metal detector expert Tag | The Ring Finders

Lost Car Keys Recovered in Chapel Hill

  • from Raleigh (North Carolina, United States)
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Susan, a woman in Chapel Hill, called me and explained that she wanted my help in locating a set of car keys. I asked the basic questions – where, when, how, etc. and it unfolded like this: Her son drove to a friend’s house to help move some downed tree branches from where they fell, over to the woods on the other side of the adjacent field. For whatever reason, he set the keys to his car on the deck of the four-wheeler they were using to haul the branches. The keys fell off the four-wheeler at some point and mom had to bring over a spare set of keys to get the car home. Although glad that she had a spare set, she was hoping I could find the original set and avoid the cost of a replacement key fob. The grass was high and the surface of the ground wasn’t visible, so it wasn’t surprising that they had been unable to locate the keys just by walking through the field. I met Susan at the house and we walked to the field where they’d been working. The younger brother of the friend showed me where they had been working and it only took about 15 minutes of searching to find the key fob. Very glad to get it back to Susan for her car. Another happy ending!

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LOST GOLD WEDDING RING IN RIVER NEAR BREVARD, NC….FOUND!!!

  • from Raleigh (North Carolina, United States)
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Received a call from this gentleman “3 month newlywed” saying he had lost his gold ring in the river while floating! I told him as soon as I get off work I’ll make the nearly 4 hour drive to rescue his ring.

I arrive at 5 pm and follow him to the spot. We parked and made a steep decent to the waters edge as we get to the bottom, he said “right here is where I think I lost it”, but he wanted me to start a little higher and work my way down just to make sure. Not a problem!

The water was 1-2 feet deep in spots and I didn’t have my goggles. It was moving pretty good and was colder than I expected. The river and the rocks held many challenges as I made my way down river trying to stay on the path he took, keep my balance, check every spot I could with the @XP deus II and the HF coil! ONLY WOULD’VE WORKED HERE!

After two lures and a signal I couldn’t get to, I get another hit while sitting on a mossy rock trying to find 3rd signal.

I held the pinpointer in my left hand and used my first two fingers. As I followed the vibration to the target, I made two swipes with my fingers and I felt the familiar feeling of a ring slide on my finger!!! It had been found!!!

It was a challenge, but I overcame and adapted to the conditions and not having all my gear!

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Total ring recoveries since joining “The Ring Finders” 122 total!

Ring count for 2026: 127 (27 – recoveries/1 – return)

GOLD – 32 (22 – recoveries/1 – return)
GOLD/STAINLESS – 1
PLATNIUM – 5 (4-recoveries)
SILVER – 27
TUNGSTEN – 4 (1-recovery)
TITANIUM – 1
JUNK – 53
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“DIG IT ALL, SAVE SOME RINGS, BURY THE DRAMA!”

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Diamond stud earring found in Denver back yard

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)
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Recently I recieved a frantic call from a lady stating that she had just lost one of her prized 1 carat diamond on yellow gold earrings while out playing with her daughter’s dog. We made arrangements for me to do the search that afternoon. Unfortunately, she used speech-to- text to send me her address and I ended up 20 miles out of the way. But eventually I managed to get to the proper address and she showed me the site of the loss. I set up my detector and began my search. After a couple of minutes of searching, I found the back of the earring so hopefully the earring was nearby. One swing later I got a solid but faint signal and when I parted the grass the diamond shown in the sweltering summer sun.
Lisa was pretty darn happy as she has worn these earrings every day for the past 30 plus years.
Found 7-12-2026
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Wedding band found in Eagle County river

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)
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Lindsey contacted me through the Ring Finders about her husband’s (Ovi) wedding ring that was lost in the Colorado River north of Vail. They had a pretty good idea of the loss location, but due to vegetation growth and the firm current they were not able to locate the ring.
We made arrangements for me to do a search on Thursday as I had other obligations on Friday. Lindsay was able to meet me and show me the location of the loss. Upon arrival Lindsey and I made our way to the river and I began my search. After an hour and a half of searching Linsey mentioned that during their search they had pulled some of the grass up and had tossed it in the river alongside the bank. There was only a portion of that grass left as most of it had floated away. I checked one of the batches of grass and sure enough it had a signal in it. I tossed the grass up on bank and ran my coil over it again, no signal. The ring had fallen out of the grass and now laid on the river bottom. A quick swipe from my water scoop and there was Ovi’s ring.
Ring recovered 7-30-2026
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Heirloom ring found in Lakewood, Colorado

  • from Denver (Colorado, United States)
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Last week Stephanie Hobbs received a message via The Ring Finders from Liana about her family heirloom ring that she lost while running to her car during a hailstorm that afternoon. Stephanie was working so ee made arrangements to do the search after she was done. We made it to the search location just a couple of hours after the storm ended to begin our search. There was mulch and mud on the roads and sidewalk from the down pour of rain and hail that had occurred. Liana took us through her route of travel and explained what she was doing when her ring went missing.
Stephanie and I began our search, each starting at opposite ends of the search area. After an hour of searching, we began to double check each other’s area and we had even searched her vehicle. We were close to giving up and I decided to check one last area that was not where she said she had been, but I had a feeling that it would be worth the one-minute search. Sure enough, as I was swinging my coil I happen to see an emerald stone and gold band sticking out of the mulch that had washed down during the storm. I shouted out that I found the ring. Liana couldn’t believe that I found it where I did as she hadn’t been near that area. I believe that the amount of water that had come down had washed the ring several feet down along the side of the sidewalk. Liana and I shared a few tears of joy.
Ring recovered 8-13-2026
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Call For Help About a Lost Wedding Band in Morehead City, NC Waters Has a Happy Ending!

  • from Emerald Isle (North Carolina, United States)
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Ernesto contacted Crystal Coast Ring Finders after losing his wedding band while spending time with his family in the saltwater. The water was too murky to find it, and I was en route to another search, I received the standard information and then told him I’d call back later to get more details. Ernesto did a great job dropping a pin for the location of his lost white and yellow gold ring. When I arrived with my equipment, I started searching the marked area, and within 10 minutes—on my second target—I brought his beautiful ring back into the sunlight. Since Ernesto was working, we arranged to meet halfway between his workplace and my location. The USPS turned out to be the perfect spot to reunite him with his ring and capture the moment he had it back in his possession!

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Beautiful Gold Wedding Band Lost, Recovered and Returned in Bear, DE!!!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Hans found me in The Ring Finder directory after losing his 1 year old beautiful, unique gold wedding band near his home in Bear, DE. He was doing some yard work in his front yard, it was raining, his hands were wet and his ring almost slipped off several times while he was working. He finished his weeding and went to throw the pile of weeds into the woods across the street and suddenly he looked down and his ring was gone. He searched for hours and even bought a metal detector before reaching out to me. I met him the next day and after a quick scan of his front yard it was quite obvious the ring flew off with the pile of debris he threw into the woods. I had to do some moderate landscaping in the area where he threw the debris….but after doing so a quick scan of the area literally struck gold!!!! I found his ring after a quick 15 minute search. I was very pleased to be able to return his ring to him!!!

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Lost 14K Gold Bracelet Recovered in Novato, California

  • from Stinson Beach (California, United States)
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I received a call to search for a 14K gold bracelet lost in a hillside backyard in Novato, California in August 2026. The caller had searched several times themselves, ordered a metal detector and attempted a search, and then received some advice that « there might be professionals out there! »

After reviewing the property, the most likely locations were the hillside where lots of material and plant debris were moved, and along a fence at the property boundary where hay was thrown to goats.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes, I searched along a wooden staircase along the hillside. The bracelet had fallen under the stairs and I was able to reach under and recover it! The owner was extremely happy as this was an heirloom item from their grandmother.

14K gold bracelet recovered in Novato, California by RingFinder Laura Peters Schoichet

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Wedding Ring Recovered from Candlewick Lake, IL

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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July 4th Paddleboard Mishap

July 4th, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.  For many Americans that day, it was a day of gathering with friends and family.  A day off work.  A day to reflect and to relax.  To eat good food, paddleboard and… lose your wedding ring?  Jack’s Independence Day was memorable in more ways than one.  

Jack was paddleboarding. For many paddleboarders, the transition from knees to standing can be a struggle.  And like many paddleboarders, Jack’s paddleboarding turned to swimming, and in the process, his wedding ring slipped off his finger.  

The proverbial needle in a haystack pales in comparison to the task of finding Jack’s lost wedding ring in Candlewick Lake near Poplar Grove, IL.  Established in the early ‘70s, Candlewick Lake is a 210-acre lake in Boone County, IL.  Like many manmade lakes, it is generally shallow, has low to no visibility, and has a significant layer of mud at the bottom.  This makes these lakes especially difficult to search.

I met with Jack on July 7th.  After talking with him, I set out to search a rather large area.  Metal detecting is a game of inches.  One inch off while scanning an area could mean going home empty-handed.  It’s not always easy to pinpoint where you fell off a paddleboard 30+ feet from the shoreline.  And in the moment, most people are not thinking about a diver with a metal detector searching for the ring days later.

 I started my grid search, going back and forth, popping up every few feet to make sure I was staying on course.  Jack was helpful from the dock, directing me when I strayed.  There were lots of targets, so I had to sift through the mud for pennies, fishing lures, sinkers, pipes, etc.  I even found a fishing pole, but no ring.  Each time I turned around to start a new path, I watched the sun descend toward the horizon, and I knew I might just run out of time.  

I swam back to the dock and asked Jack to get into a kayak.  Could he put himself in the spot where he remembered falling in?  Once in position, I started scanning in concentric circles around his held position.  It wasn’t long before I hit a good signal, and after sifting through the muck, I felt the shape I had been hoping for.  I surfaced and swam over to Jack.  There was the smile I had been searching for nearly two hours.  His ring was found.

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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Wedding Ring Recovered from Geneva Lake

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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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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