minelab Tag | Page 2 of 4 | The Ring Finders

Custom designed Platinum wedding ring found at a Traverse City beach.

My wife showed me a Facebook post from Keri. She had lost her Platinum wedding ring while at a local campground beach when throwing a football. Her post told the location of the lost ring. I told her I could help, but she needed to take the post down asap. I informed her someone would go in and get the ring and keep it. She took the post down and I went to work.

This call should have taken me 20 minutes to complete but ended up taking 2 1/2 weeks. The beach she was at metal detectors are not allowed. I’m not going to go into all the details here. I’ll just say due to a miscommunication between the park staff and Keri the permit took 2 1/2 weeks to get. Once I got the permit, I read the whole thing to make sure I followed all the rules on the permit.  One of the rules was, I could not be in the swim area when the the area is open for the day. So, I waited till 10:00 pm and went to hopefully get the ring. 2 1/2 weeks is a long time for a ring to sit at a public beach. I know people have snuck into this area at night to detect it, also people camping metal detect the area not knowing they are not allowed to detect the area. One of the other rules is, I could not take any compensation for helping Keri. I left work early twice costing me 4 hours of pay and 5 trips driving to the park trying to get the permit. One other rule was anything I found that was not Keri’s ring had to be turned over to the Ranger station.

In talking to Keri after she lost the ring her daughter paced off steps from a buoy in the swimming area. 34 paces deeper into the lake and 21 paces toward the middle of the swimming area. When backup Dave and I got into the swimming area I paced off to the location and set up marker. We were in the water less than 20 minutes and had the ring. I checked out with the Rangers, turned in the pendant we found and emailed Keri I got the ring. We met up at 11:00 pm and I gave her the ring back. I accepted no compensation for this 2 1/2 week ordeal. I did not ask for a picture of Keri because all issues completing this call.

 

Lost Platinum wedding ring found at Christmas Cove Beach in Northport, Mi

  • from Traverse City (Michigan, United States)

I received a late night email from Meghann that her husband Lynden had lost his wedding band in Lake Michigan at Christmas Cove beach earlier in the day. They spent from 4:30 pm till 9:00 pm looking for the ring but the waves and undertow was to bad to see anything. Meghann was researching underwater metal detectors and my information came up. I was actually down state 3 hours visiting my parents. I told her I could go search for the ring as soon as I got home. Due to the location I was not really worried about anybody else finding the ring.

I got home at 3:30 and loaded up to head to Christmas Cove. Lynden met me at the location to show me the exact the spot they were set up at. That always helps a lot and saves a lot of time. Gave me the indecent report. He was on his hand and knees with his younger children playing in the surf. He felt a rock bump the ring off his finger. He told me due to the large waves and undertow he wrote the ring off, I knew better though. The water was chocolate colored and the waves were crashing on shore pretty hard. The rain was starting back up so Lynden headed back home and was going to wait on my results. I made 3 passes back and forth with my Excalibur II then got a deep choppy signal. I dug down about 10 inches got the signal in the scoop and headed to shore with it before the waves got me. Dumped out the scoop and found the ring. Gave Lynden a text asking it he wanted this back. He immediately called and could not believe I found so fast it in all the waves and turmoil. He was about 15 minutes down the road so we met at a local grocery store.

 

Lost wedding ring found in Harbor Springs, Michigan

  • from Traverse City (Michigan, United States)

I received a call from Brian that he needed help finding his wedding ring lost at a hotel in Harbor Springs, Mi. He said he lost his ring playing tag with his wife in the courtyard in front of the hotel at 2:30am. They enjoyed a night away and partaking in consuming some adult beverages. He said that contributed to him loosing his ring.

I did a grid search of the area and found the ring in 45 minutes. I was happy to help out and meet Brian and his wife.

Lost Wedding ring found in the snow at the Grand Traverse Academy in Traverse City Michigan with a metal detector

I received a call from Anthony’s wife that he had lost his Wedding ring at work. I met Anthony about an hour later and found out what had happened. He had children outside on a nature walk at the school he works at. He felt his ring slip off his finder but could not concentrate on looking for it due to the children he had to keep an eye on. He came back after work and walked the area but could not locate the ring. The snow was about 5 inches deep in the area Anthony took me to. I started a grid pattern and walked about 8 feet and found the ring. It was stuck in the side of one of the footprints from them walking in the area earlier. I always like the easy short hunts.

Lost 18 kt gold ring from Italy found in Traverse City, Mi at the Grand Traverse Commons with a metal detector

I received a call on Wednesday night about 6:00 pm from Allison about her husband Domenicks lost wedding band. The ring is 18 kt Gold that Domenicks Grandmother bought in Italy. They made a day trip to Traverse City, Mi to visit the Grand Traverse Commons. The Grand Traverse Commons are the old Traverse City State Hospital that opened in November of 1885. Due to modern medicine the Hospital closed in 1989. The ability to treat mental patients with pills was the demise of the hospital. Now renovated and occupied with a mix of residential, retail, restaurants, an event venue, Cordia, a senior residential community, and an ever increasing number of businesses and entrepreneurs.

So, back to the ring find. I went Wednesday night from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and did not find the ring. On the picture below, I searched the green shaded area. Allison had told me the only thing she did was go from the car to the tree to pick up leaves. The ring was in an upper pocket of her shirt because Domineck was throwing a ball further out in the field. She though the ring fell out of her pocket when she bent over to pick up the leaves. She was not sure of exactly where the ring was lost, because they were at other places in town also. She did not realize the ring was missing till almost back home. A 3 hour drive from Traverse City. I could not go back till Sunday, they had a outside wedding in the area Saturday. Sunday morning I put the 17 inch coil on the Ctx3030 and was going to grid search a very large area. Her statement about Domenick throwing ball out in the field stuck with me. So, after about 50 foil signals, I was checking another and moved my coil to the side and saw the ring. I was in disbelief and just stared at it for about 10 seconds. For people who do not detect foil sounds just like a gold ring. The ring was in the field about 40 feet past the tree on the opposite side of the parking lot. I texted Allison right away with the good news. She said I made her summer. On Monday morning, I shipped the ring overnight back to them.

Lost Wedding ring found at Glen Arbor Beach Glen Arbor, Michigan

  • from Traverse City (Michigan, United States)

I received an email from Mary stating her husband lost his wedding ring at the beach in Glen Arbor. I had Mary call me to set up a time to search for his ring after I got out of work. I drove the hour up to Glen Arbor and met Josh. Josh took me to the spot they were set up the day before. I could tell Josh was heartbroken that the ring was missing. He said they have been married 6 years and he did not want a replacement ring, he wanted the original back. I started the search and got an immediate 12:06 on the CTX3030. A good ring number but also a pull tab number. The depth meter was showing 6 inches deep. I got my pin pointer out and realized I forgot to put a new battery in it. So, I pinpointed with the CTX3030 then started digging by hand. I dug down to the wet sand and got the signal out of the hole pinpointed again and found the ring. Josh was so grateful to get his ring back he must have thanked me 20 times. I was very happy to help get his original ring back and appreciate the reward.

 

Wedding ring found Williamsburg, Michigan lost throwing hay to the horses

  • from Traverse City (Michigan, United States)

This adventure started with a call from Tim saying he lost his Wedding ring after throwing hay over a fence to the horses. He said he has been married 27 years and would very much like to get the ring back. Tim and his wife had been looking for the ring for 4 days with a $50.00 metal detector they just purchased to try to find the ring. I told Tim I’m not trying to be rude or hurt your feeling but you are wasting your time with that approach. He told me that was exactly what he wanted me to say and when did I want to come to look for the ring. We still had a couple hours of daylight so I told him I could be on the road in fifteen minutes. I was thinking in my head « Horse + Hay = BRING THE TALL BOOTS » then explained some of the basic metal detector operation and why you needed a better detector and someone who knows how to use it. I can do two things tell you where the ring is not at or find the ring.

Fifteen minutes later I was loaded and headed to Tim’s house. When I got to the house Tim showed me the area he was getting the hay from and the three different spots he threw the hay over the fence. He has three horses he was feeding for the night. He did not realize the ring was missing till he was in the house getting ready to go to the neighbor’s house Saturday night. To myself, I’m thinking we don’t have an exact location it was lost but no big deal the area is pretty small. So I started the search and search I did. I searched the hay storage area twice the path he walked on twice and the area on both sides of the fence twice. So after about 2 hours in I was scratching my head on what to do next. I made a decision on grid searching the complete corral area then calling it a night. I had already told Tim I would return Saturday if I did not find the ring tonight. I switched the coil on my CTX3030 to the big 17-inch coil to cover the area faster. I was on my second pass and got a great sounding target but it was 4 inches down. Was thinking to myself the ring cannot be 4 inches down the ground already it is starting to freeze. Either way that sound needed to be investigated further. I ran up to get my raptor digging tool out of my truck, so, I could dig a big piece of the soil out, not do any damage just in case it was the ring. I had the ball of soil in my hand broke it apart and the ring appeared. I almost fell over thinking that is a big chunk of gold I was not expecting. I had only asked Tim what the ring was made of and if it is a small band or a wider one. Well, I cleaned the dirt off stuck the ring on my finger over my glove held my hand up in victory. Tim came out of his truck to see what I was doing, so, I yelled I have the ring. He ran over grabbed the ring off my finger and gave me a big hug. At that time his wife Deanna just got home and he gave her the news. She asked me where I found the ring then gave me a hug thanking me. The ring was out in the corral about 30 from the fence. Tim and I talked for a minute on how the ring could have gotten that far out. I think it got stuck on one of the horse’s hooves and got carried it out that far and he agreed that something like that happened.

I had a great time with Tim and his Wife Deanna they are both great people to talk to. As I was packing up to leave Tim mentioned he was amazed his wife said there are people that will come and look for your ring. He did an internet search and one of my blog posts came up first. He called me and got his ring back the same night. I told him my stuff is always ready. I can be loaded and on the road in 15 minutes if needed. I went home cleaned the horse droppings off my coils put the battery on the charger ready for the next adventure.

 

 

 

Heirloom gold wedding band lost in water Port Carling, ON

  • from Brampton (Ontario, Canada)

Had a message come in through the ring finders site from Ellen after she had google lost ring.

Ellen & Stephen was recently married on their lovely property by the waters of Port Carling, Ontario. She had asked her Son Andrew to be the Best Man and surprised him with his late Grand Father’s wedding band. After the nuptials, Andrew decides to go for a swim to cool down but the ring had slipped off his finger to the murky bottom. Two days later he advised his Mother the devastating news. I met Ellen & Stephen two days later on the property. They had advised the ring was in 3′ to 4′ of water… it was just over 5′ up to my ears. I had the tone with my Minelab Excalibur 2 in just 5 minutes but it took another 8 minutes to scoop the ring out between sticks and boards.

This sentiMental Heirloom 10k white/14k yellow late Grandfather’s wedding band is back were it belongs…with FAMILY !! Pleasure to meet this Family and thanks to

Here is the video from this ring recovery & return!!

Another donation to the Kelly Shires Breast Cancer Foundation greatly received for my « Pay-it-forward » fundraising campaign!!

  

 

 

Lost ring found in Crystal Lake Benzie County, Michigan

  • from Traverse City (Michigan, United States)

Received a call from Max on Friday he had lost his Platinum wedding band in Crystal Lake on Wednesday. He was on the lake for a day of fun boating with the family. He was throwing a football and swimming just having a relaxing day. They had pulled the boat up on a sand bar in 4 feet of water about 50 yards off shore. The next morning he noticed his ring was missing.

I met him at the closest spot to the location on shore. He got permission to cross private property for me to get to the search area. The search area was very large and not having an exact spot the boat was anchored. Plus the wind was blowing directly into the shoreline with waves about 1 to 1 1/2 foot high and winds 15-20 mph. Max had to fly home the next day back to California and wanted to try to get the ring before flying back home. The boat was anchored in water about 4 feet deep. He pointed me in the direction of the area they anchored the boat in. Searched the area for 3 hours and the waves were growing. After the second wave went over my head, I decided to stop for the night and wait till the winds either died down or change direction. Called Max back and told him the plan and he did not want me to go back he was happy with my effort. I was not happy yet till the area had been completely searched.

Waited till Sunday and the wind was blowing off shore and the surface was calm.  I had asked Max to text me any pictures the group had facing the shoreline. In the background of one of the pictures, I noticed a small pine tree lining up with a window frame on a house. On the other side of the picture in the background the land owners property I had to cross had a boat on a lift. The support for the canopy lined up with the windshield on the boat. I used those 2 points to triangulate a starting boat position. Max had stated he was in an area about 100 foot circle around the boat.  So, I started the second search from the area I could not get to Friday due to the waves. I used snowplow stakes to mark a grid area and found the ring about 20 feet away from the Triangulated spot I had marked.

Shipped the ring to Max in California and I’m happy to help out.

Man lost 18k white gold latched wedding band Farlain Lake, Penetang, ON

  • from Brampton (Ontario, Canada)

I received a message from Laura M whom was visiting here Family cottage on Farlain Lake, Penetang, Ontario. Here Husband and 2 Sons were visiting the Family and were flying home to Calgary, Alberta soon. She asked if I was able to locate in 8′ waters with a murky bottom. I quickly replied I could and was available immediately after work.

Severe thunderstorms had rolled in Ontario that afternoon. I had just finished another ring find in the water and the rain came down. I arrived at the cottage, met the Family and brought all the gear down to the bottom. Turns out her Brother-in-Law lost his gold wedding band over 10 years ago as well.

I had sent a message earlier in the day to mark the location with a rock and floating jug to cut down the area to search. The thunder and lightening started so we waited it out for about 10 minutes…and proceeded to gear up. I also brought a magnet for the kids to try magnet fishing….they loved it!

WOW, it was a very silty bottom with 6-8″ of muck so hard to keep a good grid pattern direction. Just over an hour later…..my trusty Minelab Excalibur 2 toned off with a sweet crisp tone. BINGO BANGO!!! There is was!!

Here is a link to the video from my YouTube channel;

 

I started to look for the 2nd lost wedding band of the Brother-in-Law but the darkness was setting in! I’ll be back!! Very happy clients before they head home to Calgary, Alberta! Lovely Family!!