Had a text from Amanda about how her husband had lost his gold wedding band outside in the snow. She was extremely upset. They had tried to find it themselves with a cheap metal detector with no success. After a couple tries, the ring was found at the end of the driveway, buried in a snow drift. Another happy customer.
I was contacted by Tim and Terri-Lynn last week due to Tim having lost a silver chain and pendant. On the same silver chain, he had his wedding band and an old Masonic ring which belonged to Terri-Lynn’s Great grand father. Tim is an arborist and for good reasons, avoids wearing any rings when doing his dangerous job. The major issue is that he wasn’t sure when or where he had lost his jewelry but narrowed it down to a four day period, which meant four possible locations when tracking back his activities and movements. First location was at his home/yard, where he was using his tractor to move/tidy stuff around. Couple hours of detecting later, no luck. Next day, we headed to his work place where the trucks he used in the past couple jobs were parked. No luck. Third location was on a side road near Cobourg, where they had taken a huge tree and brush away. Still no luck. We headed to final location, where they had taken a few trees down on a side road, and after a couple hours of detecting, I actually spotted the silver chain and pendant hanging off a twig, about two feet off the ground. I was then sure I would find the two rings close by but no luck yet again.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Normally Tim keeps the silver chain and rings tucked in his shirt and wears tight chainsaw pants. From looking at the chain, it was obvious that it had been broken at the clasp by the chain being stuck on the twig (most likely when he was down on the ground and cutting the tree trunk into manageable pieces). After that day’s work, Tim headed back to the work yard, parked the truck and went to a bush to have a quick pee. By undoing his tight pants, both rings had dropped through the pant leg and unto the ground. Rings were found the next day and the mystery was finally solved. The best part of the story is how Terri-Lynn explained that with all the jewelry lost, both of them were more excited about the chain and pendant (Saint Christopher) being found than the two rings. She had given it to him, to keep him safe, when he first started working as a firefighter in the early 90’s. Great folks and definitely great ending. I love what I do. 😊
Received a text from Bill and Angela this morning about Angela loosing her engagement and wedding ring yesterday. She lost them while tossing a ball for her dog in her backyard. These rings are a heirloom from her grandmother and extremely important to her. So off to Kingston we went this afternoon to meet with them. Once on location, and getting further details, started detecting for her rings. Within 15 minutes, I was able to locate the rings for her. You can see her initial reaction in the video below. I always love folk’s reactions when you reunite them with their precious heirlooms. Also took this opportunity to meet up with our son Dominic for a lovely dinner at Red Lobster. Another great day, life is good. 😊
Received a text from Dave and Lori yesterday evening from Buckhorn Lake, North of Peterborough. Dave was at the dock with his brother in law Marco, when he was wiping his hands and his diamond wedding ring fell off his finger, bounced once on the deck and then between two deck boards and into the water. The good part is that they both saw the ring fly off and go in between the boards into the water (under the deck). The bad part was that there was almost two feet of silt, branches and dead wood under the deck. Silt and weeds are the worst conditions to find any jewelry under water.
I met with them mid afternoon today and after getting all the facts, got into the water and dove under the deck. The worst part about silt bottoms is that as soon as you disturb any of it, visibility goes to 0%. From there, it’s all about your metal detector, pin pointer and feeling with your bare hands while laying on the bottom. First target up, an old pair of vise grips. Second target, an old pop can. Then, I removed as much dead wood and debris as possible to hopefully hear the right target. After an hour or so, had to come out of the water to warm up and regroup. Lori fed me a nice hot cup of coffee and some Italian pastry and back in the water I went. This time I heard a very faint signal and again, with zero visibility, started digging into the silt with my fingers and pin pointer. About forty minutes later, I finally felt Dave’s ring, moved away from the deck until I had enough visibility to look and confirm that it was indeed his lost wedding ring. As I surfaced, I got Marco’s attention and signalled to him that I had found the ring and gestured for him to grab my IPhone and start recording as I wanted to get Dave’s reaction as I reunited him with his ring. Dave and Lori were ecstatic and it was great to witness the joy and happiness they felt as he slipped his ring back onto his finger. Another story that ends well. I even got treated to a glass of champagne, cold meat and cheese before heading back home. I love what I do.
Received a phone call from Mark yesterday morning about him loosing his custom design Platinum wedding band while vacationing at a cottage in Havelock last Friday. He was pretty sure he lost it while swimming Friday night, at the end of the dock, which he mentioned that it shouldn’t be any deeper than neck deep. After spending nearly three hours in the water yesterday, metal detecting, no ring to be found and the area described was definitely deeper than expected. Headed back home, disappointed for him, especially with the facts that the search area was full of weeds with thick layer of silt. Worst possible conditions for swinging a coil and finding a ring. It was not looking good to ever recover the ring if it was indeed in the water.
Last evening Mark asked me if I would go back but this time with Scuba gear and metal detect in deeper water, further from the dock. Headed back, geared up and after a few false alarms and about 30 minutes into the dive, I heard a killer signal which turned out to be his ring. The ring ended up being about 25 feet from the dock and at a depth of 12 feet. He did mention that he was doing backstrokes while swimming, which is probably when the ring got flung in deeper water. Mark is a very lucky man that I managed to find his beautiful ring in these conditions. He and his wife are extremely happy and currently driving down from Burlington to pick it up. Another happy ending!
Received an emergency phone call for a lost ring this evening in Cobourg. I was actually at North Beach provincial park, getting ready to go home after a beautiful day where else, at the beach. Gillian called saying that her daughter Nicole had just lost her grand mother’s wedding ring (Gillian’s mom) while swimming at a beach in Cobourg. Unfortunately, Nicole’s grandma died at a very young age, when Gillian was only 5 years old. Understandably, both ladies were completely devastated by the time I arrived. After a quick introduction and getting facts about how the ring was lost, I quickly got setup and started detecting in the water as the sun was setting and darkness was soon coming. Within 10 minutes, the ring was found. Both Gillian and Nicole cried tears of relief and were extremely happy and relieved that they were reunited with their precious heirloom. Below is Nicole and I, whom insisted I be in the picture with her. Truly another special happy ending!!!
Mark posted on Facebook yesterday about having lost his wedding band while at the beach and was looking for help. Luckily, friend of mine put me in contact with Mark. He knew for sure when and how he lost the ring as he saw it fly off his finger while tossing a ball with friends. The main issue was that the ring was lost over two weeks ago and chest deep in the water. Sandbanks beaches (Lake Ontario) are notorious for having sandbanks, which constantly move in and out from shore with the winds and wave action. A day or two sometimes is all it takes to burry the ring in the sand so deeply that it cannot be heard by any metal detector. Luckily for Mark, after an hour of gridding under water in the area where the ring fell off, I heard a very faint signal which turn out to be his beautiful Tiffany & Co Platinum 950 wedding ring. The ring had actually “moved” about 100 feet further down the beach but at about the same depth. Extremely lucky for him that it wasn’t any deeper or worst yet, picked up by another detectorist. Thank you to Heidi for putting me in contact with Mark and allowing for him to be reunited with his gorgeous ring. Another happy ending and I love what I do!!!
Received a phone call from Sherryl today about how her Husband Ian had lost his IPhone 12 at the municipal boat launch in Campbellford Ontario. As Ian was getting out of the boat and onto the ramp, he tripped and fell into the water and his cell phone slipped out of his pocket. This happened last Saturday. Since then, they’ve had numerous people trying to snorkel and find the phone, in about 12 feet of water with only a visibility of about three feet with no success. With my metal detector and all my Scuba gear, I was able to locate the phone in twenty minutes or so. It was wedged between two boulders. The dark blue case made it difficult to see it but not impossible. Shirley was at top side, with a bag of dry rice anxiously waiting. She was very happy that it had been found since in the case, Ian also had his driver’s license, credit cards and other important items. Another happy ending!!!
I got to meet Jose, Patricia and their whole family at North Beach Provincial Park today. While playing volley ball in the water, at about knee deep, Jose noticed his ring was no longer on his finger. The good part was that he was commenting to his friend about both of them wearing their wedding band in the water, shortly before he lost it and indeed, both men had their rings at that point. So, he knew for sure he had lost the ring in the water. After getting orientated, I turned on my Excalibur II and started gridding the area. Had the ring found within 10 minutes. Headed back to shore, grabbed the phone and recorded their reactions. I was so happy to be able to reunite them with their white gold wedding band while the whole family cheered them on. Another story that ends well!!!
Received a text early this morning from Keelin. She and her friends went to a local beach in Cobourg Ontario for a late evening swim and camp fire by the shore of Lake Ontario. Fortunately for her, and the recovery of her ring, all the stars lined up as she specifically recalled feeling the ring slip off her finger and at what depth she was while in the water. Met up with Keelin and her dad first thing this morning, and ten minutes later found her ring within 20 feet from where she thought it was lost. Keelin’s fiancé currently lives in the UK and they haven’t seen each other since last January due to COVID. They are scheduled to get married this October, in the UK, and is extremely happy that she will be able to wear her lost and found engagement ring. Watch the video. Another happy ending!
