Platinum Diamond Ring Lost on Snowy Sidewalk… Found!
Bilal crossed over a snowbank to get to his car and lost his footing. He slipped in the snow, landing on his back, and immediately felt his ring go flying! Bilal frantically searched the city street for his lost ring. His search continued for hours, closely inspecting the snow piles, sidewalk, and roadway. It was late at night, and Bilal was feeling defeated in his efforts. Bilal’s wife eventually searched online for « ways to find a ring in the snow. » She found my profile and saw all the rings I found over the past couple of years.
When I woke up the next morning, I saw the late-night missed calls and text messages from Bilal. Before I even read the text messages, I knew what happened. This had to be a painful loss for a call to come in that late. I finished reading the text messages and responded quickly. I explained that I had two other searches scheduled that day, and I had no idea how long they would take. One of my appointments was on the other side of Connecticut near the New York border, so I knew it would be tough to complete the third job. Bilal was willing to hire me, and I was determined to make it work, so we booked the appointment with a tentative timeframe.
Bilal’s level of commitment was unreal. He arrived in New Haven and guarded the area from noon until I arrived later that day at 5:30 PM. That is dedication! When I got out of my car, I noticed the parking spot from his photos was empty. It was too good to be true – a city street parking spot open at dinnertime? I hurriedly walked over and turned on my metal detector. As soon as I went to take my first scan, a car pulled into the spot. Over the next thirty minutes, multiple cars tried to park in the place where Bilal fell. He very politely explained what happened and asked the drivers if they could park in another spot. The drivers expressed their sympathy and happily parked elsewhere.
I started by scanned the top layer of the snow all around where Bilal fell. The mound was deep from shoveling and plowing. People were also climbing over the top of the snow. To scan the deep footprints, I had to angle my metal detector down and poke my coil into each impression just to get to the bottom of the shin-deep holes. The metal rebar in the sidewalk was causing a lot of interference with my equipment, so I knew the power settings had to be lowered. A side effect of low power is reduced detection depth into the snow. The ring was not detected on my initial pass, so it was time to use a different tactic. Bilal borrowed a larger shovel than the one I had in my car, and he started relocating snow from the sidewalk and piling it in the street. Bilal shoveled, and I scanned every scoop as it hit the asphalt. We heard a signal after the first three scoops. Stop! I yelled, so we could examine the noise.
I spread the snow with my foot and honed in on the target. We quickly realized the metal signal was coming through the snow from under the street. Bummer. We continued the process and started to make a dent in the snowbank. Admittedly, I was getting nervous. If the ring flew further than we initially thought and was lying in plain sight on the cleared part of the sidewalk, someone could have easily picked it up. Another 10 to 15 minutes went by, and Bilal had moved enough snow to cover an entire parking spot. He threw me another scoop, and I heard a second signal. I yelled, hold on! Figuring it was another metal spot in the road, I swiped the top layer of snow off to pinpoint the pesky thing. Before I could bring my coil down to the asphalt, the platinum jumped out at me. We were both in shock. I picked up the ring and handed it to Bilal. Both of us were speechless, so we hugged it out in the street for a minute.
The platinum ring was found almost a foot into the snowbank. Without significant plowing or a fresh layer of snow, it did not seem possible for the ring to be that deep. Bilal mentioned that the snow melted during the day, so here is my best guess at what happened during the 21 hours the ring was lost. When Bilal fell, the ring flew off and stuck itself just deep enough in the soft snow that he could not see it. The warmer temperatures of the next day caused the snow to partially melt and turn slushy. During this change, the ring sunk further down. As the temperatures dropped towards sundown, the slush began to harden and encapsulated the ring deeper than where it was initially deposited the night before. There you have it, mystery solved!
From Bilal:
« I got married in April 2020 during Covid. My wedding reception was canceled; however, we decided to have a small wedding with immediate family members. My wife bought me a wedding band that I always loved. It has diamonds around it, and it’s something that I cherish dearly. I fell, and my ring flew off into a pile of snow. Once Keith found the ring, I couldn’t explain how I felt. It was the most amazing feeling, relief, and excitement. I was so anxious during the search, but after talking to Keith, he gave me reassurance. »
How to Find a Lost Ring
Lost ring in the snow? It happens all the time – brushing and scraping ice, throwing snowballs, sleigh riding, taking off gloves. Suddenly your ring goes flying. Don’t waste your time renting a metal detector. Stop and mark the area where you believe the ring is lost. If plowing or shoveling occurs, block off the site to preserve the ring’s location. My jewelry finding service covers Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and other surrounding states.
If you have a lost ring or something of value, contact Keith Wille now.
Call or text | 860-917-8947
Email | uncoverthings@yahoo.com
Website | www.metaldetectionkeithwille.com
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Keith Wille’s Media Mentions:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/science/archaeology-metal-detectorists-pequot.html?_r=1
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-lost-jewelry-hunters
http://www.theday.com/local/20160823/with-stroke-of-luck-waterford-resident-gets-his-ring-back
