Words I never thought I would hear “It’s Not My Ring”. Centerville, MA
November 12, 2018 Chris on left, Eric on right in the picture
While I was helping a neighbor with a computer problem, Chris called asking about help in finding his lost wedding band. He thought it might have been lost while burying his deceased cat. The answer to his question on how deep the detector could “see” a ring was not what he wanted to hear. The cat’s grave was some two and a half feet deep and my detectors typically can “see” a ring at about 12 inches. With this information, Chris new he would have to remove some of the dirt before I would be able to scan the full depth of the grave. He said he would call me back.
About an hour before sunset I received the call asking if I could come and search the area. I left home with the anticipation of finding the wedding band. When I arrived at Chris’s home, he had already sieved the dirt removed from the grave and no ring was found. I scanned the grave site with no indication of anything metal. I then began a search of the areas where Chris had also been doing yard work. As the sun set I brought out my flashlight is hopes of spotting a flash of gold in the darkness. Another half hour passed and I found “the” ring right on top of the ground. I returned to the house, put the ring in my hand and my card over it. Inside Chris’s house I let Chris take the card from my hand as I said “please take “your” ring also”. The joy of getting his ring back turned to sorrow as Chris said “this is not my ring”. How could that be? Neither he nor Leah, his wife, knew of anyone that might have lost a wedding band in their yard. The closest known loss of a ring was that of Leah’s father, Eric, had lost his ring at the beach this summer, not in the yard. As it turned out that Eric indeed did loose his band while cutting down a tree in Chris’s yard and not at the beach. I am glad I had not been asked to look for it at the beach. However a call to Vermont confirmed it was more than likely to be Eric’s ring. Now it was to dark to continue searching so I left for the night with a promise to return the next day.
The next day’s search of two hours turned up nothing except a long lost mail box key and a few coins. Not having any luck with my detector of choice I exchanged it for my second choice detector. Just to have a different “set of eye” and I continued to search the area again. Another hour and I was ready to call it quits for the day. I walked back to the car, I was just dragging the detector across the ground and next to the rear wood porch I heard one signal and it sounded good. The coil of my detector was unable to give me a pin-point location so I put my hand held pin-pointer to work getting closer to the wood riser. There it was. The ring I had been looking for some 5 hours. This “one” was verified as “the one” by Leah. Chris was at work, so I could not give the ring to him at that time. I left the ring with Leah who promised to sent me pictures of the return. Not bad, in two days time, two wedding bands found in one yard and returned to two members of the same family. Needless to say there were big smiles all around including the biggest one the one on my face.
Please read the posting: Lost Wedding Band at Beach, Found in Son-in-Law’s Back Yard. It is about an unexpected find – a missing wedding band of Eric.
And you ask “Why do I enjoy my hobby so much?” This story tells the story very well.
