Lighthouse Wedding Ring Found! – Lakeshore State Park, Milwaukee, WI

Sunbeam Kids, Inc. is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to projects that make it easier for kids and families to volunteer together. Its Lakeshore State Park Clean Up event September 19, 2021, on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, was a wonderful Daddy-daughter opportunity for Wauwatosa resident, David Jadin. The weather was picture-perfect also.

David and his family only recently moved to the area from Green Bay, Wisconsin, to start a pediatric dental practice in Elm Grove, PlayWell Pediatric Dentistry. Sunbeam Kids is their main charity partner. And so it was a most-appropriate outing for David and his little girl.

The volunteers first assembled together for a group photo not far from the historic 1872 Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse. After photos were taken, David knelt down in the grass with his 4-year old little girl and applied sunscreen lotion to her little arms and face. In the process he removed his 18-karat yellow gold wedding ring and tucked it lightly between his sock and shoe for safekeeping. It was his intent to retrieve the ring promptly, not to leave it there. The ring was precious, having been blessed by David’s childhood priest growing up and who was now passed. Shortly, they commenced a 3.5 mile walk together along the Lake Michigan shore, picking up trash along with the other Sunbeam Kids volunteers. It was a memory-making event. But it wasn’t until he and his daughter got back to the car that David realized, to his horror, his ring was missing!

I received a text message from David late Sunday afternoon and arranged to meet him on location by the Lighthouse. When I arrived, David was on his hands and knees combing the grass where the group photo had been taken earlier. We quickly traced his initial activities and the route he and his daughter had taken when they started out. Using my XP Deus wireless detector, I was immediately assaulted by an abundance of metal in the ground, evidence of nearly 150 years of visitors. Tuning my equipment for a recent loss close to the surface and for high-grade gold, I was able to filter the cacophony of signals and listen specifically for David’s ring. In my mind, I was preparing for a long evening; after all, three and a half miles is a long way!

Beginning in a low-laying area with longer grass, I proceeded to eliminate the spot where the group photo was taken. Barely 5 minutes had gone by when a distinct signal invited investigation. Parting the grass with my foot, there lay David’s ring! And the smile and relief on David’s face tell the rest of the story!

Thanks, David for the privilege of locating and returning your wedding ring! The story of your Sunbeam Kids outing with your precious daughter is one I’m sure will be told many times. I for one, will be reminded of your story every time I see the red Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse. And I wish PlayWell Pediatric Dentistry in Elm Grove, WI. every success in the years to come!