iPhone Recovered… and Dry
Mike called me on Friday, August 7, 2026, hoping my skills might be helpful in recovering his lost iPhone from Lake Mary in Twin Lakes, WI. Helping navigate a boat to the docking station with the light from his phone the night before, a mishap landed it in the water. Would I be able to find it still dry and working? Modern iPhones like the iPhone 17 carry an IP68 rating, allowing it to be submerged about 19.6 feet for up to 30 minutes. The conditions in Lake Mary were less than six feet, but by the time I was able to arrive on Friday, it would be close to the 24-hour mark. I was anxious to get in the water and see if I could find his phone.
Mike was unable to meet me, but his friend Mark met me and walked me through the situation. I was relieved to find Lake Mary shallow, seaweed-free, and with some visibility. I started a grid search from one end of the pier back to the docking station: 20 feet one direction, 20 back, repeat. The area did not have an overwhelming number of metal targets, but I dug each sound I heard, making sure I didn’t miss the phone. It might be hidden by the 1-2 inches of silt covering the bottom, I thought.
My horizontal grid search did not reveal the phone, and after about an hour underwater, I was concerned the encroaching darkness of the already cloudy day might end my search. I switched to the vertical lines of my grid, and pushed deeper into the lake than I had with my horizontal grid. About 18 minutes later, a simultaneous sound and sight brought an underwater cheer that only I heard. There it was, screen down on top of the silt, the green rectangular case clearly visible. It was lost in a depth of about five feet.
I stood up and looked toward the house. A group of friends was gathered for dinner, and I could hear music. I held the phone high into the air and waited to see if anyone noticed. A chorus of cheers sounded. “He found it!” one voice called out.
Not knowing if the iPhone might malfunction if I tried turning it on, I decided to let Mike take the next steps. I left the phone with Mark and headed home.
The next morning, I received the text I was hoping for. A photo of Mike with a dry and working phone. His text said, “We are alive and working perfectly. Another successful mission!”
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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