Testimonials Category

Daughter’s Hand Once Fit Inside Dad’s Lost Wedding Ring, Recovered From The Gulf, off Naples, Florida!

April 20th, 2012 by

Newborn Daughter's Hand in Dad's Wedding Ring

Every Father’s wedding ring is special. But, when Matt Wilson called us on Valentine’s Day and sent us this photo of his newborn daughter’s hand, easily fitting inside his ring… we knew we had to find it for him!

His miracle baby daughter, Mya, now a happy, healthy young girl, was born 12 weeks early and weighed in at only 1 pound, 10.8 ounces.

Now, years later, while having a photographer shoot their first family portrait, on a beach in Naples, Florida, Matt’s ring ended up in the drink!

He searched for the ring for hours, but ended up having to fly home without it. Then, thanks to TheRingfinders website, Matt was able to find us and sent us a map of the area and the photo of the ring.

It took three trips out to the area, but I was able to find it and return it to the family.

 

 ”I still remember the day I got the voice mail from him. I didn’t listen to the entire message, because I heard him say, ‘Hey Matt its Larry. I think I have some good news for you…’. I called him back and he read me the date off the inside of the ring. It was amazing! I had given up hope of it being found… but Larry came through for us!”  - Matt Wilson

Lost Engagement Ring Recovered In Severn Maryland!

April 17th, 2012 by

Back on April 3rd, I was contacted by Laurie via email informing me that over the weekend she lost her wedding ring while doing yard work. What I remember most about the email was her last sentence……..” I’m absolutely heartbroken”. I got back to her the same day and we made arrangements to come out that weekend. Once again, my detecting buddy Lance was available to tag along.  Were we successful you ask? I’ll let Laurie tell the story in her own words…..

We were outside most of the day Saturday.  My husband was working in the yard all day.  I was outside most of the day as well , simultaneously cleaning up the flowerbeds and the kids’ play area and playing with the kids.  After coming in for the day, we had a quick dinner, gave the kids a bath and put them to bed.  Once the kids were in bed and we had a chance to relax we realized my engagement ring was missing.  We panicked and tried to look for it in the house and outside, even though it was dark.  We barely slept and continued the search on Sunday and for the next couple days.  We sifted through the bags of yard waste, checked drains in the house, took apart our washing machine and used a cheap metal detector that we had in our garage.  We had no luck finding the ring but kept googling for ideas.  We came across Jim’s web page and figured we had nothing to lose.  We e-mailed Jim and he responded right away.  He told us not to throw out our yard waste so that they could check it with their detectors.  We arranged for Jim and his buddy Lance to come out in a few days.  They arrived as scheduled and were very friendly and eager to help find the ring.  They asked some questions about what we were doing and where and then they got to work.  They were very methodical in their search and their equipment was top-notch.  Within and hour of searching, Lance found the ring in a bag of yard waste.  As our daughter said, “Yay, nice men!”  Thanks again Jim and Lance!  ~ Laurie & Jason

I tell you what, the feeling never gets old returning something to someone that has practically given up hope of ever seeing it again.  And this 100% success rate I(we) have going……I’m really getting use to it!

Lance and a very happy Laurie!

 

Glad we got this beauty back!

Lost Platinum Wedding Band Recovered in Ashburn, Virginia!

March 20th, 2012 by

I’m very proud of my perfect recovery record thus far as a member of The Ring Finders. The most recent recovery gives me a perfect 4 for 4 record!  I must admit, this time it was my detecting buddy who I asked to come along with me that actually found the lost platinum ring we were looking for, but nonetheless the recovery was a success! Being able to make a  couple’s St. Patty’s Day extra special sure was nice. I’ll let Sarah tell you the rest of the story in her own words….

My husband was out in our yard doing some gardening including spreading grass seed and pulling up weeds and throwing them over an embankment in a wooded area behind our house.  A few hours after finishing the yard work, he noticed that his ring was missing.  Even though he wasn’t sure he had lost it in the yard, he immediately went out there searching for hours with no luck.  He was even able to rent a metal detector and searched the area and still had no success.  He finally gave up and decided that the ring was lost for good.  When he told me, I wasn’t sure that a metal detector would pick up platinum so I did a search online for lost platinum ring and I stumbled upon Jim’s blog.  I sent him a quick e-mail asking if it would be worth it for him to come out if my husband had already searched with a metal detector.  Jim wrote back right away saying that the skill of the detector had a lot to do with the ability to find things, so I figured we’d give him a try.  Jim came out about a week later on St. Patrick’s day with his friend Lance.  They both brought their metal detectors and after my husband gave them a description of his yard work activities they began searching in what they thought were the most likely areas to find the ring: over in the area where he was throwing weeds and in the area he had been planting the grass.  Maybe 15 minutes after they arrived, I started to head out to meet them and my husband said to me “I hope you don’t get your hopes up.”  I said I hadn’t, but I really had!  I stepped outside and asked if they had any luck yet and they said they had found it already!!  It was located in the area where my husband had been planting grass and was under about an inch of dirt.  My husband and I couldn’t believe that they had found it so quickly!  I think it took longer to write this letter than  it took for them to find the ring.  I later realized that it was the 5th anniversary of us getting engaged.  So five St. Patrick’s days ago he had given me an engagement ring and on this one, he had gotten his wedding ring back!  Now St. Patrick’s day is twice as lucky for us.  Thanks again Jim and Lance!

There she is!

Lance and one happy camper!

 

Back where it belongs!

Two calls in two days. Lost rings, Tauranga and Lake Taupo New Zealand

January 7th, 2012 by

Well, you just never know … I haven’t had a call for months and suddenly I received two calls in two days from distraught owners who had lost their rings. They found my details after doing a quick google search and coming up with theringfinders.com!

The first job was in Tauranga, which is over 2 hours drive from my location. The couple, Will and Rebecca Cass, had emptied a bag into the garden on private property and the platinum ring dropped out and immediately disappeared into the undergrowth. Before I arrived, they had searched the location for hours and removed a large amount of the leaves and branches. I arrived and carefully scanned the area. There was a lot of rusted iron flakes which made my Garrett Pro Pointer pretty well redundant. I set my Garrett ACE 250 to the jewelery setting and went to work. I eventually made my way to the deck area and there was only enough room to get my arm and the pointer under there. The LED light on the pointer was invaluable for this exercise. I fished out a bottle top, some metal fragments, and finally I started picking up a signal in a hole full of leaves and mud. The LED light caught a glimpse of shinny metal and, bingo! There it was. The owners were absolutely relieved and thrilled and they were extremely generous with a reward!

Click link for Tauranga Ring Hunt pictures

http://bit.ly/zt2iVQ

 

 

The second call was a similar case, except they were two white gold and diamond rings which fell out of a bag and were quickly swallowed up by the gravelly  volcanic sand that lines the beaches of Lake Taupo. Donnee and Daniel Murray spent a long time searching for them, but finally they gave up hope, until they came   across theringfinders.com! I was unable to get there until late  the following evening. It was raining, but I find this is a nice quiet time to get on with the job. I was shown an approximate area they could be and within seconds got the first signal. The first ring indicated 5 inches under the sand and I found it after using a sand shovel with holes and my Garrett Pointer. I was surprised it had already gone so deep, but the more the sand got disturbed on the surface, the deeper the ring would work its way down. The second ring was found a couple of minutes later at about the same depth about 30cm away. The owners partner was present and took the rings home to a very, very  happy lady!

 

Taupo Twins

 

 TESTIMONIAL FROM TAURANGA

Dear Tony

On behalf of my wife and I may I say thanks once again for what you did which was nothing short of a miracle as far as we are concerned. Its more than the hi-tec electronic gear you have, you are actually a ‘ring-finder’ not just a guy with a metal detector. The way you methodically searched and found the ring using a process of elimination was astounding. Your manor and professionalism were also much appreciated, we only wish you could have stayed for lunch! But considering you drove 2 hours each way on your day off to help us because we were on holiday,… we are deeply thankful you responded to our call.

Cheers Tony I we are delighted to recommend your services to anybody who needs anything found!

Here is a link to all the images we took. I may have some more om my wifes phone and Ill add them in later.
Cheers and best of luck in the future (you have already had more success I have heard.. great work!)
Will

 

Lost Platinum Wedding Band Recovered in Laurel, Maryland!

December 15th, 2011 by

People say things like, “three is the charm” and “things come in threes”. If you are a hockey fan like myself you are familiar with the term “Hat Trick”. Any way you put it, it rang true today! I was able to help my third person this year by recovering his lost ring. Speaking of threes, all were platinum wedding rings!

I was contacted by Adam earlier in the week through thefingfinders.com. We made arrangements to……..actually, let Adam tell you in his own words!

In December of 2011, I lost my platinum wedding ring while rough-housing with our 2 dogs in our back yard. I felt my ring slide off of my finger and thought I heard it fall into leaves a few feet away. My wife and  I searched the area on our hands and knees for the next several hours without any luck. We even bought a cheap metal detector to aid our search but couldn’t find it.

I decided to search the internet to see if platinum could actually be detected and came across Jim’s blog.  My wife was skeptical, but I figured it was worth a shot and sent Jim an email to see if he could help. From this point forward I do not have enough positive things to say about Jim. He responded to my email within 20 minutes and was very responsive in all of our exchanges afterwards.

Unfortunately I cannot say the same thing about myself. We had agreed to meet up at 5:00pm. I had trouble leaving work and showed up 10 minutes late. It was dark and slightly rainy but by the time I arrived Jim had already found my ring !

Thanks so much !

-Adam

 

 

LOST RING FOUND in Beaverton, Oregon!!

November 7th, 2011 by

Found ring in owner's hand

11/7/11

I was called last night by a man who lost his white gold ring.  He lost it by dropping it off of his apartment deck three days ago.  Fortunately, I had the time to search for it this morning.   He met me at the location where he dropped the ring.  His own searching, including rental of a metal detector, had turned up nothing.  We discussed the possible locations the ring might have gone, although I was almost certain that the ring has settled on the pavement and a passerby undoubtedly scooped it up.

Fortunately, the possible search area of dirt and shrubs was quite small.  Two shallow coins were uncovered immediately.  After 15 minutes of searching, next to a downspout, my Excalibur belted out a strong mid-tone.  Success!  The ring was hidden underneath a leaf.  He was delighted and I was happy as well.

Ali's smile says it all!!

An amazing group of people on this site.

August 27th, 2011 by
An amazing group of people on this site. 

I can only speak for my experience with James Murphy, but if the
others are anything like him, this is one awesome group of people.
I found this site by accident while checking a lost and found
website, about a week after I lost my ring.  I called up James and
he was eager to get it found.  I'm sure my situation was much less
than ideal for him, a week later, me in another province, and
google satellite images drawn on saying 'I think it was around here'.
Even though it was all done through emailing pictures back
and forth, and me trying my best to recall just where I had been on
that beach, James found that very special ring, not giving up
after his first search ended unsuccessfully. The day I left that beach,
in the middle of my summer holidays, I truly never thought
I would see my ring ever again. Then I found this site and spoke
with James, he was confident, and that gave me a some hope. We got
it all lined up and he went for his search. Then I received an email
from him, with a picture and drawn out area of where he had
searched, coming back empty handed (well, I think he found a few bucks
in change). In that email he asked if I could send another
picture and try to give a more specific area of where I thought I had
been, as he would use that to go on for a second search.  tried my
best, sent the picture to some friends who had been with me, getting
their opinions on where we had been, and sent it off to James. When
I next heard from him, I was nervous to find out what he had to say, and then he gave me the news that I was so
happy to hear, he found it!!  I could hardly believe it!! The only thing better than that phone call was a few
days later when I got the ring back in my hands. I appreciate everything James did, and the effort he put into
his searches. Having this ring means an incredible amount to me and I have to thank James for getting it back
to me.

Kevin H.

Lost, 14K white gold wedding band. Recovered! Chicago

August 20th, 2011 by

8-1-11

I was on the way to the beach and I got an e-mail about a guy that had lost a 14K white gold band on that beach the day before. I E-mailed him to find out the location. He called back just as I was prepping my gear.On the beach Jason said he either lost it on the vollyball court or in the water right in front of the court, he only went in waist deep. He even remembered what court he was on!

I checked the entire court only got a couple coins. Then I moved to the water. I gridded in front of the court from shore to mid waist deep. No Ring!

Then the thought occured to me perhaps he’s a big boy. If he was 6″+ his waist would be my chest.I wandered out into the deeper water and first target BINGO!

It took about 45 minuts to find.

.

Letter from Jasons Mom
Hi Ron,
 
My son Jason just shared with me his experience with you and his lost ring.  I am beside myself with disbelief and joy at the same time.  Disbelief that there are still such honest people out there with integrity and the willingness to do the right thing even if it’s not the most beneficial to ones self.  The fact that you found his ring and rather than selling it for a considerably better return on your investment, you are returning it to him.  Equally astounding is the way you found the ring.  I had zero hope that he would ever see that ring again when he told me he lost it at the beach.  It’s not even possible for me to imagine.  When I heard how you contacted him, targeted the area where he lost it and then thought to go out a little deeper in the water because of the potential that he was a bit taller than you I was astounded! 
The joy…now that comes from knowing how difficult of a time my family and my son have had of late.  We lost my husband after a long and shockingly violent illness.  My son was recently hospitalized with the same diagnosis only he got a warning shot and has time to turn around his health so he doesn’t meet the same fate as his Dad.  That will require him to make some very difficult lifestyle changes which in and of themselves are a challenge.  He hasn’t had a job in a while; being laid off after his employer packed up and moved to another city.  So he’s been a little down, with good reason, but he’s working hard at improving his health and to gain employment.  But all of that is not the reason that losing the ring was such a blow to him.  I didn’t know until tonight that there was an underlying attachment to that ring for Jason. My husband died a month before Jason’s wedding.  I didn’t realize that when Jason bought the wedding rings he took them to the hospital to show his Dad.  It was the only involvement my husband had in his son’s wedding.  Jason said that it always gave him some comfort that at least he had that moment.  That at least his Dad held the rings and nodded with pride.
 
So you see, what you do, returning valuables to those who thought they’d been lost forever, is important in and of its self.  But sometimes it’s more than that.  Sometimes, you give someone back that one irreplaceable symbol of a memory that cannot be replaced.  Just a moment in time between a son and his Dad.  This is what you have done for my son and as his Mom I will never be able to thank you enough. So I’ll just say, from the bottom of my heart, “thank you”!
 
May God Bless you with happiness and success,
 
Jennifer (Jason’s Mom)

Lost 14K white gold wedding band, Recovered! Chicago

August 20th, 2011 by

7-10-11

Got a call from Kyle he lost his wedding band at a northern beach, told him I could meet him tonight. Took about an hour!

14K white gold wedding band 5.7 grams

Letter from Kyle:

Ron,

I just wanted to send you a quick note the thank you for finding my wedding band in Lake Michigan. I am still so amazed that you found my ring after it sat for 24 hours in 4 feet of lake water, sand and junk. The moment you laughed out in the lake when you found my ring was seriously one of the happiest moments I’ve had in a long time. I was pretty depressed when I lost it, but that changed after you searched the lake for about 45 minutes. I think your video probably captured my reaction quite well. Everyone I tell is so amazed by the story, so needless to say, I have shared your website with a lot of people. I think you may end up getting a few calls from these people as it sounds like people lose their jewelry in the lake all of the time. Again, I am just floored by the fact that you found my ring. I have learned my lesson about wearing my ring in the lake, but if I ever lose anything in the future, I know who to call! Thanks again.

Kyle V

Diamond Ring Lost, Ring Found in Victoria!

June 13th, 2011 by

Chris;
I got an email last night through theRingFinders website connection.

The email indicated some urgency so I immediately called the couple  back to set up an appt. for the next morning. I left early to go see this couple who had lost her cherished Heirloom Wedding ring. Arriving at their home in North Saanich ( near Victoria ), Michael told me of their previous day gardening & playing with their two daughters around the large  yard. At the end of their day, at bedtime, his Wife realized  that she was missing this special gold and diamond ring.  Needless to say, the couple spent a restless night reviewing  their days activities in their mind, and where they had spent the day around their 1 acre property.
My search started nearest their house, around the trees and flower beds. Gradually I worked my way back through the yard to an area of lawn where the girls, and their Mom had played in the grass. Working back and forth in that patch of grass, I had my Detector turned to low sensitivity to pick up only the surface ‘ hits ‘. Within a short while I had a strong signal, then pinpointing the area, I kneeled down, and saw the glint of gold, and knew I hit Success!
Here is the unsolicited email of gratitute from Michael, with his pictures taken right after the ring recovery.  Mike was very happy,
and relieved, if not somewhat surprised that I was able to find this prized ring so quickly.

” Dear Jim,

 Thank you so much for helping us find my wife’s wedding ring. It holds a lot of sentimental value not to mention the 1 carat diamond set in it! She designed the ring using the gold and a diamond from an heirloom ring passed on by her grandmother.
 My daughters refer to your metal detector as the ‘magic wand’, and I think of you as the ‘magician’. What a wonderful hobby you have, we would be delighted to promote your services to everyone we know. ”

Many thanks!
Michael, Samantha, Anika and Kalina
Chalet Creek Farm and Garden
North Saanich, BC
chaletcreek.ca