On July 30th, I received a message from Nick, saying he had found me on theringfinders.com, asking if I would be able to help him find his wedding ring he had lost in Goose Lake, which is in the Gifford Pinchot forest.
He told me on the prior weekend, he had been backpacking for two days, and had dove into the lake to scrub off the accumulated grime. After, he found his ring was gone.
He mentioned he was considering getting a metal detector himself and searching, but was about four hours away from the lake.
Since he wouldn’t be there, I asked for as many details about the location he could provide.
Fortunately, Nick had a video and photo of where he was in the lake, which showed some landmarks.
This lake is about 2 and hours away, but after some research, and reviewing the pictures, I agreed to give it a shot.
This lake is a very popular spot for day-use, camping, and fishing, so I decided to go up early on a Tuesday morning for the search.
I arrived, got my gear together, and got ready to search. I took off my wedding ring, and put it in the back of my truck (or so I thought).
I went to the lakeshore and was able to find the location where the the photo/video was taken. Focusing on this area, I started a grid search.
I went into the water about chest-deep, took a half-step to my right, then worked back to the shore. I got a solid hit, and realized that as soon as my scoop went into the silty bottom, visibility went to zero. After several tries, I pulled out a crusty fishing lure.
I made a couple more passes, when I had to pause while a couple gentleman struggled to launch their antique boat into the lake.
When they finally got their s#it together, and left the area, I began again. I received a promising hit on the Nox, so I made a scoop. Scanning the spot again, I realized I missed it. I made another scoop, and as I gently shook my sand-scoop, I caught the glimmer of gold!
I cleaned through the dirt and gravel in the scoop, and there it was.
I left my scoop in the lake to mark where I had found the ring, and returned to the beach.
As I was warning-up, a couple guys approached me curious about what I was doing. I told them I was looking for a lost ring, and showed them the ring I recovered. I got some high fives and praise, then they went back to getting ready to fish, and I continued to pack my gear.
Just as I was taking a couple pictures of the lake, one of the fishermen approached me and asked about a ring he’d found in the parking area. Sure enough, it was my wedding ring I had dropped behind my truck!
I shook his hand and told him he was a Ringfinder!
While driving out, and getting back into cell phone service, I received an evacuation notice. There was a wildfire in the area.
I also had a message from Nick wishing me luck on the search. I told him he was a little late on his wish, and sent him a photo of the ring.
The reply was pretty ecstatic. We had a conversation regarding shipping his ring, and the rest is history.
Comments Off on Wedding ring lost in Washington lake. Found with metal detector…with some twists!