Evansville, Wisconsin resident, Randena Soldner, discovered her wedding rings missing from her hand after clearing fallen leaves and twigs from her picturesque lawn and garden. The shock of losing her rings was almost more than she could bear. Despite her and her husband’s best search efforts, the ring seemed destined to be lost forever. That’s when she discovered The Ring Finder’s directory of metal-detecting specialists and reached out to me.

When I arrived at the Soldner’s lovely home, the stress of losing her rings was apparent in Randena’s face and demeanor. Her husband, Leroy, joined with us as we solemly walked the length of the property together, noting areas where she had tidied up holes in the mulch dug by local squirrels. The lack of a specific forensic event (such as throwing a ball or removing work gloves) meant I would have to detect the entire property—a process of elimination, of determining where the ring was not.

The rings were more valuable than usual. Thus, for sake of everyone’s comfort, I asked that Randena or Leroy accompany me during the search. I do this at times to assuage any trust issues when more expensive jewelry is involved. As a retired hospice chaplain, I would never want people thinking I could be dishonest.

The search took over two hours. Randena and Leroy took turns shadowing me as I worked. I was about to finish up when I noticed some potted plants on a multi-level deck behind the house. I made a mental note to check those before leaving and so, when Leroy also suggested I search them, I did so immediately.

The first box contained artificial flowers complete with their plastic-coated wire stems. The metallic stems meant my detection probe was not much use. I looked through the foliage as carefully as I could but did not see a ring. The next pot contained a large, healthy fern, potted and presented in a vintage-iron holder. This meant careful extraction of the fern from its setting. Probing deep into the leaves resulted in a metallic signal which I assumed was a wire identification label, the kind often used by nurseries. But investigating further, Randena’s wedding rings suddenly appeared, revealing where they had fallen from her hand days before. Mystery solved!

The smiles don’t tell all the story. I gave the rings to Leroy saying, “I want you to be the one to give them to Randena.” He called out to her in the house and before long, the ring was in her hand. Tears, hugs, more tears, more hugs ensued! Clearly, it was more than a ring!

It is always a special moment when I can give back a ring that was thought lost forever. I am so glad Randena and Leroy trusted me enough to reach out for help. If you or someone you know has lost a ring, even long ago, don’t let its story end. Call me; I love putting smiles on people’s faces!