Lost engagement ring, Kissimmee, Fl…..Found and Returned!
Larry called me from their vacation apartment down by the Disney area and asked if I could help him and his wife, Danielle, find her lost diamond engagement ring. Apparently they were out late the night before and while walking back to their room, Danielle had taken all her jewelry off and handed everything to Larry. After entering the apartment Larry put all the jewelry on the dining table and they then retired for the night. The next morning they got up later than normal and eventually Danielle went to collect her jewelry and to her horror, she could not find her diamond engagement ring! They immediately retraced their steps from the previous night and by this time it was around 12:00 noon. They looked for a couple of hours and that is what led them to contact me, thru theringfinders.
I packed up my gear and an hour and a half later met Larry and Danielle and began my sidewalk and bushes search. For the next three and a half hours I scoured the bushes with my metal detector and probed my pro pointer into every nook and cranny and no ring! It was just nowhere to be found. As I put my detector away I tried to console Larry and I encouraged him to make up some posters and put them on the palm trees along the area where they had walked. We said our goodbyes and I headed for home and I must admit I was a bit discouraged not being able to find Danielle’s ring.
A couple of days later I was looking on line and thought I would check out “Craigslist Orlando” and see if anything was posted in the “lost and found” section. As I scrolled down I noticed a post labeled “Found engagement ring, Kissimmee” posted on the same day I was called by Larry and my heart skipped a beat! Could it be?? I fired a text to Larry and directed him to the post and in my heart I was praying this would be the miracle they needed. (You see, Larry and Danielle originally had a small zirconium in her ring and just recently had it replaced with a rather beautiful, large diamond and they had applied for insurance on the ring but the paper work was not yet completed.) Apparently the person who made the post had actually found Danielle’s ring in the early morning as they were heading to Universal Studios and she kept it safe all day. On her return to their apartment that night she saw a security guard and turned the ring over to him, trusting that he would take it to the proper “Lost and Found” at the resort main office. Larry called the main office over the next 3 days and each time he was told that no ring fitting that description had been turned in. Sadly Larry and Danielle had to return home to Pennsylvania but he continued to call. The frustrating thing was knowing that the ring had been turned over to “trusting hands” and then not being able to locate it. Finally Larry suggested that the “authorities” be informed and “Bingo!!!” The lost and found people called a half hour later to say they had located Danielle’s ring and she could pick it up. I offered to pick it up and mail it to them but Danielle insisted in flying to Orlando and picking it up in person. The following Saturday we met Danielle and had the pleasure of seeing the sheer joy on Danielle’s face and to experience an amazing moment in her life. It truly was an honor to meet Larry and Danielle and to have a part in helping them get their ring back!
Lost your ring? Call, text or e-mail ASAP! Mike McInroe…..grateful to be a member of theringfinders.com
Dr. Greg emailed me on Saturday afternoon to see if I was available to help him find his lost wedding ring in his back yard. So we made arrangements to meet the next day to conduct a thorough search. Upon arriving I was told that the family had searched for three days with a low end metal detector. Gregg and his wife have been married for 25 years and a couple of their children were letting me know that I really needed to find their father’s lost ring, so that they, (the parents) could continue to be married again. Cute, hey? Apparently one of the boys had gotten a small drone stuck in one of the large oak trees and Greg was using a soccer ball to try and knock the drone free of the branches. He was throwing the ball straight up with force, using a two handed under throw and after a couple of throws he suddenly felt his ring go flying. Thankfully I had a test ring with a small piece of brightly colored ribbon attached to it and I asked Greg to do a couple of test throws. This gave us a good indication of the direction I needed to begin my search. It wasn’t long until I got a great shallow signal in the thick grass and sure enough there was Greg’s lost wedding ring. (I was using my Whites DFX metal detector in the Prospecting Mode, as there was allot of electrical interference and the usual Coin and Jewelry Mode was way to noisy.) It was a real pleasure to help Greg and his family and I hope he is able to get the ring resized so as not to loose it again!
Last Friday Amanda called me from San Antonio, Texas with a very special request. She explained that her mother Liz, who lives in Port Orange, Florida had just lost a very expensive diamond earring! Two days earlier Mrs Liz had an invitation to eat lunch at a friends house and before heading out the door she decided to wear her beautiful earrings that were a gift to her from her husband Tom, 14 years ago. They had a wonderful time visiting their friend and after a delicious meal Mr. Tom and Mrs. Liz headed for home. Immediately after arriving home Mrs. Liz went to her bedroom to remove her special diamond earrings and to her dismay one of them was missing. And the search began! They looked everywhere and could not find it. And she decided to call her daughter Amanda in San Antonio for some advice. Amanda went right to work searching for some help for her distraught mother and after typing “Metal Detector Rental Orlando” into her phone she found theringfinders and one of my search and recovery stories. The call was made and the next day I met Amanda’s parents. Mr. Tom and Mrs. Liz said they had the other earring in a small plastic bag so I could get a reading with my metal detector, but unfortunately the bag got misplaced or thrown out that morning and we had a frantic 30 minute search—emptying garbage bags and crawling all over the house. Thankfully Mr. Tom finally found it in the thrown out newspaper bin!! Before heading to the neighbors house I searched the car, the garage and basically the whole house with my flashlight and then we headed to the friends house.
Wednesday night I received a call from Chris asking if I could possibly help him find his lost wedding ring! He went on to explain that he and his family had just flown into Orlando earlier that day and after they settled into their rooms they thought it was a perfect evening for a little game of catch the football! And then it all came to a sudden halt when Chris felt his ring come off of his finger. He and his family searched frantically for his ring but the St. Augustine grass had seemed to swallow it up.
Daytona Beach, Florida is a great place to enjoy the Atlantic Ocean. There are miles and miles of beaches, more sand than one can imagine and refreshing, warm salty water to play and swim in until your heart is very content! Unless of course you happen to lose your wedding ring. And that is exactly what happened to Bart on August 18th, 2018 while playing catch with a football in knee deep water with his young son. They immediately stopped playing and scoured the sandy bottom, desperate to find his lost ring. Unfortunately his ring had simply vanished.
Marcia called me on Saturday wanting to know if I was available to help her look for her lost rings. While she and her husband were enjoying swimming in the ocean they got to talking about getting tan lines and Marcia wanted to see if under her rings she had any tan lines. She was in waist deep water at the time and she pulled her rings only slightly down her finger to see if she had any of those dreaded “tan lines” and then the unimaginable happened. Her rings simply slid the rest of the way down her finger and into the churning surf. She could not believe what had just happened. She and her husband frantically began searching the water but her rings just seemed to vanish.
Today Derek wrote, “My wedding ring slipped off my finger in my friends backyard. 15 people were on their hands and knees but couldn’t find it in the grass. I called Mike up and he was super friendly and confident he could find my ring. He showed up on time and was just as nice as on the phone. We talked a bit and then he went about searching. He used flags to create a grid and methodically scanned the yard. After about an hour of searching he called me over. My wedding band was pushed into the dirt and I never would have found it. He saved me time and got me out of the doghouse with my wife! Thanks Mike! Derek”
I received a call from Mr. Robin inquiring information about “Underwater Metal Detecting”. You see, he runs a unique day camp for kids during the summer months and has a number of young adults that help work with the little ones doing all sorts of outdoor activities. In January of 2018, one of the young adult men, named Frankie, was on the dock, horsing around with some of his friends, when he decided to dive into the chilly water. And yes, the lakes are fairly cold during the winter months here in Central Florida, at least to us thin blooded Floridians! Well, Frankie dove in a couple of times and after his 3rd dive, as he was coming up the ladder he noticed his gold chain and cross were not around his neck! This chain and cross was a gift from his grandmother and he just had to find it and get it back around his neck. He and the others dove numerous times hoping to find it, but each time they came up with only weeds and clam shells. Later on they even had someone with scuba gear try and locate it but soon they realized they needed someone with a metal detector. Thankfully I was able to get my scuba certification and I agreed to try and find Frankie’s lost chain and cross.
Mark and his dear wife were in the middle of packing up their belongings for the big move and he could not stop thinking about the special gold ring he lost in the yard over 20 years ago. This unique ring was a gift to Mark from his late father, who hand crafted the ring from gold he collected as a dental technician. One day while washing his hands off in the yard he realized his ring must have fallen into the thick grass. Mark desperately looked around the spigot and along the short path he had taken from the garage, but could not find his lost gold ring. Years passed and Mark sort of gave up hope of ever getting his ring back and then the day came for him to sell his house and move to another location. As the moving day got closer, Mark toyed with the thought of renting a metal detector to look for his ring and that led him to one of my stories on theringfinders.com web site. Mark was intrigued with all the success stories and decided to give me a call. We made arrangements for Friday and I showed up ready for the challenge. Mark showed me the small area where he thought the ring was lost and I fired up my Garrett ATMax, set it to ZERO mode, ground balanced and put on just a little iron discrimination. (Mark was not real sure of the gold content of the ring and I did not want to miss being able to detect it.) I looked around the water spigot and gradually made my way out into the super thick St. Augustine grass! I dug a couple of pennies down four inches or so and 10 minutes into my search I got a solid signal that showed “50” on the display. Mark had watched me carefully dig the pennies with my 10 inch pointed screw driver and on this target he was ready with his shovel, assuring me he could pop out a nice big plug in no time. What could I say, it was his lawn! As I laid the big plug on it’s side I poked my trusty Garrett pro pointer into the dirt and it sounded off a good 8 inches down in the hole. And as I brushed the dirt from the target, a glint of gold showed itself and low and behold there was Mark’s long lost ring!! You talk about one happy camper! He gave me a big hug and then ran into the house to show his wife the ring and then he ran to the neighbors house to show them. What a thrill it was to dig up Mark’s ring and to see the sheer joy and happiness on his face. Maybe you have lost a ring and want me to try and find it for you! I would be honored to help! Call ASAP!
Christopher called and asked if I could help him find a very special ring that was lost at his high school football field. He explained in detail that a friend had asked him to hold this ring (a wide black tungsten carbide ring with the “Lord’s Prayer” written in very small print, around the outside of the ring) and not to loose it as it was a gift given as a promise ring from the friend’s parents. While Christopher was holding the ring, another friend asked to look at the ring and check it out. At first Christopher hesitated but finally gave in and let the boy look at the ring. Later Christopher asked for the ring back and it was thrown to him from a distance, instead of simply having it handed to him. As he went to catch the ring it glanced off of his hand and went rolling across the track and into a grassy area under a chain link fence. Christopher desperately tried to find the ring but as the class ended he had to go. Later he came back and looked some more and that led him to the internet. He found my number on theringfinders.com website and told me what happened.