Volunteer metal detectorist Wisconsin Tag | The Ring Finders

Two Lost Wedding Rings Found on Beach Volleyball Court – Milwaukee, WI

  • from Menomonee Falls (Wisconsin, United States)

It was Monday evening, April 10th. Milwaukee resident, Gabe Stoltz, was enjoying playing beach volleyball at Fat Daddy’s, the popular Sport’s Pub in Milwaukee. That’s when his tantalum wedding ring flew off his hand. Gabe had worn it for nearly two years. Despite searching with rakes and using a metal detector, the ring eluded discovery.

To make matters worse, just 5-minutes later, Gabe’s friend and teammate also felt his white-gold wedding ring leave his hand. And it too vanished in the sand.

I was getting ready for bed when I received a text message from Gabe’s wife inquiring about my metal-detecting services. Over the years I’ve learned that time is of the essence with lost ring searches. And so, I arranged to meet Gabe on location within the hour, arriving around 11:00 p.m.

I performed a quick forensic overview of the events leading up to the ring losses. Gabe showed me where he was standing when the ring vanished and I could see the tell-tail rake marks in the sand.

As is so often the case, the volleyball court was full of metallic debris, coins, foil wrappers, pull tabs and bottle caps. But knowing the conductivity value of tantalum, I could safely ignore many of these signals. Finally, a deep, but clean tantalum signal invited investigation. Sure enough, it was Gabe’s ring!

We then quickly moved to the area where Gabe’s friend lost his ring. A systematic grid search brought the other ring to light as well. Two losses, two searches, two finds and two grateful smiles!

If you or someone you know has lost a wedding ring, even long ago, don’t let its story end. Call me today. I would love to put a smile on your face too.

Found! 111-Year-Old Heirloom Ring Lost in Snow – Kenosha, Wisconsin.

  • from Menomonee Falls (Wisconsin, United States)

On December 8th, I was driving home to Waukesha, Wisconsin, from a successful ring search in McHenry, Illinois when my cellphone rang. The call was from Kenosha, Wisconsin, resident, Cheyene Hoppe. Cheyene and friends were enjoying a visit outside a downtown building two nights previous. That’s when a family heirloom ring went missing in the snow. The gold wedding ring was inscribed with the initials of Cheyene’s great grandfather along with the date of his wedding in 1914. He was married in Lithuania and later immigrated to the United States. Cheyene lovingly wore the ring in his memory. Now it was gone. She was heartbroken.

In the European way, Cheyene uses her hands a lot as she talks. But a flip of her hand resulted in the heirloom piece coming off. She had the sense that the ring ejected from her hand in an upward motion. But there was snow all around, including thick bushes, steps and landscaping. The ring could be anywhere.

Using my XP Deus II metal detector and hand probe, I carefully sifted through the snow on both sides of the walkway, probing in and around the snow-laden juniper bushes. The ring was nowhere to be found. Only three search locations remained, two planter boxes and a larger, 5’ tall box with several inches of snow covering them. The box was behind Cheyene at the time her ring came off. It had a sheet-metal top, which made using a metal detector out of the question. Instead, I used a small hand-held probe which allowed closer contact with the metal. Moving through the snow a few inches at a time, I cleared nearly two thirds of it from the box when a distinct beep noise announced the presence of a target. To everyone’s surprise, it was Cheyene’s heirloom ring! It was sitting in the snow on top of the box behind where she had been standing two nights before.

The smile on Cheyene’s face certainly tells the rest of the story! And I am so thrilled that the ring’s amazing 111-year-old story continues.

Found Lost Wedding Ring in Snow! – McHenry, Illinois.

  • from Menomonee Falls (Wisconsin, United States)

Austin Gebert, was installing Christmas decorations in the front lawn of his McHenry, Illinois home when he lost his gold wedding ring. Nearly a foot of snow covered the ground. At one point, as Austin flipped snow off his cold bare hand, he felt the ring fly off. He told me on the phone, “It left my hand like a bullet.” The ring just vanished into the whiteness.

Austin reached out to me by phone on Sunday evening, December 7th. I arranged the hour-long drive the next morning and was greeted by Gabriela, Austin’s wife. She gave me a tour of the suspected lawn area. I noted several metallic Christmas decorations in the vicinity. These needed to be removed so as not to interfere with a metal-detection search.

An initial search failed to turn up Austin’s ring. I moved to a larger snow pile alongside the Gebert’s driveway where it had been shoveled. About 14 inches into the pile, I heard a faint signal in my headset. My trusty pin-pointer helped locate the target. Reaching in with my bare fingers I felt an unmistakable ring-like object and pulled it up and out into the light of day. Sure enough, it was Austin’s ring!

Since Austin was at work, I presented the ring to Gabriela whose face lit up like Christmas lights. Her smile tells the rest of the story.

Thank you, Austin, for the privilege of searching for and finding your missing wedding ring!

Found wedding ring lost in snow! – Glendale, Wisconsin.

  • from Menomonee Falls (Wisconsin, United States)

A late November snowstorm gave Glendale, Wisconsin resident, Bob Goding, the opportunity to enjoy quality time with his grandchildren. The snow was just the right consistency for building a snowman. But in the process, Bob’s gold wedding ring went missing, most likely when he shook snow out of his glove. He contacted me a couple days later and we arranged to conduct a metal-detecting search for his ring on December 2nd.

On arrival, all that remained of poor Mr. Snowman, was a scattering of lumps. Bob and his wife had discretely dissected him (after the grandchildren had gone home), this in case the ring had become encased inside the jolly figure. Sadly, Bob’s ring remained at large. And Mr. Snowman’s lumpy remains only added insult to injury.

I embarked on a grid search in the front lawn where the snowman had been created. Boot prints of all sizes bore evidence happier times. As I expanded the search area, a signal in my headset invited attention. The conductivity numbers were in the range of a man’s gold ring. Indeed, the target turned out to be Bob’s missing, but now found, wedding ring! And the smile on Bob’s face tells the rest of the story.

If you or someone you know has lost a ring in the snow, grass, leaves, sand, underwater, or elsewhere, chances are it’s still there. Don’t let its story end. Call today! We’d love to add your smile to our growing list of happy clients.