Lake Geneva Tag | The Ring Finders

Phone Recovered from Geneva Lake in Williams Bay, WI

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A Daughter’s Phone Takes a Swim

It was a Saturday evening, September 5, 2026, when the call came about a phone dropped in the lake.  Ryan was anchored outside of the swimming area at Williams Bay Beach on Geneva Lake.  Family and friends were enjoying a perfect day on the water with jet skis, blue skies, and good company when his daughter’s phone went overboard.  The oft-repeated mistake of wrapping a valuable item in a towel and then promptly forgetting about it led to the phone taking a swim. 

“How deep are you anchored?” I asked.

Ryan’s depth gauge read 10.4 feet.  I explained that my maximum depth is 10 feet, but I told him I would be willing to give it a try.  He was securely anchored, so although drift would be minimal, the conditions underwater might prove to be challenging.

After a short jet ski ride to their boat, I donned my flippers and breathing apparatus and sank to the bottom.  Would I be able to reach the lake bed?

The water was clear, but significant seaweed obscured my vision.  Once I sank far enough, I was encouraged when I touched the bottom, though I soon realized the real bottom lay another foot deeper beneath silty sediment.  Perhaps the cell phone rested on top of the vegetation, and I would not even need to use my metal detector.  After a cursory swim around the boat and a little extra time on the port side, I popped up for a breather.  Ryan and I chatted a bit, and he felt that searching the stern area in an arc would be the best approach.  

I again sank to the bottom and started scanning.  It was quiet.  That was good.  I felt that if I heard anything, it would be the phone.  It wasn’t long before I heard a high-pitched screaming tone… the sound my machine makes over a cell phone.  I rescanned the area, and when I reached down into the loose vegetation, I felt the rectangular shape I was hoping for.  The pink case greeted me first.  When I flipped it over, the screen flashed on.  Success!

If you or someone you know has lost a phone, ring, or piece of jewelry, please call.  The smiles I enjoy when returning lost items are one of the best parts of what I do.

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Diamond Ring Recovered in Lake Geneva, WI

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Silver or Gold? The Tale of a Lost Ring

Tayler’s friend contacted me Friday evening as I was sitting down to dinner with my family.  Could I help find a lost silver ring in the sand at Riviera Beach in Lake Geneva, WI?   

By the time dinner was over, it was nearing the time to get my kids ready for bed, but I knew the next question.  “Can we go with you, Dad?”  

Playing on the beach after dark is great fun, so how could I say no?  We all piled into the car and met Taylor around 8 pm on September 4, 2026.  

After walking to the general location, we established two horizontal lines in the sand marking the top and bottom edges of the search zone.  After debating how far to the left and right of the center point I should search, I asked if they had taken any photos that day.  Sure enough, someone had snapped a picturesque photo of Geneva Lake with two anchored boats in the background.  Using this information, we established the sidelines, and I decided the best place to begin.  

Before the search started, I confirmed the makeup of the ring.  Was it actual silver, or did it just look silver, because silver and white gold sound very different through a metal detector.  And, of course, silver and gold are very different in value.  She confirmed that it was silver… was mostly sure that it was silver.

After about two passes, I heard a low-grunting signal… not the sound of a silver ring.  Upon closer inspection, my headlamp caught a glimmer of shiny metal, and I scooped a silver-colored ring from the sand.  Tayler gasped and approached the place where I was kneeling.  I handed her the ring, topped with a beautiful diamond, and I asked her if it was her ring… and I added, “That’s NOT a silver ring.  I’m pretty sure it’s gold!”  

It was her ring, and she eagerly slipped it onto her finger.  I sensed her great relief, and I soon learned that the ring was a gift from her father.

My kids, who were exploring the beach and wading in the water, gathered with us to celebrate the finding of the ring.  

At age 47, it’s getting a little harder to read the small stamps inside ring bands indicating gold purity, so I called over my 8-year-old son.  My children often help me inspect my finds, reading ring stamps and years on coins.  Holding it up to the light, he matter-of-factly called out, “It’s 14-karat gold.” 

He confirmed what my metal detector told me, that in addition to the sentimental value, it was indeed a valuable piece of jewelry.

If you or someone you know has lost a phone, ring, or other piece of jewelry, please call.  The smiles I enjoy when returning lost items are one of the best parts of what I do.

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Gold Ring Recovered from Lake Geneva

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The Ring Under the Raft… and More

             A thrown football… fumbled.  Along with the football, Heath’s wedding ring slipped from his wet hands, bounced, and disappeared under the floating raft.  Down, down 8 -10 feet to the sand below.    

            Heath attempted some diving on his own while a friend texted me, “Hey, man – I’m at Lake Geneva.  One of my friends lost a ring off of a floating dock.  What would it look like for you to dive for us? »

           The college reunion to reconnect and set up their Fantasy Football teams clouded over and the loss began to dampen the anticipated fun weekend.    

            The next morning, Friday, August 14th, 2026, I arrived to see if I could help save the weekend.  The weather reflected the mood of the gathering, cloudy and gloomy.  Once in the water, I surveyed the floating raft.  Although tethered to the bottom by a 8+ foot chain, I needed to know how much the raft could drift.  After a quick scan of the bottom (maybe I’d get lucky… I didn’t) I decided to push the raft to its maximum distance and swim it in a circle to determine a rough circumference the chain could pivot.  I quickly saw that the search area was quite large.  Depending on what point of the circumference the raft was pushed to by waves, wind, or humans, the ring could be in a lot of places.

              And so I started a grid search.  There was some trash, but not enough to frustrate me.  There was also seaweed to fight, a few large, floating lime green algae blooms, and a few spots of open, bare sand.  I found nothing but trash, a few coins, and surprisingly, two Apple cell phones.

              About an hour later, I was losing hope as I had cross gridded the area multiple times.  My air would only last for 20-30 more minutes.  The raft was always in motion making it hard to know if my grid system was accurate, and so I switched to concentric circles beginning at the massive concrete pad the raft was anchored to.  About 18 minutes later, I heard a strong signal, and after waving away some sand, the gold shined forth.  I couldn’t wait to swim back to shore.

              By about 8:30am, Heath had his ring back on his finger and the sun was beginning to shine.  I knew when his roommates woke up, the good news would be shared and spirits lifted.  

              If you or someone you know has lost a phone, ring, or other jewelry item, please call.  The smiles I enjoy when returning lost items are one of the best parts of what I do.    

✤        ✤       ✤

P.S. One of the phones I found worked!  After texting a few numbers that popped up in the notifications, I got a phone call from Cody.  It was his girlfriend’s phone that she lost a week ago while kayaking.  What luck!  Two smiles with one dive!  Cody added..  “We lost two other  phones that day.”    

       About a week later, after getting permission from a landowner to pass through their yard and use their pier, I was back in Geneva Lake looking for two lost phones.  Cody sent me pictures and a good location to begin searching for his brother, Brandon’s phone, and Brandon’s wife, Karla’s phone.  In about 30 minutes I had both phones and was packing up my gear. 

Did both phones work?  Yes! Even after two weeks underwater.  It was a triple joy to return three phones to three very happy people.

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Wedding Ring Recovered from Geneva Lake

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Through a Crack in the Pier

I met Bob on Friday, July 17th, 2026, to look for his lost wedding ring.  Earlier that week, while Bob was visiting family near Lake Geneva, WI, he took a walk down to the pier.  For reasons I fail to recall, he took off his ring to keep it safe, and somewhere between leaving his finger and setting it on a table, it found its way between the boards of the pier and into Geneva Lake.

Before donning my diving gear, I listened to his story, and together we assessed which section of boards the ring most likely fell through.  To aid me while under the pier, I found a washcloth among some cleaning supplies that I fed down through the boards, held above with the leg of a chair. Once under the pier, I could look for the washcloth to pinpoint the search location.

The pier was expansive and stretched far out into the lake, making the dive deeper than I normally have to go.  My breathing device only gives me ten feet of diving depth, but once I got to the search zone, I was able to reach the bottom.

What first struck me were the dozens of fish under this pier. 

A fisherman’s paradise.  All kinds, sizes, swimming near and far.  The larger ones were not used to a human-sized fish in their territory and (thankfully) kept their distance.  I guess I wouldn’t be alone for this search.

The bottom was free of seaweed and had a hard-packed gravel bottom.  This was great news and made for a quick search.  I dug a few targets, just to make sure I wouldn’t miss the ring, and within about 30 minutes I had the ring snug on my finger.  

When I surfaced, Bob was up at the house having dinner with his family.  I texted him, “I think I have something that belongs on your finger.”

In a few minutes, I could see Bob’s eager smile from a distance, and I was so pleased to return it where it belonged.

If you or someone you know has lost a phone, ring, or other jewelry item, please call.  The smiles I enjoy when returning lost items are one of the best parts of what I do.

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Two Gold Wedding Rings Recovered in Lake Como, WI

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Two Rings Reunited

As I parked my car outside of a lakeside bar in Como, WI, I knew the task ahead would be like none I had encountered before.  Could I locate two lost wedding rings from the same couple?  It was 2:00 pm on July 20th, 2026 and I would soon meet Shauna and Chris to hear their story in person.  Like many of my searches, their story began like so many.  Paraphrasing… « I knew my ring fit loosely and it came off in the water.  I can’t believe I didn’t think to take it off! »

Shauna was playing with her three young daughters, sitting in the shallow water, probably keeping her sharp, motherly eyes on each of them.  Pushing off the rocky bottom of the lake to stand up, she felt the ring slip, release, and disappear.  Carefully padding the lake bottom with a flat hand, only gritty sand and small rocks pushed back.  Her ring was gone.

And then the twist…

When I called her back to arrange for the search, she interrupted with… there’s a bit more to the story and she proceeded to tell me that I would be looking for two rings.  In the moment of losing a precious ring, an overwhelming mixture of emotions are released.  Loss, regret, sadness, anger, hopelessness.  I don’t know what Shauna was feeling, but her husband, Chris, stepped in to help bear the burden.  He said something like… « these rings belong together… » and took off his ring and threw it into the lake.  I listened to their story, paused, and asked, “This is going to sound like a strange question, but are you two fans of [the television show] The Office? »  « Yes! »  they replied, wondering where I was going with the question, but clearly energetic fans of the series.  I pointed to Chris and said, “First, you are the Jim Halpert in this story.”  

In season 6 of The Office, Jim and Pam get married.  

As with most weddings, something inevitably goes wrong and for Pam she accidentally tears her veil.  In the moment, to console her, Jim grabs a pair of scissors and cuts his necktie in half, refocusing Pam that their love is steadfast despite what breaks down around them.  Chris reacted in love, and in my book, that gets the Jim Halpert award.  Shauna later commented it did help her to get through the moment after losing her ring.

In the end, both rings were found.  Shauna’s in shallow water, while Chris’s required some diving to recover it.  Both searches were accomplished in an hour and a half because Chris and Shauna put me in the perfect locations.  Their sharp memories gave me the best chance to use the tools and knowledge of metal detecting to reunite the rings.

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Engagement Found in Lake Geneva Home: No Metal Detector Needed

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March 12, 2026

Lake Geneva, WI

Engagement Ring Found: No Metal Detector Needed 

Wednesday, 3:45 pm: Drew’s voicemail asks for help finding a lost engagement ring in his basement.  It’s been missing for a month.  Could I come and bring my equipment?

To my knowledge, there is no detector on the market that can only sense gold while avoiding all other metals, so metal detecting inside a house is almost a lost cause.  Copper wiring and pipes, nails galore, and household appliances have enough metal to immediately overload a metal detector.  I was planning on politely explaining this to Drew, and heading home after work.

Thursday, 4:00 pm: But when I called him and realized he was only eight minutes away, I thought, “Why not have a look?”  

Thursday, 4:10 pm: I arrived about 10 minutes later and started talking with him in the basement.  I began ask

ing him questions about why his wife took off her ring, where she put them, etc., I said, “I should really be asking her these questions.  Drew replied, “We can try to Facetime her?”  

Moments later, I was asking her any questions that would help me to see what she was doing in her basement a month ago when she lost her ring.

“Actually it was probably two months ago,” she added.  The more I heard, the less confident I felt about finding her ring.  Drew was attending to his 1 year old upstairs.

I continued to ask questions, and I was able to reconstruct what happened that night.

  1. She was doing schoolwork at a small round wooden table in the basement.
  2. She took off her rings (engagement and wedding band) as she was pregnant and they were getting tight.
  3. Both were set on the table.
  4. At the end of the work session, she could only find her wedding band… no engagement ring.
  5. She looked under the table, all around, nothing.

I asked one more question.  “Did you have a laptop bag or anything that it could have fallen into?”

Her reply was what I might have expected.  She had checked the bag she had with her at the time, but she could look again.

Before I could think of another series of questions to ask, she interjected, “I found it!”

I must have heard her wrong.  “You found it?” I replied.

Drew heard my question from upstairs, and came pounding down the stairs, asking me the same question, “You found it?”

Not me!  I said, and handed him his phone with his wife’s smiling face, a diamond ring in the corner of the screen.

Thursday 4:20 pm: I glanced at my watch.  It was about 4:20 pm.  “That’s the fastest recovery I’ve ever made!” I said.

Sometimes the difference between a lost item and a found item hinges on the questions asked rather than the equipment.  I own thousands of dollars of metal detecting equipment, have hundreds of hours of experience on land, in water, and underwater, but the right question can often yield the greatest results.

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Diamond Ring Recovered in Lake Geneva

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August 23, 2025  

 Bigfoot Beach Rescue

It was a typical Saturday on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin.  The temps were perfect for all sorts of fun on the water, including some treasure hunting with my seven-year-old son.  The plan was to drive out to Big Foot Beach State Park, and do some snorkeling and treasure hunting with my metal detector.  Using an underwater breathing device called a Nemo by Blu3, the diver is fed fresh air and can stay underwater (up to 10 feet deep) for quite a long time.  My son loves exploring the shallow depths, looking at fish, and searching for lost items.  

            No sooner had we loaded the car, a text came in asking for help with a lost ring.  A photo attachment showed some unknown shoreline.  I looked up from my phone, told my son, and watched disappointment begin to creep into his expression.  

“Don’t worry, buddy, we’re still going treasure hunting.  The ring search can wait.”

Before pulling out of the driveway, I sent a quick text back asking where the ring was lost.  We soon arrived at Bigfoot Beach State Park and began to get out our gear when my watch alerted me of a text reply.  

It simply said, “Big Foot Beach”

I stood in the open lot and dialed the number.  When Kegan answered I explained that I was in the Big Foot Beach State Park parking lot.  His reply, “I think I’m looking at you.”

Looking up from my phone, I saw a young man and woman walking towards me.

The timing of everything was uncanny!

Before long the search was on.  Kegan’s initial text reminded me that I once searched for a ring for him at Williams Bay beach on Geneva Lake (to no success) and that this one had more diamonds.  Okay, let’s get this diamond ring back, I thought.  Kegan and Christina explained that while returning from paddle boarding the ring fell off of Christina’s finger less than 15 feet from shore.

Although the water was rather clear, the area was very trashy.  I grid-searched the area for at least an hour, digging up lots of pull tabs, pier bolts, a ring with a prominent capital letter M as the design, a handful of pennies, and nails.  Frustrated, I decided to expand my search area a bit, just in case. Nothing.

Needing a break, I came back to the shore to also check on my son.  Kegan was kind enough to keep an eye on him, and I could see they had built a small pond on the shoreline and had also found some trash treasures of their own.  

Christina looked rather deflated, and I told her the area was very trashy, so there were lots of signals to dig.  My netted bag was quite heavy with junk, so I proceeded to unload it in order to return for more searching.  As an aside, I commented to Kegan and Christina that I did actually find a ring, not Christina’s, and thought my son would like to see it.  

I continued to throw down soda cans, rotting pieces of sheet metal, and long pier bolts until I could find the ring in my bag.  

I heard the gasp before I saw her face.  Christina shouts, “That’s my ring!”  

I’m not sure who was more surprised, myself or Christina.  The ring is a flat, capital letter M made up of small diamonds.  How I missed learning this detail was clearly my own fault.  In my mind’s eye I was looking for a diamond engagement ring, perhaps with a few extra diamonds on the side.  The capital letter M ring was clearly off my radar.

Needless to say, Christina and Kegan were relieved and grateful to have the ring returned.   It felt great to return yet another precious item, and I’m thankful for the humbling lesson of knowing clearly what to be looking for ahead of time. 

Once Kegan and Christina departed, my son got to spend an hour or so diving for treasures himself.  He found a pair of sunglasses hiding in the seaweed, some sea glass, interesting shells, and his first silver earring.  

The sun was setting when we crept out of the water, and although we shivered walking back to the car, it was a great day of treasure hunting.

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Lost Wedding Ring Found in Lake Geneva, WI

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Gold in the Lake

 

Another successful recovery!  This story happened three years ago, and there have been many exciting treasures unearthed since then, but I did not take the time to write this one down.  Simply put, David went for an afternoon swim, dove off the pier and his wedding ring slipped off and down to the sandy bottom.  Out of sight, but not out of mind.  

A call to The Ring Finders solved the problem.  I was able to dive with my new Nemo by Blu3 and find David’s ring.  The smiles tell the rest of the story.  What a joy to be part of The Ring Finders network of metal detecting recovery specialists! 

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Lost Wedding Ring Recovered from Lake Geneva, WI

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Caught in the Storm

August 10, 2025

The weekend of August 8, 9, 10, 2025 saw record flooding in Southeastern Wisconsin.

“The Kinnickinnic, Milwaukee, Menominee and Root rivers all hit record highs over the weekend, with the Milwaukee River going more than 4-feet over flood level.” (PBS News)

  I was camping in the Wisconsin Dells with my ten-year-old daughter and although under a flood watch, my first-world problems consisted only of a leaky tent and a restless night’s sleep.  

Down in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, Brian and his family were caught in a fast approaching storm on Geneva Lake.  Spotting a stranger’s open boat shelter, he took refuge, keeping his family safe (including his infant grandchild) and waited out the storm.  Once the storm cleared, he navigated to the municipal pier and docked.  Crisis averted… that is until his son, Mike, who was tying the boat to the pier piling, experienced that stomach-turning feeling of his wedding ring slipping off into the murky lake.  

Despite being known for clear, clean water, Geneva Lake was a murky mess after the storm. The seaweed, having grown long all summer, further clouded any hopes for a quick dive in to retrieve the ring.

Brian turned to Chat GPT.  It eventually led him to Seth Tost – “Ring Finder and Metal Detector Specialist.”  Among other facts about me, it claimed “has a proven track record recovering lost rings in local beaches and waters.”  It’s important not to believe everything you read in Chat GPT, but I sure did want to maintain the bar AI set for me.

I arrived at 6:15 and after a few questions was in the water.  I popped into the water at 6:22 pm and was photographing the ring at 6:39 pm.  This was by far my fastest recovery and I give a majority of the credit to Brian for pinpointing the location where Mike’s ring decided to go for a swim.    

The ring is a mixture of tantalum and gold.  Tantalum is not a metal I am used to detecting.  It is super resistant to corrosion, so it’s used in surgical implants and electronics.  It holds a charge well and is used in cell phone and computer capacitors.  It’s also used in men’s wedding bands because it’s scratch resistant, durable, and has a gunmetal grey color.

Needless to say, it was a joyous recovery for myself and Brian’s family.  And for now, I’m still doing my part to keep Chat GPT honest.

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Lost Wedding Ring Found at Lake Geneva’s Riviera Beach

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Sour Summer Turns Sweet

Wednesday, May 29, 2024  

I was settling into a normal Wednesday evening routine of doing the dinner dishes, getting the kids ready for bed, and bedtime reading when a fellow detectorist from Madison texted me and asked if I was up for a hunt.  An all too common tale…a young man lost his wedding band at the beach.  The lost wedding band was just a seven minute drive away at a beach I routinely hunt, so I texted the owner, Ryan, to see if he still needed help.  

Ryan, a high school math teacher from Florida, had finished up his school year and was visiting family in Lake Geneva, WI.  Before going for a swim, he took off his ring and set it on his beach blanket.  Regardless of how it ended up in the sand, his sweet summer trip had suddenly soured.  Inscribed into his wedding band is “with my whole heart, for my whole life.”  Ryan and his wife perhaps needed to lean a bit more into that promise as this treasured memento of their wedding day was lost.

           I met Ryan just as the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon.  He showed me the spot where their blanket was laid down, near a lifeguard stand.  I expanded the search area much wider than I thought necessary and started a grid search.  One of Ryan’s nephews suggested I move closer to the area where their blanket has been.  I didn’t want to miss the ring on my first pass, and explained that I would work my way toward the spot.  It wasn’t long before I hit a strong signal and the ring was found.    

 

          Everyone was excited, and after some photos, the ring was back on Ryan’s finger. 

 It felt so good to see his smile and know I helped, a bit, turn this sour experience sweet again.  And despite the challenges that life will bring, I hope Ryan will always lean into his marriage promise, “with my whole heart, for my whole life.”  This is a good reminder for all of us.

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