White Gold Engagement Ring Recovered In Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland
A winter birthday, a missing engagement ring — and a search that brought relief
Some recoveries begin with joy, turn into panic, and end in pure relief.
Laura’s story is one of them.
Laura had celebrated her 40th birthday surrounded by friends — laughing, relaxing in a hot tub, and even making snow angels in the fresh winter snow. It was one of those carefree moments you remember for years.
But later that same day, the joy shifted.
She looked down at her hand… and her engagement ring was gone.
Panic set in. She searched everywhere she could think of. The next day, desperate to find it, she went outside with a spade and a rake, trying to dig through the heavy snow. But the ring was nowhere to be seen.
When I spoke with Laura on the phone, I could hear the worry in her voice. I told her I could come to Muhos to search for the ring, and she was incredibly relieved. Sometimes, just knowing help is on the way makes all the difference.
I packed my XP Deus and my pinpointer into the car — and of course my wife came along to handle the camera so we could document the mission — and we left early in the morning. A three‑hour drive ahead of us, plenty of time to think about how much this ring must mean to her.
When we arrived, Laura showed me the spot where they had been bathing and playing in the snow. I took out my detector, studied the area, and began the search. The temperature was above freezing, and the snow was heavy and wet — the kind that hides everything.
But after only a few minutes, I got a strong, clean signal.
The kind of signal that makes your heart beat a little faster.
I knelt down, used the pinpointer to narrow the spot… and there it was.
Her engagement ring, shining through the snow as if it had been waiting to be found.
When I showed Laura the ring, she froze for a moment — then her face lit up. She hugged me and thanked me over and over again. The relief was overwhelming.
Later she told me something that stayed with me:
She hadn’t even been able to tell her husband that she had lost the ring. Not until I called and told her I could come and search did she finally feel hope again.
Ring recovered — 17th January 2015.
A moment of panic turned into a memory she’ll never forget.
How many people have been given a very special gift only to loose it shortly after receiving it? Jared got a unique gift from his mother for Christmas–a silver pendant– and lost it two days later while playing soccer! He is a good friend of mine and knows that I enjoy helping people find their lost rings and things. And the field where he lost his pendant is just across the street from where we live so I figured in my spare time I could begin a grid search of the 70X50 yard field. So early the next evening I set up my Whites DFX in Coin and Jewelry mode and started down the middle of the field. And as it was a very recent drop and the pendant being silver I figured it would give a loud signal and be just under the grass. Sure enough on my 5th pass down center field, there hidden in the grass was Jared’s pendant! So glad to help out and thanks Jared for the reward!
Friday, December 19, 2014
“The day was cold and dark and dreary”, I’ve always wanted to say these words from Longfellow’s poem, “Rainy Days” and today was fitting. Ray S. called me yesterday an said he lost his wedding band while taking out his garbage container. He had snow on his hands and when he shook them off his ring went flying off into the grass. Ray searched through the Oak leaf covered grass but could not find it. A friend had told him about THERINFINDERS so he looked us up and found one of my associates not home and then called me. I have made several trips to the East side of our state over the past 4 years. Ray told me the story and I told him I would be out the next morning, weather permitting. I started the 140 mile trip with wet streets and blowing snow but by the time I got to Ray’s house it was just dark and dreary. Getting my Fisher F75 out, I started a grid search using the area that Ray thought his ring should be. I started down the edge of the drive about 30 feet then back up and over 3 feet. After about 10 feet into my second leg I got a 56 on my detector scale and there it was, pushed down into the wet dirt, I pulled up his ring. Ray must have stepped on the ring while looking for it and the only way it would have been found is with a metal detector. Ray went into the house to show his wife, Alex, that he got his ring back. Alex ran out of the house and gave me a big hug and said thank you. It was a pleasure helping out Ray and Alex and brighten up that Dark and Dreary day.
I found a white gold wedding band today for a young fella named Austin. He lost it while mowing roadside ditches this summer. When he parked the tractor he noticed his wedding ring was gone.
The 29th of December 2013 was not a pleasant day for Marina. Temperatures were well below zero as she braved the elements to get in her daily run. Conscious her hands and fingers had shrunk from the cold, she stopped, removed her wedding band, and placed it safely in her zippered jogging pouch. Later, as reached into the pouch to retrieve another item, to her horror she realized it had come unzipped and her precious ring was gone. Frantically she retraced her jogging route but the ring was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, a snowplow passed over the area pushing mountains of snow into the roadside ditch. 