Stephen and his family were visiting from out of town and spent the day at the beach in Coronado. He had removed his wedding ring before going into the water and left it there were they were sitting in the dry sand. At the end of the day, the belongings were gathered and the ring ended up MIA. I got the call the next day and got the particulars on what type of ring, a photo of the ring, and approximately where they were sitting via a Google map, since they had already gone home a couple of hours north of me and couldn’t show me the exact spot personally. Over a Sunday night and a Monday morning, there usually are several people who detect that beach, but, the area where they were sitting wasn’t right in the most common area, so, there was still a chance it was still there. I headed over after all the crowds had left for the day and took a guess as to where to start. I actually started a bit north of where ground zero was supposed to be and was going to work my way south. When I got the the area, I noticed that the beach grooming machine had gone through the place. Yikes, another strike against a successful search. I turned on my light to take a closer look at the sand, and realized that they just ran the big rake through there, and not the sifter. Good! That made me a bit more confident. I made about three 20 foot passes and got my 4th solid 14 on my Equinox. The previous 3 were pull tabs, as usual, but, this 4th one was Stephens ring! This search could have taken hours, but, sometimes you just get lucky! I sent a photo of the ring to Stephen and he was overjoyed that it was found and he could actually wear it again. Now it’s up to the USPS to do it’s job getting his ring home safe and sound. Thank you for the reward Stephen.
Mike McInroe….Metal Detector Specialist….Call ASAP Anytime…321-363-6029
Nick was enjoying a warm fall day in the intracoastal waters by Ponce Inlet when disaster struck! No he was not bitten by a shark or stung by a stingray but in his book it was almost as bad! As he was fishing off of the pier he felt his wedding ring come off of his finger and he watched as it fell into the salty water and quickly disappeared out of sight. He had heard of things like this happening to other people but he was stunned when the realization hit him that his precious wedding ring was now gone…and maybe even gone forever! And here it had happened to him.
Nick was determined to recover his lost ring and he and a friend spent the next two hours holding their breath and trying to dive to the bottom to feel around and by some miracle come up with his ring. Needless to say they were not able to find it and in the end gave up their search attempt. That evening though Nick went on line to seek help and some advice on what could be done in his predicament. And to his surprise up popped a story on theringfinders.com of my recent recovery of a lost wedding ring in St. Pete, Florida that resembled what had happened to him earlier that day. And after reading how I was able to reunite that ring with the distraught young man, Nick felt he should give me a call.
It was Saturday and I was free to respond ASAP and two hours later I met with Nick and he graciously gave me a hand hauling all my gear down to the waters edge. As I surveyed the situation I realized again that I had a fairly steady current caused by the out going tide to contend with and by tying my kayak off to one of the pilings and by staying close to the base I then would be able to thoroughly search the exact area where Nick said it fell into the water. Actually Nick had wisely put a small notch in the railing where he was standing the moment his ring came off and thankfully it was only two feet out from the piling below. As I slowly descended to the bottom I was surprised that the visibility was barely one foot with a fair amount of silt and sand moving across the bottom. My first target was a small metal file off of a toenail clippers and my next signal was a shallow one. As I eased myself closer to see if I could visually identify what had caused my Pulse Dive scuba detector to sound off so loudly I caught a glimpse of something circular and reaching out to retrieve the item I felt the unmistakable feel of a gold ring! Again I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to God for allowing me to find Nick’s lost ring so quickly! What a thrill it was to be able to hand his ring to him and see the joy and happiness on his face! And thanks Nick for giving me a call and for allowing me to help you!
Lost something recently…or years ago and want help to find it? Call, text or email me ASAP!
Mike McInroe….ready and willing to help you in your time of need!
Devon was jogging with her husband, Ty. She decided to remove her rings to put them in a pocket, but suddenly she noticed that rather than two rings, she was only holding one. She still had her diamond engagement ring, but her diamond and gold wedding band was gone. A friend referred them to TheRingFinders.com, and they contacted me. I brought my metal detecting equipment and met Ty at the grassy area where they hoped we would be able to find the ring. It took about 30 minutes, but I found the ring hiding in the grass! Another happy ending!
Reuben called me saying that he had just lost a cross off his necklace while running on the beach in the wet sand, on the slope and in the shallow water. It was right around high tide when he called, and I was just about to eat some dinner, so, I asked Reuben if he could hang around down there a while so I could gulp down some groceries and let the tide go out a bit. He agreed, and we met at a spot at the north end of the search area around 9:45pm. He explained to me that he headed south from there and was running in a zigzag pattern from the water’s edge to the top of the slope, kind of dodging the surf as it surged in and out. I then asked how far he ran until he noticed it was gone. Well, he had a selfie that he took, at the spot we were standing, showing that he had the cross at that point. He then said that he started running from there and headed south for a good 5 minutes! Whoa, that was going to be a HUGE search area. After more Q&A we decided the most likely area was toward the other end of his run when he discovered it gone after he had jumped over a pile of kelp, but, frankly, it could be anywhere along the way. Ok, let’s start walking to that spot. I figured I’d go ahead and turn on my detector and sweep a bit while we went. I just picked a straight line on the slope about half way between the water and the top of the slope. We walked, and we walked, and we walked some more. Found a few piles of kelp, search all around them, and continued on. I hadn’t gotten one signal thus far. I asked how much further he ran, and he pointed down the beach some more. I was about to say that this was going to be a waste of time as this search area was now almost 1/4 mile long and approaching the edge of Mission Beach (the next beach south), and that I was going to have to get a lot more help to cover all this sand, when we approached another pile of kelp. Searched all around it and continued on a little ways more, when I got my first signal of the entire way. A nice solid 11 on my Equinox. One scoop and Reuben spotted his gold cross (a family heirloom that he got from his father) in the pile of wet sand I just dumped. Talk about dumb luck! We both should have bought lottery tickets right then and there. I’m not sure who was more amazed, but, we both counted our blessings on this one! That potential search area was the largest one I had ever had and would have taken me over a week to completely cover it by myself. We found it in an incredible 20-25 minutes. A pleasure to meet you Reuben and thank you for the reward.
I actually saw a post on Facebook and called the number. I explained that I was with ringfinders and I would be happy to come look if they wanted me to.
They couldn’t believe I would drive 2 hours to search for the ring.
I was there for maybe 10 minutes and found a gold ring. Then a hour later I found her engagement ring. They did not tell me they had actually lost two rings. The first ring was hers too. If I had known that, I would have probably stayed in the water and found the second one close by. They were shocked when they got the call that the ring had been found. They were even more shocked when I told her I had found her other ring also.
They were very appreciative and I appreciate the reward.
Hopefully I can get the video of her getting her ring back up so everyone can see her reaction and hear her story. Here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Ey5Qc9hlM&feature=share
Seth called me and told me that his wife, Keona, had lost the engagement ring from her wedding set while in their barn feeding their horses. He said he tried finding it with a metal detector, but hadn’t had any luck and wondered if I would take a look. They were two and a half hours away from us, but Julie and I like to travel and visit state parks, and they happened to live near one, so I said we would give it a try. When we got there, I was able to use Keona’s wedding band to dial in my Minelab to match the missing ring. I did a grid search of the barn floor and in about 15 minutes, I found the ring. Seth seemed both surprised and relieved and we talked about how the lower-end metal detectors he had borrowed to search for the ring aren’t able to single out specific signals, so it was nothing he was doing wrong. The floor of the barn is dirt and the detectors he borrowed were picking up all kinds of signals, but the Minelab was able to zero in on the ones that mattered.
Keona was beyond happy to get her ring back! No matter how many times I see someone get emotional when we find their ring, it’s always a special moment to witness. Seth was great and gave us directions to the state park that would take us through the town of Volant, Pa., which had a pumpkin fest going on. I thought the ringfind went pretty fast, but Julie and I weren’t in the car even 10 minutes when I got a text from Seth that was a screenshot of a post Keona had shared on social media. It was by far one of the fastest and nicest unsolicited testimonials that I have ever received:
“Soooo over a week ago, I did a bad thing. The baby was sick so I went directly from work to the barn to let in and feed the horses so everything would be done and I could go home and just take care of my sick baby. Unfortunately, coming straight from work I didn’t switch out my diamonds for my plastic ring I usually wear when I’ll be doing yard/barn work. I lost almost 30lbs recently and the rings had been a bit loose but with the covid the jewelers had been closed. I left the barn and realized my engagement ring had fallen off somewhere. I looked at work and at home for over a week with multiple helpers and even two metal detectors. Unfortunately there’s metal everywhere in a barn and after a week of searching I felt it was gone forever. I did a Google search and found a professional ring finder in Altoona, Pa. We were outside of his service area, but called on a hope and a prayer. HE CAME OUT HERE and FOUND MY RING! If anyone makes the same mistake I did and needs a professional ring finder, I 100% recommend you call John King from Altoona, Pa. Seth thinks he should’ve bought a Harley instead because you can’t lose a Harley as easily. I will be headed to get my rings sized today, and until then a plastic band will do.”
I had Julie read the text to me as we drove and when she was done, I looked at her and said “That’s why we do it, baby. We made someone’s day.” Best of luck to Seth, Keona, and their family!
Ring Finder – Ring Recovery Specialist…Lost ring? Lost necklace? Lost keys?… Metal Detector Service – Call ASAP 021 401626
Tim had lent his boat to his mates for a fishing trip out from Matauri Bay in Northland, New Zealand.
Tragically the boat went broadside and suffered a capsize as they were coming back in through the surf and was, shall we say, pummelled.
His gold wedding ring had been in a cupholder onboard and during the subsequent carnage in the waves, was lost.
Spin forward three months. Tim made contact with me and asked what the chances were… Matauri Bay? Ocean beach, with such a big head start? I wasn’t too optimistic – Until I heard that the guys in the boat had taken note of the approximate location which at least gave me some sort of start point, and I knew there would be other items lost such as fishing gear which would assist me in pinpointing the exact location. The time elapsed was still a real concern though, as we had had a couple of good storms including a 1 in 500yr monster that wrought destruction across the region – with seas to match, and Matauri has no significant shallow hard bedding layer for the ring to settle on.
I let him know the odds were less than great, but would have a look to gauge whether it was worth actively searching or adding it to my ‘cold-case’ book.
I met Tim onsite the following day, and recapped the events of the day with him.
Without having one of the guys actually involved in the capsize there, it was Chinese Whispers over the phone….describing a featureless beach.
You have to start somewhere, and I had already started working a grid when he arrived, initially focussing on locating any concentration of targets.
It was not to be, and an endless stream of light targets of bottle caps, aluminium can tabs and corroded foil told me the sand was now deep over the site. Winding the machine to “redline” gave a few very rusty jigheads from a long way down but they looked too old – and I can guarantee Tims boat wasn’t the first, nor will it be the last to get trashed here.
Despite this false start, I was confident that I could find the debris field – Given time.
Over the course of many 2 and 3am starts, the big tides are never sympathetic to normal business hours, I started to pick up a few lead sinkers. Then a small tackle box and a large knife, both really deep down… Tim confirmed it was his knife and I could finally put a pin in the map! The only problem was the depth of sand and the now common metal detectors carried by holidaymakers at the local motorcamp just 50m away…
More visits and many night starts made for some looong days at my regular job, although bits of fishing kit started to consistently surface. I needed to clear all the jigs, lead, hooks etc in order to be able to hear the ring which would likely be under all this ‘noise’.
The other morning saw another rainy 2am start to catch the big tides. I settled in on the mark and quickly started digging fishing gear right on the low water line, a pair of pliers, knife, hooks – This was promising, very promising as it was obvious some sand had been lost.
I stayed in that same spot, digging target after target…after target. The pouch was starting to slide off my hips I had so much fishing kit in it. But no ring, and after 4 hours, the tide was chasing me out. I knew that if I walked away now I might lose the chance for another few months, or even years. What started out as wet sand was now wading depth with gumboots long since filled with water! I carried on digging oh, so many, many irritating small sinkers as the first light of dawn grew in the sky, and the cutoff to call it off and head off to work drew closer.
Yet another 1oz weight, check the hole, another, check the hole….a soft tone, down deep. There it was again. A half dozen quick deep scoops lifted it out of the hole and a flash of yellow in the scoop.
Tim was on holiday when I sent him the TXT and photo of the finds, asking why he uses solid gold fishing weights!
Two weeks later, this afternoon and after six months apart, the ring finally made its way home.
Three months head start, and another three to locate it – Ringfinding is definitely not for the impatient
What better way to transition into fall than one last ring return on a Volleyball court. I had just returned home when I got a call from my buddy Charlie who is out in CA. He had received a call from a friend of his named Joey who had in turn gotten a call from his wife Nicole and she was in a panic. Nicole had been playing Volleyball with her daughter at a local park and looked down to notice that her wedding ring and her engagement ring were no longer on her hand. This is about the time the panic had ensued and I think everyone will agree that it was totally justified. Luckily Charlie is a great guy and rather than telling Joey that he was out of town, he tracked me down and put us in touch. We were running out of daylight so I loaded up as fast as possible and called Joey to tell him that I could help and get an idea where to go. I pulled in the park and although there were lots of people there enjoying the playground equipment I had no doubt who I was looking for. As soon as I pulled my gear out, a big group of ladies and young people started waving me down. I noticed that they all had makeshift seines and colanders and I wondered which one was Nicole. Then I noticed the lady who was crying and I knew I had found her. I immediately introduced myself and told her not to worry that I was totally going to help her. She told me that I didn’t understand, they had searched everywhere that it could be with the strainers and they had even found the wedding band but she feared the engagement ring might be anywhere in the park and she was distraught. I asked her if they had been there the entire time and they said yes. I tried again to reassure her as I explained what I was doing and started my grid pattern. I made about one pass but as I was talking to her I could see she was in agony so I decided to take a different approach. I told her to tell me where she had found the gold band, she told me that they had already looked there and I told her to humor me. She did and I asked her if they changed sides at all and she said no. Lastly, I asked her if she wore her band closest to her heart and she said yes. I took a step towards the way I thought the ring first off her hand would fly and I said, “watch this” with a big smile. I went about two steps and got a good tone. I don’t think she realized I had something until I kneeled down with my pinpointer and then stood up saying, “Does it look like this?”She broke down in tears and I was reminded why I love doing this so much. Congratulations Nicole and Joey. Thank you very much for trusting me to help you. God Bless!💍
Story of lost ring leads to another reunion, 25 years after loss at Lake Sikome
Chris Spronk searched repeatedly for ring his mother gave him on her last Christmas
Pamela Fieber · CBC News · Posted: Oct 02, 2020 3:00 PM MT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago
Chris Spronk, left, and Kevin Niefer at Lake Sikome earlier this week. Niefer, a member of Ring Finders in Calgary, found Spronk’s long-lost signet ring there about 25 years ago. (Submitted by Kevin Niefer)
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Calgarian Chris Spronk read last weekend about the return of a precious grad class ring lost 37 years ago in Calgary — found by a member of a metal detecting group called the Ring Finders — and it reminded him of a terrible loss in his own life.
He decided to reach out, and posted something in the comments section of the CBC Calgary Facebook page.
The ring he lost 25 years ago, while tossing a football at Sikome Lake, was very special to him.
“I lost my mom when I was young, when I was 20 years old. And the Christmas before she passed away, she had all of the gold that she had ever worn or owned in her life melted down and designed into these two rings — one for me and one for my brother,” Spronk told theCalgary Eyeopener.
“They were, you know, signet rings with our initials carved into them, with raw gold in the background — very distinctive rings. So it had a lot of meaning to me. And, you know, I wore it proudly.”
Two years later, Spronk lost the ring at the manmade lake in Fish Creek Provincial Park.
Chris Spronk, left, with his mother Brenda and his brother Brian, on the last Christmas they shared together. Brenda Spronk, who passed away months later in 1993, gave each of her sons each a ring that Christmas, made from her own gold jewelry. (Submitted by Chris Spronk)
“Unfortunately, stuff happens,” he said. “I was throwing a ball, I looked down, and the ring was gone.”
For 25 years, Spronk says, he thought about the ring every time he drove past Lake Sikome in southeast Calgary. He and his brother Brian, who understood the personal value of the ring, returned to the lake many times to look for it, even using metal detectors and screens to sift through the sand. Eventually, he lost hope.
“I’d given up on this ring long ago, just because it was gold and if it was found, it was going to be melted down,” he said.
Then last week, Spronk read the story on CBC Calgary’s Facebook page. He’d had no idea a group like Ring Finders existed.
“I was genuinely happy for the person, to see something like that returned, and just kind of put an off-the-hip comment saying, ‘Oh, that’s really cool. You know, I lost a ring in Sikome 25 years ago. Maybe I need to wait another 12 years for mine to come back,’ or something like that,” Spronk said.
Chris Spronk, moments after being reunited with the ring he lost at Lake Sikome 25 years ago. (Submitted by Chris Spronk)
Someone on the page encouraged Spronk to check out the Calgary metal detector’s club Facebook page.
He made a request to join, and outlined his story on the club page.
“The admin at first kind of said, not a chance, never going to find it, the sand has been changed there, it’s been 25 years,” he said. “I know it was a long shot, a huge long shot. But she also tagged this fellow, Kevin. And 10 minutes later, I got a message from somebody I didn’t know, named Kevin.”
Spronk opened the message from Kevin Niefer.
“I may have your ring,” the message read.
The personalized message engraved in the ring that Brenda Spronk gave to her son Chris. When Kevin Niefer found the ring, he knew it would have been special to whoever had lost it. (Submitted by Kevin Niefer)
Niefer, a local realtor who has been a metal detectorist for 30 years, joined the Calgary Eyeopener to describe his side of the events, which started with him finding the ring at Lake Sikome about 25 years ago on a routine outing.
Niefer said he has “a few hundred” rings in his collection — but this one stood out in his memory.
“It just rang a bell because it was so unique at the time. And the inscription inside said, ‘Chris, love mom.’ And I’m just going, ‘Wow, poor guy.’ I remember finding that and going man, that’s pretty brutal, to lose that.”
‘Most guys just melt them down’
Niefer said he has kept the ring in his collection for 25 years. He has never been one to melt down the gold he finds while out with his metal detecting gear.
“Most guys just melt them down or pawn them off, and I’ve kept them over 30 years,” he said. “It just didn’t feel right, I guess, to do that, to melt them down.”
And Spronk, now reunited with his ring, is grateful for that.
Chris Spronk on the Christmas in 1992 when his mother gave him the gold ring with her initials engraved on it, made from her own gold jewelry. Chris lost the ring two years later at Lake Sikome. (Submitted by Chris Spronk)
“You know, it means the world. It’s this gratitude that I can’t express, just the fact that I do have it back and just the emotions that I’m feeling because it was so unexpected, so unplanned,” he said.
“And just I’m thankful for people like Kevin because it shows there’s good in the world. There’s people with integrity, there’s people with conviction that stand by things like this — that want to see good.”
and took a guess as to where to start. I actually started a bit north of where ground zero was supposed to be and was going to work my way south. When I got the the area, I noticed that the beach grooming machine had gone through the place. Yikes, another strike against a successful search. I turned on my light to take a closer look at the sand, and realized that they just ran the big rake through there, and not the sifter. Good! That made me a bit more confident. I made about three 20 foot passes and got my 4th solid 14 on my Equinox. The previous 3 were pull tabs, as usual, but, this 4th one was Stephens ring! This search could have taken hours, but, sometimes you just get lucky! I sent a photo of the ring to Stephen and he was overjoyed that it was found and he could actually wear it again. Now it’s up to the USPS to do it’s job getting his ring home safe and sound. Thank you for the reward Stephen.
