Christina McCree – Ring Finder/Metal Detectorist for northern Alabama and southern/middle Tennessee…call or text ASAP, anytime 24/7…610-504-6135
On Thursday afternoon, December 7th, 2023, I received a call from Joe stating he had lost his large 14K yellow gold and diamond retirement ring he had custom designed 14 years ago. The ring has an intricate design of a prized elk Joe had gotten while on a hunting trip in Canada. The ring is one of a kind and very sentimental. Joe thought it came off while he was smashing and throwing pumpkins out in his backyard to feed deer. Joe lives in Brentwood, Tennessee, which is about an hour and a half drive from where I live in Huntsville, Alabama. I don’t mind driving and actually enjoy making these trips, but the search would have to wait until Saturday since I had to work at my regular day job on Friday. I told Joe that the ring wouldn’t go anywhere since it was on his private property.
I made the drive to Brentwood, TN early Saturday morning. We had the threat of severe weather in the afternoon, so I wanted to beat the storms. Before my trip, I prayed for safe travels, good weather, and a successful ring recovery. I met Joe and his wife, Lesly, at their home around 8:30 AM. Joe and I walked out to his backyard. He showed me how he would smash small to medium sized pumpkins by throwing them very hard at tree roots on the ground to break up the pumpkins, and then throw the pieces in the woods/field for the deer to eat. He didn’t feel or see the ring come off, but thought this would be the most likely chance when it did. I had Joe re-enact the throws with the test ring I brought. Both Joe and I thought the ring came off on the smashing action, so I started in that area.
I had my Minelab Equinox 900 with the 15-inch coil for this search due to the large area to cover. I started my grid search and was pleasantly surprised at how quiet the ground was (little to no trash). This would help speed up the search. Joe hung around for a few minutes to see how it was going, but then headed off to wash his truck.
There were a few good sounding shallow signals that I checked along the way, but no ring so far. About 20 minutes into the search and I had a loud tone. I swung my metal detector to the side and saw that beautiful gold rim gleaming back up at me. It was Joe’s ring!!! I took off my gloves, powered off my detector and set it on the ground. I didn’t touch the ring, because I wanted Joe to see how it looked—just slightly covered with a leaf.
I turned around and saw that Joe was busy washing his truck. Lesly was on the porch watching me. I gave her a big smile and two thumbs up. She yelled, “you found it!?” I said, “got it!” Joe heard this and just about lost his mind (in a good way lol). He ran over and gave me the biggest hug, thanked me profusely, and told me he loved me lol! It’s really hard to put into words the reaction us Ring Finders get when we find and return someone’s very sentimental ring or item. I can say that it’s one of the best feelings in the world and truly feels like my purpose in life. I give all glory to God and thank Him for all these amazing adventures I get to go on and the people I get to meet.
Joe and I took some pictures and headed in the house. I talked with Joe and Lesly for over an hour. I really enjoyed our conversation and thank them for their hospitality. We said our goodbyes and I was on my way back to Huntsville. Looking forward to the next adventure…
Tony was doing some surf fishing in Lavallette NJ early one Saturday morning with his buddies. It was pretty close to high tide when he realized his phone was missing, but he wasn’t quite sure where it could be. He looked everywhere possible when he figured it must have fallen out somewhere in the water while he was fishing. Loosing a phone can be very devastating with all the pictures, videos, and other information that can be stored on them now. Needless to say this was the situation with Tony, especially the pictures and videos of friends and family that can NEVER be replaced. Luckily I was able to locate his phone during the next low tide, about 20′ down the hill, right where the low tide waves were breaking. It was already buried in the sand over 12″, and prob. very close to being lost for ever. Time is so important when recovering lost items in the surf or ocean, that is why you need to call ASAP when an item is lost.
