Colorado Tag
Platinum wedding band found in Denver, CO parking lot
Chris's platinum wedding band
Sunday night December 4, I am sitting in my bed reading my favorite metal detecting magazine when I hear our phone ring at 10:30 pm. My wife’s mother was expected to call that evening so I assumed that that was who was calling. Within a few seconds I hear my wife walking up the stair talking on the phone. Diane hands me the phone and says it is somebody who has lost a ring. I answer the phone and Chris Tatum is on the other end, he is in the parking lot of a pizzeria where he has just lost his ring. He tells me that he has searched the area around his car but cannot find his ring and was wondering if I could come out that night and look for the ring. There are a couple inches of freshly fallen snow covering the parking lot and the temperature is 11 degrees. I realize that timing is critical because this parking lot will more than likely be plowed first thing in the morning. I let Chris know that I will be at his location in about a half an hour.
I get dressed, start getting my equipment together and then I have to explain to my wife why I am heading out of the house at 10:45 with my metal detectors while snow falling in bitterly cold temperatures. But we both agree that this search has to occur now so out the door I go.
I arrived at the pizzeria and introduce myself and Chris explains how he was wiping snow off his driver’s seat when he heard his platinum wedding band hit the asphalt parking lot. It was quite obvious where he and his wife had searched for the ring without any luck. I prepped my Whites XLT with Bigfoot coil and began my search. I began my search over the areas that they had searched by eyeballing the site. Soon I expanded my search beyond our original search area, still no luck. By this time my hands are numb and I need to get my gloves out. I continue my search beside a concrete wall that is loaded with steel reinforcing where I heard the definite sound of a ring come from my XLT. I carefully dug through the snow and got my hands on Chris’ ring. The ring laying under 3 inches of snow 20 feet away from where I had expected it to be. This search took only 20 minutes but it was a pretty intense 20 minutes due to conditions.
Ring recovered December 4, 2011.
A frigid Chris holding his wedding band
14 kt wedding ring found in Denver, CO yard
Ben Spiking was doing the typical fall yard work of racking up leaves and dead grass, bagging that debris and placing it for pick up. While cleaning up after his work he noticed that he no longer had his 14 kt white gold wedding band on his figure. He immediately began a search for his ring. He quickly pulled the bags of refuse from the back alley and placed them within his fenced yard. He
Ben's wedding band
started to empty the bags one at a time and carefully go through the yard waste. After three of the bags had been gone through leaf by leaf, Ben realized that going through the 8 remaining bags was going to be a daunting task and may be fruitless as well.
A quick internet search led Ben to Ring Finders and my profile page. Ben called my home phone and left a message which was relayed to me by my wife as I was in the mountains elk hunting at the time. Where I was camping there is no cell phone service but I had made arrangements to check in back at home every couple of days. My wife gave me the critical information and I called Ben’s wife Kim to set up my search.
I arrived at the Spiking’s residence and Kim gives me a quick explanation of what had occurred the day of the rings loss. I began my search with my White’s XLT with a bigfoot coil. I searched the whole front yard and then the path through the back yard to the gate. I search the remaining bags of yard waste and the area where Ben had searched through the first 3 bags of yard waste, no luck. I then made my way back to my truck and switched out coils to my factory 9 ½” coil and searched the front yard again. There was an area in the northwest portion of the yard with several pieces of shredded aluminum can and pieces of aluminum fascia were just under the surface of the ground. I pulled up several pieces of the aluminum but there was enough metal in the ground that pinpointing was difficult at best. Once again I head to my truck and switch to 4”x6” coil and head back the area with all the aluminum. After another 20 minutes search I found the ring. I spent just over two hours searching this yard, and even I was beginning to wonder if I could find the ring. But with the right equipment for all kinds of searching you can tilt the odds in your favor.
Ring recovered November 11, 2011.
Kim happy to be holding Ben's wedding ring.
Wedding ring found in Longmont, CO yard
While cleaning up debris left behind by a recent snow storm Matt Smalley lost his 14 kt white gold wedding band. Matt performed an “eyeballing” search for his ring but it was unable to locate his ring. Matt found my profile on Ring Finders and contacted me, giving me the basic information and we set a date for me to come and look for his ring.
I arrived at the prescribed date and time; Matt had taken that afternoon off work so that he would be able to explain his work site and what he was doing the day of the rings loss. The day was a bit cool so after Matt had shown my around he went back into his house to stay warm.
I prepared my equipment and set about on my search. Within a couple of minutes I heard the sound of a ring laying on the surface. As I parted the grass I could see the white gold band that was hiding very well under the leaves and brown grass. I retrieved the ring and made my way to the front door to return Matt’s ring.
Ring recovered November 1, 2011.
Matt's ring
Platinum wedding band found in Denver, Colorado yard
Mark very happy to be holding his ring once again
Mark Rubinstein was hanging out in his back yard having a couple of brews with a buddy on a cool September evening. Guys being guys they ended up in a friendly slapping match, the kind where it is all fun and games till somebody loses their wedding ring. The pair searched in earnest that evening trying to find Mark’s platinum wedding band without any luck. The next day mark searched the area one more time on his hands and knees pulling the grass apart and visuallysearching, again no luck. A couple of weeks went by with sporadic but intense searches yet still the searches were fruitless.
Mark sent me an email regarding my services and explained that the ring was lost in him back yard. I assured him that if the ring was truly in his back yard I stood a very good chance of recovering it. But I also made no promises about the rings recovery as I have made searches that were not successful.
Another week went by and I did not hear from Mark so I sent him another email and also left him a message on his cell phone. After a couple more days Mark sent me an email and we arranged for me to come to look for his ring the following day at 1:00 pm.
I arrived at the address Mark gave me at the prescribed time, Mark was in his car taking care of some business on his cell phone. He showed me to the back yard and explained what had occurred the night that he lost his wedding ring. I readied my Whites XLT with my Bigfoot coil and prepared to search.
Mark needed to take care of a bit more business so he excused himself and left me to my search. Within 10 minutes of starting I had recovered Mark’s ring. The ring was well hidden by the grass and not visible to the naked eye, but the ring was quite visible to a metal detector. By the time Mark made his way back I had already taken close-up photos of his ring and was just hanging out on the deck.
Mark was elated that I had found his ring as he thought that it could possibly be gone for good.
Ring recovered October 21, 2011.
Mark's platinum wedding band
Tungsten carbide ring found in Aurora, CO
Rick Smith lost his tungsten carbide ring while playing in the March of Dimes mud volleyball tournament held each year in the Denver suburb of Aurora. A contributor that led to the loss of the ring is the fact that Rick has lost in the neighborhood of 50 pounds since his marriage.
Rick was changing positions when he actually saw the ring leave his finger and fall in the knee deep soupy mud. He and five of his teammates searched for several minutes but at last the officials of the tournament made them play on.
Now nearly two months later while posting my ad for “Ring Finders metal detecting service” on Craigslist I noticed an ad posted by Amy, Rick’s wife, about the loss of the ring. I sent Amy an email and told her I may be able to help find the ring. That evening I received a call from Rick and we made arrangements to meet the following morning at the site of the volleyball tournament. During our phone conversation Rick mentioned that he was contacted by another metal detectorist about searching for the ring and that this gentleman did not have any luck.
Sunday morning we met at 8:00 and Rick showed me the site of the volleyball tournament. This hunt site was HUGE with at least 30 volleyball mud pits set into a field. Rick had a good idea as to which court he was on when the ring came off but he was not 100% positive that the court he was pointing out was the one we needed to search. After a quick look at the vegetation growth and reading of the site we determined which court we needed to search.
Our first pass with the metal detector yielded no signals to dig. The work then began as we started to pry up the dirt clods in the area of where Rick’s loss occurred from the now dried out mud pit. Each dirt clod was about 10 inches in depth and fairly heavy. We moved each clod off to the side of our search site placing them upside down so that we could search the bottom side of the clods with the metal detector. I first scanned the bottom of the newly formed hole and then the clods without any success. Rick was starting to lose hope but we removed more dirt clods and I once again scanned the newly exposed soil, no luck. I made my way over to the clods and the first clod I scanned, the last out of the hole, I received a signal. I pulled the clod up to look at it and there was the edge of Rick’s ring exposed to the daylight. I let Rick see the clod and the edge of the Ring, he as ecstatic! Though this ring was not a very expensive ring, it was HIS wedding ring and he finally got it back.
Ring recovered September 25, 2011.
Platinum and diamond stud earring found in Littleton, Colorado park
Brenda reunited with her earring
Brenda Speedy had loaned her platinum stud and diamond earrings to a friend’s daughter. While preparing to go into a soccer match one of the earrings went missing. The two adults searched on their hands and knees without success. They later rented a metal detector at a local store and searched the area. Finding a stud earring is no easy task as there is not a lot of metal to make a metal detector react. Once again their search did not give their desired results. Later that night the two searched the area for another two hours using headlamps hoping the diamond would reflect the light, still no luck. They even went as far as using a shop vacuum the following day in hopes that it would suck up the lost jewel.
Brenda contacted me Monday night telling me of her predicament and her efforts to find the earring. We set a plan to meet at the park the next morning to search for the earring. I arrived at the assigned meeting time and location and we walked the area where the earring was supposed to be while Brenda once again explained the events that led to the earrings loss and her efforts to find it.
I set up my machines and tested them both on the match to the lost ear ring to make sure they were picking up the signal. I selected one of my machines and started my grid search. After an hour and a half I had found the earring within a few feet of where they had used the shop vacuum and within the area that they had searched using the rental metal detector.
The pair of platinum and diamond earrings had been given to Brenda by her father and they held a sentimental value that far exceeded the monetary value of the pair.
Item recovered: September 13, 2011.
Not an easy target to find
- The lost ear ring, now returned to it’s proper owner.
Ring recovered from bushes in Greeley, Colorado
The night before their scheduled departure to return to Arizona while visiting the family of her boyfriend in Greeley, Colorado Danielle Crook lost a ring that was given to her by her boyfriend. A hand full of people searched the driveway and area of rock and bushes that separated the neighbor’s property from theirs. They searched in earnest for over two hours with no luck. There was a mat of leaves that blanketed the river rock area that contained the bushes that made a visual search seem nearly impossible.
Danielle found my profile on “Ring Finders” and sent me an email around 11:00 that night explaining that she was leaving the next day so time was a critical factor. I responded to her email early that next morning and told her to call me ASAP and we should be able to work something out. Within minutes I received a call from Danielle and we arranged for me to search for her ring which was white gold with a diamond adorning its top. I readied my gear, strapped it onto my motorcycle and headed out to meet Danielle.
Upon arrival introductions were made and I further inquired as to how the ring became lost. Come to find out a dispute had come about and the ring was tossed aside in the heat of the moment. Almost instantaneously Danielle regretted what she had just done and wished she could take it back. She could not remember how she had tossed the ring, right or left handed. I had her toss another ring with a several inches of sting tied onto it with both hands while in the seated position she was in the night before.
I began my search in the area of the consistent landing spot from her right handed toss. Using my metal detector I began searching the leafy rock area first without success. I then switched to searching the branches of the bushes, the branches were small in diameter but long and filled with leaves. Within a minute I heard the tone of white gold come from my machine. I separated the branches of the bushes and there was a pretty little ring hung up on a branch in the middle of the bush about 24” above the ground. I called Danielle over to see the ring for herself, I almost had to put my figure on it for her to be able to see the ring. Within 12 hours of contacting me Danielle had her ring back on her hand. She was quite happy to get her ring back and this made their flight back to Arizona a much better flight.
Ring recovered July 29th, 2011
- Danielle with her ring back
Tungsten wedding ring found in Washington park – Denver, Colorado
Joe Gaughan was preparing to play in a volleyball tournament when he plut some sun block on to protect his exposed skin. While doing so he placed his Tungsten wedding band into his pocket of his shorts so that he wouldn’t loose his ring. After playing a couple of games he realized that his ring was gone from his pocket. Both teams stopped playing and got on their hand and knees and searched the court in a organized directional search. No ring was found and tournament had to go on.
Joe is a personal friend of mine and so he texted me that afternoon explaining the situation. We met at the location of the tournament the following Monday afternoon as Joe could not get away from the office till lunch time. He explained the events that took place around the loss of the ring one more time and took me to the locaiton of the volleyball court. I tuned my detector and within a few minutes Joe had his ring back on his fingure.
Ring recovered June 28, 2011.
Joe happy to be holding his wedding ring. Joe's Tungsten ring
Joe's Tungsten ring
Ring found in yard near Longmont, Colorado
Marshall Lipps lost his platinum wedding ring while doing yard work in the spring. He had trimmed some ornamental grasses and bushes and taken the clippings to a composting pile towards the back of the property. Since they live on a small acreage the ring could have been along a sizable path or someplace not thought of. Marshall even went to a rental place and rented a metal detector twice in an attempt to recover his ring. But he was not able to locate the ring using the rental detector.
Marshall then came upon the “Ring Finders” site and contacted me to assist in the search for his ring. By now it had been three weeks since he had lost his ring. Marshall and I walked the area where he was working and talked about what it was he was doing along with a demonstration of his actions.
I set out the search for Marshall’s ring searching the area of the ornamental grasses and the path to the compost pile. I ended up finding it near the compost pile but in an area that wasn’t expected as he didn’t recall being quite that far to the side of the pile. Marshall was happy to see his ring, but his wife was even happier.
Ring recovered on Mar 20, 2011.
- Marshall reunited with his ring
Wedding ring found in back yard – Lakewood, Colorado
Olivia Frank had lost her wedding ring in her back yard. The couple had searched the yard extensively without any luck. After 6 months of worry and frustration they found “Ring Finders” and through that my contact information. We made arrangements and set a meeting date for me to join them at their home for a brief talk and survey of the site.
My first trip to their house gave me the story of the rings loss and the layout of the yard. I managed to get in about three hours of search time before rain and snow drove me off the hunt site. I was certain that the ring was not in the portion of the yard they swore it in.
Upon my second trip to their house I went over the area that I had previously searched with two other detectors and no ring. I then expanded my search area and started running another search pattern. After another three hours of searching I ended up finding the ring several feet away from the expected location.
“Liv” was so excited and happy that she began to tear up when she got her hands on her ring again. It did need a good cleaning by a jeweler, but that is what happens when a ring is left to the elements for several months.
Ring recovered on December 4, 2010.
Liv and her ring
