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Jacob from Detroit lost his wedding ring while swimming off a sandbar in Pratt Lake in July of 2016.  Although he searched with a rented metal detector at the time, he did not find the ring.   When he contacted Chuck Raison, my fellow ringfinder from Baldwin, Chuck called me to help him on the hunt.

Jacob sent us a picture of the lake, marking the area where the ring was lost.  In July he had also marked the spot in the lake by placing a toy sand pail on the bottom of the lake where he lost the ring.  It was a beautiful day when we cruised out to that sandbar in Chuck’s fishing boat.  With no wind to speak of, the lake looked like a glass table top.  The water was crystal clear, and we could see the bottom of the lake and fish swimming around.  There are lots of houses on the lake shore but nobody was stirring, and the only sounds we heard were the singing of birds.

For this time of year we wore our 5mm wet suits, making for a comfortable hunt in the chilly water.  I was hunting in water about shoulder deep when I caught sight of that toy pail that Jacob had planted on the lake bottom.  Doing a careful search around that pail I found his ring not more than 10 feet from it.  Good thinking Jacob!  We called Jacob and we learned he was only about 20 miles away, attending a meeting.  We packed up our equipment and headed to his location to deliver the ring.  Pictures of his ring, Jacob and the equipment used in the recovery are attached

Wisconsin’s, Whistling Straits Golf Course on the picturesque shores of Lake Michigan, was host to the 2015 PGA Championship. But it became the unintended host to Joey Piatek’s wedding ring on April 29, 2017.

As was his habit, Joey removed his ring before playing, slipping it into a zipped pocket on his golf bag for safekeeping. He realized it was missing as he was leaving the course. Where could it have gone? Joey’s heart sank when he remembered his caddie, on two occasions, turning the bag upside down to retrieve the cover for his putter after it had fallen inside. Had the ring fallen out then?

Joey immediately returned to the course from the parking lot and searched using his iPhone flashlight in the dark. To make matters worse, it began raining. His efforts were unsuccessful. He tried looking again the next morning but again, the ring seemed to have vanished.

Joey’s bride of a year and half, Michelle, was in New York attending the wedding shower of a friend when she received the news. Being a nurse anesthetist, she immediately went into problem-solving mode—perhaps Joey could rent a metal detector. A quick search on the Internet brought up The Ring Finders directory of metal detecting specialists. It peaked her interest; she never realized such a service existed. It gave a glimmer of hope! And so Michelle encouraged Joey to contact me.

I received Joey’s email and made arrangements to conduct the search the following morning. Since Joey lived in Chicago, Illinois, I had him text me a Google earth satellite map of the golf course showing pins at the two locations where the golf bag had been turned upside down. Technology is wonderful!

Unfortunately, a thorough search of the two marked areas failed to turn up the ring–perhaps someone had already found it. My 40-plus years experience however, prompted me to widen the search area. Sure enough, on the gravel pathway leading up to the 10th Hole, I heard a familiar tone in my headset. The conductivity numbers showing on my XP Deus control screen were consistent with 14 Karat gold. It was Joey’s ring!

Barely visible with the naked eye, the love token was pretty much buried. It had been stepped on or run over by a club car but was not worse for wear considering. I took a photo to show it peaking out from among the pebbles as if embarrassed by the ordeal. Can you spot it?

Joey and Michelle drove up from Chicago a week later. It was such a joy to return the ring in person and to visit with this delightful couple. It seems they have been telling all their friends and family members about their experience with The Ring Finders and with my services here in southwest Wisconsin. Thank you both for the privilege of helping to recover your ring and for your kind reward.

Joey, may your ring’s happy-ending story continue for many, many years to come!