found ring Tag | Page 2 of 33 | The Ring Finders

Recovering a Precious Family Heirloom on a Rainy Day

  • from Erie (Pennsylvania, United States)

I received a call from Donna, who was understandably distressed after an afternoon of backyard fun turned into a moment of loss. Her grandson had been playing badminton in the backyard, and when the game ended, he realized that his ring was missing. This wasn’t just any ring; it was a cherished family heirloom, passed down to him from his father, making it irreplaceable and deeply sentimental.

Knowing how much this ring meant to Donna and her family, I didn’t hesitate to offer my help. The day was rainy, which added another layer of difficulty to the search, but I was determined to recover this important piece of family history.

Upon arriving at Donna’s home, I quickly assessed the backyard. Despite the rain and wet conditions, I began methodically searching the area. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before my detector signaled a hit. Just 25 minutes into the search, I spotted the ring, partially hidden in the damp grass.

The relief and joy on Donna’s face when I handed her the ring made the rainy day search more than worth it. Moments like these remind me of the importance of what I do—recovering not just objects, but the memories and connections they represent.

Thank you, Donna, for trusting me with this precious find. It was an honor to help bring back something so meaningful to your family. If anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to help reunite you with those special items that carry so much history and love.

2 Rings Lost in Minnesota Lake One Recovered.

  • from Chisago City (Minnesota, United States)
Happily reunited

Back where it belongs

I received a call from a party that mentioned that he and his wife had taken their rings off to not loose them when they were going into a lake swimming.  The rings were put into the pocket of a swim suit.  Later after coming out of the water both, his and her rings were missing. These folk where in Minnesota staying at a vacation rental on a lake about 65 miles north of St. Paul. They went home back to Milwaukee totally heartbroken. They had no idea how to find the rings and contemplated buying a metal detector and driving back to find the rings. Following doing some research they came across the ring finders web site and found my name. They called and were quite surprised that there was people that look for lost rings on the internet.  They were even more surprised to find someone that could go up and look for the rings and they did not have to go back to Minnesota to recover their rings.

There was another group on the property and we had to wait.until they left before searching. But eventually the property was vacated and I went in and searched for the rings. It took about 3 hours and many signals that you find in lakes. Bottle caps, fishing lures and weights, old beer cans and old bait cans. But I finally got a hit that was strong and clean. I knew it was a ring before scooping it up. Yes, it was his ring. I found one of the two missing rings.  I continued to search really hitting the area that I found the one hoping that they fell out together. But no luck. So I finished up out in the water and swept the yard and again came up empty.  While it was not the perfect outcome, I can always go back and try again and see if I can get lucky one more time.  Congratulations  on getting 1 of 2 back.

Recovered Ring

One Recovered Ring

Lost denture recovered in Princes Risborough

Sometimes the slightly odd request comes along!

I had a call from a chap who was slightly embarrassed, but asked if I could search for his lost denture? I said as long as there was some metal, I could probably detect it.

He said he lost it while talking to his friend from his apartment window, and out it flew!…..this I found amusing and had to apologise for laughing a bit.

We agreed a time, and I set off.

I arrived and was greeted by the chap, there was a distinct gap in his smile, but not a very big gap. So this was quite a small denture I was looking for, with probably not much metal for a good signal.

I chose my smallest high frequency coil, which was necessary, as said denture had been lost in a dense bush.

This was quite a  challenging search, as it was also a very trashy location, lots of bottle tops, drainage and other utilities in close proximity, but with a de-tuned , this made things a little easier.

Thankfully after about 45 minutes, and not a bad signal the denture was re united with its very happy owner!

Lost ring in Ligonier, PA… FOUND!

  • from Altoona (Pennsylvania, United States)

In April 2024, Kaylynn reached out to me for help locating her husband Jake’s missing ring. He had been fishing in a stream and, upon catching a fish and attempting to take a picture, realized his ring was gone. Jake wasn’t sure where exactly he lost it, but he did recall falling into the deeper part of the creek.

When I first met Jake at the stream, the water was high and bitterly cold, making the search incredibly challenging. After two hours of searching in the freezing water with no success, I advised Jake to contact me once the water level dropped in the summer, promising to return for another attempt.

Fast forward to July 10th, and Kaylynn reached out again, reporting that the water was lower. She asked if I could come back to search for the ring. I told her that I would handle the search and notify her if I found it. This time, the conditions were much more favorable, with the water being lower and warmer.

I immediately headed to the deeper part of the creek and began searching. Within about ten minutes, my metal detector picked up a promising signal. I reached into the water and pulled out the ring! I quickly texted a picture of the ring to Kaylynn, who responded with an ecstatic “NO WAY!”.

She soon arrived at the creek with her children. Jake’s wife and daughter were overjoyed to have the ring back. His daughter even joked about throwing the ring back into the creek just to see her dad fall in again. Moments like these, helping kind people, make this hobby truly rewarding.

Another successful ring find, and another happy family!

1940’s Family Heirloom Ring Recovered from the shores of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada

  • from Brampton (Ontario, Canada)

Laura had received a beautiful 18th Birthday gift of her Great Grandmother’s ring which dated back to the 1940’s ear a couple of years ago.

Laura and her dog was visited the dog beach portion at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park the day prior. Her dog was running off into the water with leash attached and she felt that the ring must have slipped off as her finger as it was catching the leash.

After starting the search, our first find was a small ring. Unfortunately, this was not Lauren’s ring. Hopefully we can get that ring back to the owner through social media posts.

The next target was a pull tab and finally the next target was the beautiful 1940’s amethyst gold heirloom ring!

Lauren and her Mother both saw the glimpse of gold and we all shouted with excitement and relief.

The key to this successful ring recovery was getting the the location as soon as possible after it was lost and the strict tight grid search!

Thank you so very much Lee & Lauren for your generous donation to the Kelly Shires Breast Cancer Foundation.

Check out the video of this beautiful 1940’s Family Heirloom ring recovery;

This ring recovery took place July 2023

Anniversary ring recovered!

  • from Eau Claire (Wisconsin, United States)

While exchanging high fives with the players on a young ladies soccer team, her gold anniversary ring slipped off her finger.  Despite a careful search by the girls, the ring could not be found. After being called, I was able to locate the ring quickly with my detector.   Happy ending, good karma.

Opal Necklace and Ring Both Found in Surf at Taupo Bay

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)

While on holiday at Taupo Bay, Kelsie did what so many do – she threaded her ring onto her necklace for safekeeping.
Wading back in in through the surf, she undid the clasp to put the ring on her finger, and promptly dropped everything; The opal ring, the opal pendant and the chain.

The water was shallow, but the wash instantly claimed all three and in one swirl of water they slid into the sand and out of sight. Lost.
Her friend put a post on the local community noticeboard the next day asking for help and several locals suggested that she contact me.

I went out straight after work, large swells were forecast and time was of the essence on this active surf beach.

The surf was already building rapidly, occasional 2-3m breakers offshore were producing a powerful surge running up and onto the beach.
Some locals set up a line of beach chairs and settled in to watch what I refer to as “The worlds most boring spectator sport”.
A couple of minutes into the search a powerful surge came in, instantly wrapping a large ball of seaweed around the detector shaft and, before I could react – snapped the metal shaft!

Fortunately I also had my other water machine in the car, although the smaller coil would mean more swings and with the iron sand present it would be unlikely to locate the fine chain. The ring and pendant were the critical pieces though.

I started the grid, focusing on the water first. Closing off this search area, I then moved inshore where the wash had now subsided and more beach had been exposed.
Before long, a silver and opal ring was extracted from about 15cm down in amongst the iron sand.
I had a solid start point, and in quick order an opal pendant followed.

Now to try for the chain…

I would be on the back foot looking for a delicate chain in these conditions, so with the machine wound right open I started to conduct an intensive grid in the area. Regrettably, I was unable to hear the chain in the chatter from the iron sand.

The two important key pieces had been recovered though, much to Kelsies relief.

 

Lost Wedding Ring found Saratoga Springs, NY

  • from Saratoga Springs (New York, United States)
Contact:

I received a call from Jimmy who had lost his wedding ring at dusk while walking the dog in his backyard.  I arrived at his house the next day. He said he had searched all over for it but was unable to find it. After asking him multiple questions, he lead me to the area where he thought he lost it. I thought that this would be fairly easy as it had to be on top and he owned a new modern house, but after listening to the ground for a few minutes I knew that something was not right as there were hundreds of  signals…all in the gold range. He revealed to me that there used to be a mechanic shop of some kind right there.  Suddenly things were not so easy. I combed the area for over an hour closely watching the depth meter.  I was beginning to really wonder if I could find this ring, but I had told him I would not give up.  Finally I got the shallow signal I was waiting for.   I combed through the grass with my hands, and there it was already settling into the roots, completely invisible to the eye.  Jimmy was thrilled as was I. What a relief!  A happy ending all round.

 

Lost ring in Door County recovered through teamwork!

  • from Green Bay (Wisconsin, United States)

On August 21st, I received a call from Jake about his lost wedding ring at Jacksonport Beach, a popular spot on the east coastline of Door County.   It slipped off his finger in chest-high water about 35-to-50 feet from shore.    I drove out later the next day, after giving some storms time to pass by.    I arrived to see white caps rolling in, but they weren’t too high close to shore in the troughs between the sand bars.   Further out, they were pretty strong.

I knew this would be an arduous search because the Lake Michigan side of the Door County Peninsula is colder than the bay, and fighting the incoming whitecaps can tire a person out pretty quickly.   I taught Jake how to detect small round objects with my ancient Fisher 1280, an analog model that is easy to use because it goes by sound.   I used an AT Pro, which has been pretty effective for me on sand beaches.   Jake used my heavy steel scoop, which has enough weight to be effective in surf.   He is a bigger guy, so he could handle the deeper waves better than I could. I started out about chest deep, and worked my way into the shallows, figuring the waves may have tumbled the ring toward shore.   I worked back and forth closer and closer to the beach, but only found one hammered coin of some kind, to be cleaned and researched later. Jake and his sons arrived to observe and assist, and his wife and baby boy came by later to watch and give encouragement.   After the better part of an hour Jake waded in with a huge smile and his artisanal ring in the scoop!    Nice recovery!  Their whole family was beaming!

Jake gave me a generous reward, which will be used to bring our grandson to a Timber Rattlers and a Milwaukee Brewers game!    I hated to take it, since he was the one who scooped it using my gear, but the main thing is we worked together and found it!

Something gleaming in the scoop!

(Word to the wise:   Wedding bands without protruding stone settings will sink where they fall in sand until they reach equilibrium!   The ring stayed put despite the waves.)

Lost White Gold Engagement Ring-Found!

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

I received a text from Leslie on Monday afternoon concerning a lost engagement ring.  She had found me with an internet search.  As it was late in the day I told her I could come the next day, becase it was about a two hour drive from where I’m located.  I got to the site at around 11:00 AM Central Time.   The couple had been pulling a boat and pulled off into the parking lot of an old convience store that had been converted into another use.  As they got out to adjust the boat straps, (the ring had been placed in the shallow tray under the door handle), the ring somehow went flying.  They looked on the pavement and didn’t see it, but there was a grass strip between the pavement and a shallow ditch, then more grass just beyond the ditch.  I started my search in the grass strip, then the ditch, then just beyond the ditch.  Being this had been a convience store at one time I expected a lot of metal trash in the ground, and I was right.  She did have a metal detector that had been her grandfather’s, but was overwhelmed by the abundance of metal trash.  I searched slowly and methodically while listening for the white gold tone and looking for the target ID I typically get for white gold rings.  After searching the entire area, no ring.  Of course I found several pieces of foil.  I turned off my CTX detector, and was explaing the process, where I search the most likely area first, then expand the search area if the ring is not found, (a visual scan of the pavement was next).  At that time someone from the building, I’ll call him “Tom”, came out and we explained what we were doing, and that a visual scan of the pavement was next.  He struck out towards the highway, and in around ten seconds I heard him call out, “is this it?”  He had found it around 10-12 feet from the edge of a busy highway!  The ring was intact, but had some minor damage where it looked as though it had been run over and stuck in the tire treads before dropping off just before the highway.  In a visual search, the more eyes the better.  All in all, another successful search!