Christina McCree – Ring Finder/Metal Detectorist for northern Alabama and southern/middle Tennessee…call or text ASAP, anytime 24/7…610-504-6135
On a beautiful Sunday morning (April 7th, 2024), I was sitting on my outdoor patio rocking chair, enjoying a cup of iced coffee, watching birds eating at my feeder and two Bluebirds tending to their birdhouse. A few minutes into my cup, I received a call from Emily stating she had lost her wedding ring. She had been in a car accident a few days prior near Pell City, Alabama. Thankfully, everyone in the accident was okay.
After the accident, Emily was standing near the wood line close to a gravel pull off point near the road. She had a flat tire and was upset about the whole situation. She lit up a cigarette and angrily threw the cigarette pack towards the woods. She felt her custom-made platinum wedding ring with multiple diamonds and her son’s birthstone fly off her finger. She had recently lost some weight, so the ring was loose fitting, but she hadn’t gotten it resized yet. Emily and her family looked for hours, raking the pine straw and even buying a metal detector, but unfortunately, didn’t find the ring. This was the ring Emily always dreamed about, constantly sharing photos with her mom, planning it for years. Emily was absolutely devastated that the ring was now gone. The sentimental value was beyond words.
Emily’s mom went on Google looking for ideas on how to find a lost ring. She came across The Ring Finders website. They (along with many others) were unaware that this metal detecting service even existed. Emily’s call to me had given her some renewed hope. I had an errand to run after lunch, but I told Emily I would be on the road as soon as I finished. Pell City was about a 2-hour drive from where I live at in Huntsville, AL.
I met Emily and her boyfriend of 17 years at a nearby Love’s Travel Stop in Pell City around 4:30pm. I followed them for about 10 minutes to the spot of the throw. Emily’s mom and father stopped by shortly after we did to watch the recovery.
I had Emily show me where she was standing and demonstrate exactly how she threw the cigarette pack. It was a sideways toss with her left hand. I had her throw one of my test rings and it went straight out near where the cigarette pack had landed. I put on my detecting belt, grabbed my Minelab Equinox 900, and started my search. I spent about 40 minutes checking the main radius of where the ring should’ve landed. I expanded out further, but came up empty handed other than the usual trash metal.
I asked Emily again about the angle of her throw. Her boyfriend had seen her throw the cigarette pack, and mentioned she had a downswing at the end. I know that rings can land at a person’s feet or even go behind them, so I expanded the search in that direction. The search area was now on the gravel road of the pull off point. I was still detecting and visually inspecting the gravel area. I was making my way towards the left side, when my eye caught a glimpse of a large and gorgeous platinum ring laying amongst the gravel. I quickly spun around facing Emily and her mom; with a huge smile on my face, and said, “we got it!!!” They almost couldn’t believe it, lol. Emily and her mom both ran over and gave me the biggest hugs, thank you’s, and praised the Lord. The excitement, celebration, and relief were again, beyond words. Truly, one of the greatest feelings.
The ring was slightly bent and had some scuff marks on the band, so it had been driven over. But fortunately, all the stones were still there. There was one diamond that was loose, so I gave Emily a baggie to keep it in until it could be repaired. Everyone couldn’t believe how far this ring actually flew and the odd direction it went. The last picture I included shows a dot where Emily was standing when she threw the pack and an “X” where the ring landed.
We chatted for a few minutes, took some pictures, and I was back on the road to go grab a bite to eat and then head home to Huntsville.
This ring is my 50th item recovered since I joined The Ring Finders on August 25th, 2018. It’s been such a blessing helping others and it really provides me so much purpose in life. I give all glory to God and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And a big thank you to my husband, Lindell, for allowing me to go on all of these fun and exciting adventures, lol. I look forward to going on many, many more.
Until the next one… please take care, God bless, and I love you all!
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