Ring lost in Washington river, found with metal detector
Sunday afternoon, I received a text from Aaron, saying he had lost his wedding ring while doing a “cold plunge” in the White Salmon River, located in Washington State. Aaron was asking if I could come help find the ring the next morning.
He said the water was probably not more than 3 feet deep, but was worried the current may have taken it away. I assured him that the water current wasn’t likely to move the ring very far, and that it would just sink and settle into the bottom close to where it was lost. The place where his ring was lost was about two hours away, but I was able to able to head out and meet him Monday morning.
I arrived at the spot by the river and met Aaron and his wife. As we walked down to area where he had done the “plunge” I had to ask him why they decided to go into this really cold river. He said it was a tradition amongst his friends to do a plunge before a wedding.
I put on my waders and boots, and went into the cold water. After several minutes, my detector hit a very promising target, but it was about four feet under water and buried in some large rocks. The only way to explore it would have involved getting pretty wet, so I marked the spot and moved on, thinking I could return later if nothing else was found. As I continued, I heard a strong sound in my headphones. I used the pin-pointer mode on the Manticore, then my pinpointer to sift through the gravel and sand. Through the water, I could see the faint outline of a ring. Aaron and his wife were standing on the shore watching as I dug around, and I told them it seemed like people fished in this area. There was a little disappointment , until I held up the ring and said “People also loose their rings here.”
Many happy smiles, handshakes, and high-fives followed. They said they didn’t really think it would be found. I jokingly said it was disappointing they doubted my ability’s, but I was very happy to return the ring to Aaron,s finger.
