Received a call at 7:40 PM to search A/O at North Ave Beach in Chicago in the volleyball court. I LOVE Volleyball!!
Found the ring in about 20 minutes. Another recently married man reunited with his wedding ring. Perhaps not the best picture, but definitely expressive.
It’s always a GREAT feeling to be able to help someone.
Mark and Jenny Neuenschwander along with their boys were enjoying a day at Long Lake State Park near Kewaskum, Wisconsin. That is until Mark’s wedding band went missing while playing together in the water. It took a few searches, but the ring finally surfaced in my sieve on August 7th. What a wonderful 14th anniversary gift to be able to return the ring to its happy owner and family. I sure enjoyed meeting you folks and am thrilled that this token of your love is back on your finger, Mark.
Two days ago, Marissa and Dave set out for a nice day of kayaking at the ocean. The day quickly took a turn for the worse when Marissa lost her diamond engagement ring in a river running off of the ocean. She jumped out of the kayak and frantically searched for the ring, but it had disappeared. Surprisingly, it was Dave’s family in California who located me on the internet and suggested they call. When I received Marissa’s desperate telephone call, I immediately headed for the beach. It was late afternoon when I started the search, but daylight and the tide were against me. I searched for four and a half hours, unsuccessfully. I was not giving up. I returned the next day, expanded my search, and found the ring in fifteen minutes, buried underwater in a few inches of sand. Words cannot express how happy Marissa is to have her beautiful ring back!
Tom Jones, Daren Farfante and Tim Swenor
Darren Farfante came home from work to find that Tom Jones and Tim Swenor had already returned his gold wedding ring to his wife.
Darren went on Theringfinders.com while on his lunch break and contacted the Suncoast Research and Recovery Club president Tom Jones. Darren gave Tom specific reference points to where he had lost his ring. Tom then organized a hunt and with two metal detectors working, found the ring and returned it to his wife before Darren got back to the beach resort after work.
Great Smile Darren.
By Lori Kurtzman The Columbus Dispatch Thursday June 21, 2012 9:24 AM
A Blacklick couple got into an argument one night last month. Cooler heads did not prevail.
It might have felt satisfying, what the man did, but it proved to be a bad decision because, once you chuck your fiancee’s engagement ring into the pitch black of your backyard, chances are you’re not getting it back.
Unless you know Jon Baughman — or any of the other Ring Finders.
They’re a worldwide collective of metal-detector enthusiasts who claim more than 430 successful recoveries of rings lost to wild gestures, extreme gardening and lovers’ quarrels.
“I guess that happens quite a bit,” said Baughman, a Licking County Ring Finder, recalling the email he got from the woman asking him to find her ring in a patch of thick weeds and water. Her fiance had launched it in that direction.
Baughman is 27, a father of two with a third on the way in Washington Township, near Utica. Right now, the former Army National Guardsman is looking for work, so he figured he’d try to make some cash from the hobby his wife’s grandfather introduced him to years ago.
A few months ago, he came across the Ring Finders website, which was started by a Canadian man who seems to enjoy nothing more than reuniting people with their jewelry. The site is full of success stories, emotional tales of lost rings. In one story, a finder salvages a clumsy proposal by digging up the ring a brain surgeon buried in the beach sand and promptly lost.
Baughman added his name to the directory in February.
He charges $25 to respond to a call. He figures that’s enough for gas and a Gatorade. He’s more interested in helping than making money. He asks for a reward only if he actually finds the ring.
The ring in Blacklick initially eluded him. He had the fiance throw test rings, trying to re-create the mood of that night, seeing where the diamond might have landed. But after three hours of searching, he lost the sunlight and found nothing.
He came back another day and worked quickly, already familiar with the area. Within 15 minutes, there it was — a shiny little declaration of love.
He texted a photo of the ring to the fiancee. She was elated.For perhaps obvious reasons, the woman asked not to be identified in this story, but she said she and her fiance are getting along much better now. They plan to marry by the end of summer.
Baughman doesn’t get sentimental about such things. He’s a detective, not a therapist.
“The main thing is being satisfied that you did find the ring,” Baughman said. “And next time they throw it, they’ve already got your number there to call.”
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/06/21/finders-ease-the-sting-of-losing-the-bling.html
I received a call from Lisa after she had lost her diamond wedding band while vacationing with her husband in their favorite RI fishing and camping spot. She contacted me through The Ring Finders website. Lisa had been collecting quahogs in a marshy area of a salt water pond, digging them with her bare hands from a raft. When she finished, she realized that she had lost her ring somewhere in the mucky bed of the pond. Lisa’s husband, Erik, led me to the remote area in the hopes of recovering his wife’s ring; however, Lisa did not hold out much hope of ever seeing the ring again. After searching for five hours and just before we were ready to leave, I found the ring in my last scoop of the day. I put the ring in my pocket, not letting on that it had been located. After reaching the shore, I pulled out the assorted junk I had dug up. The last item I revealed was the ring. Lisa and Erik were ecstatic! They could not believe that it had been found! Bringing such happiness to this nice couple quickly made the long search worthwhile.
Randy called me on a Sunday morning and said his son had lost his wedding ring in the sand on Fiesta Island. It seems the son removed the ring to apply tape to his hands in preparation for playing ball and …..well you know the rest. They searched and searched, Randy even used a sifter and methodically gridded the most likely area to no avail. I started my search pattern at one end of the area and about a half hour (and 20 pull tabs! ) later, I had his ring in my hand. It was just outside the area Randy had sifted. Since his son was still playing ball in a tournament, I wasn’t able to get a photo of him holding the ring but gave it to Randy for a reunion later. Here’s the ring anyway….
I received a call from a young man who had just lost his new wedding band at the volleyball court at Montrose Beach.
He and his wife had just been married two weeks ago and were having a picnic with their friends. On the way over he asked his wife where her rings were and she said that because they were going to the beach she left them home…..Well I got the call.
Literally on the first swing of the coil, I had a tone. I swept back to verify, and dug. BINGO!
His comment….”THATS IMPRESSIVE”
There were so many cameras taking pictures, I felt like a rock star.
It’s great to be a Ring Finder.
After locating me through The Ring Finders’ website, Paul contacted me a few days ago about a ring he had lost while swimming at a Rhode Island beach. This ring was precious to Paul. It was a beautiful gold ring with five diamonds that his mom had given to his dad on their 25th wedding anniversary–the diamonds signified their five children. Before Paul’s dad passed away 11 1/2 years ago, he gave the ring to Paul, the oldest of the five children, who never took it off. That is until 12 days ago when he lost it while swimming. I met Paul at the beach early this morning when I could take advantage of the low tide. Within 20 minutes, in knee-deep water, I located the ring about 8 inches deep in the sand. Paul couldn’t believe it! He was thrilled to have this special ring returned to him. Thank you Paul for this opportunity. I was so happy to be able to return this keepsake to you and your family!
I found this 2007 High School ring in the water at Round Lake, IL. and spent a week trying to return it to it’s owner. I called the school and because of privacy issues could not give me any contact information. I then went to the white pages and called everyone with the same last name within a 40 mile area. I received a call back and had them describe the ring.
Apparently, playing football in the water might not be the best thing to do if you want to keep your rings. She lost it 6 years ago doing the football thing with her dad.
I sent the ring back to her and received a thank you after she received it. She declined the request to submit a photo with her returned ring.
No problem, I can understand the privacy issue. Attaches if a photo of the ring (Sans Owner).
James S. Evans
A proud member of the Ring Finders
