24 karat gold necklace recovered at Benona Township Park, Shelby, Michigan

Back at Benona Township Park on Lake Michigan again. We were there just 6 days ago, and today we got another call — this time for a gold chain with a diamond heart pendent and a Sicily charm. Karin’s late husband had given her this gold chain, so it was very important to her. She thought she might have lost the necklace when she swam from the first sand bar to the second sand bar in water over her head.

So we had a general idea of where to start searching, but it was a still a huge area to cover (more than 100 yards into the lake), and it included water at the max of our capability. We figured we were looking at a tough few hours. I started my grid to the right and Dave Boyer, my Ringfinder partner, went to the left as we had decided to work towards each other. On my first leg on the deep side of the first sand bar I got a nice signal. I started digging but, was having trouble getting it in my scoop. I called Dave over and he tried one scoop with no luck. I dug another couple of scoops and WOW, look at this! It took us an hour and a half to get to the lake, and 5 minutes to find the necklace. I called Karin as soon as I found it but told her I needed better details. I then asked if the necklace was insured and she didn’t think so. I then told her it didn’t matter anyway because I found it. I imagined I could see her jaw drop and tears in her eyes as I told her. She was speechless. I said I was 76 years old and could still make the women cry. What a powerful job we have in reuniting items that mean so much to people. Karin, who lives across state, posed with her son after receiving the necklace from her sister who brought it to her. She is one happy lady.