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Engagement Ring found in Johnsonville, Wellington, NZ

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
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Lubna reunited with her engagement ring

Lubna reunited with her engagement ring

Lubna was a bit embarrassed when she rang me as she had thrown her engagement ring into the neighbour’s garden which was heavily overgrown with weeds and bushes. Of course she regretted it straight away but even after clearing away most of the weeds her family could not find it.

It is winter, here, and as soon as I arrived at the property it started to rain and I only had a short time before it would be dark.  The area to be searched was very small but with so much foliage and rubbish I resorted to getting down on my hands and knees with my handheld pinpointer.

An hour later, with a pouch full of rubbish, I had finished the most probable area without success and had to extend the boundary.

A couple more bits of rubbish and then while pointing at the base of a small tree yet another signal.  As I cleared away the debris Lubna’s beautiful white gold and diamond encrusted ring finally revealed itself.

It looks like it has bounced sideways off one of the trees and then slipped down to the bottom of another tree.

Sorry for the bad photo but is was dark by the time I took this

Sorry for the bad photo but it was dark by the time I took this

The smile says it all.

This was after I cleared away the weeds and rubbish

This was after I cleared away the weeds and rubbish

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Unforgettable 4 Year Wedding Anniversary – Lost Ring at Devil’s Lake State Park, Wisconsin Dells

  • from Madison (Wisconsin, United States)
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Mandy and I were looking forward to a long weekend to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary.  After enjoying a night at Madison’s Concert on the Square, a round of golf another day and exploring some of Wisconsin’s hidden gems we decided to meet family at Devil’s Lake State Park for a pleasant Saturday afternoon.

The sun was shining and Max (our beagle) was by our side.  After a full day of activities, including Wollersheim Wine, New Glarus Beer and of course cheese curds in hand, we decided to hop in the lake.  Although the water was chilly, the volleyball was flying and we were having a great time.  Not even five minutes in the water, the weekend became ever so memorable.  I turned to Mandy and calmly told her my wedding ring had just flung off my finger. She thought it was a joke until she glanced down at my hand.

I was able to see exactly where my ring hit the glossy water but the vision didn’t last long as it disappeared into the cloudy lake water.  Everyone froze … not a movement was made.  A friendly family on the beach offered their snorkeling gear to us to aid in the search. I stayed put while Mandy and family member Cody swam in circles, periodically coming up for air while trying not to stir up the mucky sand on the lake floor.

We thought it would be easy to spot a shiny ring sitting atop the muck but we were sorely mistaken.  After the remaining afternoon and the entire evening (over 5 hours in total) was spent searching, daylight was gone and we called it quits.  Needless to say the ride home was quiet.

We threw around ideas: “Should we go back and search the next day?”, “Do we call the jewelers right away?”, “Call the insurance company?”.  Late Sunday night as we were getting ready for the week ahead it dawned on us, maybe there are such people as treasure hunters?  It was worth a Google search at least.

Sure enough, the first website that popped up was www.TheRingFinders.com.  We entered Wisconsin Dells as the location and a man by the name of Dan Roekle was revealed.  I got on the phone right away and explained exactly what happened.  His response, “We’ll find it, guarantee it.” While we knew nothing is ever 100%, his statement was enough to bring a huge smile to Mandy’s face.

The very next day, Dan and I coordinated our schedules and decided to meet at Devil’s Lake in the evening. Cody and I headed up to the State Park and after securing the proper paperwork from the Park Warden to use a metal detector in the park, we headed to the infamous spot where my ring was lost. Dan often takes his two children with him on treasure hunts, teaching them patience while having fun at the same time. I stayed back as to not stir up the sand.  After only five minutes, Dan came back with his son by his side and sadly told us the conditions just weren’t ideal that evening to search for the ring.

My heart sank.

Mandy was going to be so disappointed? The ring itself wasn’t important but the sentiment and memories behind it were invaluable.

Not even 10 seconds later with a huge smile on his face, Dan’s son pulled his hand out of the water and revealed my ring!!!  I couldn’t believe it.  After spending our entire Saturday afternoon in the water, it took them only five minutes to locate and dig up my ring, which had sunk about 3 inches below the mucky sand.  I got Mandy on the phone and tried to tell her the conditions just weren’t right.  Of course, she could tell by the tone of my voice that wasn’t the case.  When I told her, she was overjoyed and couldn’t believe how quick the ring was retrieved!  The ring is now safely back on my finger and after four years I finally got it re-sized as to avoid anything like this in the future.

Thank you Dan and family for your enthusiasm and confidence.  Although it’s just a ring, it means a lot to us and we are incredibly grateful for your assistance. One thing is for certain, we will probably never forget our four year wedding anniversary!

 

Best,

Allan and Mandy G.

 

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Alan’s Text to His Wife Right After Finding the Ring                          The Lost Ring

 

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Lost Wedding Ring in Trophy Club, Tx while digging a trench in his yard!

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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On Sunday afternoon we got a call from a gentleman who had lost his wedding ring.  He had been working all day in his yard digging a trench to relieve some standing water.  After completing the several hour project he realized his wedding ring was gone.  He and his family search for 2 hours and had no luck.  He found “The Ring Finders” website and gave us a call.   We spent about 20 minutes covering the area which was crazy with signals due to a power line running under his backyard.  I decided to re-check the trench with full descrimination, looking only for gold.  I got a hit near the end of the 15ft trench about 6 inches down.  As  I bent down and used my pinpointer through the mud and water in the trench I saw a glint of GOLD in the hole.  The wedding ring was stuck in the wall of the trench about 4-6 inches down.  I turn and ask the homeowner,  I said, “I have a questions for you” “would you like to have this back and I handed him his ring“.

He and his wife were so excited they could not believe we found it… they kept saying “you guys are good, you guys are so good“.  The wife came out and gave us hug… it was another successful hunt for the “Dallas Ring Finders”.

Don & Ellen

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Keys found in Brooklyn, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
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Peter's Keys

Peter’s Keys

Peter lives on a very steep property in the hilly suburbs of Wellington.  He was leaning on a balcony and dropped his car keys into the foliage some 10 metres below.  He had spent a couple of days looking but when he failed to find them he came across the RingFinders site when searching for a metal detector on the internet.
When I arrived Peter had been dropping small plastic bags full of stones to get an idea of where the keys may have landed.  This was great but there was always the possibility that the keys could get deflected by one of the many trees in the area.  To make matters worse there were several small metal utility pipes running down the bank right in the line where the bags had been dropped.
I use a CTX3030 and put on the 6″ coiled for this job.  I started at the top and slowly worked my way down the bank until I was standing at the bottom.  The pipes were causing a problem and I reverted to the handheld pinpointer.  A short time later I got a response while running the pinpointer through the top of a small shrub that was just above head height from where I was standing.  When I moved a leaf I got a glimpse of the grey plastic of the remote.

Peter was very happy to have his keys returned

Peter was very happy to have his keys returned

Peter was very pleased to get his keys back and gave me a very generous reward.
Isn’t it crazy how expensive these keys are to replace.  Peter said he would have had to claim insurance to replace his keys, so he was very relieved that he didn’t have to go through that hassle.

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Lost Wedding Ring Found in Kapiti, Wellington New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
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Andrea and Travis were making a video and re-enacting a scene from The Lord of the Rings movie.  Andrea finds her “Precious” ring on a log and then tosses it to one side.  It was meant to land on a bank with almost no grass where it would be easy to see, however it landed short where the grass was a bit longer and they were unable to find it.

Andrea's Ring

Andrea’s Ring

I thought this was going to be an easy, quick find as it was a very small area to search.  I ran my CTX3030 over the area but couldn’t get a signal that remotely resembled a gold ring.  I extended the search by quite a distance and we even reviewed the video to get an idea of where it may have gone.  I then got Andrea to re-enact the throw with one of my test rings.  Each time it landed in a similar area so I had another sweep.

Over a clump of grass I got a very weak signal that looked more like trash than a ring but I checked it out with my pinpointer.  It was indicating something in the middle of the grass but it wasn’t until the pinpointer actually touched the ring that I could see it.  It was sitting vertically on its edge right at the bottom of the grass.

Andrea's ring safely on her finger

Andrea’s ring safely on her finger

No one could believe that they hadn’t found it when the were looking for it but they all agreed that we probably wouldn’t have found it without the detector.  Hugs and smiles all round.

Now, Andrea was a bit embarrassed by all this but when they showed me the video it looked pretty cool, and this will certainly add to the story.

They also gave me a generous reward for which I very grateful.

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Lost Ring Kemah, Texas (Recovered)

  • from Sugar Land (Texas, United States)
Contact:

  01/18/2014 I received the following e-mail

Subject: Missing Ring

 Hi my name is William and I lost a gold ring.  It is very dear to my family and I would like your help.  It is in Kemah.  Can you come by this week?

 Thanks

 WHT

 01/19/2014 William and I spoke on the phone and he outlined some of the details regarding his missing ring. William said he and several friends where at another friend’s house down in Kemah, Texas.  He said they were all out on the ground level deck visiting and enjoying the outdoors when his girlfriend dropped her 18kt ring.

 William said they heard the ring hit the deck; it bounced of his shoe and disappeared either into the grass or under the deck.  He said they search for the ring and later found www.theringfinders.com website and sent an e-mail.

 A few lesson learned on this search, I normally ask and get a pretty through “CAN” report which is an acronym for Conditions, Actions, and Needs (Firefighter Terminology).

 Gathering all relevant information as normal I scheduled a trip for Thursday 01/23/2014.

  I made the trip out to Kemah on Thursday as scheduled and met William at the location provided. As I arrived, I could see some time had been spent looking for the ring. The large wooden deck had been jacked up in one of its corners with a large bumper jack. (The point is coming), “the actions portion of the CAN report.”

 After introductions and a firsthand account of how the ring was lost, I began searching the grassy area around the deck and then began the process of crawling under the deck to find the lost ring. To be expected, the deck had its share of beer tabs and bottle tops, but no ring. I spent an hour working the areas around and under the deck with no positive result.

 It was at this point the decision was made to lower the jack and move it to the other side of the deck. The plan was to jack up the opposing corner of the deck and check the areas I could not reach. As I examined the jack, I thought to myself Williams a pretty sharp guy; he used the large steel water utility cover as a footing for the jack.  I started looking for something to use on the other side as a footing for the jack. I again ran my hand held around the edge of the cover checking for the ring, but no luck.

 It was at this point William grabbed the large steel utility cover off the ground (OK, will stop here with the story)

 William had brought the steel utility cover along with him to use as a footing for the jack. I couldn’t believe it; it looked like it belonged there, and had been there a long time.

 Well, I think we all know where the ring was found, under the cover WOW. William had put the large steel cover right over the ring.  I went around that darn cover 20 plus times; knowing in my mind, that the utility cover was their long before any of us. (wrong). This was where I failed in my CAN report, “Actions” what actions had been taken. 

 One can never ask enough questions. I am still laughing about this one.

 William was glad to get his girlfriend’s ring back, all in all a good day for everyone.

 

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 CTX 3030

Pin pointer Pro

Tylenol

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Lost 3 Ring Wedding Set Raking Leaves in Backyard, in Cedar Hill,Tx

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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We received a call from Christine about 3pm on Sunday afternoon.  She got our name and number from a friend she had told that she had lost her wedding set of 3 rings.

Christine lives on about a acre of land, she had gone out to the back of the property to help her husband bag up some leaves that he had been raking together.  They worked together for about a hour and finished up and carried the bags of leaves up to the garage about a half acre away.   That was when she realized that her Wedding Set (3 rings) was missing.  In a panic, she and her husband looked all over the yard, they dumped the leaf bags out but did not see anything.  They spent several hours looking with no luck.   Later in the day while talking with her friend, she told her about the lost rings.  Her friend said, wait a minute I heard about this website of people who find rings.  She Googled and found “The Ring Finders” website and called Christine back and gave her our number.

It was about 3pm when Christine called and she lived 41 miles from us.  I told her we would be there in about and hour & a half.  We needed to hurry as I was concerned it would get dark and it was already quite cold, and the darkness would only make it colder.   We arrived and got our 2 Garrett AT Pros and Pinpointers out then Christine walked us to the back of the acre of property.  She showed us all the places she walked and was helping her husband with the leaves.   Ellen and I chatted about what area we would grid off visually and began to detect.   Within 10 minutes I hear Ellen say “Here’s One”,  I joined her as we looked through about 4-6 inches of leaves in a pile but nothing else rang up on the detectors.   I told Ellen to keep looking and I ask Christine to show me the bags of leaves, my thinking was that if one ring was in the pile of leaves that they had been bagging then it was likely the other rings would be in the bags of leaves near the garage.   I began to scan the full plastic bags of leaves with my detector and got 3 very light hits.   I kept scanning but nothing else hit so I backed up to the bag with something metal inside.   I tore a small hole in the bag and began to stick my Pinpointer into the bag.  As I got a signal, I used my hand to begin pulling out whatever the metal was.  1st hit was piece of wire, the second was a metal screw and the 3rd hit I could not see it.  Finally I saw a glint of Gold in the bag.  I began to smile but had to fight the leaves to find it, and finally the smallest of the 3 rings rings was found.   Christine was standing right beside me and could not believe I found it.  Now the only ring missing was the most expensive, the diamond solitaire with several small diamonds around the band.   After determining that nothing else was in the 4-5 bags of leaves, I walked back to the rear of the property and told Ellen that I had found one but that one was still missing.  She had been working out visual grid and I went back and started back over the grid working the opposite direction.   I made several passes checking every 2inch or less hit that I got regardless of the type of signal.  Then I got a shaky 44-46 hit that was very weak,  as I was checking everything I almost kept going but thank goodness I did not.  I reached down and moved the leaves and grass and there it was, the diamond solitaire twinkled at me.  I reached down and picked it up and ask Christine, “Would this make you Happy!”  She and her husband were so excited and grateful.  It is so much fun to see the reaction of our customers when we are successful.

So 3 rings, 1 in the leaf pile, 1 in a trash bag a 1/2 acre away and one in the grass 5-6 feet away from the 1st one.

Another successful hunt for “The Ring Finders”.

Don & Ellen Wilson – Dallas/Ft Worth

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Platinum Ring Lost in the Bush, Maungaraki, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
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Anna was putting up some Christmas lights on the handrail of their deck.  When finished she realized that her Platinum engagement ring was no longer on her finger.  There was a 2 – 3 metre drop into native bush below.

Anna with her Platinum engagement ring firmly secured by her wedding ring

Anna with her Platinum engagement ring firmly secured by her wedding ring

There was some heavy undergrowth to get through and when I started swinging the coil on the CTX3030 I was picking up trash all over the place.  I was also having problems with the standard size coil.  I was using the Propointer to eliminate as much junk as possible, but I had to bring out the good old AT Pro with the 6in coil just so I could maneuver around the vegetation.  I hit another trashy area and used the Propointer to clean it out.  Thought I had everything but gave the area another sweep and got a good clear signal with the right number.

When the leaves were brushed aside the ring was exposed

When the leaves were brushed aside the ring was exposed

I couldn’t see anything but the Propointer was telling me there was still something there.  I brushed away the leaves and Anna’s beautiful Platinum and diamond ring was just sitting there.  It is amazing how these rings manage to bury themselves so easily.

Well, the reaction from Anna was magic.  She was so excited and I think the smile in the photo says it all.

Lovely to meet you Anna and I appreciate the generous reward.

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Small Gold Ring Lost at Moa Pt, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
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From out of the ashes

Gisele had been to a bonfire party on the beach and during the night, while sitting on a log in front of the fire, she flicked her hand and lost a very small gold ring.  All her friends searched in the sand but they were unable to find it. She found out the next day that another group had moved in on their bonfire when they had left, and had shifted a lot of sand into piles to make a wind break and then covered the fire with sand when they had finished.

When my wife and I met up with Gisele she was able to show me an identical ring.  She had made both these rings herself from the gold of a friend’s mother’s ring.  They fitted on her little finger and were a very thin band with a small peridot stone mount. I have just bought a CTX 3030 and although I am very impressed with its abilities I was thinking this was going to be a difficult search.  I ran the coil over the ring’s twin and it showed a low reading, so at least I had a target reading.

Fire on the left. Mound to the right after I had spread some of the sand out.

Fire on the left. Mound to the right after I had spread some of the sand out.

A quick scan over the area just brought up lots of trash.  As I got closer to where the fire had been the sand was full of nails and it was apparent that they had been burning old wooden pallets. I then turned my attention to the windbreak mound.  As it was about 2 feet deep I knew I had to dismantle the mound shovel by shovel to make sure it wasn’t there.  Lots of nails and melted aluminum but no gold ring.

I then did another test with the other ring to see how deep I could pick it up.  With the ring on my plastic shovel I piled about 100mm (4ins) of sand on top and barely got a reading.  This was a bit worrying as this ring could easily be deeper than that.  I was moving sand a shovel full at a time and spreading it out and rechecking with the metal detector.

Gisele and my wife helped out by sifting through the ashes in the fire, with their fingers, to remove as many nails as they could find.  I then moved on to a small pile beside where the main fire had been.  It looked like something else had been burning there and a pile of sand had been thrown over the top of it.  It was full of nails but I started to spread it out and double checking each scoop before putting another scoop on top.  More nail signals and I was just about to put another shovel full on top when a got just a small beep in the right numbers.  I couldn’t get it to repeat because there were so many nails there but I could see the cursor on the screen occasionally flick down to that area.

Blackened gold ring after I brought it to the surface with the Pro Pointer

Blackened gold ring after I brought it to the surface with the Pro Pointer

It was one of my last chances so I got the pro pointer and started removing everything that set it off.  After about eight nails I lifted a blackened ring to the surface with the end of the pro pointer.

I don’t know who was more surprised – me or Gisele, when I told her to come over and have a look. She threw her arms around me and nearly knocked me over.  This is what makes the 2 hour search all worthwhile.  Certainly the hardest successful search I have done to date.

So it looks like the other party had shoveled some sand over the fire to put it out and the ring had gone into the fire with it.  It had been blackened by the fire but didn’t appear to be damaged so I am sure Gisele will be able to clean it up and get it back to original condition.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to find this ring for Gisele – it meant a lot to her.

Gisele holding her tiny ring

Gisele holding her tiny ring

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Platinum Wedding Ring found in Lyall Bay, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
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Veronika called me to say that her husband, Sean, had lost his platinum wedding ring while digging out a small garden, next to a public footpath, at the front of their house.  She sounded very anxious so I managed to find he time to go straight to her house to start searching.  They had collected all the long grass and weeds in rubbish bags so it was quick and easy to run the detector over that to make sure it wasn’t there.

The area that was dug over was very small but very contaminated with trash and I was worried about a lot of power wires running directly overhead.  Luckily they did not cause any problem and it was just a matter of working through the trash.

I got to an area that was giving me multiple signals and would occasionally flash up a 45 which was the right number for platinum, but I just couldn’t pinpoint it.  I had to start eliminating the trash out of the ground and finally got a clear signal.

The ring was right underneath these roots

The ring was right underneath these roots

I dug down under the roots of one of the plants and it just popped up with the knife.  I don’t know how it managed to get so far down and under the roots.

There was great excitement and a lovely squeal of delight from Veronika when I told her I had found it, not to mention the big hug.  I just love it when I get these finds.

Thanks for the reward – always appreciated.

Veronica hold the ring

Veronica holding the ring

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