lost engagement ring Tag | Page 38 of 41 | The Ring Finders

Lost Engagement Ring Recovered at Fort Meade, Maryland!

  • from Baltimore (Maryland, United States)
Contact:

It’s been quite a while (Jan. 2014) since my last last blog, service request and recovery, but that is a good thing as no one wants to lose something precious or important to them.  That changed when Anni contacted me last Wednesday after she lost her engagement ring the Saturday before. She was referred to me by someone who I’ve helped out in the past. That goes to show that people who you help out are truly appreciative and remember such things.  As I usually like to do, I’ll let Anni tell you the story…..

During a family photo shoot in the park, my engagement ring slipped off my finger. I noticed it almost immediately but the park was large, the grass was thick and many leaves had fallen from the trees making it very difficult to locate where the ring may have fallen off.
After looking for the ring and being unable to find it, we borrowed a metal detector and spent the next few days using the metal detector for several hours each day trying to find the engagement ring. After two long days, our metal detector found two pennies, a gum wrapper and the tab to a soda can.
Using a community social media site, I reached out to see if anyone was aware of a “lost and found” office I could contact. Although there was no “lost and found” office, one person had referred me to a “professional ring finder” that had been able to successfully find her wedding ring that had been lost outside and covered in snow.
In desperation, I contacted Jim Wagner, “the professional ring finder,” to see if he would be able to help find my engagement ring. Although the ring had suffered through two days of heavy rain and been lost almost an entire week, Jim was confident he would be able to find the ring.
Jim was professional and responsive and met with us the very next day after contacting him. We had a general idea as to where the ring may have fallen, so he used that knowledge coupled with his experience as well as his high-end metal detecting equipment and was able to locate the lost ring within approximately 30 seconds. He found the ring in the same area we had already searched early in the week using our own metal detector.
I am eternally thankful. It is such a terrible feeling when you know you have lost something so dear to you and not sure if you will ever see it again. Jim was extremely professional, personable, prompt and helpful. He works with the top of the line equipment and has a real passion for finding things. Best of all, he genuinely wants to reunite people with their precious, lost valuables and he gets great satisfaction from helping people.

…..Thank you Anni for such a kind endorsement. It was a pleasure helping you and your husband locate the missing ring. Most of all, a big thank you to you and your family for your service and sacrifice for our Country!

Anni's husband John with the ring in hand!

Anni’s husband John with the ring in hand!

There it is after removing a few leaves above it!

There it is after removing a few leaves above it!

Lost Ring in Garden, Don’t Waste your Time Renting a Metal Dectector – Call a Ring Finder! – Madison, WI

  • from Madison (Wisconsin, United States)
Contact:

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I took a day off from work to take care of several errands around town that had piled up, so I was driving a lot, stopping in several businesses, and crossing many parking lots.  Later in the day, I worked in my yard, weeding and cutting back branches with my pruners.  I usually wear gloves when I’m gardening, but I didn’t think I’d be out for very long that afternoon, so I skipped the gloves.  (Never again!)

Among other things, I inherited crooked little fingers and big knuckles from my father.  I’m also left-handed, and my sister had given me some left-handed pruners.  The big knuckles mean that my wedding ring has had several modifications to make it fit my finger right, with the last being hinges on the sides and a clasp on the palm side of the ring.

After I had done more gardening than I planned, I had another errand to run, and when I looked at my left hand on the steering wheel, my stomach dropped about a foot when I realized my wedding ring was gone and I had no idea when – or where – I had lost it.  Because I’m usually pretty aware of it, I thought I must have lost it in the garden – but where?  I was all over the yard and it could be anywhere – in the mulch, in the dirt, in the grass, in the overcrowded hostas, in the birdfeed bin – anywhere.

When I got home, my husband and I started to search, but it was getting dark, so we decided to try again later.  On my next day off, I checked with the places that I had visited on the Thursday that I lost the ring, but no one had seen it.  I still suspected it was in the yard, but I still didn’t know specifically where.

My husband kept up the search over the next several days, and I borrowed a metal detector from someone who answered my plea on our neighborhood message board.  But I quickly realized that I did not have the skill (or the time to learn the skill) to use it effectively.  Dan later told me that this is common when people rent a metal detector.  Feeling more and more discouraged, I checked the Lost and Found listing on Craigslist, where a title jumped out at me: “Lost Ring?”

That listing led me to the www.TheRingFinders.com website and to Dan Roekle, who I contacted. After coordinating our busy schedules, he and his son Carter came over on a Saturday afternoon.  I showed them the two specific places in the yard that I thought were the most likely places where my ring was likely to be.  Dan commented on the large number of pieces of metal that he was getting hits on, mostly from the roof replacement that we had a few years back.  He showed me one of the pieces and then he continued his search.  A few minutes later, he came back to where I was and with a totally straight face, said “Sometimes we find other things, too” and opened his hand.  There was my ring!  He had found it in the middle of the leaves of a hosta plant – the perfect place to hide.  The grin on my face still hasn’t gone away!

And there’s one more thing my father gave me – he was a clergyman who married my husband and me, so part of the service was blessing our rings.  He died seven years ago, and knowing that I have back the ring that he blessed, means more to me than I had ever thought it would.  Thank you so much, Dan and Carter!

Faith

 

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Newspaper Article – Couple Relieved Ring is Found – Devil’s Lake State Park

  • from Madison (Wisconsin, United States)
Contact:

Another publication in a local paper, the Watertown Daily Times.   They wrote up a nice article about our Devil’s Lake Search.  Click on the link below for the complete article.

http://www.wdtimes.com/news/article_68b09792-3551-11e4-986a-001a4bcf887a.html

 

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Lost Ring Found in Volleyball Court at Wisconsin Dells Hotel

  • from Madison (Wisconsin, United States)
Contact:

 

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I got a call from Mark and Rachel, owners of the All Star Value Inn in the Wisconsin Dells.  Rachel said that her husband had been playing volleyball the night before with friends.  The court was recently redone and was part of their property in the Wisconsin Dells.  He did not remember it specifically flying off, but does remember having it on throughout the match.  Rachel said that he even thought to himself, « I should probably take off my ring so that I don’t lose it ».  Famous last words, right?   Seconds later, while about to serve, Mark felt two of his fingers rug together and there was no ring on his finger.

The good news is that they were the owners of the court, but how would they find it?   Mark had plans to rent a metal detector and find it himself.  However, he would have found out that operating a metal detector isn’t as easy as it might seem.  The average person wouldn’t believe how much junk is located in the ground, even in a freshly redone volleyball court.  Rachel went on Google and searched for « Rent a Metal Detector ».  One of the pages she found was www.TheRingFinders.com, and there just happen to be someone specifically located in the Wisconsin Dells area.  She sent a quick email to me, and I immediately responded.  I set up an appointment the next day to take a look.

When I arrived, Mark and Rachel were having a friends and family picnic right next to the volleyball court.  My son and daughter were along for the hunt.  I started the hobby of metal detecting and ring finding as a way to spend time outdoors with my kids.  They love the hobby, and love helping others find what was lost.  My daughter was first on the metal detector.  We found 4-5 pieces of trash: a pop top, a Matchbox Car, some small metal objects, and a nail.  The mosquitoes were  pretty bad that night, but we kept on hunting.

All of a sudden we got a pretty strong signal from the metal detector, which is usually a good sign.  My daughter reached down, grab a fist full of sand and pulled out Mark’s ring!  We walked over to the picnic table and handed the lost ring back to Mark.  Everyone was surprised that we had found the lost ring, and so quickly.  Mark’s ring had a unique inscription on the inside, « P.S. I Love You », so there was no question it was his.   My daughter was probably the most excited, as it was her first lost wedding ring recovery all by herself.

Mark and Rachel were generous with their reward for finding the lost ring.  They then asked if we had eaten anything that night.  I responded no, and that we had to head back home as my kids had started school already.  She asked if we had ever eaten at the Top of the Rock on the strip in Wisconsin Dells, which was their favorite place to eat.  We had never been there, so she called the restaurant and opened a tab with our name on it.  She said, « Order whatever you guys want and put it on our tab ».  What a cool reward.  We felt like celebrities when we walked in.  The manager of the restaurant practically greeted us at the door, « You must be the people who found that lost ring ».  We responded yes, and he showed us to our seats.  After a nice dinner, the kids and I headed back home.

So remember, don’t waste your time figuring out how to rent a metal detector, just rent a Ring Finder! 

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Double Ring Find – Webb Lake, WI

  • from Madison (Wisconsin, United States)
Contact:

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We have a cabin on Webb Lake in northwestern Wisconsin.  On August 3rd I was in shallow  (about 4 ft deep) water, throwing toys around between my sons and a friend.  After returning to the cabin, I discovered that my wedding ring was not on my finger.  I was gripped with an awful feeling of loss.  Beside the fact that it was a symbol of love and marriage for 27 years, it was unique… could never be duplicated.  That ring was designed by my wife, Peggy, and was hand crafted by an elderly Latvian artist friend (no longer alive), Mike Geistauts.  Mike, a sculptor artist, used the ancient “lost wax” investment casting method to create our gold wedding rings according to Peg’s design.

Family and friends hunted for many hours without success that weekend.  Then a co-worker alerted us to www.TheRingFinders.com website and I got in touch with Dan Roekle.  Dan and his son, Carter, loaded up their search equipment and made the very long drive  from their home near Madison to Webb Lake (a 5+ hour drive).  They arrived on the morning of August 16th.  By lunchtime, they had searched the entire identified area and had pulled up a lot of odd metal objects including, incredibly, someone else’s wedding ring.  For a moment, my wife thought they had found my lost ring, but quickly determined it was not it.  Dan said he had never been so disappointed to find a ring before in his life.   They resumed the search after lunch and Carter, swimming with goggles spotted my ring and retrieved it.  Dan and Carter think that it was probably next to another piece of junk that they dug up earlier in the day … which stirred up the sand and uncovered it.

Peg and I were elated and so very grateful.  It was so amazing to get that precious ring back on my finger.  At this time, the ring is off my finger again for resizing.  Thank you so very much, Dan and Carter, for being willing to come so far and search until you succeeded.

 

Marty and Peg C.

 

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Marty’s lost ring, along with Peg’s matching ring                                              Junk that was dug up before the ring

Lost Diamond Ring in Heathrow, Florida…..Found!!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
Contact:

While visiting some friends on the 4th of July 2013, Jim and Molly were enjoying a lively game of volleyball in the pool when Molly realized her diamond engagement ring was not on her finger.  For the next hour they searched frantically for the ring without success.  As the light faded into night so did their hopes of finding her precious ring.  That evening Jim was looking on his computer for information on finding lost rings and came across theringfinders web site.  The next day Jim called me and we set up a time to meet and do a thorough search of the pool and surrounding area.  I set up my Whites DFX metal detector and started searching the small grassy areas and around the many bushes and shrubs.   After an hour or so I was beginning to think that it possibly flew over the fence and landed in the neighbors yard.   I was finishing up along the wooden fence behind some rose bushes when I caught a glimpse of gold and sure enough there it was.  Peeking up through the leaves at the base of the fence–a good 30 feet from where Molly was in the pool–was her beautiful ring, just waiting to be found!  What a thrill and pleasure it was to serve you and help make your best 5th of July ever!!

Maybe you have lost something recently!  Give me a call!

Mike McInroe, proud member of theringfinders.comDSC00749DSC00750

Lost Ring Posted on Madison Craigslist Website Found in Backyard

  • from Madison (Wisconsin, United States)
Contact:

Date: May 26, 2013

I had taken a week of vacation in order to complete various projects around the house, as well as tend to my gardening.  Midweek just as I was heading out the door to run some errands, I realized my wedding ring was not on my finger.  I quickly checked my pockets and it was not there, however I proceeded to run my errands.  Upon returning home, I looked in the two most likely places and unfortunately it was not in either spot.   I am a creature of habit and will put my ring in my pocket if I am putting on hand lotion, etc.  My husband quickly pointed out that the shorts I was wearing had a hole in one pocket.  We scoured the house for days looking high and low.  We even cleared out all of the closets to check the floors, but sadly we found nothing.  I was convinced I had lost my ring inside the house, but my husband thought it had fallen out of my pocket while I was gardening on my day off.  After a couple of days, we decided to post an ad in the “Lost and Found” section on www.Craigslist.com as a last resort.  That’s how we found Dan.  He quickly responded to the ad offering to help.  Since we had already searched the entire inside of the house, we thought it was worth a shot for Dan to come over and search our backyard with his metal detector.

I met Dan at our home on Saturday morning along with his young son.  He was very professional and it was clear that they had done this together many times.  I was impressed with the way he was using this task to teach his son the skills of metal detecting, as well as the importance of helping out others.  Together they swept the front yard and found quite a few coins, but no ring.  They did a very thorough search of both the front and the back yard, but initially did not find the ring.  The entire time they never gave up, and then suddenly Dan called me over … he had found my ring in the lawn along the side of the house.   I don’t know how many times we might have walked past it in the days since it was lost, but it was found.

I am very cautious when responding to an ad from Craigslist, but through the back and forth email with Dan to setup the appointment, I felt comfortable meeting him at our home on my own.  He was professional and very respectful of the fact that I had lost something very dear.  I cannot thank him enough and can only give him a glowing reference.

Thanks again,

Jean K.

 

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Lost High School Ring in the Bluebonnet Flowers at Cedar Hill State Park

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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Hello Everyone, we got an email from a mom in a panic.  She had hired a professional photographer to take Senior Pictures of her 2 graduating Senior High kids.  The photographer took them to Cedar Hill State Park where the Bluebonnet flowers are awesome this time of year.  The photographer had them doing all kinds of poses.  The mom, Donna, saw her son turn around quickly and she said « What’s wrong », he said, ‘my ring came off’.

Seven people looked for the ring for 2 hours with no luck.  Donna found « theringfinders » website and contacted us.  We met her at the park on Wednesday.  Understand it is against the law to Metal Detect inside a State Park.  We contacted the Ranger’s office multiple times before receiving permission to only scan, not dig at all for the lost ring.  Donna walked us through the woods before getting to the Bluebonnet fields.   We gridded off a 30 x 30 ft area and began to scan.  It took about 20 minutes before I got a non-trash signal and when I bent down I saw the glint of a ring deep in the Bluebonnets.

I picked it up and said my favorite line, « Donna, I have a question for you, would you like to have this back? » and held up the ring.  She was so excited, she thanked us and thanked us.  The ring cost over $500 and her son had only had it a short time.

Another successful hunt for
The Dallas Ring Finders

Don & Ellen

Lost Wedding Ring in Trophy Club, Tx while digging a trench in his yard!

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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On Sunday afternoon we got a call from a gentleman who had lost his wedding ring.  He had been working all day in his yard digging a trench to relieve some standing water.  After completing the several hour project he realized his wedding ring was gone.  He and his family search for 2 hours and had no luck.  He found « The Ring Finders » website and gave us a call.   We spent about 20 minutes covering the area which was crazy with signals due to a power line running under his backyard.  I decided to re-check the trench with full descrimination, looking only for gold.  I got a hit near the end of the 15ft trench about 6 inches down.  As  I bent down and used my pinpointer through the mud and water in the trench I saw a glint of GOLD in the hole.  The wedding ring was stuck in the wall of the trench about 4-6 inches down.  I turn and ask the homeowner,  I said, « I have a questions for you » « would you like to have this back and I handed him his ring« .

He and his wife were so excited they could not believe we found it… they kept saying « you guys are good, you guys are so good« .  The wife came out and gave us hug… it was another successful hunt for the « Dallas Ring Finders ».

Don & Ellen

Lost Ring in Fitchburg Backyard Playing Football – Don’t Rent a Metal Detector, Rent a Ring Finder!

  • from Madison (Wisconsin, United States)
Contact:

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I often talk about my adventures as a Ring Finder with people at work.  Like most people, they love hearing the stories of lost rings, both wedding rings and engagement rings, being found and returned to their owners.  Every ring has a story and is so much more than just a piece of jewelry.  One day, Jason stops over and tells me that a friend of his lost his ring in his backyard.  He wanted to know if it was ok to give him my contact information.  He also wanted to know what I charged.  I explained that I ask for a small fee to cover gas and my time, and then a discretionary reward – whatever the person can afford and thinks is appropriate for the service we provide.

A couple of days had passed, and I hadn’t heard anything from Jason’s friend.  I asked if he had found the lost ring.  Jason said he had not, and would remind him to give me a call.  Jason had heard all of my stories and knew that we could probably find the ring pretty easy.  His friend Ryan was playing football with his kids in his backyard in Fitchburg.  On one throw, he actually felt and saw his wedding ring fly off and land on the ground.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find it.  In my experience, what typically happens when someone begins to look for their lost ring, is that they inadvertently step on it – pushing it into the ground.  No matter how hard you look with your eyes, you’ll never find it.

Another week passed, and I again asked Jason if Ryan had found his ring.  He said that he had not, and this time just sent Ryan a text message and included me on it.  I responded directly to Ryan that we could come out that night and take a look.  He responded almost immediately and we agreed on a time to head over after work.  As I typically do, I brought my kids along who love metal detecting and ring hunting.  I talked with Ryan before beginning the hunt.  He explained how he had lost the ring and that he was determined to find it himself.  He had told his kids that if they found his ring, they could have ice cream as a reward.  Funny, right?   He also had thoughts of renting a metal detector, but wasn’t sure he would know how to operate it. I explained that he made a good decision to not rent a metal detector.  I’ve heard countless stories of people renting a metal detector and getting excited the first time it goes off.  However, a typical home owner would be shocked how much junk is hidden under your yard.

I will never forget this hunt, because it was, and still currently stands, as our fastest recovery to date.  Ryan pointed to the area that he was standing when he threw the football, and literally within 3 mins we had a signal.  We could not see the ring with our eyes, and had to use a small shovel to pry up the ground … out popped Ryan’s ring.  He was in disbelief, as was his wife … Ryan said, « You’ve got to be kidding me » probably 4-5 times.   It took longer to take our picture and post it to Facebook than it took for us to find his lost ring!

Remember, don’t rent a metal detector, rent a Ring Finder!