I received an urgent call from Anton telling me that his wife’s (Arina) wedding band had slipped off while playing in the snow around Lake Tahoe, Nevada. In the best possible scenario, he had been taking photos of Arina at the exact moment her ring was lost. Unfortunately, they lived four hours from the site and hadn’t been able to look for help until arriving home. Once they called me I immediately agreed to meet with them the next morning to help reunite her with her ring.
Arriving at the location prior to their arrival, I started searching the slush on the roadway just in case it fell where she was located in the photograph. No luck. The couple arrived shortly after my arrival and once I received more detail on the actions taking place at the time of loss I was able to pinpoint the location of the ring. It turns out that he was taking pictures of her throwing snow above her head. This told me that the ring would most likely have been thrown behind her and to the left so that is where I moved my search too. After digging 2′ into the snow to retrieve an early 1900’s tin can I received my second target signal. 8″‘s down I spied the glint of gold.
The look on their faces is one I won’t soon forget and will never tire of seeing. Another successful recovery and return.
Christina McCree – Lost Item Recovery Specialist…Call or Text ASAP, Anytime 24/7…610-504-6135!
I received a call from my mother-in-law, Virginia, on Wednesday, January 27th, 2021. Virginia is a florist at a local flower shop in Madison, Alabama. She explained that her co-worker, Donna, lost one of her rings a few days prior. Donna’s been married almost 30 years, and this was her 14K yellow gold 10-year anniversary ring! She was absolutely heartbroken that it was missing. Donna normally wears it in the middle between two other rings, because it’s very loose fitting. She was rushing Monday morning when she was putting them on and thinks she might’ve accidently put the loose-fitting anniversary ring as the outer ring instead of the middle one. She didn’t notice it missing until she was headed home for the day and only felt 2 rings on her finger instead of 3.
Donna’s ring had the potential to be lost in a couple of places. Before she went to the flower shop, she cleaned a house. Then when she got to the flower shop, she was in the main shop, basement, and 4 other suites. As mentioned prior, Donna lost the ring on Monday and I wasn’t aware of the loss until Wednesday. I told them not to throw anything away, but unfortunately, some cardboard boxes that held silk flowers were already tossed out. Further, the garbage truck had already came by and emptied out the dumpster. We were hoping and praying that Donna’s ring was somewhere in the suite Virginia worked and where the silks are stored. I offered to conduct a search after work on Wednesday, but due to scheduling conflicts, it would have to wait until Saturday.
I drove out to Heritage Florist and Gifts on Saturday morning, January 30th, 2021. Donna met me at Virginia’s suite. We walked a couple of feet in the main walkway of the suite. I noticed that there were numerous shelves with flower baskets to search. This was going to take a while, but I was planning to scan everything to rule out all possible areas her ring could be. I also noticed how dark it was and knew I would need to grab my headlamp. Donna was showing me what she was doing with the silk flowers. I think I began telling her that loose fitting rings have the potential to stay on for long periods of time without falling off. Just as I was mentioning that, Donna glanced down at the floor and off to the side by one of the shelves was her ring!!! As with most recoveries, there was pure joy, excitement, and relief. Donna gave me a big hug and thank you! I’m always happy to help!
I still can’t believe that her ring was just laying there on the floor all week. It also could’ve been in one of the flower silks and was knocked loose and fell sometime during the week. We’ll probably never know for sure, but Donna has her beautiful anniversary ring back and that’s all that matters!
If you or someone you know has lost a ring, jewelry, or other metal item, please contact a member of The Ring Finders.
Got a call from Mike last night who said his ring came off while grooming his dog.
They did a brief paw patrol but to no avail.
When I got on site today I learned that he had a grooming glove on and while removing it to flick the hair off, his ring flew off into the snow. I set up my MXT and started to grid search as he wasn’t quite sure which direction he thought it could be. Watching from behind the paw and wet nose smeared patio glass entrance was the dog with tail wagging excitedly wanting to join us. Scanning over the snow about 20′ from where he was I got a good, solid signal in a 4″ deep pile of snow over concrete. Using my pinpointer I probed into the pile and while scanning back and forth I felt the pinpointer make contact with an object. Brushing the snow aside revealed this very nice white gold ring shining back at me in the sunlight! I said hey Mike come take a look here and looking down on the snow, reaching down he scooped it up with excitement and was quite thrilled that it hadn’t flown further. Releasing the hound we watched as he excitedly zig zagged around us and the only way to calm him down was to pose for some puptacular pics!
Three years ago, Andrew’s grandfather passed down the family gold ring. Fifty years before that, Andrew’s great grandfather, Ben, passed the ring to his grandson. The family heirloom ring began its journey in 1897, and it was up to me to help Andrew retrieve the lost treasure.
During my hour-long drive to Hamden, Connecticut, I tried to imagine the situation. I’ve never had a call like this in all the years I’ve been finding lost rings. There are many times where I get a story about a lost ring, and once I arrive, the investigation leads to an entire set of new circumstances. After all, how does a ring go missing after being hidden under a rock for safekeeping? I knew the lost ring was bordering a pond, so my instinct kept telling me it somehow ended up in the water. My next fear was the ring being inaccessible, and the bowels of earth swallowed it up for good. There was no telling what I might find.
Andrew went for a jog and realized he was still wearing his heirloom wedding band. Exercise is a common way jewelry is lost, so, understandably, Andrew removed the ring. After all, I remove my ring and place it in temporary hiding while landscaping. The rock where he hid the ring was at the top of a bank with a 45° slope to a pond’s edge. The bank was also part of a driveway lined with many other rocks and boulders. The stones varied in size, some as small as a softball, some as large as a car. Andrew took off his ring and placed it under one of the little rocks. He immediately heard the clink, clink, of the ring slipping into an erosion line and disappearing underneath an adjacent boulder. At 175 pounds per cubic foot, boulders are too big to move by hand. In the absence of heavy machinery, the only option was to try to dig. Because of the 45° slope, the ring kept sliding deeper and deeper underneath the boulder as Andrew attempted to hand-dig. Andrew reached as far as his arm would allow, and there was still space in the bottom of the cavern. Losing hope, Andrew had no idea if the ring had already been pulled out with the handfuls of dirt or if the ring was sliding deeper underground.
I arrived and took a quick walk around the area and down to the pond’s edge. I used my metal detector for a quick scan of the site to confirm the ring hand not been removed and was sitting in Andrew’s pile of dirt from a few days earlier. The thought crossed my mind to use heavy equipment, as it would have been faster and much less work, but the risk of damaging the ring would have been high. I was no stranger to manual labor, so I began by chipping away the asphalt driveway a couple of feet from the boulder where Andrew had already dug. In the past, I used a similar technique and pinch point bar to help a gentleman retrieve a time capsule entombed within a granite stone wall, so I knew how to break up the asphalt driveway carefully. Once I got through the asphalt layer into the compacted fill, I started tunneling towards the boulder where the ring was suspected to be lost. Accessing the lost ring from the side would hopefully prevent the ring from being pushed deeper underground. Before mining each fill layer, I used a small handheld metal detector, called a pinpointer, to crawl into the cavern and check for the ring. I then used my large metal detector to survey the excavated materials on the surface. I repeated this process for over an hour when I finally got a signal on my pinpointer. I set up a flashlight at the bottom of the dark cavern and scraped away the fill from the boulder base. The struggle was real. I was heavy breathing, sweating, and crammed in a hole laying on my stomach—all while and trying to hold my cell phone steady to get some decent footage. The relief of a shiny object flipping out of the area I was scrapping couldn’t have come sooner. The flashlight immediately revealed an inscription, “Ben April 7 1897.”
I backed out of the waist-deep hole, covered in dirt and sweat, but grasping the prize. All I could think about was the different generations who have worn this ring. I am sure every past owner has their stories of almost losing it. At the moment between finding the lost ring and notifying the owner, time stands still. All the stories, characters, and physical qualities of the ring finally meld. I was nostalgic about every life experience this ring has endured. The time came, and I handed the ring over to the family. With three generations of family members watching this whole mystery unfold, I knew the event would be discussed for decades to come. The smallest family member, too young to remember this event, will undoubtedly hear of the time the earth swallowed the family ring. When it comes time for the little one to carry the torch, the memories created today will contribute to the protection of this ring for another generation to come.
How to Find a Lost Ring
Mark the area where you believe the ring is lost. Then call a professional metal detectorist to discuss recovery options. My jewelry finding service covers Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and other surrounding states.
If you have a lost ring or something of value, contact Keith Wille now.
Keith returned home from shopping and as he unloaded his vehicle he realized he had lost his phone. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice until after he shoveled his driveway. He searched for a few hours before contacting Jason Roberge with The Ring Finders to ask for help using a metal detector. Jason agreed to help and was able to locate the lost cell phone within an hour of searching. And despite the frigid cold temperatures outside, and being buried in a foot of snow, the cell phone still powered up and worked just fine!
If you lost a ring or other valuable metal object, Jason will help you recover your lost item!
This ring find began when I got a text from fellow ring finder Dave Sheldon on Maui. Dave said a couple just lost the husband’s yellow gold wedding band in shallow water at Hilton Hawaiian Village beach and he referred them to me. A moment later I got a call from George who was on vacation from California. While tossing a football to his son in the water he realized his wedding band had come off. They had been playing awhile and he wasn’t sure when it had come off. I told George I’d grab my gear and be there in about 15 minutes. When I arrived George had me search around their lounge chairs as he wasn’t sure exactly when the ring came off. No luck there! I had George create an East & West line in the sand to create the grid. Thankfully the tide was coming down and they hadn’t gotten deeper than his chest. I started my grid search on the West end and worked East. Thankfully their weren’t many targets so I was able to cover the grid rather quickly. When I was a little bit past half way I got a nice tone on the Nox right at the waters edge and in one scoop their was George’s huge Gold Wedding band in my scoop. George ran down to retrieve his ring and he had a look of disbelief since the ring was right on the shoreline in inches of water when he thought it probably came off while throwing the football. Ring finders know the location of the ring is only known when it is found. George and his family were so thankful and that’s what makes this hobby so fun. Aloha to George!
I received an email from Rob on a Tuesday stating he lost his wedding band while taking down his Christmas decorations. He was devastated as the ring was his grandfathers who had passed away a couple months before Rob was born. Robs mother had given the ring to Rob when he proposed to his wife. The ring was the only item and memory he had of his grandfather. We had to wait until Saturday before I was available to search. I arrived on a very cold and windy Saturday morning and began searching the front yard as well as under the bushes in the flower beds. I searched for two hours without luck.
Rob came over to me as I was still searching and told me to give up as I had searched the entire yard twice. I told him, if it’s in this yard, I’ll find it. Just as I said that, I simultaneously began to move my detector and got a good hit as well as I saw something shiny in the grass. There was the ring sticking out from under a leaf. We could not believe we were standing over the ring and about to give up when I found it. His wife ran over to us and began to cry with excitement. I love being able to reunite lost jewelry to its owners.
Don’t wait or hesitate to call me at 610-207-8677, so I can find your lost treasure with my metal detecting service.
“I FIND JEWELRY”call Stan the Metal Detector Man if you needhelp ..949-500-2136
*** Bob called me after he spent the morning looking for his 22k gold chain with a gold / diamond pendant. He is a local resident of Newport Beach and had spent the afternoon on the beach. He wrapped his gold necklace in his shirt while he took a quick swim in the ocean. While laying in bed that night he realized that his necklace was missing. It had to be somewhere on the beach.
His attempt to see if it had been turned into the Newport Beach lifeguard lost and found was not successful. After he contacted me, we met on the beach where he was able give me a good location to search. I happy to see the beach sifting machine had not worked the towel line that day.
I began to grid search the towel line before people began to sit in the search zone. I started to worry that the necklace could have been picked up by a passerby, as the chain could have been particularly exposed. Then there is always a possibility that a recreational detectorist could have found it. Many of these people would return an item like this if they had a way to contact the owner. That is not always easy to do.
Before beginning the search Bob told me that he had worked in India and this was a gift he bought himself to remember his time there. The pendant is called Ganesha which is well known in the culture of India. He told me that of all his jewelry, he’d rather lose his Rolex than this sentimental keepsake.
He did mention that if we couldn’t find it, he was ready to accept that the loss was meant to be. I don’t run into that attitude very often. Well, a half hour later I got a very low tone with a one digits TDI number on my Equinox 800 detector. I wasn’t really expecting anything decent when I scooped the signal, but there in the bottom of my scoop was a beautiful 22k chai and pendant. In the sunshine the color is awesome and it feels so smooth, almost soft.
Bob was sitting patiently in his beach chair 30 or 40 ft. He noticed me stop then he could see the some of the chain trying to slip out of the holes in my scoop. He came running over to me in a calm but excited manner. He was so happy to have his prize possession back.He did say again he knows it’s material item and he was willing to accept its loss if it was meant to be. I was grateful to be a part of helping Bob find his necklace and pendant.
“I WILL TRY ANYWHERE “ Call Now, I can answer any questions about finding your lost valuable .. Stan .. 949-500-2136
This ring find started with an email from Tom and required a fair share of logistical work. While Located on Oahu Tom and I found a way to get me to Kaua’i. Tom shared with me that this ring has been with him for over 29 years and had its fair share of close calls but never like this. This one seemed like it might be a goner for good and need help. I was hopeful and determined to return such a precious ring. I flew over to Kaua’i with my dad as it was his day off and there’s no better of a partner than family. We got our rental and headed to the beach where tom explained to me where he lost it. It’s always important to get as much details as possible on a search like this and tom did as I asked and made me a detailed map to put me in the best location. As I entered the water and got chest deep I started my grid and not long after I hear that equinox TONE. I dig a big scoop and there in the bottom on my Xtreme sand scoop is Tom’s ring. I shouted to my dad… We did It! And a couple who was on vacation came down the beach to find out what the commotion was about and I held up Tom’s ring and said… Once lost…Now found! They were excited as well as my dad and I. it was a nice flight back to Oahu. I was able to call Tom and ask for his address and send him his ring back with some goodies from Hawaii. Another great return and it Always comes from a place of Aloha.
Key takeaway of this story – NEVER LOSE HOPE! If you’ve ever lost a ring, piece of jewelry, or other sentimental item, there’s still a chance of getting it back. Recovering a lost item from a public area may seem hopeless (especially if it’s been many years), but a Good Samaritan may have found it and will try to return it, or it may just actually still be there…
I received an email from Ed on December 14th, 2019 (yes, this was over a year ago) for two lost men’s wedding bands. Ed stated that he lost his first wedding band at a public Dog Park near the Research Park area many years ago. He figured it was long gone due to the maintenance and foot traffic. He got a replacement band and unfortunately, he lost that one as well. He felt fairly certain that he lost the second ring in his backyard and he would like for me to come out and conduct a search. I sent an email back that I’d be more than happy to help look for both rings and asked when a good time was. I didn’t receive a response. About a week later, I sent another email, but still no response. Ed didn’t leave his phone number, so I assumed that he just changed his mind. I put the details in my notes and forgot about it.
The end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, I was dealing with the unfortunate issue of cluster headaches. They were getting worse, so I was trying to figure out the root cause. Long story short, I had an MRI and discovered that I had a Meningioma/benign tumor in my head. I had a craniotomy on May 26th, 2020 to remove it. The surgery went well and the tumor was removed! By the end of 2020, I was all healed up, headache free, and feeling better than ever! I could now go out metal detecting as much as I wanted (work schedule and weather permitting lol)!
I was looking back at past inquiries I received as a Ring Finder. Ed’s email about his 2 lost wedding bands stuck out to me. I figured a search at the Dog Park would be fun, plus there was the possibility that a lost ring was still there. A quick Google search and I was fairly certain Ed lost his ring at Creekwood Dog Park in Madison, Alabama. I emailed Ed on January 13th, 2021 to confirm and get details on the specific area he was in. A few days later he replied back and confirmed it was at Creekwood, and he even provided a Google Map image with a line he drew of the entire path he walked from the parking lot and back (photo on left side below). He also said that he last remembered having the Palladium ring when he was sitting at the picnic table on the right side of the fenced in play area (green roof structure on photo on right side below). Further, Ed told me that he found his replacement wedding in a sock drawer! Only one ring left to find!
I went out to Creekwood the following day, January 18th, 2021 for the search. Before I started, I prayed to God and asked Him for a safe and successful search. I also asked Him to guide me and put me in the location where Ed’s ring was. Armed with my Minelab Equinox 800 and 15 inch coil, I decided to start at the picnic table and conduct an east/west style grid walking towards the middle fence that separated the two large dog play areas. I had a lot of ground to cover, but I remained optimistic.
I finished my second grid line and noticed that there were some dog hurdles further down the fence line, so I stayed and searched some more along the fence area. About 30 minutes into my search and 5 feet from the fence and second gate separating the two play areas, I get a loud and solid 17 on my Equinox. About an inch down, I uncover a man’s wedding ring (red “X” on photo on right side below)! Wiping away the dirt, I can see a unique basketweave style design on the outside of the ring. I tried wiping the dirt off from the inside to check for a marking of what type of metal the ring was. However, there’s a grove on the inside that I wouldn’t be able to clean off until I got home. But, I was pretty positive that this was Ed’s ring!
I got the ring home and cleaned it off. I then saw a PD 950 (Palladium) stamp on the inside of the ring…this was indeed Ed’s lost wedding band! Wow, against all odds!!! I thanked the Lord for this miraculous recovery!
Details that I learned when I returned the ring to Ed a few days later: This ring was lost in 2015, so it’s been sitting in a public park for 6 years!!! Ed didn’t actually have the ring on his finger. It was looped through some paracord and tied around his neck. Ed bought a cheap metal detector and tried searching multiple times and spent numerous hours looking. He even took a large magnet on wheels that is used to pick up nails in hopes that the ring had some magnetic properties to it, but after all the attempts, still no ring. He then put up lost ring posters at the park, but never heard anything. Ed assumed that someone must’ve have found it and that was the end of this ring’s story. So, when I sent him a photo of the ring, he was shocked to say the least! He told me that he never thought he would see this ring again and he was very disappointed when he lost it. I’m happy to say that this ring’s story now gets to continue! Athena, Ed’s dog that was with him the day he lost his ring at the park is sitting in the front seat of his truck smiling along with Ed in the photo below!
It’s really a blessing that I get to use my hobby of metal detecting to help others! It’s honestly one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done and get to do! Huge shoutout to Chris Turner and The Ring Finders Directory! Without it, none of this would be possible.
Christina McCree – Lost Item Recovery Specialist…Call or Text ASAP, Anytime 24/7…610-504-6135!
