Ring Found in Hudsonville, MI



I was on the golf course with my brother-in-law, when I received a text from Ross, saying that his wife, Natalie, had just lost her wedding ring on a Lake Michigan beach after 16 years of marriage. I texted him back, telling him we could be there later this afternoon, and hunting partner Gregg and I arranged to meet the Fort Wayne, Indiana, couple at 6:30 to try to save their vacation at this gated community right on Lake Michigan. When we arrived Ross showed us an area of about 30 feet square where they felt the ring must be. Natalie had the ring in the front of her swimming suit, and she remembered going to the water’s edge once and bending over to touch the water. They were quite sure that was when the ring fell out of her swimsuit. After about 1 1/2 hours and many targets of tin cans beaten into globs of aluminum, we were just about ready to give up, thinking that the ring had been washed out deeper and we would have to come back another day when the water was calm. But I got one last iffy signal close to the water’s edge — that turned out to be the ring. We walked up to Ross and Natalie with sad faces and shaking our heads, but I walked over to Ross and handed him the ring without Natalie seeing me. He got down on one knee and presented the ring to Natalie. (Should have had a video of that). If this doesn’t choke you up a bit you are not human. This hobby never gets old!

EPSON MFP image


I received a text from Dan, saying he had lost his wedding band. He and his wife, Emily, were visiting from their home in Missouri, vacationing at a private home on the shore of Lake Michigan. Spending the beautiful day on the sand beach with lots of family and friends, Dan noticed his ring was missing shortly after they had played some catch. He pointed out two areas where he suggested I start: right next to the water, and an area right in front of the whole group of family and friends who were sitting on the beach, watching, not wanting to get in the way of the search. Checking the area next to the water produced only a rusty can lid, but on the third sweep of the area in front of the group I got a good solid hit. Bingo! There it was in my first scoop. Whoops and hollers and high fives from the group watching, and Dan and Emily’s 11 year marriage was back on track. Saving good memories of the 2022 vacation in Michigan!!






Engagement ring lost in Grand Rapids in the driveway: Gregg got a call late last night about the lost ring, and he went alone to look for it. Unfortunately he came up empty. I went alone this morning (daylight is helpful) and also came up empty. Around noon we both showed up to give it one more try. About 5 minutes into the hunt I got a good signal (45 on the AT-Pro) next to the driveway in about a foot of snow. Kicking the snow out onto the driveway and scanning with a pinpointer still did not get it. Tried the metal detector one more time and the target was in a clump of snow over to the side. Picked up the clump of snow and there it was. A 3 carat diamond gets your attention! To put it mildly, emotions were overwhelming. Dong collapsed and sat on the ground and Amy was jumping for joy and giving both of us hugs. Was a little worried about Dong until he finally got to his feet. Wedding date is not set yet but at least they now have the ring for the occasion.

I received a call last night from Ryan, stating he had just lost his gold Saint Christopher medal. It was a valuable piece, but priceless to Ryan as it had been his grandfather’s — just talking about the loss kind of choked him up. He had been playing with his daughter in about 3 feet of water when the gold chain broke, and chain and medallion dropped into the water. With some searching he found the chain but not the medal. He had a pretty good idea of where it was lost by lining up landmarks on shore and some boats nearby (good job Ryan). Gregg and I met them within an hour of his call and the search was on. I was on my second leg through that area when I got the unmistakable sound of gold and had it in my scoop. After a few whoops and hollers and some pictures we were headed home after our second successful search this weekend. Picture is Ryan, Melissa and daughter, Shayla.
Yesterday I received a call from Rachael, stating she had just lost her wedding ring in about waist-deep water at Oval Beach in Saugatuck. She and Dylan were spending some time with relatives, relaxing and just being together after the crisis of losing their 31 year old cousin and attending the funeral a few days ago. She simply couldn’t handle the loss of her ring after that other huge loss. Anxious to help, Gregg Larabel and I arrived at the beach within an hour, and Dylan showed us where they thought we should look — an area of water about 30 feet by 40 feet. I started searching straight down the center of that area, and in about 5 minutes I got a terrific signal that I knew had to be the ring. A couple of scoops later and I had Rachael’s beautiful ring in my scoop. Announcing the find brought Dylan, Rachael and a bunch of their relatives over to see the prize. Their somber week had just turned into smiles and laughter for everybody. These are the memories we strive for. 

