Douglas Owens, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 4 of 5

I received a telephone message with a request to search for a set of lost wedding rings on December 3rd however, I unfortunately, only just listened to the message on December 17th… Two weeks late, I offered to search for her rings that evening and arriving at 7:00 pm because I had to return home to pick up my detector and recovery tools, we walked her yard area and she described the day of the loss while pointing out flags she had posted in areas where she believed her rings might be.

The day the rings were lost we had some very high winds early in the morning with gusts into the 40 mph range. Afterward, she and her husband were out doing some tree pruning and cleanup and during their efforts hauling brush and leaves to the rear of the property, she had removed her wedding rings and put them in her her shirt pocket to protect them. It was not until their day’s work was completed that she noted her rings were missing.

Not having heard back from me she and her husband had researched metal detectors and recovery techniques and they had tried to locate the rings with a borrowed metal detector. It must have been frustrating because I noted the yard area was heavily laden with small pieces of metal and scrap and I had to run several patterns and cover the areas she had marked twice to be certain her rings were not there. After several hours I decided to return home for the evening, install my 17″ coil and then return and grid their entire yard from front to back.

On my return today, I was able to get an earlier start but I was prepared for a potentially long search. I started in on their side yard and was four rows into my grid when I heard the sound I had been hoping for and my light shined on part of a small platinum ring. Overjoyed I had found the engagement ring within 20 minutes of beginning my search, I was hoping the wedding band would be close. Not two feet away I hit another strong signal and found her other ring.

I could not believe our luck and neither could she as she didn’t remember having been  in that area on the day she lost her rings. We were both really happy and I believe this find will help to make both our Christmas Holidays even happier.

I was contacted by a friend who knew I did some metal detecting and ring recoveries and he asked if I would search for a special knife he lost while baling hay. My friend had been working with a knife his Grandfather had given him and he had searched the hay field for several days trying to locate it himself when we connected by telephone and I promised to start searching that evening as darkness would not pose a problem. However, my understanding of the baler’s operation and of the search areas was not quite correct and so as I searched in the dark I was finding old farm vehicle parts and aluminum as I should have, but no knife. Giving up when my flashlight batteries all died, I returned the next morning and searched again in daylight but I still had no luck.

Frustrated, I met my friend at his barn on my way out for lunch and he demonstrated how the baler operated and we both noted my search areas had been off by at least 10 to 15 foot at each site and so I promised to try again that afternoon.

There were 22 bale spots I needed to search and my friend took the time to mark each of the spots for me with sticks and wooden blocks to help define the search areas for me. After meeting and reviewing the search areas with him again and getting a better description of the knife, I headed to the field to start my third search in a cool and drizzling rain.

As I approached the filed this third time I had mounted the large 17″ coil on my CTX 3030 and I was searching using a wide open pattern with no discrimination and so I was confident. The first thing I saw was that my friend had done a thorough job of marking each of the 22 spots I needed to search and I remembered he had said he felt the knife was in the western side of the field and so I began my search within the north western most bale location he had marked. After turning on the CTX 3030 and tuning it, I circled the site twice and within two minutes I received the signal I was hoping for! The knife had been lost at very the last bale’s location.

Returning to the barn within twenty minutes my friend asked me what I had found as I had already turned up some interesting rusted pieces of farm equipment during my searches but I think he was hesitant to believe I might have found his knife.

He was surprised and happy to have his grandfather’s knife back in hand and I was happy to have helped.

His smile says it all!

I received a call today from a young woman who had been out shooting hoops with her family on a sunny Sunday afternoon when she discovered she had lost her wedding ring. She was certain she had lost it while playing ball in her front yard but she and her family had been unable to find it.

It was Tuesday and I had to work late but with a cold front, rain and snow forecast and fast approaching, we decided to search immediately after I was off of work. I arrived at 8:45 pm we reviewed what had happened and I was able to scan her husbands ring which was a duplicate yellow gold composition, though larger in diameter.

I had searched around the goal area for about 30 minutes and I was just getting worried when I decided to search the driveway expansion cracks, flower beds and one more area of the yard behind where the game had been played. I was just three yards into that final search area when I heard the strong signal I had been hoping for!

Somehow her ring had ended up behind the playing area and on the opposite side of the driveway. After a few warm days, it was getting colder with sleet turning to snow and I was happy to be able to recover and return this young woman’s wedding ring. I think she and her family were surprised but happy too as there with smiles all around, making me grateful to have been able to help.

About a week before Christmas I was contacted by a young woman regarding my helping in the search for her husband’s lost wedding band. Her husband was certain his ring had been lost while he was clearing brush on their property. The area the ring had been lost in was covered with undergrowth, honeysuckle and a thick carpet of leaves and the couple and a few of their friends had already searched unsuccessfully for the ring for over ten days.

After finding me via my Book Of Smiles on the Ring Finders web site, they decided to contact me for my assistance. It just so happened that the next day after dark, which was my earliest opportunity to search, was also the date of their wedding anniversary and I promised them I would do my best. After walking the site with the couple and reviewing their memories of the events of the day the ring was lost, we agreed on likely location for me to start my search and I got to work.

I had searched just three small grids of the area we had reviewed when I heard the tone I was hoping for. All of us were pleased and surprised when in just under an hour into my search I located and returned their lost wedding ring!

Smiles all around, I was so glad to have been able to help make their Anniversary day even happier!

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I had been searching late for another lost wedding ring and I was headed home just after dark when I noticed a text message regarding another wedding ring that had been lost earlier that day. I happened to be within a few miles of the site and so I called to see if a night search was agreeable.

I connected with the ring’s owner and we arranged to meet right away. She and a friend walked me through the search area they had defined and they showed me they had taken care and saved all of the leaves they had raked piling them in their search area. After having searched for hours unsuccessfully seeking another wedding ring earlier, I was glad to help out and this hunt helped me to end my day on a positive note!

Here is the owner’s story:

“I was raking leaves in my backyard, when I looked down at my hand and noticed that my wedding band had fallen off. I had only gotten married a month ago and hadn’t gotten my ring sized properly yet. I was sure we would never be able to find it among all the leaves and we spent two hours combing through the yard to no avail. After it got dark, we found Doug on the ring finders website and decided it was worth it to give him a call. Within an hour he was at our house with his equipment and he found my ring within three minutes! I was so relieved and grateful that someone like Doug would take the time to use his talents to help us!”

“Would love to get your help if you’re available. My daughter lost her engagement ring in river today when our canoe capsized. It was today, Sunday, 6/11/17. We have the exact coordinates. It’s about 15-18 inches of water. We would be eternally grateful if you could help. THANK YOU!!!”.

I was knee deep in water searching for another lost ring when my phone received this message and unfortunately it was late afternoon when I retrieved it. Rain was forecast for the coming week and when it came it was very heavy at times. Though we tried searching during the next week, the water level was higher and the current stronger making searching tough and so we decided to try again when conditions had improved. Hoping for low water and reduced current, we had no idea I would be searching over two months for this ring.

The area where the ring was lost was challenging for canoes and the rains we received were exceptionally heavy for early summer and these factors combined to make searching challenging and sometime just not possible. Over the next few weeks I helped rescue capsized canoes and found many lost items, keys, glasses, phones, clothes, trash etc. When I could do so, I was also removing nails, fish hooks, scrap iron, pop cans, tabs and foil, all of the types of things I should have been finding, but unfortunately, there was no ring.

With ‘dog days’ came improving water conditions which we had hoped for and I continued searching, but again and again I left our search area without the ring. On Sunday August 20th, I decided to try again, just one last time. Going in after a lite rain I was apprehensive but widened my search area and after only about an hour I received several mixed signals, one was of the type I had been hoping for and I was both surprised and pleased to finally recover this ring in a hand full of rocks and gravel.

I was happy to help and so glad to be able to recover this engagement ring because the ring was lost not long after this couple’s wedding, but also because of this couple’s smiles indicating how happy they are to have it back beside the wedding band on the bride’s hand!

Chris Turner, founder of the Ring Finders is absolutely right, it is all about the smiles.

Best wishes and good luck to you all with your searches!

I recently received a call from a woman who found me via our Ring Finders web site. She indicated her request was probably unlike those I normally receive and she asked if I would help with her search. She explained to me that earlier in the day, a friend had threatened her and stolen her handgun which she reported to the police.  Later that morning, her friend while attempting to elude police on a motorcycle, reportedly tossed her gun somewhere along the side of a wide public thoroughfare just prior to being captured.

The woman said she was very concerned that her gun might be found by a child or a pedestrian and/or that someone might be hurt and so she had been searching all day for it herself. We discussed the route her friend had reportedly traveled and some landmarks and I promised to help search as soon as I could. I worked late that night but was able to start my search just after dark at the start of the area we discussed. I gradually worked back and forth toward the spot where her friend was pulled over. About halfway through my search area, I received a very strong, loud signal and I almost could not believe my luck.

I phoned the police, reported my find and filled out a report for them and I contacted the gun owner to let her know also, hoping she would be able to relax a little after a very stressful day.