Rich Hageney, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 5 of 5

Lost diamond ring in Newark, DE…Found!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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TheRingFinders Team Saves The Day!

Angie found me in The Ring Finder Directory and contacted me to see if I would be willing to search for her recently lost white gold diamond engagement ring. She conveyed to me that she had been throwing a ball to her dog 2 weeks prior in her backyard and she felt the ring fly off her hand during one of the throws. Unfortunately, not only was her backyard quite large but there was also a large pond that was definitely a possible recipient of the ring. Angie mentioned that she had already had someone with a metal detector search the grounds for many hours and when they failed to recover the ring she began to assume it landed in the pond. She requested that i re-search the ground and then if possible check the pond itself. It was a big job with a lot of ground to cover so I didn’t hesitate to get in touch with my friend and fellow Ring Finder, John Favano, to team up for the mission. We arrived at the property on Thursday, May 14 and met Angie in her backyard. We had her share any and all details on the ring itself and reenact the throw that resulted in the lost ring. She showed us a picture of the ring on her phone as well. Based on the angles of the throw she described and the approximate maximum range the ring could have traveled,  John and I gridded out a 50 yard square area where we thought the ring could have landed. I got in the water and began searching the shallows closest to the home while John focused on searching the yard leading down to pond. While searching we both had quite a few good signals where we thought we had it but they turned out to be trash. We were at it for about an hour when Angie said she needed to run out for 30 minutes. We told her we would continue to search the area. A minute after she pulled out of the driveway I was on the bank of the pond and had a perfect gold ring signal on my machine. I was amazed and crazy excited to look down in the tall grass and see her gorgeous ring laying there.

When Angie returned with her 2 young girls in tow John met her on the driveway and told her I had a question for her. When she walked over to me I suggested to her we were still searching but I wanted to see the picture of her ring on her phone again. She took out her phone and pulled up the picture of the ring…John and I both commented at what a beautiful ring it was…and that’s when I pulled the ring out of my pocket and said that “it sort of looks like this one”. As a Ring Finder you never get immune to the pure, visceral joy and emotional reaction that occurs when handing over a lost ring. Angie could not contain her joy and relief for several minutes and John and I were so pleased we were able to come through for her. High fives between John and I and complete agreement about how great it is to be a Ring Finder!

 

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Joy,happiness and a returned diamond engagement ring during Covid chaos in Media, PA

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Kelsey found me in the online directory and contacted me to see if I could help her locate her beautiful white gold and diamond engagement ring. Her and her fiancee, Sasha’s, wedding plans are on hold due to this Covid chaos but they are so happy and looking forward to their future together. Understandably, Kelsey was quite upset about her lost ring. She had been beating a dirty mat over the edge of a 2nd story deck of her home when she felt her ring slip off and fall into a large flower bed underneath the deck. She spent several hours digging through the leaves and dirt before contacting me. When I arrived she walked through exactly what  happened by re-enacting the incident. The area where lost was a small area but overgrown with healthy rhododendron bushes and lots of leaves. As I always do…I demonstrated how my equipment works to both of them so they could have confidence in my competence and provide some optimism. I spent about 10-15 minutes working the area right below where she was standing on the deck as they stood behind me(social distance!) watching. After a few false signals due to trash and nails I got a good “gold” signal on my machine….my pinpointer zeroed right in on the lost ring. I live for the rush of watching the overwhelming joy and relief on the face of the people I am able to return rings to. Kelsey was no exception…I was so happy to reunite her with her ring and bring joy to her in this time of stress, anxiety and uncertainty.

 

 

 

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Men’s Tungsten Wedding Band Recovered in Narberth, PA

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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While at work in early November 2019 Tom contacted me regarding a lost heavy tungsten wedding band. He told me that he was 100% positive that it slipped off his finger while landscaping the front yard of his office. Prior to contacting me he had spent several hours removing all the shrubs he planted and digging through mulch and dirt looking for the ring. Amazingly, he also shared that he rented a metal detector and attempted to scan the area himself. When I met with him I shared with him the fact that despite of hearing of countless times of people renting metal detectors to search on their own…it is rarely productive. Usually the machines you rent are not sophisticated enough to find the lost item  and more importantly the experience of the operator in these searches far exceeds the machine itself.

When I met Tom i first did what I always do…show him my equipment and demonstrate how it works. I want him to be 100% confident that if his ring is there I’m going to find it. And find it I did…in 2 minutes! Tom was amazed and extremely happy I was able to return his ring to him…he later texted me that his wife was even happier!

 

 

 

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Beautiful Gold and Diamond Engagement Ring Recovered in New Castle, DE

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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While at work on Wednesday I received a call from Krissy regarding a lost diamond engagement ring. Krissy communicated to me that several days earlier she was at a playground in New Castle, DE and while playing with her 2 year old her ring slipped off her finger. She was very upset and very convinced that the ring fell off in a very specific part of the  playground and slipped beneath the rubber mulch. Prior to calling me, she and her husband and several others had spent quite a bit of time on hands and knees looking for the lost ring. I told Krissy I would meet her at the playground on Friday afternoon.

We met at 3 pm, Friday afternoon at the playground. After introductions I did what I always do when I meet people who have asked for my help…I show them how all my equipment works. I do this for 2 reasons…1) I want them to feel confident that if the ring is there I’m going to find it and 2) If I cover the entire area in my search they can be 100% confident that it must be somewhere else!

We walked around the playground and she pointed to the specific area that she was horsing around the most with her 2 year old. My intent was to start there and basically cover the entire playgrou nd if I had to. I didn’t have to!!! About 3 minutes into the search I heard a sweet low tone in my headphones…my pinpointer immediately identified her ring about 3 inches deep in the rubber mulch. I said Krissy….and pointed.  The emotion of seeing her ring got the best of her for a second and then it was just pure joy for both of us. This job as a Ringfinder is so much funner when you’re successful in finding the lost item and Krissy’s joy made my day!!!

 

 

 

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The Ring Finders and Rich Hageney get a little press in the Philadelphia Inquirer!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a great story on The Ring Finders, fellow Ring Finder Dave Milsted and myself(Rich Hageney) in the September 8th, 2019 Sunday edition of the paper. Some great backstory about our mission and adventures as Ring Finders! Please see the link to the article below.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/ring-finders-dave-milstead-rich-hageny-chris-turner-20190908.html

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Sentimental Gold Charm Necklace Recovered at Seminary in Philadelphia, PA suburbs

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Received a call from Michael on September 11, 2019 regarding a lost gold charm necklace that was lost by his friend Williams during a friendly soccer game with fellow volunteers at a Philadelphia area Catholic seminary. The very personal and sentimental necklace was a gift to Williams from his grandmother and he had spent 3 straight days on his hands and knees searching the soccer field for it. He also raked the field in hopes of finding it with no success. When I received the call I was happy to let them know I could stop by and try to find with my metal detector that coming Friday. Upon my arrival Friday I was greeted by Michael and several other volunteers and a soon-to-be ordained priest. I went straight to work and gridded out the part of the field I was told it was most likely lost. I was a little concerned about my chances of success for 2 reasons; 1) its a gold chain necklace which are commonly difficult to pick up with a detector and 2) it was obvious the whole field was raked previously in search of it.

About 15 minutes into me search I received a quality low-tone signal of an item on the surface of the field…I was beyond excited that I found the necklace! Upon receiving the recovered necklace there was pure joy all around by all the people present…especially Williams.

I was pleased and happy to accept a hearty and sincere  blessing from the priest in lieu of any compensation. I gratefully received a blessing for my health and welfare as well as that of my family and also for my work in helping people as a Ringfinder!

 

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Beautiful wedding band recovered in Wilmington, DE

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Doug contacted me late afternoon in a bit of a panic. He was at a corporate picnic at a Delaware state park and while playing volleyball with his colleagues he realized his very sentimental wedding band was no longer on his finger. While he did not know the exact moment when it slipped off he was quite sure he lost it in the middle of a heated volleyball game.
I had just gotten home from work and told him I could be there in about an hour…he gratefully said he would be waiting for me. When I got there he showed me the area of the volleyball court where he thought it most likely came off. I took 5 minutes and demonstrated how my equipment works so h e could be confident that I would find it as long as he put me in the area that it was lost. It took about 10 minutes to search the side of the court where he thought he lost it with no success. I suggested not to despair… I would check the other side. 30 seconds later this heavy, beautiful, white gold band showed itself for my detector. Cheers all around!!! Doug and his wife were extremely happy to have his beautiful ring back in their possession.
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20 Year Fireman Service Ring recovered in Philadelphia Creek

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Received a call from Susan on 11/28/2017 desperately looking for help in finding a friends lost 20 year fireman service ring. Susan was calling on behalf of her friend Joe…a retiree and former fireman. It turns out Susan runs and operates a hot dog cart(great hot dogs and sausages!) right outside Pennypacker Park on Pine Road in Philadelphia, PA and her and Joe have enjoyed a somewhat regular routine of feeding the ducks in the creek. I met Susan at the park on Friday 12/1/2017 and she told me in detail what she though might have happened to the ring and walked me through the area of interest. As It turns out…they don’t even go into the park…they walk down the street on the curb and drop bread over the side of a small bridge to the hungry ducks below. Susan conveyed to me that she and Joe thought that the ring most likely slipped off his finger while throwing bread to ducks the previous Sunday. In looking at the area I was optimistic in that it was not a large search area and the water was shallow…but it is December in Pennsylvania and while i remembered my waders I forgot my long handled scoop! Thankfully the temperature was in mid 50’s so not too bad.

I searched with my Garrett AT Pro for about an hour in the area below the brige…about a 25 square yard area in the middle of the creek where Susan had pointed me to. Quite a few healthy signals that got my heart racing but just some shotgun shells and caps/tabs…the ring was described to me as being the size of a “superbowl” ring so I knew it would ring up strong if  I passed over it. After an hour,  with some freezing hands/arms from reaching in water, I decided to get out and walk back up to bridge and look down again to confirm my search grid was accurate. While on bridge looking down, Susan joined me and we talked through again the whole duck feeding routine. She mentioned that Joe didn’t like to forget the female ducks who were a little more timid and congregated in a very shallow corner close to the bank…an area that I had not detected.

Back into the water I went. After 3 minutes in this new area… I sort of saw something in muddy sand before running my machine over it. What a satisfying mid tone my detector announced….It was in 3 inches of water! And there it was!!!!

I very happily got out of water and removed my waders and stowed my gear. Susan was manning her cart and busy with customers so I patiently waited till she was free before opening my hand and showing her the ring. Joe was at a doctors appointment but Susan immediately got home on phone and I had the honor of telling him I found his ring. I thanked him for his service and told him I was extremely happy that I was able to return his ring to him!

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