Gregg Larabel, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 11 of 16

Jeff called me last week to tell me his son Aaron, lost his 2015 Hopkins H.S. class ring while feeding the ducks at Heritage Park pond. When he was preparing to throw some bread his ring fell off into the water. The water is about 5 feet deep with about 2 feet of muck. I told Jeff that because of the depth and muck it would be impossible for me to wade into the water and use my detector, so I told him I would consider another method and get back to him. Several years ago I made a scoop from an old flat snow shovel and some 1/4 in fencing. It was designed to drag along the bottom of a lake and sift the sand for rings and things. My detecting partner came up with a 12 foot handle made out of PVC pipe to put on it.

Saturday we went out to Heritage Park and tried our scoop out. Going on information from Jeff, he said his son threw out some bread underhand about 5 feet and into the water. After scooping several feet in about a 12 x 10 foot area the scoop worked very well but we came up with nothing but weeds. The scoop worked as well as we thought it would. I called Jeff and told him we didn’t have any luck. A few minutes later I got a call from Jeff’s son telling me the ring bounced on the deck and then went in the water. That changed things and we went back today to search along the base of the deck and after about 5 scoops we came up with the ring. It is so important to get a good set of events leading up to the item being lost.

Aaron’s dad is going to surprise him on A’s birthday on Nov 10. Today happens to be my 70th birthday and I consider this to be a birthday gift, I love finding rings for people.

I was called by Kelli C. Friday asking me to find her ring that was lost last spring while doing some yard work. I told her we (Me, Dave B and my brother Doug) would be out Saturday morning to search for her ring. She had mentioned that her yard was 3 acres and her house was over 100 years old and that anything we found besides the ring we could keep.

We arrived at the house at 10:30 and met Jim C., Kelli’s husband, Jim explained that Kelli was up north buying chickens at a poultry festival. Kelli, now known as the chicken lady, raises chickens for pets and eggs with a few ducks added in. We began detecting the yard which Kelli marked for us where she thought the ring might be. The grounds were peppered with aluminum nuggets, like they were melted into balls and other junk metal pieces. We searched for about an hour and a half before Kelli got home then we introduced ourselves while she unloaded the 3 new chickens she bought. I had the privilege of holding 2 of them and taking them to the pen. They were like petting an angora kitten, very soft and silky and loved to be held. (see picture). We searched for another couple of hours, for as old as the house was there was very little coins found and nothing old. We turned everything over to Kelli. My brother Doug did find a pair of sterling silver ice tongs that Kelli lost 4 years ago and that was the find of the day and made Kelli very happy. Meeting Jim and Kelli was a real privilege, they are a great couple. Maybe we will come out for another search but the 2 1/2 hour trip makes it hard to arrange.  I will put this on my list of “needs to be found at another time”.

 

 

Wow! what a find today. I not only found the ring for Todd S. but got a steak dinner out of the deal. I was called by a fellow Ring Finder, Tom Townsend, who originally got the call but because of his work schedule could not make the search. I called Kimm, Todd’s sister-in-law, around 5PM and after talking to her made arrangements to go down to South Haven, MI at 9AM the next morning. The weather at the moment was warm and the big lake was very calm so I decided to make the 50 mile trip right away that evening. I called my detecting partner, Dave B., and we got our gear together and got down to South Haven about 6:30PM giving us a good 2 hours to hunt before sunset.

We met Kimm and Todd’s wife Jennifer and their other sister Melissa and the kids at the lake and they directed us to the spot and there in the lake was Todd who had goggles and a snorkel and had been in the water for over 5 hours looking for his ring. Dave and I began our search using a grid method and in about 20 minutes I got a good signal on my CZ21, I scooped up the sand and there it was a beautiful platinum ring with 7 diamonds. Todd was about 3 feet from me and I raised my hand with the ring and got a big bear hug from him. It was a very emotional moment from a giant of a man. After some happy faces and pictures taken, even by tourist, we were invited to dinner at their vacation home down the street.

After everyone went back to the house Dave and I searched the water for a little while as the Lake was calm and the weather was great. We changed into our dry clothes and went to Todd’s vacation home and met the rest of the family. This was an Italian family from Pingree Grove, IL and when they get together it is a meal that was meant for a king. We had Filet Mignon and all the trimmings. Kimm had grown most of the salad items from her 4000 square foot garden. With the meal and great conversation, that lasted late into the evening, we wrapped up a great search event and headed back to Grand Rapids. Thank you Tom T. for the referral.

I got a call from Katina G. this morning asking me to find her ring that she had lost. The call was a message on my phone so after playing some phone tag with Tim G., her husband, we finally connected and he gave me the story. I met Tim and Katina tonight with their have 2 small children and a new born baby. Tim works at the site where the ring was lost in the front yard of the building. They had looked for it for a while with no luck so Katina went on to Google and found the ring finders and after reading some of my stories decided to give me a call. I had been moving for a friend all day and told her I would go out after 5PM. I talked to Tim and he gave me an address of the mailbox the ring was near and being familiar with the area I proceeded to the spot. I got out my detector and started to grid a grassy area along the street. It had rained and I saw a sewer along the curb and running water in the gutter. I was afraid that it may have fallen in the street and went down the sewer, just then I got a 52 reading on my Fisher F75 and under a clump of grass about a foot from the curb was her ring.

I called Tim and asked how we could meet and he happened to be going to a meeting with the family and would meet me at the spot where I found it. 20 minutes later I met Katina, Tim and the family giving them my card and taking some pictures we went on our way. What a beautiful couple and family, finding the ring for them and making them happy made me happy. An end to a great day.

My detecting partner Dave B. and I were out today at Holland State Park detecting in both the water and the sand. It was a cloudy day and the rain had just stopped so the beach was empty of bathers. While I was in the water Dave started gridding an area in the sand and came across a Samsung S5 cellphone. The signal on his AT Pro indicated junk and he was not going to dig but dug anyway and about 4 inches down there was the phone. We continued to hunt for another hour or so and went back into Grand Rapids to find the owner. We stopped at a T mobile office as that was the service provider. Because of privacy matters they could not give us a name but told us the subscriber lives in Florida.They took my name and number and said the party would get in touch with me. About 2 hours after I got home I got a call from Anthony M. he ask “do you have my phone” and I told him the story and he said he was at the park Sunday and it fell out of his pocket and couldn’t find it in the sand. We agreed to meet him at his house tonight after he got out of work and exchange the phone.

Dave and myself met Anthony at his house  and he was very happy to get his phone back. He explained that his sister in Florida has the plan and he is on it, that cleared up the mystery of the Florida connection. We thought that maybe the person who lost the phone was vacationing at the State Park.

Here is a picture of Anthony and the phone.

Got a call Sunday from Roger R. telling me his niece, Kim C., lost her white gold diamond ring in the lake while throwing a basketball during a fun filled day  of festivities in the water. When you look at the picture below you will see that Roger and his wife Kathy have a swimming area designed for big, fun parties. My partner Dave B. and myself took the 2 1/2 hour drive to their house and got our wet suits on and entered the water on an overcast Monday and started our search. We got several hits on the way out to the basketball hoop that was set up to play water ball. Roger told us that he had searched with a snorkel for hours around the hoop and other places in the swim area only to give up and call me. Our target area was around the hoop and about 15 minutes into the search Dave B. pulled up the ring with his AT Pro. We continued to search while slowly walking up to the beach and asked Roger if he had some coffee we would like to give it a rest for a bit. In the meantime we gave him what we found. Dave B. handed him one at a time a dime, penny, a nickel, a quarter, another penny and Roger said “wow” there’s a lot of change out there. I then started the same thing with a handful of change and a needle and bottle cap. Roger, looking a little down with nothing to show other than change I said “Oh there is this too” and I put the ring in his hand and he was stunned. He could not believe we found it after all the searching he went through. We took some pictures and he sent them to his niece then we went up for that cup of coffee. After some great conversation with Roger, a retired special ed school teacher, we took a ride around the lake in his pontoon boat and then packed up and went home.

We stopped to eat on the way home and got a text while at the restaurant from Roger saying that Kim got the pictures and was so happy she said “she would do anything 4 you both”. The smiles, coffee, conversation, and a boat ride around the lake was reward enough. This service of theringfinders is the most rewarding job I have ever done in my 40 years of detecting. Thank you Chris Turner for your foresight with theringfinders.

Kim was not available for a picture so when I receive it I will edit this post

 

 

Ben S. called me today while I was watching my grandson, Chase, win the Junior Gold Bowling Championship at Westgate Bowl in Comstock Park, MI.

Ben who lives in Fort Wayne, IN, was visiting his grand parents who live in Kalamazoo, MI and they spent the day at Oval Beach in Saugatuck, MI. Ben was passing a ball to his brother while standing in 3 feet of water when all of a sudden the ball and his Tungsten wedding band went sailing. Ben was aware of the location of the ring and was able to give me a good description as to where it went into the water. The fresh water lake was relatively calm and cool so there were a lot of beach goers there, I figured it would be a nice day to search.

After about 10 minutes in the water I found a silver ring but not Ben’s so I carried on and the next hit was Ben’s Tungsten wedding band. I have included a picture of Ben’s ring and the small silver ring that I found just before his ring. Ben was not there but will receive his ring next Saturday so I will edit this story with a picture of him and the ring.

Ben’s aunt Ellen and nephew showed up today to pick up his ring for him so I thought I would add to the travels of his ring. I asked her to give me a pic of Ben when he receives the ring so another posting will be coming with the end of the ring travels complete. After 3 weeks of traveling around Michigan and Indiana, the ring has finally been given to Ben and here is his picture.

Kameswari S. called me yesterday and said he lost his wedding ring while playing soccer with his friends at a local soccer field. I was across the state at the time and told him I would meet him Sunday afternoon at the field. He was wearing his ring on his right hand because he hurt his ring finger. Sek, as he is called by his friends was playing goalie and apparently stopped the ball and then threw it back out into play. After talking to Sek and going over all scenarios, I checked the back of the goal then the goal area itself. After about an hour in the hot sun I went to get a drink and then gridded off the playing area away from the goal where I figured the ring might have landed with a good throw from the goal. After several sweeps I got a good signal and hidden in the grass was the gold wedding ring with a diamond. His teammates helped him look for the ring yesterday but it was too well hidden to see it by the naked eye. Now Sek can tell his wife he lost his ring but recovered it to wear again.

My daughter-in-law called me and said her daughter, Meranda, got a call from her boyfriend, Devin, saying he lost his car keys while playing Disc Golf at the park. Meranda said “my grandpa can find it”. I went out to the park and met Devin and his friend who was in a panic because his car key is one of those $300 micro chip keys. Devin pointed out the 3rd hole that he was playing and thought that when he threw the last disc it went into the rough in about knee high grass. I checked out the area where he ran into the grass, with no luck. I then back tracked to the tee on hole #3 where Devin said he last felt the key in his hoody jacket pocket and checked the fairway with still no sign of the key. There is a saying in the metal detecting world that “the item is never where they think it is”. Using that logic I  suggested we back up to hole #2 and asked Devin to trace the path as to where he threw his disc. I went into the rough again following the directions of his first throw off the 2nd tee. Searching around in the knee high grass I got a good hit on my Fisher F75 in the All Metal mode. Pulling away the grass there it was. I presented it to Devin and he went bananas and Meranda said “see my I told you my grandpa could find it”. I suggested that Devin get more practice on disc golfing and stay out of the rough. It’s a nice feeling to help out family.

 

I got a call today from Melissa B. saying that she lost her diamond bracelet given to her from her grandmother. She was visiting her mother and grandmother in Comstock Park, Michigan and Sunday, while packing up to go home to Miami, Florida, she lost the bracelet. Melissa looked up my name through the ring finders directory and gave me a call today. I told her I would try to get to her grandmothers house Wednesday and would get back to her. This afternoon I was able to go out to the house with my detecting friends Chuck R. and Dave B.. Arriving at the house I met her mom and grandmother and walked through the steps that led Melissa to loose the bracelet. “Melissa picked up her large carryall in the basement and with her bracelet in her right hand, walked up the stairs to the outside door and across the sidewalk to the SUV sitting in the driveway. Melissa opened the front passenger door and got in the car and noticed her bracelet was gone”. This is what we had to go on and the first thing I asked was “did you check the vehicle over, from the door jam to under the seats, did you empty your carryall, did you check your clothes?” Melissa said, “yes”.

We proceeded to check the bushes, flowers, grass along the sidewalk and drive. I went down stairs and on my hands and knees look under the heater vents, along the carpet to the carpeted steps and up and out the door. After doing this several times I called Melissa and told her it was not here. Just then while talking to her I looked down at the decorative block steps on the outside stoop and in a crack I notice several crystals that looked like what we were looking for. I called out to Melissa on the phone and said “I think I see it”, her and I were very elated at that point until we pried the block loose and it was broken pieces of glass from the storm door. I apologized to her for getting her hopes up and told her we would continue our hunt.

After an hour or so of not finding it, I called her back and recommended that she call her sister who is now in Haymarket, Virginia and who drove her to the airport and have her search the car again and ask the housekeeper if she could keep her eye out for the bracelet. About 8PM tonight I got a call from Melissa who was home in Miami, she talked to her brother-in-law and he searched the SUV again and found the bracelet down between the front passenger seat and the console. This was a very happy ending to a frustrating few days for Melissa.

As a ring finder we don’t always find what we are looking for but with a little detective work and a lot of questions, we can help the one who lost the item eventually find it. I have posted a picture of Melissa wearing the bracelet and a picture of the bracelet held by her brother-in-law after finding it.