Lost Platinum Wedding Band in Backyard...Found in Alexandria, Virginia Neighborhood

BRIAN RUDOLPH, LOST ITEM RECOVERY SPECIALIST (LAND, WATER, SAND, SNOW, LEAVES, HOUSES & VEHICLES) WILL FIND YOUR LOST KEEPSAKE! CALL ASAP (301) 466-8644!

Jonathan lost his beloved platinum wedding band while playing with a red rubber ball in the backyard of a friend’s house. As he went to hit the ball back to the others who were entertaining themselves during their get-together, Jonathan felt the ring fly off his finger. The only problem was that no one knew the direction of where the wedding band headed. For an hour and a half, the large group of people searched the backyard but all of their efforts led to no avail. The special keepsake was nowhere to be found.

At some point during the latter part of the day, Jonathan and his wife searched the internet for some help. Their answer was identified as THE RING FINDERS, an international directory of metal detectorists who specialize in finding lost rings for people. The couple learned that I, Brian Rudolph, provide metal detecting services in Alexandria, Virginia and immediately called to get some assistance.

It was such a pleasure talking with Jonathan on the phone. We made an appointment for me to come out the following day to his friend’s house to see if I could solve this mystery of the missing ring.

The next day, I headed to Alexandria, Virginia excited about this search. Though it was pouring rain outside, I was fully prepared with my weather proof attire. I met up with Jonathan and he immediately took me to the back of the house where I would conduct the search. He introduced me to his friend who lived at that residence and then the three of us journeyed around the property to get an idea of where everything took place up to the moment when Jonathan lost his wedding band.

My client showed me where he stood and the direction he was facing when he hit the red rubber ball. It was clear that the ring could have gone in any direction, including behind Jonathan at the moment when the ring went flying. The yard was adjacent to five other houses, so it was possible that the sentimental piece could have ended up rocketing across the high wooden fence to the surrounding properties. We had a lot to cover and the rain kept pouring down on all of us.

Once I got oriented with the search site, I reached into my portable wagon and retrieved all of the gear that I needed to metal detect the backyard. I grid searched the entire backyard, doing straight lines from one end of the lawn to the other. Nothing turned up. I metal detected in the bushes along the fence line all the way to the other end of the fence and still there was no ring to be discovered.

Next, I took my secondary detector with a 6-in coil at the end of it and detected the garden area. There were various gourds that were growing with long vines and leaves extended in every direction. I was very careful not to hurt the plants as I was searching for the missing ring. Just like with other areas throughout the yard, I came in range with various metal objects but not the target signal that I was looking for.

Not only did I search the grassy areas, the flower beds, bushes, vegetable garden sections and all along the 6 foot fence corners, I also moved along the foundation of the house. I checked out this area just in case the ring flew over to the outside concrete steps, near the walkway and around the rear door that led into the house. Still, the special piece of jewelry was not located.

At this point, with the rain continuously falling, I had no other choice but to search the other side of the fence. As I shared before, I would possibly need to visit up to five other backyards and metal detect those lawns to determine if the ring ended up on the other side of the 6 foot tall wooden barrier.

After detecting the side of the house that Jonathan’s friend lived in (just in case the ring flew over the fence and into the grass  of the side yard), I walked with Jonathan’s friend over to the adjacent neighbor’s home where he sought permission for me to search their backyard. We got the go-ahead to do the search and once again, Jonathan’s platinum ring was nowhere to be found. It was at this time that I was getting a bit nervous that perhaps I somehow missed it over at the first yard (such as not discovering it in the bushes or something). But I tried to keep a confident attitude within that I thoroughly checked every square inch and that I truly wasn’t negligent in not finding the band up to that point.

It was now time to go to the backyard of one of the other neighbor’s lawns. I could have picked any of the other four homes, but I purposely selected the property that was directly behind the majority of Jonathan’s friend’s yard. I figured that the ring could have darted to the left of Jonathan and flew over the fence into that particular neighbor’s yard. There was more square footage to search at that location in comparison to the other remaining lawns that I might have had to search. Therefore,  I deducted that that was the best place to check out next.

In order for us to have access to the second neighbor’s property, Jonathan’s friend and I had to walk all the way to the end of the block. Then, we turned right and walked to the next block, made another right turn and walked all the way down the street until we were lined up with the backyard of Jonathan’s friend’s house. After getting permission from that neighbor to do a backyard search, I immediately set up my gear and started metal detecting.

The moment that I examined the obstacles and spaces that I had to work with (located near the fence line and in the surrounding areas), I determined that I needed to use a smaller coil to get in between the shrubs and newly planted miniature pine trees.

The area around the neighbor’s shed was clear of any significant targets. I then moved parallel with the wooden fence and detected around the little pine trees that had just been planted in the ground the same day that the ring went missing. Even the mulch surrounding the little ones was fresh and brand new. I made sure that I detected completely around each of the pines just to make sure that the ring didn’t happen to fly over the fence and then get buried in the neighbor’s newly gardened tree bed.

As it turned out, just as I was moving around the third pine tree (I believe it was number 3), I got a very promising signal. It was in the range of Jonathan’s platinum wedding band and the target came in as a number 14 and 15 on the Minelab Equinox 800 detector that I was using. I leaned down towards the ground and took my handheld metal detector to determine exactly where the signal was coming from. As the pinpointer began to vibrate and sound off, I looked under one of the little pine tree branches and I caught a glimpse of just a little piece of shiny silver protruding out from underneath the mulch! I got so excited! I was so hoping that this piece of metal was the precious keepsake that I had been looking for all along. ‘It would really make a great story if this turned out to be Jonathan’s ring’, I thought. And yes, a great story it did end up becoming!

I put my hand under the little tree and pulled out the piece of metal that was sticking partially out of the ground, and there it was in it’s fullness! I found the ring! I recovered Jonathan’s lost wedding band! It had flown over the fence and landed in the neighbor’s yard! Then, sometime during the neighbor’s gardening project, the ring got buried partially under the mulch while the shredded wood pieces were spread around the pines! I could not have been more excited at that very moment!

Jonathan, who had left to go home for a little while, had returned to his friend’s house and was hanging out on the second floor screened-in balcony. He was viewing my search as best as he could while I was on the other side of the fence. When I found the ring, his friend who was still with me, indicated some positive reaction which set off a clapping party over by his house and everyone including Jonathan was going crazy with excitement! The search was over!

To solve this mystery of Jonathan’s lost band by discovering it in one of the neighbor’s yards, under a tree in the mulch was just a complete thrill for me! I love these kind of stories, and most of all, I love seeing smiles return to the faces of my clients (such as with the case of Jonathan’s keepsake) when the item is safely back in the hands of the one who cherishes it the most! There was a lot of sunshine beaming from Jonathan’s face that afternoon, Even though the skies above kept pouring down buckets of rain that afternoon, one thing was for certain; in comparison to the grey conditions outside, there was a whole lot more sunshine beaming from Jonathan’s face as we both headed our separate ways!

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