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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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Lost Keys Found in Eau Claire, WI.

  • from Eau Claire (Wisconsin, United States)
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Janessa lost the keys to her apartment and mailbox while walking her retriever last evening.  She and her friends searched but no luck.  Her father found my number and she called to see if I could help.  We detected the path she had followed and the places where they had stopped to play, a fairly large area.  We searched for almost two hours, and were becoming pretty discouraged, when there they were.

 

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