treasure hunter Tag | Page 5 of 8 | The Ring Finders

Lost my Ring while Playing with my Dog!

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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We got call from the gentleman above who said he had lost his ring in the backyard while playing with the dog at friends home.   The challenge on this hunt was the it was 102 degrees in Dallas that day, it was miserable.  My wife and I arrived and began the search with our Garrett ATPro’s and we began in the area where the customer said he thought it was.

We searched for about 2 hours, gridding out the yard, going through the flower beds we were having no luck.  I ask the ring owners wife if he could come home from work and show us exactly where he was and exactly what  he did with the dog.   He arrived about 20 minutes later.  He stood in the yard and said I did this and my son & I looked at each other and knew what had happened, the ring was slung back to the other side of the yard when the man threw the toy for the dog.  My son found the ring in about 10 minutes.

The customer and his wife were thrilled, we were soaked, and sunburned, but happy!

Another successful hunt for “The Dallas Ring Finders”

Don & Ellen with help from our son Tripp

Lost Wedding Band while Tube Fishing at Lake Lavon,Tx

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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We received an email from Crystal after she did a exhaustive google search to find someone to help her husband find his wedding ring.  Her  husband Aaron had been tube fishing on Lake Lavon in Texas all day long.  He had no idea where he lost the ring and I think really did not expect us to find it.

Trying to coordinate schedules for us to make the hour drive out to the lake took several days, so today when we all arrived at the lake the ring had been lost for 9 days.  We arrived about 9am and met Aaron & Crystal,  remember he was very unsure where he lost the ring, in fact he thought it was probably out in 20-25 ft deep water where he had been tube fishing.

Aaron showed us the area where he and his buddy cleaned the fish in a picnic area.  Ellen & I got out both of our Garrett ATPro’s and began the search.  Aaron and Crystal took a walk down the beach while we were detecting.  We had only been there 20 minutes when we spotted the Silver Carbonite Wedding Band.  We could not believe we found it, this was one of those searches you go on almost knowing its going to be a long shot at best.

BUT, it turned into a awesome day.  Ellen & I walked down the beach and Aaron & his wife spotted us and began walking back our way.  As we got close to them I said “Boy the lake is really low” instantly you could see their faces get a little sad thinking we had not  found the ring and already given up.

THEN, I said, “Aaron let me ask you a question, would you like to have this back” and I held up his ring.  As you can see in the pictures, they were ecstatic and could not thank us enough.

What a wonderful hobby we have and the joy we get to bring to people when we find their lost item.

Another successful hunt for “The Dallas Ring Finders”

Don & Ellen

Lost Diamond Wedding Ring in Vancouver Garden…Found!

  • from Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada)

One week ago I received a call from a young lady explaining to me that her mother may have lost her diamond engagement ring in her garden. After talking for a few minutes she said that she wasn’t clear if her mother lost the ring in the garden or if it was lost in her house.I told her that I wouldn’t be able to make it until the weekend, five days later, so that if her mother could check the house good and cannot find it I would come to search the yard on the weekend.Well come Thursday I received a call that they didn’t find the ring in the house and that they needed my service, so we arranged a meeting for 11 AM on Saturday morning.When I arrived I met a very lovely lady named Wendy who told me why she thought the ring could be lost in her backyard. She goes on to tell me that she was doing some yard work and watering the plants and pulling out some bushes and branches which is a very good way to lose a ring.This diamond engagement ring was very special to Wendy because she lost her husband last year as you can imagine the ring meant the world to her. She told me that ring was given to her in 1967 when her husband, boyfriend at the time proposed to her. She remembered that her husband was making payments on the ring… $10 a week and she had the payment sheet showing all the payments he made until it was paid off.I have to tell you I was really praying that I would find this ring for her, so I began my search in the area in the backyard that she showed me where she was pulling branches and watering plants. Wendy had to go in the house to get a battery for her hearing aid and within minutes I had found the ring!  I was so excited and couldn’t wait to show her what I’d found. When Wendy came back outside I showed her her ring and she was so happy! A I have the best job in the in the world! I get to make people smile…Every ring has a story and that story ends when the ring is lost…What I do is get to help continue that story by find that lost ring…This story was a love story about a lady who loved her husband very much and will miss him dearly.Thanks for reading my blogs!If you have lost something and need it found…Call me ASAPYou can watch the video of the search below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImXCfVjnl84

Found Lost Wedding Ring in Lake Wilson in Weatherford,Tx

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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We got a call from the gentleman above late on a Friday afternoon.  Said he had fallen out of a boat on a small private lake in Weatherford,Tx and wondered if we would come try to find it.  I said we would be happy to but it would have to wait a week as were on our way to the airport to leave for vacation in Cancun for a few days.  I loved his response, he said “well it ain’t going nowhere”.  We agreed I would call him in a week when we returned.

As promised we called the following week and spoke with John about his ring, he explained that he and a friend were coming in from fishing on a small boat, he had stood up just at the moment his friend decided to pull the boat up a little higher on the bank.  When that happen, John lost his footing and fell into the lake.  He said he could feel his wedding band slipping off but could do nothing about it.  The waters edge was slippery and covered in algae and dropped off about 5-6ft in depth.

John found “The Ring Finders” website and located us.

Ellen & I drove 75 miles to the spot on the highway to meet John and have him and buddy lead us back on the dirt roads to where the lake was.  I set up my gear and went into the lake, it was amazing how deep it got so close to the shore.  John told me while I was in the water that he had used swimming pool cleaning poles to try and drag the ring up on shore and he also had a friend bring out his metal detector but no luck finding the ring.  I spent maybe 20 minutes in the water getting a feel for the area where John thought the ring would be.  I was getting lots of hits on my detector and using my water scoop was very difficult in the muddy bottoms.   As I went to change hands with my equipment my detector passed over a flat rock covered in algae  and my Garrett AT Pro went off loudly so I knew something was there.  I reached over with my hand and felt along the top of the rock and there was John’s wedding ring.  My wife and John had been talking along the bank and I said “hey John would you like to have your ring back?” and held up his gold wedding band .   He was flabbergasted, he said over and over “I thought I would never see it again”.  These reactions are what make this so much fun.

My wife was filming with her IPhone and began to ask John some questions.  He said this was the first time this ring had been off his finger in 57 YEARS.  He buddy then said, ‘tell them what you did’.  John replied with a sheepish grin, “I did not tell my wife”  he said I have a friend who owns a Pawn Shop who got him a temporary wedding ban to wear until we could hopefully find his ring.  We laugh and laughed.  Then John said…. “I wonder if the Pawn Shop with take the other ring back”.

It was a wonderful day.

Another great find for “The Ring Finders”

Don & Ellen Wilson

 

Found Wedding Ring in Trophy Club,Texas

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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We received a call from a lady who said “thank God I reached you”I have a lost ring for you to find.  I said OK and ask for the details.  She described it as a Men’s gold wedding ban.  I ask her where is was lost and she said in her backyard.  I ask as I always do, “are you sure that’s where you lost it” and she said she was positive.

I said OK then we can find it, then I asked the most important question.  How was the ring lost, what was he doing when he lost it……. there was a long silence and she said “I know it’s there because I threw it there”.  I said that was no problem and we would drive the 28 miles to Trophy Club,Tx around 7pm to let the heat go down, it was 101 degrees warm.

We arrived at a beautiful home, got our equipment out, the lady kindly showed us where she was when she threw the ring and then my wife her re-inact the event (this is a must we have learned).  We spent maybe 20 minutes detecting the yard and there was a lot of underground trash.  We knew the ring would “Hit Hard” on our detectors because it had only been 3 days since it was lost and men’s wedding bands are typically large in size.

We were correct in our assumptions and the Ring was returned for another happy customer for “The Ring Finders”.

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Don & Ellen – The Dallas Ring Finders”

PS…. the husband was in counseling while we were looking for the ring.

 

Estate Search Richmond, Texas

  • from Sugar Land (Texas, United States)

Service Call July 2013

The client in this case believed her mother may have buried Gold and Silver Coins on her property. An initial search revealed nothing, although we maybe looking at a few other locations in the future.

The client disclosed documents from several years ago indicating purchases of the Gold and Silver.

The mystery continues.

John

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Fireman Looses Grandfathers Wedding Band while Fighting Brush Fire, Fort Worth,Texas – Found!

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

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Fort Worth,Texas Fire Fighter Looses Grandfathers Wedding Ring in while Fighting Brush Fire!

On Friday afternoon we received a call from a Fort Worth fire fighter.  He said that he and his crew had been fighting a brush/fence fire behind a home where a woman had thrown out some 2-day old fireplace coals.  The coals had set the compost pile and fence and part of the yards of 2 homes on fire.  He said his buddy had lost his Grandfathers ring which he now wears as a Wedding Ring.  It was 3pm on Friday afternoon, they were 52 miles away across Dallas & Fort Worth and 5pm Friday afternoon traffic was a major contention.  I knew it would take a minimum of 2 hours to drive there so I asked if we could come on Saturday due to traffic, but the young firefighter had panic in voice and ask us to please come.

How can you say ‘no’ to a Fire Fighter?  It took us nearly 3 hours to get there due to the heavy traffic.

He was waiting for us when we arrived and explained that he had been inside the backyard of the home and was knocking out the burning fence slats with the palm of his hand while fighting the fire.   He knew exactly where he was standing (in the wet, smelly compost pile) when it came off, and it was lightly raining… Get the picture?, pretty much a yuck site.

With a desperate customer, our Garrett equipment and rubber boots we went to work.  Thinking the ring flew off some distance into the field behind the home, we searched everywhere.  Eliminating nails, iron, junk, etc. doing everything we could to find the ring.   After an hour it was starting to get dark and everyone was loosing hope my wife went back into the backyard and began slowly going through the compost pile with her detector and pinpointer.  Understand this compost pile was about 18-inches thick and 5-ft by 5-ft  in size.  It was soaking wet from the fire being put out, burnt from catching on fire and wet burned trash just really stinks. But this is what the fireman was standing on when he was knocking out the burning fence slats.  I was coming into the backyard to help her when I heard her yell out “I Found It”, the fireman was standing right there when she found his ring, he was so excited.  He kept saying “you guys are awesome, you guys are awesome, unbelievable!, wait till I tell the guys back at the station!”.

This was by far our dirtiest  hunt, but one of our most rewarding.

Our Firefighters across this country will run into a burning home or building for us without thinking twice about it, the least we can do is work through muck to find a wedding ring for them.

This was a very emotional find for us and we are so glad to be part of “The Ring Finders”.

Till next time, detectors ON!

Don & Ellen

Shannon’s Husband Wedding Ring Lost now Found!

  • from Dallas (Texas, United States)
Contact:

        

Ellen & I got a call from our “The Ring Finders” website.  It as about 8pm on Sunday evening.  Shannon said that she and her husband had been at the local recreation center playground.  Her husband took off his wedding ring and put it in his pocket so he would not scratch it while working out using the playground equipment as a gym.

Upon returning home he realized his ring was gone.  He and Shannon searched for 6 days looking for the ring.  She found us on the web and called. I told her I would come on on Monday morning after 9am, but after hearing her voice and talking to my wife.  My wife convinced me to go do our 1st night search. We had our headlamps and our flashlight and the playground was in a nice area of town, so we decided to give it a try.

After 20 minutes of searching in the dark I hit something strong and thought to myself, I got it… but no it was a child’s charm bracelet.  I stood up and got another hit just 2 feet from the bracelet.  I bent down using my pinpointer and light and there was the ring.  I had to use the flashlight to be sure I had Shannon’s husband’s ring.  It was.

I called Shannon at 9:30pm and she seemed concerned when she realized it was me,  I said hello and ask her if she would like to come up to the park playground and pick up her husband’s ring.  She was estastic.  She said she would be right down.   She arrived in 15 minutes and was extremely grateful.  This is my favorite part of this hobby, seeing the smiles, seeing the relief, it is a win, win moment for everyone.

Now I thought this adventure was over, but on Monday I received a very special text message from Shannon.  I have pasted the text in below…

 “” Thank you again sooo much, Don!! I surprised Aaron with his ring when he got home from work last night…. I sat him down and proposed to him :).  Luckily he said yes 🙂 We are both so happy to have his ring back. You and your wife are so wonderful! It was an honor meeting you two! “”

Another successful NIGHT find for The Ring Finders”

Don & Ellen Wilson – Dallas,Tx

972-523-4447

 

CBC NEWS CALGARY RING FINDER KEVIN NIEFER

  • from Calgary (Alberta, Canada)
Contact:

This year alone, he has helped reunite nine couples with their rings.

Kevin Niefer uses several metal detectors to find lost wedding rings. (CBC)

Just last week, Niefer got a call from a Calgary couple that would lead him to his toughest assignment to date.

Will Hoff had lost his wedding ring in the Waiparous River near Cochrane. After about an hour of searching in the fast-moving rocky river, Niefer was able to find the ring.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Hoff exclaimed moments after Niefer plucked his ring out of the water.

Niefer says he isn’t in it for the money. Although couples often compensate him for his efforts, he doesn’t charged them a set amount.

“When you find it and people go ‘Oh no! I can’t believe you found it!,’ That’s pretty exciting, right? And to be able to return something that sentimental — that’s the biggest reward,” Niefer said.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2286365228/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/10/03/calgary-ring-finder.html

Found wedding band in river

 

 

Metal-detector enthusiasts ease the sting of losing the bling – The Columbus Dispatch

  • from Newark (Ohio, United States)
Contact:

By  Lori Kurtzman The Columbus Dispatch Thursday June 21, 2012 9:24 AM

 

A Blacklick couple got into an argument one night last month. Cooler heads did not prevail.

It might have felt satisfying, what the man did, but it proved to be a bad decision because, once you chuck your fiancee’s engagement ring into the pitch black of your backyard, chances are you’re not getting it back.

Unless you know Jon Baughman — or any of the other Ring Finders.

They’re a worldwide collective of metal-detector enthusiasts who claim more than 430 successful recoveries of rings lost to wild gestures, extreme gardening and lovers’ quarrels.

“I guess that happens quite a bit,” said Baughman, a Licking County Ring Finder, recalling the email he got from the woman asking him to find her ring in a patch of thick weeds and water. Her fiance had launched it in that direction.

Baughman is 27, a father of two with a third on the way in Washington Township, near Utica. Right now, the former Army National Guardsman is looking for work, so he figured he’d try to make some cash from the hobby his wife’s grandfather introduced him to years ago.

A few months ago, he came across the Ring Finders website, which was started by a Canadian man who seems to enjoy nothing more than reuniting people with their jewelry. The site is full of success stories, emotional tales of lost rings. In one story, a finder salvages a clumsy proposal by digging up the ring a brain surgeon buried in the beach sand and promptly lost.

Baughman added his name to the directory in February.

He charges $25 to respond to a call. He figures that’s enough for gas and a Gatorade. He’s more interested in helping than making money. He asks for a reward only if he actually finds the ring.

The ring in Blacklick initially eluded him. He had the fiance throw test rings, trying to re-create the mood of that night, seeing where the diamond might have landed. But after three hours of searching, he lost the sunlight and found nothing.

He came back another day and worked quickly, already familiar with the area. Within 15 minutes, there it was — a shiny little declaration of love.

He texted a photo of the ring to the fiancee. She was elated.For perhaps obvious reasons, the woman asked not to be identified in this story, but she said she and her fiance are getting along much better now. They plan to marry by the end of summer.

Baughman doesn’t get sentimental about such things. He’s a detective, not a therapist.

“The main thing is being satisfied that you did find the ring,” Baughman said. “And next time they throw it, they’ve already got your number there to call.”

lkurtzman@dispatch.com

@LoriKurtzman

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/06/21/finders-ease-the-sting-of-losing-the-bling.html