Mike McInroe, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 10 of 20

Lost wedding ring on soccer field, Maitland, Fl….Found!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Gabby called me yesterday and asked for help finding her husbands lost wedding ring on a full size soccer field. I told her I was up for the challenge and little did I know how tough it would actually be. Her husband, Christian, was not able to join us but he had explained what position he plays and where he spent most of the time during his practice. The first day I set up flags and cones and covered over half of the field carefully grid searching each area. Five and a half hours worth and the temperatures were in the mid 90’s and although I was taking care to stay hydrated the humidity did wear me down.

The next day I returned to finish covering the rest of the field and I was beginning to wonder if maybe someone had picked it up already. Again it was hot, humid and muggy but I was determined to finish what I had started. And part of what drove me to find this lost wedding ring was the fact that Christian and Gabby have only been married for a little over one month! (The first day while I was searching the field, Gabby’s mother, sister and cousin came out to walk the field, hoping to eyeball the ring and we talked briefly and they too expressed their appreciation for my time and effort.). Two and a half hours into my 2nd day of searching I got a banging signal showing the target to be quite shallow. At first I could not see anything but there, well hidden under some dead grass, was Christian’s lost wedding ring! I immediately bowed my head and thanked my heavenly Father for showing me where this little beauty was hiding. I then took a few photos and sent Gabby a text with the great news. Thirty minutes later Christian showed up for soccer practice and was very, very thankful to get his precious ring back!

Heat, humidity, rain or shine, in the water, grass or sand….I am willing to look for your lost item!

Call, text or email ASAP!

Mike McInroe….willing and ready member of theringfinders.com since 2009!

Lost gold ring in Lake Killarney, Winter Park, Fl….Found and Returned!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Nichole called me about a special ring her boyfriend lost while swimming in a lake. Apparently Trevor dove off of a dock and as he hit the water he realized he had his gold signet ring on his pinky finger. After he surfaced he began treading water and carefully removed his ring and put it in his back swim suit pocket and reconnected the velcro flap. Feeling it was safe he continued to slowly swim around enjoying the cool water. He was in the water for only a few minutes and had to swim to a nearby boat that was parked at another dock in order to climb out of the water using the ladder. (Neither dock had a ladder!). As soon as he climbed out of the water he felt for his ring and it was gone. Trevor had actually done a somersault in the water just before climbing out and as we talked, that spot seemed to be the obvious area where the ring came out of his pocket.

Thinking that he could retrieve his lost ring himself, he borrowed his brother’s scuba tank and BCD (vest) and tried to locate his ring but the bottom was so full of aquatic plants of various kinds.

Knowing that it is very difficult to search underwater when the visibility is very limited I opted to put together a submersible PVC grid frame measuring 5 feet by 20 feet. (I first saw this idea by another member of theringfinders who lives in Houston, Texas…a mister John Volek and also Jeff Morgan from Seattle, WA. gave me some extra tips on putting it together…thank you gentlemen!). This apparatus really is a game changer when doing underwater searches and I experienced it first hand!

I met Trevor at his apartment complex and loaded up all my gear on my handy beach fishing cart and we headed to the lake. It took a little while to get all set up but by 11:00am I was in the water and descending to the bottom. I could not believe just how thick the weeds and growth were and there was absolutely no way for me to use my Tesoro Tiger Shark metal detector! So I opted to use my 6 inch Pulse Dive Scuba Detector which proved to be the perfect tool for the job. Thankfully I had put a 12 inch foot on each corner of my PVC grid and that allowed me to inch my way along as I pushed and shoved my small hand held detector in and through the mass of weeds. It took me over an hour just to cover the grid inside and along the outside and I was getting very tired and plus I had not found Trevor’s lost ring. I surfaced to get a drink and rethink why Trevor’s ring was not in the target area…where he had done the somersault. We stood on the dock talking about the details of how he dove in the water and promptly put his ring into his back pocket and I repeated my earlier question about there being no holes in his pocket….and I actually leaned back and looked at his pocket and low and behold there was a factory made button hole slit…to let water out! Trevor was shocked as he had assured me his pockets had NO HOLES! Bingo! We had us a new search area! He showed me exactly where he dove into the water, where he surfaced and where he was when he put the ring in his back pocket. So I moved the PVC grid and within 20 minutes I had Trevor’s lost gold ring in my hand! What a relief and thrill it was to present Trevor with his special ring! Again I thanked God for directing me and giving me success and encouraged Trevor not to swim with his ring on! Lost something? Call ASAP!

Mike McInroe…blessed to be a member of theringfinders.com

Lost wedding ring in ocean, Toronita Beach, Fl….Found and Returned!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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I received an email from Omar stating, “I just realized this morning that I lost my wedding ring. It probably happened at Toronita Beach yesterday evening. The tide was high and I was boogie boarding. Please call me if you think there is a chance that you can find it.” It was close to midnight when I read Omar’s plea for help and I answered immediately wanting to encourage and instill some hope. I always start by asking some very pertinent questions like…What time of the day were you in the water? Did you feel your ring come off? How large of an area did you swim in and how long were you in the water? How deep was the water where you were boogie boarding and how far out did you go? Thankfully Omar responded early the next morning and gave very descriptive answers to all my questions regarding the how, when and where! And one key piece of information about their boogie boarding was he and his daughters were trying to see how far they could ride the waves all the way to the wet sand. With that knowledge and the fact they were in the water at “high tide” put the target area in a much easier part of the beach to metal detect, especially at low tide!

The next morning I met Omar at the beach, two hours before low tide, and he showed me the area where he and his family spent the evening boogie boarding. One thing he did mention was that while they were in the water he remembered a yellow house up past the dunes and they never went past the south side of that property. So that gave me a starting point. I promptly set up some flags in the sand every 15 feet apart until I had an area approximately 150 feet wide. By this time low tide was an hour away and I was hoping and praying that his ring would be somewhere in the wet sand area. After saying a prayer with Omar in the parking lot I geared up and started my systematic grid search and worked my way from the first flag and headed out to the waters edge and back. It took about an hour to cover half of the area and I managed to find a few coins and the occasional rusty nail. At one point I popped out a large gold hoop earring and just the edge was exposed in the sand and I thought, “There is Omar’s ring!” But false alarm! Fifteen minutes later I got a great signal on my Whites TDI Beach Hunter metal detector and low and behold it was Omar’s beautiful gold ring!

Omar put it this way….”After over 21 years, I lost my ring for the first time. My wife sympathetically searches my brain and our house but the ocean waves are the thief. First reaction horror. Then disbelief, confusion, disappointment, frustration. Hopelessness pairs with helplessness until I arrive at a desperate web search. Theringfinders.com. Do I dare to hope? I send out an SOS email. Mike responds with a shower of useful questions. I carefully respond to each one. He graciously responds building cautious optimism. “God willing I will find your ring.” We meet at the beach. The search process begins. His faith and experience at work. I retreat back to my job, un-expectantly settled and able to focus. Excited about premonition in my life. In just a few hours Mike unearths a victory. I become like a little child filled with an excitement not felt in decades. The ring is not just a comfortable object, but symbolic of so much more to me. How is it that humans come to value a thing whose true worth is not known until it is lost and then found. Read Luke 15 to understand. Sincerely, Omar”

How I thank God for giving me the opportunity to meet and help Omar and his dear family.
Maybe you need hope and help to find something you’ve lost.
Give me a call, text or email ASAP!
Mike McInroe,
Honored to be a member of theringfinders.com

Lost engagement ring, Casselberry, Florida….Found and Returned!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Michael, a newlywed of two months, emailed me asking about theringfinders service and if I would be available anytime soon to help look for his wife’s lost diamond engagement ring! I assured Michael that if he was confident about the area where she lost it then there would be a very good chance of finding it. Often people think they’ve lost something in more than one location and that usually means allot more work trying to locate the missing item. And thankfully in this case there were only two locations that they felt very confident about.

Gaby, Michael’s dear wife, had put her ring in her pants pocket along with her ear bud cord and she remembered pulling the cord from her pocket a couple of times while they were out taking some photos around a small pond in their neighborhood. And as with many ponds and water ways here in Florida come the usual wildlife that make themselves at home. And in this case there are allot of ducks…and Gaby was sure one of them had picked it up and possibly ate it!

I met Michael and Gaby the next morning bright and early and followed them to the first location where Gaby had posed for some photos. And after a 20 minute search of all the possible areas that she had walked the previous day…NO RING! So we walked along the sidewalk to the other side of the lake where more photos were taken. They again explained where Michael stood with the camera and the two places where Gaby had posed. So I set out a few marker flags and again got to work grid searching the final area. All along while searching I would get various sounding signals and when looking for a lost ladies wedding ring it is best to double check all the small foil like signals to be sure it is not the ring. Plus when looking for a recent drop it is almost sure to be just down in the grass and not buried in the dirt. And sure enough just as I was finishing up the final corner of the search area I got a loud signal reading of “44” on my Garrett ATMax metal detector and showing it was down two inches. I checked the target with my Garrett pin pointer and there hiding under the grass was Gaby’s lost engagement ring! So I laid the pin pointer on the ground with the ring laying just off the end and motioned to Michael and Gaby to come over and look at what I had just found. As she picked up her precious ring I said a heart felt thank you to God for allowing me to find her lost treasure.

Maybe you’ve lost something recently and would like some help. Call, text or email me ASAP and I will do my very best to help you recover your lost item.

Mike McInroe…ready to serve you in your time of need and proud to be a member of theringfinders.com

Lost diamond engagement ring, Casselberry, Florida….found with a metal detector!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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When Renee called me I could immediately tell by the tone and stress in her voice that she had lost something and needed help. I listened to her explain how she lost her heirloom engagement ring down by their dock and how she and her husband had looked and looked and in frustration finally decided to call someone for help. So after hearing her story I assured her that her ring was there and I would try my very best to find it for her.

I packed up my car with all the essentials…my ATMax metal detector, pro pointer, scoop, floating sifter, flags, extra batteries, etc and headed to Renee’s home. I am always very excited when an opportunity comes along to help someone and I try my hardest to think of anything and everything that I could possibly need to help me in searching and finding someone’s lost ring.

An hour later I pulled up to Renee’s beautiful home and was met by a lovely young lady with tear stained face who was none other than dear Renee. I followed her around to the back of her house and down to the dock area where I could see that a bunch of fresh dirt was pushed here and there and also a few of the boards from the boardwalk were taken up as well. Renee explained how she had pulled some weeds from the shallow water and thought maybe her engagement ring had come off in the water somehow. After pulling a few weeds she proceeded to move some boards from along side of the boardwalk area. One of the boards was covered in fire ants and as she picked up the board the ants began crawling all over her hands and her immediate reaction was to throw the board and shake her hands free of the ants before they could start biting her. And that flinging and shaking action made her rings go flying off of her finger. Thankfully her wedding ring landed on the boardwalk in front of her but her platinum, heirloom, engagement ring was nowhere to be found…it just disappeared! She let out a scream and frantically started to look through the grass and along side the boardwalk and in the fresh dirt. Her husband even bought a low end metal detector and searched the area but came up empty handed. In desperation Renee decided to go online and look for “Help me find my ring” and up came theringfinders.com and one of my stories. She was given hope as she read a few of the posts and thought maybe I could help find her lost ring.

So I began by scanning Renee’s platinum wedding ring with my Garrett ATMax metal detector to get an idea of the numbers and type of signal I needed to listen for. There were allot of junk targets here and there and most of the items registered too deep in the ground to be her ring. Recently lost rings will normally give a good, sharp, clean signal and will only be an inch or two deep in the grass at the most. Unless of course they get stepped on or are laying on edge somehow. I always check out any signal that registers even close to what I am looking for because many times pull tabs, nickels and pieces of aluminum can sound just like a ladies ring. 20 minutes later I got a really nice, shallow, repeatable signal in the thick grass at the edge of a large Bald Cypress tree and there was Renee’s lost engagement ring. I held it up and said, “Hey, hey, hey!!” and Renee could not get to me fast enough to claim her precious lost ring! What a relief and joy spread across Renee’s face!

It was an honor to help Renee and her husband and hopefully her ring will continue to last for many more years.

Lost a ring or something valuable? Or maybe you would like to know what is hidden in your yard or whatever happened to Grampa’s buried coins? Give me a call?

Mike McInroe…glad to be a part of theringfinders.com

Lost diamond engagement ring, Ocoee, Fl…..Found and Returned!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Theresa and her husband had just finished up with a wonderful visit from their kids. It was dark outside as the kids and grandkids pulled away from the house and Theresa walked out the front door and down the side walk a few steps to wave goodbye. (Apparently Theresa has lost some weight in the last few months and her rings were just a bit loose on her finger.) And as she continued to wave goodbye, all of a sudden, she felt her diamond engagement ring come off of her finger. Stunned, she let out a cry and immediately began looking in the bushes and thru the mulch hoping to find it. Her kids stopped and returned to the house to help look and no matter how hard they tried…they just could not find her lost ring…even after two hours. They even used a small metal detector and it made lots of strange noises and led to more frustration rather than actually helping. And the later it got, the less hope they had of finding Theresa’s lost ring.

A quick google search led Theresa to theringfinders.com and that gave her hope. And after a brief call I made arrangements to meet and conduct a thorough search the very next day and upon meeting Theresa and hearing her story I felt quite confident that her lost engagement ring could be found.

I searched the larger side of the sidewalk for twenty minutes, with my Garrett ATMax metal detector, where Theresa felt her ring had most likely fallen off and into the bushes and still no ring. I even had her try on two test rings and both times the rings flew off in a small area. After 25 minutes on my hands and knees and no ring, I said, “I wonder if it flew off in the other direction?” And sure enough, there behind her, next to a flower pot buried under two inches of mulch was Theresa’s beautiful diamond engagement ring!

It was an honor to help Theresa and to find her lost ring and return it to where it belongs. Have you lost something recently?
Call, email or text me, ASAP!

Mike McInroe….ready member of theringfinders.com

Lost pocket knife and key in grass, Central Florida….Found and Returned!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Two weeks ago my good friend Mr. Jack lost a pocket knife and single key while playing with our neighbors young dog. Mr. Jack and his dear wife are winter volunteers here at our retirement center and willingly work daily to help out on the grounds maintenance and cleaning. Mr. Jack has years of experience mowing lawns, trimming trees and taking care of plants in general. And he has a habit of always carrying two pocket knives in his pockets and his trailer key and when he lost those two items he was a bit concerned.

So many times people loose something in the grass, in their garden, in the water or at the park and after looking for awhile they give up hope of ever finding it and they walk away thinking they will never see it again. Thankfully theringfinders.com is here to give these people hope and help in these types of situations.

Like last Thursday while I was using a metal detector to locate a buried manhole cover when Mr. Jack told me about his lost pocket knife and key. And he was curious to know if I could find them for him and I assured him that the chances were very good if….he could put me in close proximity to where he lost them. He showed me the thick grassy area and I took three swings with my metal detector and got a really good signal and BOOM…there was his trailer key! Three more swings and BEEP, BEEP…up came his favorite pocket knife!

Lost something and need help? Call, text or e-mail me anytime!

Mike McInroe…grateful member of theringfinders.com

Lost diamond earring, Winter Park, Fl….Found!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Sunday afternoon David gave me a call and asked if I could possibly help him find a very special lost diamond stud earring! Two days earlier, David’s mother in law, Mrs Susan, was getting out of her car and a small low hanging tree branch got tangled in her hair and she felt a slight tug at her ear and in the next moment her earring was gone! They immediately searched the thick low ivy bushes, along the concrete and even in the car thinking maybe it could have fallen in there as well. After an hour of frantic searching they could not find the lost diamond stud earring and decided to try again later.

As David thought about how to find the earring he went online and looked up where he could rent a metal detector and that search led him to “theringfinders.com” and one of my recent search and recovery stories.

I met David at his mother in laws home and he promptly showed me the area where Mrs Susan lost her precious earring. The ivy ground cover was super thick and as I turned on my Garrett ATMax metal detector and tried to ground balance the machine I had a very difficult time finding an area free of metal. I then tested the matching stud earring and it gave a very weak signal because it contained such a small amount of white gold. Unfortunately the rebar in the concrete and other underground interference would not allow me to use my metal detector so I opted to go with my Garrett Pro Pointer AT. As I started working my way along the edge of the thick ivy ground cover, David squatted down just in front and to the side of me and began searching with his eyes and he said, “There it is!!” And sure enough, there was Mrs Susan’s lost diamond stud earring. We could hardly believe it…as David, his wife and Mrs Susan had searched the area a couple of times and had all but given up hope!

It was an honor to have a small part in helping find this beautiful earring and I hope and pray it remains in your family for many years to come!

Lost something recently? Call me ASAP! Mike McInroe….thankful to be a member of theringfinders.com

Lost gold cross jewelry in grass, Conway, Florida….Found and Returned!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Danielle was very determined to find her lost gold cross and had literally spent hours trying to find it. She tried raking the grass, using a strong flashlight, crawling on her hands and knees and even purchased a cheap metal detector and still her special heirloom gold cross remained elusive. She just knew it had to be in her front yard somewhere…but where?

Later the next evening she was searching on line for other ways to “find lost jewelry in the grass” and she came across theringfinders.com and one of the recovery stories I had written about helping someone else find a lost item. Danielle explained that she had stepped outside her front door onto the grass where she had a couple of inflatable Christmas decorations and as she was trying to push a plastic stake into the ground, her dog bolted out the front door and across the street and began fighting with her neighbors dog! Danielle dropped what she was doing and ran across the street to restrain her dog. After returning her dog to the house she realized she had dropped her chain and gold cross, which she had been carrying in her hand during the whole ordeal. She immediately went to the obvious place where she was pushing the plastic stake into the ground. Right away she spotted the chain laying in the grass but the gold cross was nowhere to be seen.

After meeting Danielle and seeing where the fateful event took place, I set up my Garrett AT Max and started a tight grid search, covering all the same area where they had so diligently searched. It took only a few minutes to cover the small area and no gold cross so I searched further out and…BINGO, there was Danielle’s lost gold cross just sitting in the grass! What a thrill it was to see the joy and relief on Danielle’s face and it was a total honor and privilege to help her in her time of need!

Lost something special and need help finding it? Give me a call, ASAP!

Mike McInroe in sunny Florida!

Lost wedding ring in Lake Maitland, Winter Park, Florida….Found!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
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Kelly called me and asked if I was available to help recover a lost wedding ring that had fallen off of a dock and into the water. Apparently while taking photos for some newly weds, Kelly had asked for the rings and the brides bouquet of flowers and had balanced the rings on the flowers in order to take a unique series of photos. And you can guessed what happened next! Somehow the brides wedding ring moved ever so slightly and slid off of the bouquet and dropped onto the wooden dock and fell directly thru a crack and into the water. It seems no one actually saw the ring hit the dock or fall through a crack but everyone spent the next 30 minutes looking for the ring and it became obvious that the ring had indeed fallen into the water below.

Kelly felt terrible about the whole ordeal and decided to actually go to the jeweler, where the original ring was purchased, and buy another identical ring to replace the lost one. Kelly was determined to somehow find the bride’s ring and thought about purchasing or even renting a metal detector to look for the ring herself and that led her to search on line and up came theringfinders.com.

I met Kelly at the beautiful Kraft Azalea Garden (Park) and she showed me where the ring dropped. The water was three to four feet deep and there were numerous targets that needed clearing out for fear they could mask such a small white gold ring. It took a good 30 minutes to finally locate the dainty diamond ring and Oh what a relief it was! Kelly was thrilled to have her clients original ring back and I was starting to get really cold! Thanks Kelly for taking a few photos for me with your phone and for giving me the opportunity to help you!

Lost something on land or in the water? Give me a call, ASAP!
Mike McInroe….thankful to be a member of theringfinders.com