The Ring Finders Blog | Page 12 of 1189

Approached by person on beach asking if I could assist in locating bracelet lost on beach.

  • from Winston-Salem (North Carolina, United States)

This past week I and family enjoyed time away at the South Carolina coast.  Being obsessed with metal detecting I had started my day with an early AM surf walk in a northward direction.  I had be at it for little over  hours and was making my way back to the room to get out of the heat, eat and take a well deserved nap.

I was detecting on my way back and had a strong signal in front of a lady reading a book.  Dig the target finding a AirPod case which included the right ear piece. and totally packed with sand.  I had drawn her attention and she asked “anything good” ?  Showed her the AirPods and said “this is a first. Wonder if they will work?”.  She said they should as she had washed AirPods many ties in her husbands clothing and they never failed.

While speaking a gentleman approached and introduced himself.  He asked if I may have found what he described as a “Black bracelet”.  Told him I had not but would be glad to search if he knew the area it dropped.  He replied that he only knew it could have dropped between his umbrellas and the beach access which was 100 yards away.  He also did not remember the route he walked because he walked it many times.   I asked if he knew the type of metal of which he did not.   I asked his room number and explained I will be returning Sunday but would search and see if I could find.  I would return it to his room as he was only a few floors away withing the same facility.

I searched the immediate area and towards the beach access with negative results.  The time was approaching noon and the beach was very busy with Labor Day vacationers.

Fast forward to after 6:00 PM,   I was refreshed and on the beach again following dinner.  I grid searched the area starting where they had been set up earlier.  They had a large area with approximately a dozen umbrellas and a flagpole displaying the stars and stripes :).   After a tight search I located a black bracelet that I assumed was under a umbrella when dropped.

I went to the room number given and the gentleman answering the door did not look familiar and when I explained my presence he said thank you for looking but he and no one in his party had lost a bracelet.  Now the real search begins.

I only knew a middle aged gentleman was whom I was looking for.  I went to the beach next morning (day 2) looking for the Umbrella city with a US Flag and nothing in sight.  I went about my business remainder of the morning and did family stuffs until the evening at which time I again scanned the beach looking for the familiar umbrellas and US Flag, Nothing.

Slept in day 3 and after lunch walked to beach again searching for the Umbrella city and US Flag and spotted it.  It was restored in the same location when I originally spoke with them.  I approached and seeing no familiar faces asked the first lady that looked up “did someone with your group lose a bracelet a few days ago?”  She responded Oh My!  Yes.  and called to a gentleman 20 feet away.  When he responded by name I immediately recognized him and held up the bracelet asking,  “This look familiar?”  🙂  I thought he was going to fall trying to briskly walk to me.  He was ecstatic and said he didn’t think he would get it back.   We spoke for a short time and I learned he too was from North Carolina (Baden Lake).  I told him I found days earlier but couldn’t find him as I had noted a room number that was not his.   I also told him I had researched the bracelet and thanked him for supporting our veterans.  The Bracelet was made by a company named HERO and they provided proceeds to Military Veterans specifically to K9’s to serve as PTSD resources.

Below are photos of the bracelet and owner having returned it to where it should be.   Happy Labor day!

Property markers located in Yadkin County, NC for couple that had tree fall damaging home and side porch.

  • from Winston-Salem (North Carolina, United States)

I was contacted by a lady whom I assisted almost a year ago when her husband lost his wedding band.  She advised that in a recent storm two very large pine trees had fallen onto their home causing damage.   The property line is lined with many additional trees is the same state of decay causing concern.   They were unsure “if” the trees were theirs, neighbors or shared and wanted to address the situation before additional damage following their insurance carriers instructions.

They had reached out to many land survey companies whom quoted significant fees or responded that they didn’t have availability to help.  Many didn’t even return calls.  Discouraged she remembered my assisting with the ring recovery and knowing property markers are metallic returned to my RF listing and saw I assisted in locating property markers.

We scheduled a day and time for me to assist.  Preliminary research I used publicly accessible tools to research property lines, lot owners and placement of markers.

Arrived, searched and after a little confusion and finding the Plat map that was included with their home purchase information we were successful in identifying that their back yard was deeper than they thought and that the large line of trees was in no way on their property.  🙂   To be 100% sure I located the driven markers digging one and clearing growth away from the others.  To maintain visibility both were spray painted white.

Full disclosure I am not a land surveyor.  I only located the markers placed by surveyors of years past that matched up to the written description on their plat map which is official record at the Yadkin County, NC Register of Deeds.

Platinum Wedding Band Found on South Haven Beach

  • from Grand Haven (Michigan, United States)

I received a text from Nataliya Saturday morning saying she’d lost her husbands’s platinum wedding ring on the shore of Lake Michigan at South Haven.  She and her husband, Chad, were visiting from Chicago and she believed Chad’s ring fell out of her shirt pocket as she bent over to wash off her flip flops at the water’s edge.  I wasn’t available to search until later that afternoon but, being a private beach, I wasn’t concerned another detectorist would stumble on it.  It was about an hour drive and I was on my way there when Natalia texted me saying that she had contacted another Ring Finder to come out and look for the ring.  Unfortunately, he was unable to locate the ring and it probably wasn’t worth my time coming all the way out there as all the obvious areas had been searched.  Well, I was already on my way there so I told her I’d like to try anyway.  When I arrived, Chad showed me where they were on the beach and where he thought the ring was dropped.  Knowing the beach and water’s edge had already been searched I started looking a little further out from shore and worked my way in.  I got a faint signal about a foot from shore and scooped a bunch of rocks and sand and, as I dumped out my scoop, there was Chad’s ring amongst the rocks.  They were SO happy as they had pretty much given up on ever finding it.

Wedding ring recovered in Catawba, NC lost while fighting off angry yellow jackets. see link at end for WXII-12 News Story.

  • from Winston-Salem (North Carolina, United States)

Received message from Mr. Ashe asking if I could assist him in Catawba area of Lake Norman.  I advised I was at work but could meet him afterwards and I was almost an hour away.  We made arrangements and I will let todays news story pick it up from here :)…

CATAWBA, N.C. — A Catawba man has been reunited with his wedding ring weeks after losing it while swatting at a swarm of yellow jackets in his backyard. He was helped by the metal detecting skills of a Forsyth County ring finder.

It all started in early August when David Ashe was doing some landscaping in preparation for a pool to be constructed in his backyard.

“Had the weed whacker, and I kind of went over a yellow jacket nest,” Ashe said. As the insects swarmed, Ashe tried to fend them off.

“I was swatting hard, and my ring shot off, and at that point I just ran,” he said.

Ashe escaped with more than 100 stings, and his wedding ring missing. He knew it was lost somewhere in the wooded ravine behind his home.

“My ring is very, very sentimental and precious to me because my wife picked it out and engraved it,” Ashe said.

Married since 2012, Ashe says his wife means the world to him. He said being without the ring felt strange.

“It feels naked because in the 12 years I’ve had this, I wear this every day, like it’s just every single day,” he said. “And my wife was reassuring me. She’s like, ‘You know, it doesn’t mean we’re not married, just means you don’t have your ring.’ But for me, it felt like something was missing. Something was just not right.”

Weeks passed before Ashe could return to the area to search for the ring, as he first had to deal with the yellow jackets. Heavy rain further complicated the search.

“It fills with water and kind of pushes,” he said, referring to the ravine where the ring was lost. “And at that point I thought for sure that’s what was happening. It was just going to keep pushing out on out into Lake Norman.”

Ashe purchased a metal detector to aid in his search, but the low-cost device didn’t yield any results. He said he was constantly picking up on the beeps and pops of other metal items.

That’s when he searched online and found out about a group called The Ring Finders. On the group’s website, he discovered Brad Trogdon, a Forsyth County resident with a simple description of his beloved hobby. “Obsessively metal detect if you ask my wife,” Trogdon said.

Trogdon discovered his passion for metal detecting during a beach trip two years ago.

“I refer to a metal detector like a foreign language; you can hear them speaking, you don’t comprehend it until you’ve studied awhile,” he said. “And that’s how I understand what I’m hearing in the beeps and the pops and whatnot.”

Now, he uses that skill to help people recover lost valuables, using higher-end metal detectors and an unrelenting attitude.

“I have a bad habit of not wanting to give up,” Trogdon said.

The two searched the woods behind Ashe’s house for hours, even continuing after dark. Ashe assumed his ring had flown in a certain direction, but searching that area proved fruitless. Then, Trogdon turned to a different section.

“It was late. It was very hot. I was soaking wet, and I said, I’m going to give it one more go because I hadn’t searched that area but once,” Trogdon said. “And when I did, the second search is when we came across it.”

Finally, Trogdon’s metal detector emitted the distinct beeping sound they had been waiting for.

“With a flashlight shining on it, that ring glowed back at me,” Trogdon said. “And that’s when I grinned real big, and I asked him, I’m like, ‘You didn’t say it had diamonds in it!’”

The white gold wedding ring with a line of diamonds embedded in it was found tucked into a rotten tree stump just feet from Ashe’s house.

“I put it on my hand, and it just felt like everything was just back to where it was, where it should be,” Ashe said.

Ashe has since added an adjuster to his ring to prevent it from flying off again, but if it ever does, Trogdon and his metal detector are ready to help.

Learn more about Brad Trogdon’s ring-finding work by clicking here.

Lead in to news story: WXII 12 – Lead In

Full news story:  WXII 12 – NBC News

Read the rest of this entry »

Lost Earring Recovered at York Pennsylvania

  • from Harrisburg (Pennsylvania, United States)

On the day before Labor Day, 2026, I was contacted by an individual who stated his fiance′ lost a diamond stud earring at a baseball park near York, Pa. The couple were visiting from Connecticut and planned to leave on labor Day.  I arranged to meet with them on Labor Day morning.  After a thorough search in a small area the earring was recovered. The couple, having searched unsuccessfully with a metal detector the day before, were very happy that the earring was found. 

Lost Wedding Band Recovered New Brighton Minnesota Long Lake beach

  • from Twin Cities Metro (Minnesota, United States)

Maryam, her husband Hasan, and a friend were having a relaxing day at a local beach. They were trying to beat the end of summer heat by cooling off in the water. While tossing a ball with his friend, Hasan watched as his gold wedding band flew off his finger into the chest deep water. Right away, both Hasan and his friend searched the bottom to no avail. Maryam pulled out her smart phone and did a quick google search on “how to recover a ring in the water” – theringfinders.com came up. She gave me a call and explained the situation. It was getting late in the evening and I told her I would be available to search first thing in the morning. Maryam sent me a marked up picture of the swim beach with a circled area showing exactly where Hasan lost his ring. I arrived the next morning, suited up and hit the water. I found the ring in approximately 1 minute, it was right where Maryam marked. Most times, people’s markings are off by quite a bit. This mark was right on the button! Thank You so much for that!!!! Glad I could help as I know how important a ring can be.

Nice speaking with you Maryam, and nice meeting you Hasan.

Take care ~

Darrin

Man’s Yellow Gold Class Ring Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

On Sunday, September 6, 2026, I got a notification on FB about a gentleman who had lost his 20-year-old Patrick Henry Class Ring in the ocean. At 8 p.m. that evening I received a call from Emilia, the daughter of Osmin, the gentleman who had lost the ring. She told me he had lost it around 12:30-1 p.m. and was maybe chest deep. A quick check of the tide tables and that would have been roughly mid-tide with the next low tide happening just after 10 p.m. I told her that I could meet them at 10 p.m. I was watching the weather, which had predicted storms. And a little after 8 p.m., I text Emilia saying I was going to cancel that evening and would be there the next morning at 10 a.m., which was just before low tide.

On Monday just before 9:30 a.m., I sent Emilia a text saying, “On my way.” She acknowledged that she’d be waiting.  When I walked out on the beach, I met Emilia and her husband, Kenny. She told me her dad was away, but Kenny had been there when Osmin lost his ring. Kenny showed me what he remembered about where they were, and I started an east/west grid. I was using the beams on the Resort’s building as my landmark as I worked my way from North to South across the target area. As I got about halfway across the grid search, Osmin showed up and showed me about where he had been which I hadn’t gotten to yet in my search. I told him I’d keep working on my grid search so I’m not jumping from one spot to another. Osmin also said that he was trying to catch a ball that his brother had thrown, when the ball hit his ring finger and the ring slipped off into the ocean. I was just getting to Osmin’s suspected area when I got a solid signal and a 19-20 on the VDI (visual display indicator), those numbers tell me there’s a big gold ring under the coil. Dug one scoop, shook the sand out in the water and saw Osmin’s beautiful class ring in the scoop. I started walking towards Osmin and Kenny and stuck the scoop out for Osmin to retrieve his ring. Osmin’s big smile and a sign of relief make it all worthwhile.

Emilia – Thank you for calling me to help find your dad’s treasured class ring.

Jim

 

Lost gold ring, recovered, Magician Lake, Dowagiac Michigan

  • from Granger (Indiana, United States)


James, newly wed, noticed his gold ring had fallen off in the swimming area of his parent’s lake home. With some helpers, they tried to find it, scanning the bottom using goggles, with no luck. Amy, his mother, found me using Chat GPT and I was able to head right there to perform a search. James and his wife were not present today.
Nice sandy bottom to the swim area, not so clear water, but nice and warm. Got a few target hits, sorted through a few quickly, then got what sounded pretty promising. Scooped and saw a nice shiny gold ring in the basket. Took maybe a few minutes, if only they were all that easy.

Youtube Video of search Click Here

Lost a Ring in Louisiana? What to Do Before You Give Up

  • from New Orleans (Louisiana, United States)

Losing a wedding ring, engagement ring, class ring, or other sentimental piece of jewelry can turn into a stressful situation very quickly. Most people immediately start retracing their steps, crawling through the grass, or searching the same area over and over again.

If you lost a ring somewhere in Louisiana, especially in a yard, park, sports field, garden, playground, beach, or other outdoor area, there is a good chance it may still be recoverable.

I’ve helped recover lost rings throughout Southeast Louisiana, and one thing I’ve learned is that rings are very often not where people expect them to be.

First: Don’t Assume the Ring Is Gone

I’ve recovered rings that were lost only a few minutes earlier, but I’ve also recovered rings that had been missing for months and even years.

Unless the area has been significantly disturbed, a ring sitting in grass, dirt, mud, leaves, or landscaping usually isn’t going anywhere.

I’ve searched for rings around New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana that survived rain, lawn mowing, yard work, and months of exposure before eventually being recovered.

The important thing is to preserve the search area and think through what happened.

Try to Remember the Last Time You Definitely Had the Ring

Instead of asking yourself, “Where did I lose it?” ask:

“Where is the last place I know I still had it?”

Then reconstruct what happened afterward.

Were you throwing a ball?

Taking off gloves?

Doing yard work?

Playing with a dog?

Throwing something?

Putting your hands into your pockets?

Washing your hands?

Moving plants or mulch?

These details matter.

A ring that simply slipped off while walking will behave very differently from one that came off while throwing something or quickly pulling off a glove.

Don’t Trust the Suspected Area Too Much

This is probably one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from doing ring recoveries.

People are often very accurate about what they were doing when a ring disappeared but much less accurate about exactly where the ring landed.

I’ve had recoveries where the ring was only a few feet from where the owner expected it to be. I’ve also found them well outside the area that had already been searched.

That’s why I normally approach a recovery systematically. I search the most probable area first and then progressively expand the search rather than randomly walking around with a metal detector.

Sometimes finding a lost ring is less about detecting the ring and more about correctly eliminating all the places where it isn’t.

Be Careful With Lawn Mowers and Yard Work

If you’ve lost a ring in a Louisiana yard, try to avoid mowing until the area has been searched.

A lawn mower can potentially strike a ring and move or damage it. Yard work can also move the item into piles of leaves, mulch, trash bags, or other locations that become much harder to search later.

If the ring was lost while gardening, don’t immediately throw away pulled weeds, leaves, or yard debris. Set them aside if possible.

Louisiana yards can also present their own challenges. Thick St. Augustine grass, mud, standing water, roots, leaves, and heavy vegetation can make a ring nearly impossible to see even when it’s sitting right on the surface.

A Metal Detector Helps — But It Doesn’t Guarantee You’ll Find It

A lot of people understandably try borrowing or buying a metal detector after losing a ring.

Sometimes that works.

Other times, I’ve arrived after the owner had already spent hours searching with a detector and still found the missing ring.

Metal detectors respond to much more than jewelry. Louisiana yards can contain nails, aluminum, pull tabs, buried wire, construction debris, old coins, and countless other metallic targets.

The search also has to cover the right location.

You can have the best metal detector in the world, but if the ring landed 20 feet outside the area you’re searching, you’re not going to find it.

Mark the Area Before Your Memory Changes

If you know approximately where the loss happened, take a few pictures or mark important locations.

Where were you standing?

Which direction were you facing?

Where did you throw the object?

Where was the dog running?

Which garden bed were you working in?

Which direction did you walk afterward?

Those details may seem obvious immediately after losing something, but memories become less certain surprisingly quickly.

If you contact someone to help search, those details can be extremely useful.

Don’t Give Up Just Because Several Days Have Passed

One of the most common things people tell me is that they assumed too much time had passed to find their ring.

That isn’t necessarily true.

I’ve personally recovered jewelry in Louisiana that had been missing for months, including a ring in the New Orleans area that had been gone for approximately 18 months.

If the general location is known and the property can still be searched, it may still be worth looking.

Lost a Ring in New Orleans or Southeast Louisiana?

I’m Anthony Cuccia, a member of The Ring Finders, and I provide metal detector recovery services throughout New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana.

I’ve helped locate lost wedding rings, engagement rings and other jewelry in yards, gardens, parks, sports fields, muddy areas, shallow water and other searchable locations.

I regularly assist with searches around:

New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Slidell, Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, Hammond, Gonzales, Baton Rouge and surrounding communities across Southeast Louisiana.

If you’ve lost something, feel free to text me and explain what happened. A few details about the item, where it was lost, and what you were doing when it disappeared can usually tell me a lot about whether the area can be searched.

Even if you’ve already looked extensively or tried searching with a metal detector, that doesn’t necessarily mean the ring isn’t there.

Anthony Cuccia – The Ring Finders
Call or Text: (985) 445-4514

If you lost a ring in Louisiana, don’t give up on it too quickly. Sometimes the difference between a ring being “gone forever” and being back on someone’s finger is simply knowing where and how to look.

BOUNCING a VOLLEYBALL LED to BRANDON’S WEDDING BAND BEING LOST in the SURF

  • from Emerald Isle (North Carolina, United States)

EMERALD ISLE, NC – Just minutes after losing his 5-month-old wedding ring, Brandon called Crystal Coast Ring Finders. I arrived shortly after high tide and began searching from high to low toward the ocean. After three and a half passes, the Deus II metal detector gave a solid 46 reading. Pinpointing the spot, I took one scoop, but a wave rushed in and washed away the sand. As I lifted the scoop to check, there it was—Brandon’s bright gold wedding band. I held up the scoop basket, and Brandon happily reclaimed his lost ring.

This year’s charity is Fishin’ for a Cure and 10% of Brandon’s reward will be donated to support individuals battling breast cancer.