WI Tag | The Ring Finders

Gold Ring Recovered from Geneva Lake in Fontana, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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June 9, 2026

Wedding Ring Recovered from Geneva Lake in Fontana, WI

Raul and his family were enjoying a day at the beach in Fontana, WI when his 14K gold wedding band was lost.  His family spent time in the grass, on the sand, and in the water.  Fontana beach is quite large, so narrowing down the search area was key.

On my way out I texted two fellow detectorists who may have been detecting this beach letting them know I was on a search and “Did they find any gold rings at Fontana’s beach in the last two days?”  “No,” was the reply.  When I arrived, another detectorist was in the water.  I waded out to Tony and asked the same question.  “No, only a quarter so far.”

       Raul patiently answered all of my questions as we worked to pinpoint the most likely spot he would have lost it.  I marked off the edges of my search area in the sand and waded into the shallow water to make my first pass.  Dragging my search coil slowly over the sand, overlapping, so as not to miss anything, I had a strong repeating signal around the third or fourth pass.  I knelt down in the water and waved away the topmost layer of sand in the spot where my detector indicated a target.  Half of the ring appeared like a golden smile.  I picked it up and held it up to Raul who was standing on the shoreline.  

It was the first and only target I dug that morning.  Raul carefully thought through all of my questions and that led to our success in finding the ring.

After a few photos, it was back on his hand and his smile said it all.

        Later, Raul made a kind post on the Lake Geneva Lake Life Facebook group.  He writes: “A huge thank you to Seth for helping recover something that means so much to me and my family.  We are incredibly grateful!”           

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Wedding Ring Recovery from Snow in East Troy, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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December 1, 2025

Wedding Band in the Snow

Caleb called me around 8:00 pm.  Could I meet him in a salvage lot in East Troy, WI?  He had lost his wedding band in the snow.  

By December 1st, Wisconsin was covered in a thick blanket of snow.  The cars in the lot were white domes of snow caged in by a chain-link fence.  The ground, most likely crushed gravel was topped with hard-packed tire lines running throughout.  

         I thought about all the metal that would be competing with Caleb’s small gold ring, and I hoped I would be able to keep the search area relatively small.  It was late and cold, and the roads were not getting any better the longer the night went on.

I assessed the area at 9:12 pm.  I asked Caleb lots of questions in order to decide the best place to start searching.  Thankfully, about ten minutes later I was handing the ring back to Caleb, a grateful smile stretched across his face.    

Caleb’s final text read:

“Thank you so much, Seth!  You have no idea how much it means to me that you were able to find my ring!”

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Engagement Found in Lake Geneva Home: No Metal Detector Needed

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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March 12, 2026

Lake Geneva, WI

Engagement Ring Found: No Metal Detector Needed 

Wednesday, 3:45 pm: Drew’s voicemail asks for help finding a lost engagement ring in his basement.  It’s been missing for a month.  Could I come and bring my equipment?

To my knowledge, there is no detector on the market that can only sense gold while avoiding all other metals, so metal detecting inside a house is almost a lost cause.  Copper wiring and pipes, nails galore, and household appliances have enough metal to immediately overload a metal detector.  I was planning on politely explaining this to Drew, and heading home after work.

Thursday, 4:00 pm: But when I called him and realized he was only eight minutes away, I thought, “Why not have a look?”  

Thursday, 4:10 pm: I arrived about 10 minutes later and started talking with him in the basement.  I began ask

ing him questions about why his wife took off her ring, where she put them, etc., I said, “I should really be asking her these questions.  Drew replied, “We can try to Facetime her?”  

Moments later, I was asking her any questions that would help me to see what she was doing in her basement a month ago when she lost her ring.

“Actually it was probably two months ago,” she added.  The more I heard, the less confident I felt about finding her ring.  Drew was attending to his 1 year old upstairs.

I continued to ask questions, and I was able to reconstruct what happened that night.

  1. She was doing schoolwork at a small round wooden table in the basement.
  2. She took off her rings (engagement and wedding band) as she was pregnant and they were getting tight.
  3. Both were set on the table.
  4. At the end of the work session, she could only find her wedding band… no engagement ring.
  5. She looked under the table, all around, nothing.

I asked one more question.  “Did you have a laptop bag or anything that it could have fallen into?”

Her reply was what I might have expected.  She had checked the bag she had with her at the time, but she could look again.

Before I could think of another series of questions to ask, she interjected, “I found it!”

I must have heard her wrong.  “You found it?” I replied.

Drew heard my question from upstairs, and came pounding down the stairs, asking me the same question, “You found it?”

Not me!  I said, and handed him his phone with his wife’s smiling face, a diamond ring in the corner of the screen.

Thursday 4:20 pm: I glanced at my watch.  It was about 4:20 pm.  “That’s the fastest recovery I’ve ever made!” I said.

Sometimes the difference between a lost item and a found item hinges on the questions asked rather than the equipment.  I own thousands of dollars of metal detecting equipment, have hundreds of hours of experience on land, in water, and underwater, but the right question can often yield the greatest results.

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Wedding Ring Recovered Day After Wedding, Fontana WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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August 16, 2025

 

Wedding Crisis Averted

I was married 24 years ago and it rained on my wedding day… at an outdoor wedding… in a wide-open space… with only a canopy of trees to hide under.  Not a hard rain, but enough to get everyone wet.  Once the ceremony was over, my minutes-old bride and I ran across a grassy field hand-in-hand, smiling, and laughing at the timing of everything.  It was perhaps our first disappointment to overcome as a married couple, and I think that experience has given us a good perspective in life.

 

There are endless things that can go wrong at a wedding.  It could rain, the cake 

might be dry, a bridesmaid may trip and drop her bouquet, or an important someone might show up late.  Generally, these are overcome in the moment or simply fade from memory.  On the other hand, there are a handful of things that can taint the wedding day and leave a lasting bad memory, like losing the wedding ring.

On the morning of August 16th, I was metal detecting Fontana Beach on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin.  When I came out of the water and checked my phone, I had a text from a friend of a bride and groom that were married the day before.  “We lost a wedding ring in Fontana last night off the shore.  Is it possible to have someone come out and look today?”

The timing could not have been more perfect.  I was still in my wetsuit and only a five-minute drive to the Air bnb in Fontana where the bridal party was staying.

I arrived with hair still wet from my morning dive to a group of young people enjoying their morning coffees.  I was kindly offered a coffee myself.  

In short order the crisis was relayed.  The bride and groom, Olivia and Houston, were married yesterday and spontaneously decided to jump into the lake together.  An open pier a short walk down the shore path provided the opportunity.  Moments after the plunge, Houston realized his ring was gone.  Friends dived with basic goggles the next morning searching for the ring among the seaweed and rocks.  It’s certainly not impossible to find a lost ring with the eyes only, but highly unlikely give

n the depth and conditions underwater.

Two friends walked me to the pier, and within a few minutes of getting into the water, I had the ring.

The details provided by the happy couple’s friends made the search precise and short.  It was a joyous occasion returning the ring to the bridal party at the Air bnb.  I never met the couple myself, but was pleased to play a small part in making their wedding day story one with a unique twist and a happy ending.  

Congratulations, Olivia and Houston!  I hope you have many happy and healthy years together.  

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One-of-a-kind wedding ring lost in snow & found! Cudahy, Wisconsin

  • from Menomonee Falls (Wisconsin, United States)
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Cudahy, Wisconsin resident, Chris Roberts was closing a metal gate behind his home when his one-of-a-kind wedding ring got caught on it. Married four years, he was horrified to feel the white and black diamond ring leave his finger and disappear into the cold, snowy night. Despite careful search efforts with a leaf rake in the snow, the ring’s hiding place remained a secret. The next morning Chris reached out to me with a text message asking if I might help. We arranged to meet on location late that afternoon.

It was dark when I arrived. I donned a headlamp and followed Chris to the back of his house. I could see the telltale signs of raking in the snow, evidence of Chris’s valiant search efforts. The thermometer was falling fast, hovering in the mid-teens Fahrenheit (-9.4 Celsius). And a brisk wind made it feel much colder.

Sweeping the area with a mid-sized coil revealed the presence of many metallic objects in the ground beneath the snow. Most of them were ferrous (iron) signals that could be ignored. Also, a heavy wire-mesh fence screamed its presence in my headset whenever I was close to it. I quickly eliminated the more obvious signals and zeroed in on a non-ferrous target near the metal gate. As I probed the area with my pin pointer, a small lump of ice invited investigation. Breaking it apart in my gloved hand, Chris’ precious ring appeared among the icy crystals! And the smile on his face tells the rest of the story.

Chris’ ring was the 9th one I’ve extracted from the snow this winter season. In the process, I’ve observed a strange phenomenon. All but one was encrusted in an icy lump, the result of a warm ring melting the snow on first contact, then cooling and finally freezing the ice and snow around it, forming an icy tomb. Encrusted in this way can make the ring invisible to the naked eye. Little wonder Chris and others have been unable to find their rings! Apart from using a metal detector, the ring’s hiding place would have to wait until warmer days when the snow and ice have melted away. But by then, the ring may have been shoveled off or plowed away to another location. This is why time is of the essence when a ring becomes lost in snowy conditions.

If you or someone you know has lost a ring, don’t let its story end. Whether recent or long ago, in the snow, leaves, grass, sand, lake or river, call a member of The Ring Finders in your area. Chances are, like Chris, we can put a smile on your face again.

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Diamond Ring Recovered in Lake Geneva

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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August 23, 2025  

 Bigfoot Beach Rescue

It was a typical Saturday on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin.  The temps were perfect for all sorts of fun on the water, including some treasure hunting with my seven-year-old son.  The plan was to drive out to Big Foot Beach State Park, and do some snorkeling and treasure hunting with my metal detector.  Using an underwater breathing device called a Nemo by Blu3, the diver is fed fresh air and can stay underwater (up to 10 feet deep) for quite a long time.  My son loves exploring the shallow depths, looking at fish, and searching for lost items.  

            No sooner had we loaded the car, a text came in asking for help with a lost ring.  A photo attachment showed some unknown shoreline.  I looked up from my phone, told my son, and watched disappointment begin to creep into his expression.  

“Don’t worry, buddy, we’re still going treasure hunting.  The ring search can wait.”

Before pulling out of the driveway, I sent a quick text back asking where the ring was lost.  We soon arrived at Bigfoot Beach State Park and began to get out our gear when my watch alerted me of a text reply.  

It simply said, “Big Foot Beach”

I stood in the open lot and dialed the number.  When Kegan answered I explained that I was in the Big Foot Beach State Park parking lot.  His reply, “I think I’m looking at you.”

Looking up from my phone, I saw a young man and woman walking towards me.

The timing of everything was uncanny!

Before long the search was on.  Kegan’s initial text reminded me that I once searched for a ring for him at Williams Bay beach on Geneva Lake (to no success) and that this one had more diamonds.  Okay, let’s get this diamond ring back, I thought.  Kegan and Christina explained that while returning from paddle boarding the ring fell off of Christina’s finger less than 15 feet from shore.

Although the water was rather clear, the area was very trashy.  I grid-searched the area for at least an hour, digging up lots of pull tabs, pier bolts, a ring with a prominent capital letter M as the design, a handful of pennies, and nails.  Frustrated, I decided to expand my search area a bit, just in case. Nothing.

Needing a break, I came back to the shore to also check on my son.  Kegan was kind enough to keep an eye on him, and I could see they had built a small pond on the shoreline and had also found some trash treasures of their own.  

Christina looked rather deflated, and I told her the area was very trashy, so there were lots of signals to dig.  My netted bag was quite heavy with junk, so I proceeded to unload it in order to return for more searching.  As an aside, I commented to Kegan and Christina that I did actually find a ring, not Christina’s, and thought my son would like to see it.  

I continued to throw down soda cans, rotting pieces of sheet metal, and long pier bolts until I could find the ring in my bag.  

I heard the gasp before I saw her face.  Christina shouts, “That’s my ring!”  

I’m not sure who was more surprised, myself or Christina.  The ring is a flat, capital letter M made up of small diamonds.  How I missed learning this detail was clearly my own fault.  In my mind’s eye I was looking for a diamond engagement ring, perhaps with a few extra diamonds on the side.  The capital letter M ring was clearly off my radar.

Needless to say, Christina and Kegan were relieved and grateful to have the ring returned.   It felt great to return yet another precious item, and I’m thankful for the humbling lesson of knowing clearly what to be looking for ahead of time. 

Once Kegan and Christina departed, my son got to spend an hour or so diving for treasures himself.  He found a pair of sunglasses hiding in the seaweed, some sea glass, interesting shells, and his first silver earring.  

The sun was setting when we crept out of the water, and although we shivered walking back to the car, it was a great day of treasure hunting.

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Lost Wedding Ring Found in Lake Geneva, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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Gold in the Lake

 

Another successful recovery!  This story happened three years ago, and there have been many exciting treasures unearthed since then, but I did not take the time to write this one down.  Simply put, David went for an afternoon swim, dove off the pier and his wedding ring slipped off and down to the sandy bottom.  Out of sight, but not out of mind.  

A call to The Ring Finders solved the problem.  I was able to dive with my new Nemo by Blu3 and find David’s ring.  The smiles tell the rest of the story.  What a joy to be part of The Ring Finders network of metal detecting recovery specialists! 

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Lost Wedding Ring Recovered from Lake Geneva, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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Caught in the Storm

August 10, 2025

The weekend of August 8, 9, 10, 2025 saw record flooding in Southeastern Wisconsin.

“The Kinnickinnic, Milwaukee, Menominee and Root rivers all hit record highs over the weekend, with the Milwaukee River going more than 4-feet over flood level.” (PBS News)

  I was camping in the Wisconsin Dells with my ten-year-old daughter and although under a flood watch, my first-world problems consisted only of a leaky tent and a restless night’s sleep.  

Down in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, Brian and his family were caught in a fast approaching storm on Geneva Lake.  Spotting a stranger’s open boat shelter, he took refuge, keeping his family safe (including his infant grandchild) and waited out the storm.  Once the storm cleared, he navigated to the municipal pier and docked.  Crisis averted… that is until his son, Mike, who was tying the boat to the pier piling, experienced that stomach-turning feeling of his wedding ring slipping off into the murky lake.  

Despite being known for clear, clean water, Geneva Lake was a murky mess after the storm. The seaweed, having grown long all summer, further clouded any hopes for a quick dive in to retrieve the ring.

Brian turned to Chat GPT.  It eventually led him to Seth Tost – “Ring Finder and Metal Detector Specialist.”  Among other facts about me, it claimed “has a proven track record recovering lost rings in local beaches and waters.”  It’s important not to believe everything you read in Chat GPT, but I sure did want to maintain the bar AI set for me.

I arrived at 6:15 and after a few questions was in the water.  I popped into the water at 6:22 pm and was photographing the ring at 6:39 pm.  This was by far my fastest recovery and I give a majority of the credit to Brian for pinpointing the location where Mike’s ring decided to go for a swim.    

The ring is a mixture of tantalum and gold.  Tantalum is not a metal I am used to detecting.  It is super resistant to corrosion, so it’s used in surgical implants and electronics.  It holds a charge well and is used in cell phone and computer capacitors.  It’s also used in men’s wedding bands because it’s scratch resistant, durable, and has a gunmetal grey color.

Needless to say, it was a joyous recovery for myself and Brian’s family.  And for now, I’m still doing my part to keep Chat GPT honest.

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Lost Wedding Ring Recovered in Mauston, WI

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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Waterpark Distress

July 30, 2025

Sandy Shores Resort in Mauston, WI offers users an exciting inflatable obstacle course.  The inflatables sit atop a clay lined pool landscaped to bring the lake experience to users.  Ringed by clean, soft sand, it offers ample seating for those just wanting to enjoy the sun.  It’s the beach brought to south-central Wisconsin.

Sebastian was enjoying the floating inflatables when, while climbing back up out of the water, he felt his wedding ring slip off into the water.  As a newlywed, he really wanted this ring back, and had been looking for the ring for four days, diving down and searching by feel.  At the depth where his ring was lost, it was completely dark.  He even tried some ideas provided by a local detectorist to no avail.  When he called, he was desperate for success.      

After speaking with Sebastian and receiving a few aerial map images by text, I agreed to the search.  The owner of Sandy Shores was gracious and gave me permission to dive before the park opened for the day.  Sebastian provided the perfect location to begin my search and after a few minutes diving in the search zone, I found his ring.

Like many jobs in life, if you have the right tools, some experience, and a willingness to try, there is often success.  Sebastian provided detailed information to guide me.  I brought the tools and the experience in using them.  Together, we returned this precious reminder of their wedding day.

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Lost Wedding Ring Found at Lake Geneva’s Riviera Beach

  • from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, United States)
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Sour Summer Turns Sweet

Wednesday, May 29, 2024  

I was settling into a normal Wednesday evening routine of doing the dinner dishes, getting the kids ready for bed, and bedtime reading when a fellow detectorist from Madison texted me and asked if I was up for a hunt.  An all too common tale…a young man lost his wedding band at the beach.  The lost wedding band was just a seven minute drive away at a beach I routinely hunt, so I texted the owner, Ryan, to see if he still needed help.  

Ryan, a high school math teacher from Florida, had finished up his school year and was visiting family in Lake Geneva, WI.  Before going for a swim, he took off his ring and set it on his beach blanket.  Regardless of how it ended up in the sand, his sweet summer trip had suddenly soured.  Inscribed into his wedding band is “with my whole heart, for my whole life.”  Ryan and his wife perhaps needed to lean a bit more into that promise as this treasured memento of their wedding day was lost.

           I met Ryan just as the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon.  He showed me the spot where their blanket was laid down, near a lifeguard stand.  I expanded the search area much wider than I thought necessary and started a grid search.  One of Ryan’s nephews suggested I move closer to the area where their blanket has been.  I didn’t want to miss the ring on my first pass, and explained that I would work my way toward the spot.  It wasn’t long before I hit a strong signal and the ring was found.    

 

          Everyone was excited, and after some photos, the ring was back on Ryan’s finger. 

 It felt so good to see his smile and know I helped, a bit, turn this sour experience sweet again.  And despite the challenges that life will bring, I hope Ryan will always lean into his marriage promise, “with my whole heart, for my whole life.”  This is a good reminder for all of us.

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