Gold Among the Ferns

The morning of August 30, 2026, was stormy in southeast Wisconsin.  Rain had fallen through the night and much of Sunday morning.  

 

Two days earlier, Pat’s voicemail asked for help finding a lost gold-and-diamond pendant outside her home.  Pat explained that as she was taking down a hanging basket for watering, her gold chain unknowingly caught in the basket hook.  And when she stood up, SNAP! went the chain and away went the heart-shaped pendant.  Where?  That was the question.  She immediately looked through the dirt of the pot and around the immediate area.  It was simply gone… until she called the Ringfinders.  

I met Pat at her home in Brookfield, WI around 2:15 pm.  The rain of the morning gave way to sun poking through, which brightened my mood.  I had my raincoat at the ready and was glad to leave it in my car.  This search would be rain-free.  Pat had many beautiful plants surrounding her property: flowers, trees and shrubs, and many beautiful ferns.  Lots of places for a delicate gold pendant to hide, I thought.

 

I greeted Pat and asked her to again walk me through the story.  As she worked through the retelling, I listened and peppered her with questions, asking which direction she was facing, miming the motions she made, so I understood her fully.  Her landscaping was woodchips, dense ferns, sod, and hardscaping with enough cracks to hide a flying pendant.  To add just one more unique element, there was a small hole in the ground expertly dug by a chipmunk.  Did chipmunks, like crows, like shiny objects?  Could a curious chipmunk have absconded with her gold and diamond pendant?  

I retrieved my equipment from the car, putting on my gloves and kneepads.  I didn’t know how long or short this search might last, so I was preparing for the worst.  Little did I know that I wouldn’t even get to turn on my main metal detector.  I explained a bit about my equipment and that she shouldn’t get her hopes up just because the machine beeps; there would most likely be trash items in her soil, dropped coins near the sidewalks, and so on.  

I started with the most logical location, the hanging pot that created this whole mess.  This was also the first place she looked, along with her planting beds along her porch and walkway.  The plastic pot had a metal hanger, so together we unbent the hanger and set it aside.  I took out my pinpointer (picture a small metal detector, the size, shape, and color of a carrot), which I had explained and demonstrated to her earlier.

I turned it on and began to probe the soil of the hanging basket.  BEEEEEP!  I again reminded her not to get her hopes up.  I began to part some of the fern stems and probe again.  BEEEEEP!  And then I saw a glint… a glint of gold.  I parted further and saw the outline of the heart pendant.  I motioned Pat over and gave her the honor of plucking it from the soil.  

Like most of the items I help recover, this was not just a piece of jewelry.  It was with her for 30+ years, and had great value beyond its gold and diamonds.  On my way home, I received a text: “Safe journey home.  You are an angel for so many people.”  I’m thankful to be able to serve others in this unique way.  

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.