Long lost ring, Secrete Lake Park, Casselberry, Fl....Found 19 years later!

Here is a text I received from Gissele on February 21st at 9:55pm.

“Hi Mike, I found your info on theringfinders.com. This is a complete long shot but I lost my promise ring at Secrete Lake Park in Casselberry. Back then there was a little Karate studio in the back of the park. I left my son while he was practicing and took my young daughter to go to the playground. We were crossing through the field/baseball field when my ring slipped off my finger and I can only describe it as being swallowed up by the grass. It is not expensive and has a small diamond mounted on it. I mean I lost this years ago….like in 2002! I just recently moved away, to El Paso, Texas, but have always wondered about my ring. I even tried using a metal detector and was not able to find anything. Thank you for your help. Gissele”

I answered her email right away and agreed whole heartedly that it would be a long shot but not totally impossible. I asked allot of questions like, What was the ring made of? Was it a small, medium or thick band? Were there any markings on the inside?, etc. I then sent Gissele an aerial screen shot of the baseball field and asked her to put a line where she walked and an X over the area where she lost her ring. She assured me that her ring was made of 14k gold and was a thin band. The fact that it was a smaller ring gave me hope that it was very likely still there, in the ground, waiting to be found.

You see most people who metal detect parks and school yards rarely dig those low numbers. Many times the smaller rings will sound and read the same as a pull tab or even lower, like that of a small piece of aluminum which we call “can slaw”. (Can slaw are the small pieces of aluminum that get spread all over as a result of a lawn mower hitting a can and shredding it into small pieces).

Armed with that encouraging information I headed to the park and set out my corner flags and began my tight grid search. For 3 hours I dug everything that sounded close to what a small gold ring would sound like. Rain drove me to take shelter for 20 minutes and then I continued my search. It was getting on to sunset and I was thinking of calling it a night when all of a sudden the complex turned on all the lights and it was like daylight again. With renewed energy I decided to give it another hour and moved my flags closer towards 3rd base and the short stop area. I was using my Garrett ATMax metal detector in the ZERO MODE and had blocked out all signals from 65 and up and had set my IRON DISCRIMINATION to ignore anything below 25. My final signal registered 47 on my display and showed the target to be four inches deep. I thought, Wow, that sounds really good and I carefully dug a neat plug. It was a wet muddy clump of dirt and I used my pin pointer to narrow down the targets hiding place. As the ring revealed itself I was in a great position, on my knees, to thank God for helping me to uncover Gissele’s precious lost promise ring!! The thrill, the joy and relief of being able to have actually found her ring was something that I will never forget!

I sent Gissele a quick text and explained that I had gotten out to do a search and had found a few things. Then I waited a few minutes and then sent her two photos!! Oh, and did I mention that Gissele now lives in El Paso, Texas and lost her ring 19 years ago?!!!

Have you lost something recently or maybe years ago and need my help? Call, text or email me ASAP!!
Mike McInroe….very proud member of theringfinders.com