Don’t Rent or Buy a Metal Detector…Call The Ring Finders Tag | The Ring Finders

Lost Wedding Ring Found in Stowe

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

12/11/21

I was out on errands when I got a call from a guy who had just lost his wedding band in the snow in Stowe. I always keep at least one detector in the car in case I get an emergency call, and told him I could come immediately to do a search.

He and his wife and two daughters were here for a long weekend of skiing. He was helping one of his daughters out of the car and threw some of her nut shells out into the snow. Luckily, he felt his ring fly off, otherwise, he may not have known where to look.

They searched with no luck. His friend looked online to see where to buy or rent a detector close by, and he came across my listing for The Ring Finders service.

In a little less than an hour I met them there, he showed me the area where it should be, and I started the grid search. After a few false alarm signals, I got a good signal, pushed the pin-pointer into the snow and there it was! A very handsome platinum and rose gold ring. He quickly put it right back where it belongs, on his finger.

Hopefully he never loses it again, it’s not a pleasant experience to lose your wedding ring!

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Lost Ring Found Deep in the Mud in Vermont Pond

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

9/4/21

A week ago I got a call from a guy who’s wife had lost her engagement ring while swimming. They were visiting Vermont from Connecticut. While here, they heard hurricane Ida was going to come ashore near their home. They decided to cut the trip a little short and go home to prepare for it. Before they left, they decided to take one last quick swim in the lake.

She knew her ring was fitting a little loose, so she checked it half way through the swim. When she got back near the dock she looked at her finger with horror when she saw the engagement ring was missing. She and her husband spent quite awhile searching with no luck. The bottom is thick with mud, rotting vegetation and weeds. So they headed out on their sad trip home.

That week they found my ad for The Ring Finders and gave me a call. I was available for a Saturday search, so they drove back from Connecticut and met me at the lake. I put on my wet suit, gathered up my underwater equipment and waded in. Once I realized how thick the mud was on the bottom, I knew it was probably going to be a tough search. I spent about 8 hours in the water that day using my standard underwater detector and only found some scrap metal and a few coins. I figured either the ring must be too deep in the mud for my metal detector’s signal to reach it, or that it was too far out in the lake for me to wade to. They also swam around for a long time trying to see it. Sadly, we gave up for that day. I told them I could try it again in a week or two.

They got permission from the camp owner for me to go back the following weekend. Unfortunately they were unable to come, so I went back alone. This time I planned to mainly use my mud probing system, which I knew would be extremely slow and probably would require many return trips. The odds were against me for finding it that day. The water was much colder and the wind was blowing hard. After about 4 hours, shivering from the cold, I was up to my chin in water and up to my shins in bottom mud, when I got a faint signal. I dug down several times, bringing up huge loads of muck and debris with the scoop. On the fourth scoop, getting real deep in the muck, I put the load on my floating sifter. There was a signal in the pile and I stirred through it with my fingers and felt something that felt like a ring!! I grabbed it, rinsed it and there it was! An absolute miracle to find it!! That ring was at least 10” down into the mud!

I went to shore, texted him a picture and got a huge disbelieving thank you. He said he would go show her the picture and send me a video of her reaction. It was the sweetest video, one of the best thank yous I’ve ever gotten! I offered to meet them tomorrow, half way, to give her the ring personally. After what she’d been through, I didn’t want to take any chances of it getting lost again by mailing it!

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Wedding Ring Found in Stowe

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

8/29/21
Last night I got a distress call from a guy who had lost his wedding ring while playing with his dog next to the very busy parking lot on the Stowe bike path. This ring had huge sentimental meaning to him. He had recently gotten married and his mother had given him his grandfather’s and father’s wedding rings to wear. Because he has so much respect and admiration for Native Americans, he melted down the rings and had a goldsmith make the most amazing custom ring for him! It also has encouraging words inside, a paw print on the back.

While playing with his dog he felt it fly off his finger. He and 9 other people looked well into the evening last night and couldn’t find it (I could tell by how the brush was laid down!). I told him that we needed to start the search early this morning because of it being lost in a very busy public place.

I got there at 7:30, visited with him and his dog, he showed me the area, and I got started. It took only about 15 minutes to get that magic signal! It was right where all of them had searched, but because it was laying in its side in the thick grass it was hard to see.

Needless to say he is one very happy guy now. I hope he never loses it again! I love this hobby! Please click on my name above for more stories and contact information.

Jewelry Found on Vermont Beach

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

6/8/21

Got a message from a young guy who had lost his engagement ring at a local beach. I went there as soon as I could, because it was lost in a public place. His gold and garnet ring is a one of a kind ring, being custom made by a local artisan.

He gave me an idea where it might have been lost, so I started there. The beaches on Lake Champlain have been in use for many years. Therefore, they are full of nails and melted foil from campfires, bottle caps, pull tabs and hot rocks. I have a very advanced detector which sorts through all this metallic debris very well. After about 2 hours and literally thousands of signals, I found his beautiful ring, and without a scratch on it!

I waited for him to get out of work and brought it to him at his house. One very happy fellow to have it back on his finger!

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Found Class Ring in the Vermont Snow

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

12/28/20
Closing out 2020 on a good note!

I got a call from a fellow from Texas who was visiting Vermont with a close group of friends. A couple days ago they were having some fun by having a snowball fight. When he threw a snowball at a friend, he thought he felt his ring fly off.

This ring was extremely sentimental to him because it was a class ring from the college he graduated from, Texas A and M. He had worked very hard to graduate and this ring represented his efforts. He told me he didn’t want a replacement ring, because it wouldn’t be the same.

The ring was very heavy and his fingers were cold, the perfect combination for losing it. All his awesome friends helped search for hours, they knew how much it meant to him. His mother, back in Texas, wanted to help somehow, she found The Ring Finders online, and saw Vermont had some members.

It was a very cold night, around 15 degrees, but the ring was lost in a public place, so I knew the search needed to be done ASAP. I got there, he showed me the search area and I got started. The ground was full of signals, many which shared the same numbers as gold would on my detector. After about an hour I got a good signal right on the very edge of a steep bank which dropped off into the river. It was his ring! Someone’s foot had pressed it deep into the snow and leaves. When I brought it to him, he and a dozen friends all cheered loudly. They were all so happy for him!

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Ring Lost Deep in the Fall Leaves

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

11/8/20
Got a message last night from a woman who had lost her wedding ring.

She was walking a forest trail in a local park with her toddler on her back and her young dog on a leash. Coming down a steep trail covered with fresh fallen oak leaves, she stepped over a fallen tree trunk, while her energetic dog decided to go airborne over it. The leash gave a hard yank on her hand and miraculously she felt her wedding ring break and fall off. She was able to see where a piece of the ring fell, so she carefully searched through the deep leaves and found that piece. Unfortunately, she didn’t see where the bigger piece had fallen, the section containing the diamonds.

This ring had a very sentimental history behind it. It had been worn by four generations of brides in the family, originating in the country of Poland. Needless to say, she was heartbroken and desperate to find it. She searched through the deep blanket of leaves for a long time, clearing a large area down to the soil, with no luck.

She went online later to try to find a place to rent a metal detector when she found my ad. Deciding to call me instead of trying to figure out how to run a detector. So we made plans to meet at 8:00 this morning, because I never know if a search is going to be a few minutes or all day.

I met her, her husband, their toddler son and their dog at the park. The little kid was fun to watch, he loved to show us how he could go up and down the banks, even with those tiny feet! She took me to the area where the mishap had taken place and I got started. I worked my detector coil methodically, pushing it side to side under the leaves. Got some signals from minerals in the rocks and from some old shotgun shell brass. Then I got a scratchy faint signal and dug my fingers in to search for the target. Under all the leaves and pushed 1/2” into the soil I saw something sparkle. There it was! She knelt down, picked it up and broke down with happy tears. Very nice ending! I have found hundreds of rings, but this one was probably the nost delicate ring I have ever found, very few metal detectors would’ve been able to find this one!

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Gold Necklace Found on Recreation Field in Vermont

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

9/24/20
2020 has been an unusual year for searches. The first six months were very quiet, maybe because of the pandemic. But lately I have been super busy, some weeks having three or four different searches. I have helped many people find septic tanks, property markers, even arrows and military dog tags. There were a few heartbreaking unsuccessful searches, but the search tonight helps offset those others. Again I should remind everyone that if you lose Jewelry in a public place, call me immediately!!!

I got a call from a local college student whose beautiful gold cross and chain had been lost on a recreation field. He was desperate to get it back because 16 years ago, when he was 5, his grandfather had given it to him. Before going out on the field he asked his friend to hold onto it so he wouldn’t lose it. His friend, due to an injury, was taking it easy, just walking around the field and occasionally doing some stretches. Somehow the necklace came up missing, but they knew it was somewhere out on the field. They all searched for a long time with no luck.

As soon as I got out of work I hit the road to head on an evening search which I knew could be a long search and late night! Four of them helped me search by using flashlights, but the weeds and grass was long and thick. After a couple hours they all had to leave to go do homework. I told him that I would stay for a couple more hours and then come back the next night and weekend, if necessary. The ground was full of signals, I probably dropped to my knees nearly 200 times investigating signals. Finally, an hour after they left, I got a good signal and found it all balled up and deep in the grass where they never would’ve seen it. What a great night’s ending! I made him and his friend who had lost it very happy and relieved.

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Found Man’s Gold Chain near Burlington VT

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

8/1/20
Got a call from a guy who was looking for his gold chain on a beach near Burlington. He had set it on his towel and it disappeared into the sand. He raked the sand with his fingers and couldn’t find it. Being lost in a public place, I threw my stuff in the car and went straight there.
He showed me the area, I fired up the 24K, tested it on a piece of metal debris and took the first swing. About 2/3rds of the way through the first swing I got a signal. He reached his fingures deep into the sand and pulled out his chain! Less than 5 seconds, a new record!!!

I love this hobby! Please click on my name above for more stories and contact information.