found ring Tag | Page 7 of 33 | The Ring Finders

Lost Ring, Lake Geneva, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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“Daddy! Daddy!” my six-year old blubbered, tears streaking her cheeks as she ran to the car.  Throwing the car in park and opening the door, I could see there was indeed a crisis.  Was she stung by a wasp?  Did she fall and bloody her knee?  Perhaps there was a conflict with her older sister over who gets to be next on the tire swing.  

As I crouched next to her, hugging her closely, she whispered, “Oh, Daddy…  I lost it!”  

“What, Honey?  What did you lose?” I asked.

She was holding her favorite doll, Sally.  Sally… with her blue dress and matted-brown hair, little tattoo lines on her legs and arms from when my daughter was first learning how to hold a pen.  I knew Sally wasn’t missing, so what had she misplaced?

“My ring, Daddy.  My bunny ring.  I lost it in the woods.”

I smiled and nearly laughed out loud.  She had lost her ring—her metal ring.  

I’ve been metal detecting for nearly three years, and have been part of The Ringfinders network for two of those years.  I constantly show my four children all of my “treasures” and often get complaints if I mention bringing my detector on a family outing.  You you… just in case.  

“Honey, do you know anyone who might be able to find a missing metal ring?”  And I smiled.

Like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza, she lit up from head to toe up with her new realization.  

My daddy has a metal detector.

I opened my trunk, took out and turned on my detector in one smooth motion, and walked over to a hammock that hangs on the edge of the woods.  Minutes later, her bunny ring was back on her finger and a smile replaced her tears.  Dad the superhero; just what every dad longs to be for his daughter.

 

Although I enjoy helping strangers find lost items, this might be my favorite recovery so far.

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DIAMOND WEDDING RING LOST IN HAMMOND, LA-FOUND

  • from Lafayette (Louisiana, United States)
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We were packed and ready to head to one ring hunt when the client called and said it had been raining. Since the ring had been lost over a year ago and it was in a grassy field, we decided to delay the hunt. After unloading the equipment, we received a call from Nicole. She had lost her ring in the concrete parking lot in front of her apartment and yes it had rained but was clear now. Carrie and I reloaded the equipment (knowing we probably would not be able to use them) and left for Hammond, a 2 hour drive. Arriving we found a distraught Nicole walking over the parking lot, searching as she did the previous day. Having not felt the ring fall from her hand, the whole parking lot was the search area. With detectors useless we started a visual search. Two hours later Carrie let out a victory scream. Rejoining Nicole and her ring was a great end for our efforts.

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Lost Engagement Ring Recovered and Returned in Kennett Square, PA!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Got a call from Dan from Kennett Square, PA after he found me in the Ring Finders Directory. He and his fiancee, Sarah, are engaged to be married in October of this year. Dan was seeking help in locating Sarah’s lost emerald and diamond engagement ring. Apparently the day before Sarah spent the afternoon planting flowers in a bed in their side and back yard…later that day when back in house she noticed her beautiful ring was not on her finger. After searching the dirt around the newly planted flowers without success they considered renting or buying a metal detector to look for the ring. But to quote Dan…”decided the job best left to a pro” and they reached out to me. I met them late afternoon on a Tuesday and they quickly gave me a detailed run down on where they think the ring must have come off. Of note is the fact that they both told me the ring was too big for her finger and had a tendency to slip off. Anyway, it wasn’t a large search area… basically 2 mulched flower beds somewhat crowded with flowers. I brought 3 machines with me…since the area was tight with plants I went with my Minelab Equinox 800 with a 6 inch coil…which would allow me to get in tight around the pants and close to the house. As always I first demonstrated my equipment on my own wedding ring to convey to Dan and Sarah that if I’m over the ring I’m not going to miss it! I searched the small back bed first with out success…Dan/Sarah anxiously watching nearby. I moved to the front bed and during my 1st pass my machine blasted out a beautiful 11 gold tone in my headphones. I’ve been detecting for 40 years…I knew  before even bending down and digging that this was the ring! I called Dan and Sarah over and smiled and said….I like this signal! I grabbed my pinpointer and jabbed it 2 inches down into mulch and it announced  a target. Grabbed a fistful of mulch and turned to Dan and Sarah….opened my hand…and there it was!!! Dan was crazy happy and Sarah’s face flooded with relief! Another successful recovery!

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Lost Ring found in the sand. Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.

  • from Ponte Vedra Beach (Florida, United States)
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Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.

TIMING IS IMPORTANT .. call or TEXT Adam ASAP .. 714-785-5111 .. With all the spam calls if I don’t answer please TEXT..

***I received a call from this young man you told me that several days prior to him calling me he was standing in about two feet of water skimming rocks into the water at which time he felt his ring fly off his hand.  He told me the next day he bought a metal detector and tried to find his ring but but did not have any luck at all.  I informed him that if he directed me to the right area where he was in the water when he lost his ring that I believed I had a good chance of finding it even thou it had been a few days.  He was very hesitant because my profile did not show any recoveries. I informed him that I have recovered hundreds of rings but those recoveries were from different States and I could not display them in my Florida TheRingfinders profile. I texted him photos of many of my recoveries and informed him he had nothing to lose by letting me try and find his ring as there was no charge, if found reward only.

After searching for about a little over 1 hour I was thrilled to see the look on his face when  returned his favorite ring.

 

How to Find a Ring on the Beach … Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. .. Call a Member of TheRingFinders ..       “I WILL TRY ANYWHERE “

                          .. Call and Text – Adam someone you can TRUST…                                                     714-785-5111

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Wedding ring found in snow, and returned to owner.

  • from Reading (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Jackie called and told me she lost her wedding ring in the snow after an evening of sledding at her sisters house. I arrived the next day and began my search. Due to her schedule, Jackie was unable to be there with me. After searching for about 20 min., I gave her a call to obtain some more information on the exact area she was sledding. After I spoke to her, I received a great hit on my Garrett ATPro under some ice. I had to use my shovel to break up the ice and then I found her ring. I sent her a text with a photo and she immediately called me and was so excited.

We made arrangements for her to drive to my house to get the ring back. I met her a few hours later and she told me they had bought a metal detector and searched for hours with no luck. If you have lost a ring or piece of jewelry, don’t waste the time and money trying to search with a cheap detector but call me at 610-207-8677 and allow me to find your lost item with my professional equipment.

 

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Signet Ring Found near Woodstock, Oxfordshire

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When I realised the ring I had been wearing non-stop for the last 10 years wasn’t on my finger one morning, I immediately panicked. This ring was a 21st birthday gift from my parents, engraved with my initials on the top and a message from them on the underside, so it was incredibly sentimental to me. I wracked my brains as to where it could be and my heart sunk when I realised there was a chance I could have lost it on a run the day before.  

I posted about losing my ring on an online neighbourhood community group which is where someone recommended ringfinders.com, which led me to finding Constantine. 10 days passed between losing my ring and Constantine coming to the rescue. These 10 days were spent tearing my hair out and turning my flat upside down, searching through hoover bags and food waste bins – glamorous!  

I had a gut feeling that my ring would most likely be somewhere outside, as I had been cleaning out my guinea pig’s hutch the morning I noticed it missing, and it was a particularly cold morning so my fingers had probably shrunk and were verging on numb so I wouldn’t have felt the ring come off.

 Constantine scanned the garden and piles of leaves thoroughly, but no joy. Then we decided to empty the garden waste bin (the contents of which covered the lawn!). I saw Constantine bend down to pick something up, and there it was! He’d found it! I couldn’t believe it. 

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Lost Class Ring Recovered, Lake Geneva, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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57 Years

The forecast for Friday, July 9th, 2021 was full sun with a high of 72 degrees.  I figured it would be like most days metal detecting… a gamble.  Would I come home with anything noteworthy?  Or would it be a morning where I simply got out and under the waters of Geneva Lake, some time to mingle with the panfish and smallmouth bass, sand, and seaweed.

After sliding into my wetsuit and loading the car with my gear, I was off to detect at my favorite beach.  Little did I know that today’s find would transport me back to the year the Beatles first performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize, and the Surgeon General reported that smoking may lead to lung cancer.  

Detecting around a swim pier is slow, sometimes tedious work.  I’m not sure the order of my finds, but along with a half-dozen bobby pins, washers and nails, and hair ties, I pulled up a 1941 Mercury Dime and two junk rings.  

My next find was almost effortless.  It was in fact only a few inches under.  After a bit of stirring and pushing aside debris, I revealed gold—big gold—a bulking, shining class ring.  I studied it underwater, looking for a stamp inside the band.  There it was, “10K”.  Jackpot!  And then I noticed three letters stamped into the band in ornate cursive, “F.E.C.”

Connecting lost items with the owners is rarely easy.  But, this ring was different.  I not only had one piece of evidence- the initials F.E.C.—but I also had a year—1963—and a high school from New Jersey.    

I stared at the Google search engine box and typed in Bogota High School, New Jersey.   I quickly found the high school and began to look for phone numbers, maybe of the high school librarian.  I figured there was a dusty yearbook from 1963 that someone could leaf through on my behalf, looking for a name that matched my “F.E.C.”  As it turned out, there was a sparkly digital version of the 1963 yearbook that I could swipe through all by myself.  Just pages in, I got to the senior photos: black and white faces of eager high schoolers, ready to break out into the world, just as the Beatles would soon be breaking into the hearts and homes of Americans.  I slowly studied each name.  Finally I was rewarded with the entry I needed—in all caps—FRANCIS EDWARD CONDON in a white shirt, dark tie, and tweed sport coat.  

I now had a name and face, albeit a face from 58 years ago.  If he was alive, he would be nearing 78 years old.  Could I find him, or at least his family?  That would come, but months later.

For months off and on I tried searching online.  People-finding services all turned up dead ends or those much younger or older than Mr. Condon.  On September first, I was directed by other metal detectorists to try the website True People Search.  Minutes later I had five phone numbers for a 77 year-old Floridian named Francis E. Condon.

I stepped outside and into my driveway to get away from the clatter of four children.  After dialing the fifth and final number I expect the same dead end.  “Hello?”  a woman’s voice answered.  

“Hello, I replied.  I’m looking for a ‘Francis Edward Condon.’  I think I have something that belongs to him.  Is he available?”

Over the next few minutes I spoke with Mr. Condon, my voice jumpy with excitement.  It was clear after two questions that this was the man I was searching for.

Question 1: Have you ever been to Lake Geneva, WI?  Answer: Yes

Question 2: Did you ever lose anything there?  Answer: Yes, my class ring.

There was a big celebration on my end.  But a bigger one was coming.  

“Sir, I have to ask, when did you lose it?”  (After all, Lake Geneva is a tourist town, with lots of visitors.)  In my mind’s eye I could see an older man, fingers wrinkled with time, gripping the white edge of the swimming pier.  Perhaps he had been watching his grandchildren showing off their very best cannonballs.  His hands were clapping vigorously as a smile shot out of the water.  “What did you think of that one, Grandpa?”  And then, the sound… plunk! The empty spot on the ring finger, the weight of 8 grams of gold, suddenly missing.  

But none of the above fantasy was true.  The hand that lost the ring was young and vigorous, grandchildren were decades in the future.  The hand… and the ring, were from a newly-enlisted soldier in the spring or summer of 1964.  Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama, and Jeff Bezos were unknown in 1964—they were busy being born.  

This high school ring, the one I held in my hand, dropped into Geneva Lake in 1964 and fell out of sight for 57 years.  My mind was swimming.

*  *  *

Mr. Condon received his ring back on Sept. 13th, 2021.  He slipped it on and sent me a photo of his smile.

People often ask, “What’s the best thing you’ve ever found?”  My reply is always— stories.  I know that’s not what they want to hear, but I would trade any ring, coin, or old button for the story behind it.  Most of the time the story goes untold.  This is one I have enjoyed telling over and over again, and it never ceases to amaze me every time I tell it.

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Wedding Ring Found in Lake Mille Lacs in Wahkon Minnesota

  • from Chisago City (Minnesota, United States)
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I received a call looking for someone that could come up and locate a missing ring believed to be in a lake in about 3-4 feet of water.  The individual I was talking to was the former Chief of Police of a near by city before moving up to Northern Minnesota.  We planned on a time on a Saturday for me to come up and give it a good search.

Upon reaching the beautiful home on Lake Mille Lacs, I was greeted by the homeowner waiting for me out in his driveway. It was a beautiful sunny day with few clouds. I’m guessing it was about 85 degrees, with a slight wind. Another perfect day for ring recovery work. The homeowner Mike had a John Deere Gaiter waiting for me to toss all of my stuff into and took me down to the lake.  He explained that he was out moving a couple of bricks around  15’ or so from the end of the dock. Later that evening he and his wife noticed his ring was missing.  So putting everything together – figured it was out in the lake where he was working.  It had been a couple of days since it was lost and he had some fiberglass stakes marking the lake in the area where he had been.

So I dawned my gear and headed out first doing a Primary Search followed up with a secondary more methodical search.  I was finding a bunch of old tops to old beer cans form years gone by. The ones that used the old bottle opener with the pointed end to open the beer cans. The signal that these can tops would make was very similar signal to that of rings. The biggest difference was that they were coming in a little deeper than what I was looking for giving me a little ability to rule out some without digging them. But this is always a little dangerous because you could rule out something that you should not have.

I don’t recall but I remember the sun beating down on the back of my neck and my arm getting a little tire because swinging the metal detector in water takes a little more effort than air swinging.  I must have been out looking for 5-6 hours and came up empty at the end of the day.

I decided to head out and come back in the morning and give the yard and other possible locations a search. These locations seemed much less likely from what we were thinking, but because we were unsuccessful in the water, we had to expand the search area.  Mike had a well-manicured lawn with a very thick root system. This would make it very hard for a ring to get pushed down very far. My concern was that he had mowed the lawn a coupe of times and if the mower had hit it just right it could have launched it to places unknown. So we were hoping that it was run over by a wheel pushing it down into the lawn. After a search of the yard, shrubs, around the garage, and driveway – Nothing. So it was back to the water again.

By the end of the day we had accumulated a box full of parts to metal beer cans and no ring.  It was so frustrating to come up empty for a second day. You could tell that this was also hard on Mike and his wife, they had been married for 40+ years and the ring was with them for all of it. I told them that when they pulled the dock out for winter I would come back up again and give it another search without the dock and boat lift in the way.

So when that time came, I was excited to go back up and give it another try. I had one location that I had a question in the back of my head that I may have had good signal and really wanted to clear one more time. This is wader time with water temperatures running around 50 degrees. The water was glass calm, clear, and down about a foot from the level earlier in the season. I went in and had in my mind clearing that location that I had suspected as being one location I needed to clear. So I went out working the location of the dock working the area slow and methodical. When I made it out towards the location, I was getting close to I got a hit. A little deeper than what I would have liked but a good signal. I dug down and pulled up my scoop and looked inside and there it was another beer can top that I missed on the earlier searches. I kept going and I got another hit in the area that I was looking to clear. It was 3 pieces of metal all right next to one another. 2 were deeper around 4 inches and one was shallower about 2 inches but being masked by the other deeper metal targets.  The metal detector was having a hard time picking up the smaller target. Again I scooped it and missing it, but moved it. Rechecked the location and scooped again and had whatever it was. A look inside the scoop and their it was. The ring I had been searching for was in the bottom of my scoop. Mike was at his normal perch overlooking the lake, how do you let him know?  I flipped him a thumbs up, but just walked back in to him and showed him the scoop.  I had some rocks also in the bottom of the scoop that blocked his view. I shook it a little and he caught a glimpse of it… You found it… My ring.. I can’t believe you found it. It wasn’t long and we were heading back to the house to share the good news. Smiles all around. Pictures, text messages and emails to family members that the ring was recovered. It was great to be a part of the recovery.

  

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Finding a Lost pendant in Calgary

  • from Cochrane (Alberta, Canada)
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 A couple of metal detecting buddies of mine called me up and asked if I wanted to join in on a search. While out hunting they were approached by a man whose son had lost a cross pendant with his wife’s ashes in it. I didn’t have my equipment with me but seeing that the site was just off my route home, I stopped to say “Hello” and see how it was going. What happened next was very unexpected.  Watch the video to see the ending.

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Lost Wedding Ring Found Just Outside Calgary

  • from Cochrane (Alberta, Canada)
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Marco called me about the wedding ring he lost while cleaning up out back. We talked and it became pretty evident that the ring was there. I just needed to pass my metal detector coil above the ring. It wasn’t a question of “If” but instead a question of “How

long?”   Watch the video to see what happens

 

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