Lost Ring In Loyalsock State Forest Lycoming County PA................Found

Recently Ed contacted me to find a wedding ring lost during a family hiking trip. Ed had removed his white gold wedding ring and it was safely placed in a zippered pocket in his daughters backpack. When Ed and his family arrived at their home they discovered the zippered compartment was partially unzipped and the ring was gone. Somewhere during the 27 mile hike the ring had fallen out and was feared lost forever. I asked Ed for all the details of the hike including stops and campsites along the trail. He provided me with maps, photos and all the details he could remember. He had it narrowed down to 7 miles of trail that included 2 campsites and several stops along the trail. I was eager for the challenge but I was thinking to myself just how long does it take to swing a metal detector loop over seven miles of trail? My wife Traci and I studied the information including satellite images of the trail. We decide that the most likely spot for the ring to have fallen out was when the back packs were being loaded into the car for the trip home. The next day as soon as the kiddos were on the school bus we started loading our gear for the long trip to the Loyalsock State Forest. Upon arriving we parked at the opposite end of the parking lot from where Ed had parked. I did a quick sweep of the area where Ed had parked and only had a couple trash signals. I then started a grid search an during my third pass I got a gold signal with my MX Sport. I looked down and could see a thin silver circle resembling a key ring. I started shaking as I popped the 14k white gold wedding band from the mud. I hurried over to Traci and dropped the ring into her hand. She said “You found it already”! After comparing the ring to the example photo Ed had sent, we knew our work there was done. Including unloading our gear the entire search had taken less than half an hour! I texted Ed later that evening with the good news and a couple days later the ring was back on his hand where it belonged. This whole adventure provided smiles all around. Now in a couple months when Ed and his wife celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary I bet there will be even more smiles . Traci and I really enjoyed finding this treasure and making sure it got back home.

Tom Watkins

570-916-2617