Fontana Tag | The Ring Finders

Gold Ring Recovered from Geneva Lake in Fontana, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)

June 9, 2026

Wedding Ring Recovered from Geneva Lake in Fontana, WI

Raul and his family were enjoying a day at the beach in Fontana, WI when his 14K gold wedding band was lost.  His family spent time in the grass, on the sand, and in the water.  Fontana beach is quite large, so narrowing down the search area was key.

On my way out I texted two fellow detectorists who may have been detecting this beach letting them know I was on a search and “Did they find any gold rings at Fontana’s beach in the last two days?”  “No,” was the reply.  When I arrived, another detectorist was in the water.  I waded out to Tony and asked the same question.  “No, only a quarter so far.”

       Raul patiently answered all of my questions as we worked to pinpoint the most likely spot he would have lost it.  I marked off the edges of my search area in the sand and waded into the shallow water to make my first pass.  Dragging my search coil slowly over the sand, overlapping, so as not to miss anything, I had a strong repeating signal around the third or fourth pass.  I knelt down in the water and waved away the topmost layer of sand in the spot where my detector indicated a target.  Half of the ring appeared like a golden smile.  I picked it up and held it up to Raul who was standing on the shoreline.  

It was the first and only target I dug that morning.  Raul carefully thought through all of my questions and that led to our success in finding the ring.

After a few photos, it was back on his hand and his smile said it all.

        Later, Raul made a kind post on the Lake Geneva Lake Life Facebook group.  He writes: “A huge thank you to Seth for helping recover something that means so much to me and my family.  We are incredibly grateful!”           

Wedding Ring Recovered Day After Wedding, Fontana WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)

August 16, 2025

 

Wedding Crisis Averted

I was married 24 years ago and it rained on my wedding day… at an outdoor wedding… in a wide-open space… with only a canopy of trees to hide under.  Not a hard rain, but enough to get everyone wet.  Once the ceremony was over, my minutes-old bride and I ran across a grassy field hand-in-hand, smiling, and laughing at the timing of everything.  It was perhaps our first disappointment to overcome as a married couple, and I think that experience has given us a good perspective in life.

 

There are endless things that can go wrong at a wedding.  It could rain, the cake 

might be dry, a bridesmaid may trip and drop her bouquet, or an important someone might show up late.  Generally, these are overcome in the moment or simply fade from memory.  On the other hand, there are a handful of things that can taint the wedding day and leave a lasting bad memory, like losing the wedding ring.

On the morning of August 16th, I was metal detecting Fontana Beach on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin.  When I came out of the water and checked my phone, I had a text from a friend of a bride and groom that were married the day before.  “We lost a wedding ring in Fontana last night off the shore.  Is it possible to have someone come out and look today?”

The timing could not have been more perfect.  I was still in my wetsuit and only a five-minute drive to the Air bnb in Fontana where the bridal party was staying.

I arrived with hair still wet from my morning dive to a group of young people enjoying their morning coffees.  I was kindly offered a coffee myself.  

In short order the crisis was relayed.  The bride and groom, Olivia and Houston, were married yesterday and spontaneously decided to jump into the lake together.  An open pier a short walk down the shore path provided the opportunity.  Moments after the plunge, Houston realized his ring was gone.  Friends dived with basic goggles the next morning searching for the ring among the seaweed and rocks.  It’s certainly not impossible to find a lost ring with the eyes only, but highly unlikely give

n the depth and conditions underwater.

Two friends walked me to the pier, and within a few minutes of getting into the water, I had the ring.

The details provided by the happy couple’s friends made the search precise and short.  It was a joyous occasion returning the ring to the bridal party at the Air bnb.  I never met the couple myself, but was pleased to play a small part in making their wedding day story one with a unique twist and a happy ending.  

Congratulations, Olivia and Houston!  I hope you have many happy and healthy years together.