Retirement Ring Lost While Smashing Pumpkins… FOUND in Brentwood, Tennessee!
Christina McCree – Ring Finder/Metal Detectorist for northern Alabama and southern/middle Tennessee…call or text ASAP, anytime 24/7…610-504-6135
On Thursday afternoon, December 7th, 2023, I received a call from Joe stating he had lost his large 14K yellow gold and diamond retirement ring he had custom designed 14 years ago. The ring has an intricate design of a prized elk Joe had gotten while on a hunting trip in Canada. The ring is one of a kind and very sentimental. Joe thought it came off while he was smashing and throwing pumpkins out in his backyard to feed deer. Joe lives in Brentwood, Tennessee, which is about an hour and a half drive from where I live in Huntsville, Alabama. I don’t mind driving and actually enjoy making these trips, but the search would have to wait until Saturday since I had to work at my regular day job on Friday. I told Joe that the ring wouldn’t go anywhere since it was on his private property.
I made the drive to Brentwood, TN early Saturday morning. We had the threat of severe weather in the afternoon, so I wanted to beat the storms. Before my trip, I prayed for safe travels, good weather, and a successful ring recovery. I met Joe and his wife, Lesly, at their home around 8:30 AM. Joe and I walked out to his backyard. He showed me how he would smash small to medium sized pumpkins by throwing them very hard at tree roots on the ground to break up the pumpkins, and then throw the pieces in the woods/field for the deer to eat. He didn’t feel or see the ring come off, but thought this would be the most likely chance when it did. I had Joe re-enact the throws with the test ring I brought. Both Joe and I thought the ring came off on the smashing action, so I started in that area.
I had my Minelab Equinox 900 with the 15-inch coil for this search due to the large area to cover. I started my grid search and was pleasantly surprised at how quiet the ground was (little to no trash). This would help speed up the search. Joe hung around for a few minutes to see how it was going, but then headed off to wash his truck.
There were a few good sounding shallow signals that I checked along the way, but no ring so far. About 20 minutes into the search and I had a loud tone. I swung my metal detector to the side and saw that beautiful gold rim gleaming back up at me. It was Joe’s ring!!! I took off my gloves, powered off my detector and set it on the ground. I didn’t touch the ring, because I wanted Joe to see how it looked—just slightly covered with a leaf.
I turned around and saw that Joe was busy washing his truck. Lesly was on the porch watching me. I gave her a big smile and two thumbs up. She yelled, “you found it!?” I said, “got it!” Joe heard this and just about lost his mind (in a good way lol). He ran over and gave me the biggest hug, thanked me profusely, and told me he loved me lol! It’s really hard to put into words the reaction us Ring Finders get when we find and return someone’s very sentimental ring or item. I can say that it’s one of the best feelings in the world and truly feels like my purpose in life. I give all glory to God and thank Him for all these amazing adventures I get to go on and the people I get to meet.
Joe and I took some pictures and headed in the house. I talked with Joe and Lesly for over an hour. I really enjoyed our conversation and thank them for their hospitality. We said our goodbyes and I was on my way back to Huntsville. Looking forward to the next adventure…
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.
I received a call from AnnMarie about some items that were accidentally dumped into her lagoon. She had seen one of my stories about a water recovery, and figured it was worth giving me a call. She explained what had happened. Over 2 months prior her daughter was at the beach, and had placed her jewelry in her beach bag for safe keeping while she went into the water. At the end of the day, she placed her beach items in the back yard by the deck, and went inside the house. AnnMarie figured she would help and accidentally dumped her necklaces into the lagoon while dumping the sand out of the beach bag. At that point she figured they were gone, until she saw my post detailing a very similar recovery. I knew they were right up against the bulkhead after she explained in detail exactly what she had done. We basically decided to do the recovery but didn’t decide when, as I am in her area quite often. Ann sent me the address an told me it would be fine to go, even though they would not be home. I had some time a few days later, and swung by to look. Conditions were perfect, and about 35 min into the search I had both necklaces. She had no idea that I had gone and I decided to snap a few pics and shoot them over to her. AnnMarie was shocked to say the least, we made arrangements to mail them back to her, and in just a few days they were back for safe keeping. Thank you again, so glad I was able to help.
