Lost Ring in the Backyard

Summer is by far the busiest time of year for us at www.LostandFoundRing.com.  People are out and about in the summer heat, playing with family and friends in the backyard or at the lake.  When people are active, especially around water, the chances of losing your wedding, engagement or class ring seems to increase dramatically.  The summer of 2015 was no exception for us and our metal detecting business.  The month of July and August alone we found and returned 8 lost rings – an average of 1 per week.

Chill in the Air

Fall is historically our second busiest time of year.  You might wonder why?  Fall is the time when people are out in their backyards preparing for winter.  Raking, clearing brush and planting bulbs … all so everything is ready come spring.  Gone are the summer months of 80 degree hot and humid days.  They have been replaced by cool days and even cooler nights.  This cold causes hands to shrink and rings to become loose.  Good for the metal detecting business … bad for people who are about to say, Help me find my lost ring in the backyard.

Spring Bulbs

This is what was about to happen to Bill, only he didn’t know it.  He was out in his backyard clearing brush, raking leaves and planting bulbs for the spring.  He remembers his wedding ring being a little loose, but he didn’t think it would actually fall off.  At the end of a hard day’s work in the yard, he looked down at his hand … his wedding ring was missing.  This was a wedding ring that Bill never took off, he wore it 24/7 and now it was missing.  It was a simple gold band, but like every married couple – the ring had meaning, memories and emotions beyond just the 14k gold it was made of.

Digging in the Dirt

Bill immediately dug up all of the bulbs he had just planted.  He spread the dirt and bubs out on a large piece of cardboard in his driveway.  He then sifted through the dirt, hoping to find his lost ring.  However after a couple of hours, he was unsuccessful.  A second set of eyes might help, so Bill recruited his daughter to search.  She too, dug around in the dirt and sifted through it for hours … only to come up empty handed like her dad.

Rent a Metal Detector

Almost every one of my lost ring stories includes a section of the story where the man/woman thinks to themselves, “Maybe I should rent a metal detector to see if I can find my lost ring”!  Almost everyone goes to www.Google.com and types in “where to rent metal detector” into the search box.  As some of you know, I actually pay to run Google Ads, hoping to get to people before they make the mistake of renting a metal detector themselves.  I’ve heard so many stories of people renting a metal detector, trying to learn how to use it, becoming frustrated when they dig nail after pull tab after random piece of junk … until eventually they give up and swear the ring is lost forever … or my favorite “a crow probably picked it up”.   Well, Bill clicked on my Google Ad and was promptly taken to my website.  After reading a story or two about some of our past successful lost ring hunts with a metal detector, Bill gave me a call and we made plans to meet him at his house to see if we could find his lost ring in the backyard.

Night Hunt

The problem with Fall, is that the sun seems to go down right after it comes up.  By the time I was done with work, went home to grab my hunting partners (Carter and Kylie) … it was pitch dark.  This would be our first night hunt.  Bill was working in a flower bed close to the house, so I figured there’d be some light.  There was some, but not much.  Luckily, we brought our flashlights.  Bill walked through the events of the day again with us as we setup our gear.  Bill had a spot light that he said he could get to shine more light on our search.  While he was doing this, I assessed the search area.

No Grid Needed

On most searches, we setup a grid with stakes or flags.  This way we can perform a thorough search with the metal detector, making sure not to miss anything when swinging our metal detector back and forth.  Before setting up a grid, I usually search the area more crudely – just to see how “hot” it is.  Is there a lot of junk in the ground, or is it pretty clean?  During this initial sweep, I got around 10-12 hits – most in the low iron range, which were probably roofing nails.  Then I got a nice strong, crisp and repeatable signal that was about 2 inches deep.  It registered in the range of gold on the metal detector.

“Do you want to watch this?”

I waited while Bill finished plugging in the light and asked him and his wife, “Do you want to watch this?”.  Now, I never want to get over confident … cause that’s when you look like a fool who doesn’t know what he is doing and people start to wonder if they should have rented that metal detector themselves.  I had a really good feeling about this one and I didn’t want them to miss it.  So everyone huddled over the spot, and before Kylie pushed the shovel into the ground … I gave a disclaimer that we never get excited until we see that glimmer of gold, as this could be junk.  Well, it wasn’t junk and no one waited to get excited … I barely saw the circular impression of the ring when I heard a hoot, a holler and a loud whistle followed by a “Yeah!”.   Turns out we didn’t need that spot light after all.

Lost Ring #27

2 mins 45 seconds

Carter likes to time the length of our hunts … the last two ring hunts have been under 5 mins.  This is not typical, as some hunts can go on for hours.  We recently went on a hunt for a lost dog collar remote, where we logged over 5 hours.  You could tell they were surprised we were able to find it so quickly with a metal detector, as he had searched that exact same spot the previous day.  You’d be surprised how fast a ring can disappear from sight.

Thanks Bill for giving us a call.  The kids enjoyed Sonny, your dog and thank you for the generous reward.  If you are reading this and you lost your ring or know of someone who lost their ring, give us a call before renting a metal detector.  It doesn’t matter how long ago it was … because I’m sure a crow didn’t pick it up, it’s probably still there right next to your tulips ready to come up next spring.   Please “Like” our Facebook page and you will get every Lost Ring Story delivered to you.  Remember, every ring has a story, what’s yours?

More Lost Ring Stories

Interested in more Lost Ring Stories?  Check out our Lost and Found Ring Story Archive, Local Newspaper Articles featuring the Roekle Ring Finders or other General Interest Lost Ring Stories in the news from across the United States.