A Snowy Wedding Band Recovery in Farmington, Minnesota


7 January 2026. To adapt a phrase from the USPS, ‘Neither rain nor snow nor dark of night shall stay this RingFinder from his mission’ (or something to that effect :-). I received a call from Sonja about 8PM, well after dark, asking if I could help find her ring on the street in the front of her house. Based on her answers to my questions it seemed likely that the ring was on the asphalt, in which case a metal detector would have no advantage over a good flashlight, as the ring would easily be seen visually before a detector swung over it. However, it was possible that the ring could have ended up in the snow or grass on the side of the street. Moreover, it was important to find the ring as soon as possible so that it would not be run over by traffic. I said that I’d be glad to come and do a search and headed out for Sonja’s house.
I arrived about 20 minutes later and had Sonja describe how she thought her ring had been lost. She noted that she had slimmed down recently and the three rings she wore on her ring finger were very loose. She had driven home after retrieving a pair of traffic cones from a friend’s house, stopped on the street short of a utility trailer at the edge of the street in front of her house, removed the traffic cones from her trunk, and placed them at the front and back of the trailer. As she placed one cone in front of the trailer she heard a single ping from the pavement and saw that two of her rings were gone from her finger. She was able to find one ring but not the other near that cone.
So, assuming that all 3 rings were on her finger when she opened her trunk, the missing ring could be in her trunk or on/beside the street somewhere from the position of her car trunk over to the vicinity of the trailer. We each had strong-beamed flashlights and we first searched around and under the front of the trailer where the first cone had been placed. We found nothing. I then began a search starting where the car’s trunk had been and working toward the trailer while Sonja searched farther down the street from the back of the trailer. Within a couple of minutes Sonja called out that she’d found the ring!
This was a fortunate start to the New Year and I’m hoping a good omen for successful searches in the months to come. And with some resizing, we can also hope that Sonja’s rings will remain safely on her finger where they belong!

Sonja’s rings back on her finger.

Sonja’s triplet of rings, starring a beautiful aquamarine at the center.
I was cleaning the gutters, not wearing gloves (lesson learned) and as I threw the debris, my wedding ring slid off my finger and went with the debris into an area of Ivey. In that environment, it was like 
looking for a needle in a haystack. Jeremy Roth of Ringfinders to the rescue. He found the ring along with a few other items overgrown by the ivey. Just in time to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary!
Zack and Yasmine contacted me via the Ring Finders directory after losing a beautiful gold ring several weeks earlier. They were enjoying the first snowfall of the year on the campus of the University of Delaware in Newark, DE when her ring came up missing. The ring, which was originally her mothers, flew off her finger during a snowball fight. Yasmine distinctly felt the ring come off during a throw and despite searching several times she and Zack could not find it. I met them on campus and they had the good sense to remember the precise area where the snowball fight occurred. I started the search with my Minelab Manticore metal detector(15 inch coil) in the area she was standing when she made the throw and used a grid pattern to cover the 25 square yard area. When i didn’t find on my first scan of the area I expanded my search area and started to cover a wider area. A gold ring on the surface has a very distinct and unique signature on a metal detector and I was hyper focused on just that signal when BOOM! I got the signal I was hoping for…I looked down…I didn’t even have to bend down…there on the surface was her beautiful gold ring!!! I called Zack and Yasmine over and pointed down…the happiness on their faces made my day!


This young man called me up saying he lost his wife’s 18k gold engagement ring! I’m thinking to myself, “HOW DID YOU LOSE IT?!?” I said ok tell me what happend..
Story goes, It was getting dark, they were on a walk enjoying spending time together. It was cold, they were horsing around and she was afraid of losing her ring so she takes it off and puts it on her thumb to slid it into her husband’s shirt pocket for “SAFE KEEPING”!! A few mins later he did something to cause her to chase him and he stumbles and falls down a slope. He didn’t think anything about it until he realized he lost his watch. Then he checked his shirt pocket, and his heart sank, the ring wasn’t there!!!!
He called me up and I shot over in the dark. He wasn’t 100% sure where he fell so I was scanning about 50 yards of possibilities. Lots if signales and sadly I didn’t find it that night. I advised him to try and find his watch during the day and to try and narrow the search area a little.
The next day he goes back to site and finds his watch. It was just about dark again and rain was coming in on Saturday. So I told him I’ll be there first thing Sunday morning!
I arrive, get my gear and we walk over to where he found his watch. I set my machine to 40-61 range, because the ring looked very thin. I didn’t find it, so I changed my range to VDI 40-72. BOOM! Got a 62 and there it was just under some dirt!!!
I love helping people find lost items! It makes my heart happy and to see the joy, happiness and relief on their face!
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Ring count for 2026: 2 (2 – recovery)
GOLD – 2 (2 – recovery)
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Well 2026 is off to a GOLDEN start!!!
Got a call from this guys sister-in-law saying her brother-in-law had lost his wedding ring at a volleyball pit while they were playing.
Story goes his back was to the net, hit the ball up and the ring flew off. They searched as best as they could but couldn’t find it. After about an hour i found it!
It had landed in the area of server spot.
Found out after I found it, it was actually a family heirloom!! The ring had belonged to his father. He gave it to him for his wedding.
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Ring count for 2026: 1 (1 – recovery)
GOLD – 1 (1 – recovery)
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NORTHERN NEW JERSEY — Tom knew the exact moment it happened.
He was working in his garden when he felt it and saw it, the gold ring slipping free and flying off his finger into the soil.
He searched immediately. Then again. And again. He combed through the garden by hand, knowing it had to be there somewhere, yet unable to find it.
When frustration finally set in, Tom called for help.
I arrived with a metal detector and a simple plan: trust the signal, not the doubt.
Less than twenty minutes later, the detector spoke up. One careful scoop, and the gold ring reappeared from the garden bed where it had landed.
What had vanished in a split second came back just as quickly. Relief replaced worry, and the garden gave up its secret.
Received a call today from a young lady who asked about my ring recovery services. After a few mins of going over the details, she agreed she wanted me to come out and try to find her 14k engagement ring.
She lost her ring while doing some yardwork about four months prior to calling me. She provided me her address and said they wouldn’t be home. I advised her I will go and if found, I will put it in a secure location and send her the details.
I drive an hour and forty-five mins to get to her house. Set up my machine to locate the ring in the range it should have been in. VDI 40-65 on the Deus 2. After about an hour I get a VDI 48 and dig down about 2-3 inches and I see the beautiful gold roundness that I had been hoping for!!
After I sent her the pictures to confirm I had found it, she proceeds to tell me that not only had it been lost for 4 months, but it was also her husband’s Great Grandmothers ring!!! 😱😱😱 A priceless family heirloom that means a lot more than just a symbol of their love.
I love what I do, because of happy stories just like this that makes me hate even more the ones I can’t find!
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Ring count for 2025: 169 (27 – recoveries)
GOLD – 32 (19 – recoveries)
GOLD/SILVER – 2 (2 – recoveries)
PLATNIUM – 3 (3 – recoveries)
SILVER – 44 (3 – recoveries)
VINTAGE – 3
JUNK – 85
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Received a text from a very nice young lady asking for help. Her husband lost his white gold ring the night before while taking out the trash. He thought he lost it in the snow between the trash can and the mailbox when he took off his gloves. He was right! Not much fun hunting when its nine degrees, but finding the ring made it great.
Lost a ring? In the Snow, grass or sand?
Give a call!
215-850-0188
Winter losses can feel hopeless, especially after losing a ring in the snow.
Ring Finders South Jersey recently received another call about a lost wedding band.
This was the second lost ring in the snow call this winter.
The homeowner was located in Marmora, New Jersey.
He believed the ring slipped off during backyard yard work.
Snow covered the ground and made searching extremely difficult.
A lost ring in the snow can disappear within seconds.
Cold weather often causes fingers to shrink without notice.
That small change causes rings to slide off easily.
This situation happens more often than most people realize.
Ring Finders South Jersey arrived shortly after receiving the call.
Fast response time is critical for lost ring recovery.
Fresh snow means fewer disturbances to the search area.
The backyard was carefully scanned using professional metal detecting equipment.
Every sweep was slow and methodical.
Within a short time, the detector gave a strong signal.
Moments later, the lost wedding band was uncovered beneath the snow.
Relief replaced panic almost instantly for the homeowner.
Finding a lost ring in the snow brings powerful emotions.
This ring held deep personal and sentimental value.
Many people assume snow makes recovery impossible.
That belief often prevents people from making the call.
Professional metal detecting works extremely well in snowy conditions.
Snow actually helps preserve the search area.
The key is acting quickly.
Ring Finders South Jersey specializes in lost ring recovery.
Backyards are one of the most common loss locations.
Yard work, shoveling, and winter cleanup create perfect loss conditions.
A lost ring in the snow does not mean the ring is gone forever.
This Marmora recovery proves that again.
Quick action led to a fast and successful outcome.
Another wedding band was safely returned to its owner.
Ring Finders South Jersey remains ready for the next call.