I’ve lost track of the number of stories I’ve heard and read where a mundane application of hand lotion resulted in a lost ring. Except, in the case of Sussex, Wisconsin residents, Jake and Lindsay Villwock, it was two rings that went missing; Lindsay’s engagement ring along with her wedding band.
Establishing a timeline of activities is critical to any lost-ring search and recovery process. The Villwock’s timeline on January 13th was heavily populated with activities. The day followed a significant snowstorm here in Southeast Wisconsin. Not, only that, the events covered a lot of miles. They were traveling to go skiing. The rings could be most anywhere.
The timing of one activity was vague. Lindsay recalled taking her rings off while riding in their truck and placing them in her lap, this to apply hand lotion. She did not remember for sure putting the rings back on her hand. Subsequently, Lindsay had stepped out of the truck on at least two locations. Once was at a Quick Trip service center about half way between the Wisconsin towns of Slinger and Richfield. Did the rings fall off in the parking lot there? Jake returned and searched the area unsuccessfully. He even shoveled the fresh snow into a pile out of reach of the snowplow just to be safe.
Jake contacted me after seeing my listing on The Ring Finder’s directory of metal-detecting specialists. I met him the following afternoon at the Quick Trip location and quickly determined the rings were no longer there. Did someone already find them? It was a good possibility. Jake notified both, the manager and the local police in case some good person turned them in.
Jake related how for several weeks prior to ‘popping the question’ to Lindsay, he would fondle the engagement ring in anticipation of that moment, rehearsing what he would say. He also had the ring inscribed with, “I always knew.” Jake suppressed the sickening thought that the ring was now gone forever.
A few days later, Jake contacted me about another event on their timeline. They had stopped by Jake’s parent’s home in Pewaukee. The parking lot had been plowed when they arrived. Jake wondered if perhaps a subsequent clearing of the snow had pushed the rings up into the waist-high piles that lined the parking area. It was a long shot, but worth a look.
I met Jake on location on the 25th, 12 days after the rings went missing. His best recollection narrowed the search area to 3, maybe 4 parking spots. Using an extra-large, deep-seeking search coil on an XP Deus II detector, I began scanning the massive mounds of snow. About 15 minutes into the search, I heard a very faint signal, one that registered in the conductivity range of gold. Digging deeper, I used a hand-held probe to isolate the target. “It’s probably just an aluminum-foil gum wrapper,” I thought to myself. Foil wrappers sometimes give off a signal similar to a gold ring. But it was not a gum wrapper; it was in fact, Lindsay’s engagement ring! It’s inscription, “I always knew” was unmistakable.
I tucked the precious love token into my glove for safe keeping and continued looking for the wedding band. Unless someone already had found it, it had to be close by. Unaware of my discovery, Jake helped by shoveling layers of snow off the pile while I scanned their contents. Eventually, I heard the signal I was hoping for. Using the hand-held probe once again, and with Jake hovering close by, we slowly dissected a fist-sized clump of ice and snow until only a golf-ball-sized ball remained. Splitting the icy mass open, a flash of yellow gold announced the presence of Lindsay’s wedding band! 
Jake was ecstatic! The find buoyed his hopes that the engagement ring could also be found. That’s when I broke the news to Jake, first telling him I was certain the engagement ring could not be in the snowbank. Then, holding out the ring in my hand, I explained, “…because I have it right here!”
Words fail to adequately capture the emotions of that moment. But in addition to Jake’s smile, he was literally trembling when I took a photo of him holding both rings. 
I texted Jake the following morning to ask how the “reveal” to Lindsay went. He replied,
“So the reveal went great! I actually waited while! I wound up giving them to our two-year old and told her to bring these to Momma. She walked over with her hand up in the air saying, “Mamma… here…” I think Lindsay expected some goldfish snacks or something. When she saw what was in her hand she got very choked up!”
If you or someone you know has lost a ring…, or two, don’t let their story end! Give me a call today.
Amazing!!!That’s all I can say! Way to go Paul!