring Returned
It was looking like spring the first week of May here in Lower Michigan so I went out to practice with a new metal detector at Gilbert Willis Park in Wixom. It is a beautiful, large park and I often find coins there. Like most parks it can yield a fair amount of junk. I had invested the whole afternoon retrieving a mixture of junk and coins and was walking to my car when I had a good hit that I thought might be a quarter. It turned out to be several items, first a penny and a dime in the hole, and then a diamond ring in the clump.
Sentimentally, this ring might just be the most valuable thing I have ever found. It bore the design of half a heart with a diamond, it had an inscription and a date that indicated the ring owner had been married only a year and a half ago. The inscription “No Matter What” instantly fired my determination to find the owner. I was enjoying the thought of returning the ring even before I had the hole filled.
I ran into a lot of dead ends on this one until I enlisted the help of a local realtor, Liz Stevenson, and the Neighborhood Exchange newsletter which she has published monthly for at least 20 years. Everyone reads the free ads on the back of the newsletter. I placed an ad in the July issue. Sherry called me the day the newsletter was delivered to tell me about her husband Shoane’s lost ring. I knew it was his ring when she told me of the half of a heart design that matched her ring; but I made her give me the inscription so I could be sure.
Shoane was playing baseball in the park and had removed the ring and pocketed it for safety. Sadly, he lost it when he went to the car after the game. It was a win for the team; but losing the ring ruined the weekend. After an exhaustive search, Shoane had just about given up hope he would ever see his ring again. The ring lay buried in the park until the following spring.
It turns out that Shoane’s office was just down the street from the park. I was able to drop the ring off and ring and owner were reunited.
Thank you Liz Stevenson for locating the ring owner.