The Ring Finders Blog

Miracle at St Matthews…Cherished Ring Lost, Recovered and Returned after Storm in Philadelphia, PA!!!

  • from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, United States)
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The storm didn’t disappoint. It was Sunday, January 25, 2026 and as predicted the Philadelphia area was blanketed with 15 inches of snow…and for good measure the storm added 2 inches of frozen icy crust to the accumulation. I was in the process of digging my way out of my home in Downingtown, PA. That’s when the call came in…

The call was from Godesh (Desh). In my close to 10 years as a ring finder I don’t think I ever sensed such desperation (and have had several recoveries involving diamond engagement rings with upcoming wedding dates!).

Desh’s father was a notorious and powerful man during the 1970 and 80s back in Puerto Rico. His nickname in the area was “the Boss’ and he was a legend in his community for his entrepreneurial spirit and support of countless families. In the nineties he consolidated and sold everything he had of value to support his family’s move to Pennsylvania. The only thing of value he held onto was a large, beautiful, 24k gold ring with his initials…the gold used for the ring was sourced from the melting of family jewelry that was in his family for generations. Desh’s father died young, and Desh was raised by a single mother in Philadelphia. They struggled financially and had to sell anything of value to survive in Philadelphia. Through it all, Desh and his family held onto one thing, one thing that connected them to the past and reminded them of a great man…his ring!

On that Sunday night, as the snow was still falling Desh’s car got stuck in the snow at the corner of Battersby and Cottman…right in front of St Matthews Church. The streets had yet to be plowed. Desh got out of his car to try to clear the snow away from beneath the car. He didn’t have gloves and his hands began to freeze. He tried to rub them together…but his ring got in the way. He took the ring off…actually put it in his mouth before rubbing his hands some more. He then decided he needed to find a shovel so he can clear more snow from underneath the car. He took the ring out of his mouth and put it in his pants pocket and walked over to the church where he saw people shoveling snow. He asked to borrow a shovel and went back to his car to clear more snow. He spent another hour clearing snow and was finally able to free the car. He returned the shovel and drove 1 block down Battersby to his home. The next morning Desh woke up in a panic…his ring. Gone.

I met Desh at St Matthews Church on January 28th at 1:30 pm. Desh brought a friend along to help with the search. While waiting for him in the church parking lot a clergy man ask If I needed help with something…I told him the purpose of my presence. He wished us luck and gave us a blessing. While waiting I also had a chance to look at the area…snow everywhere…up to 3 feet in some areas. The street and sideways still covered. Bitter cold and windy. This was not going to be a fun search.

When Desh arrived we walked the area before I got my metal detector out of the car. The search area was about half a block when you consider where his car was stuck and where he walked to borrow and return the shovel. As I always do…I asked where he felt that the ring most likely fell out of his pocket. He felt confident it most likely fell out in the area of the street where the car was stuck. He said he was on his hand and knees digging in that area. We walked over there….it was dirty snow…2-3 feet deep in places where the plow came through. It was variable in depth because of cars driving through with big snow boulders here and there. I told Desh and his friend that I need to be able to sweep my metal detector so the area needed to be flattened out. The peaks and troughs are going to make it impossible for me to effectively scan the area. He and his friend began working with shovels to smooth it into a flat surface. The metal detector I was using would, at best, pick up a gold ring to a depth of 15 inches. It is a new and amazing machine featuring Bluetooth headphones to alert me to potential target signals. I was 10 minutes into scanning the area when I received a strong signal in my headphones. The signal identification number on the machine was suggestive of gold. Could it be? The signal came from a huge boulder of icy snow. Desh and his friend surrounded me in anticipation. I kicked the big ball and broke it in half. Now I was getting the signal from one half. I kicked that half and it broke into 2 pieces again. Again I was getting a signal from one piece. I kicked again and it broke into 3 apple sized snowballs. I scanned the 3 and was still getting a good signal from one of the snowballs. I picked it up and handed it to Desh. I told him something was in it. I was watching Desh intently as he gently broke the little snowball into smaller pieces. As I watched Desh choked and his eyes welled up with tears. He couldn’t speak for 30 seconds. Then he finally got the words out…you found it!!! Divine intervention? I’m not sure. I know this recovery will go down as one of the most meaningful for me for sure. Not just because it was so unlikely I was going to find it but because how much this ring meant to Desh. Over the next 10 minutes Desh welled up with tears 3 more times while sharing the history and significance of the cherished ring that I’m proud to say is back on his finger where it belongs.

 

 

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Wallet Lost And Found In Biddeford, Maine Returned To Owner In Saco, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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So this is a very different Recovery and Return for me. No one called me, I didn’t have a metal detector and the owner didn’t even know, he had lost his item, a wallet.

My elderly mother no longer drives and Cheryl and I take her grocery shopping and to her Dr’s appointments. This morning, my mother had a dermatologist appointment, in Biddeford. I picked her up, from her home, in Saco, Maine and drove her to the appointment, in Biddeford, Maine. When we arrived, I was walking around the rear of the vehicle, to open the car door for her, when I saw a wallet, standing up, on its sides. It was just 2 parking spots over from us and as I approached, I could see some cash and some cards. I put the wallet in my inside coat pocket and helped my mother, towards the door, to the Dr’s office. Other cars were coming in and within a minute, before we were even in the door, to the Dr’s, someone parked where the wallet was. One minute later and I would never have seen the wallet.
Once checked in, I opened the wallet, looking for identification and or a phone number. No phone number was found but the drivers license belonged to a John B******. John’s address was in Saco and I knew where the street was. If John did’t walk into the Dr’s office, I would simply drive the wallet to John, after driving my mother home. His address is only 6-7 miles, from my house, in Saco. As I am sitting in the waiting room, I figured I could do a little internet sleuthing and see if I could find a phone number. I did find a landline number for John, at that address but when I called, it had been disconnected. I then tried Facebook and I found John’s Facebook profile, sending him the following message

“Hi John, My name is Dennis Boothby and I have a Facebook Page, The Ring Finders of Maine. I have found a wallet, in Biddeford and I believe it is yours. Could you please call me I am currently still in Biddeford, while my mother is having a procedure done. Thank you, Dennis” I also sent John a photo of my Rack Business Card, with my photo, so he wouldn’t think this was a scam.

I just wanted John to know his wallet had been found and didn’t want him to be out looking for it and worrying. Once my mother was done, at the dermatologist , I drove her home and then Cheryl and I drove out to John’s home. Once at John’s home, John’s wife, Mel answered the door, looked at me and said, “You look awfully familiar.” I then handed Mel my business card and introduced myself. Mel then says “Oh my gosh, Yes, I follow you and your stories.” Mel then told me John wasn’t home and that he had gone to their church, to help with something. I then asked Mel if John had lost his wallet. She told me that she hadn’t heard he had but would call him and ask. I then pulled out John’s wallet and Mel said that it was John’s wallet and then placed the call to John. The conversation went something like this, “Hi Honey, do you have your wallet?” John replied that yes he had taken his wallet with him. Mel then told John that I had found his wallet and that she was actually holding it. I believe John was stunned for a second, most likely checking his pockets, before saying that he didn’t have it and that he had put his wallet, in his hat, while at the Dr’s office. John surmises the wallet must have fallen out of his hat, as he was about to get in his car. John then thanked me, over the phone and was extremely kind, with his words to me. Mel was also very thankful and asked me for a hug. Mel also told me how lucky they were that I had found the wallet because if someone else had found it, the ending may have been entirely different. I would hope that anyone would have done the right thing and returned the wallet. So, a very different type of return but the gratification was the same. Although I wasn’t able to meet John, I am sure he was smiling, as Mel told him his wallet was safe and sound, at home. I know Mel, Cheryl and myself had big smiles on our faces. I love doing this for others and have the best job in the world.😀❤️🙏

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Metal Detector Used to Find Property Pins in Nashville, TN

  • from Nashville (Tennessee, United States)
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I received a call from Harley on this cold February day from his home in E. Nashville. Harley needed property pins located and gave me call after getting outrageous quotes from a surveying company. I arrived at Harley’s home within an hour and found our targets.

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Lost Gold Ring w/Diamond in the Snow Found in Madison Heights Michigan

  • from Detroit (Michigan, United States)
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The Only Ice that Kept Her Warm…..

suddenly turned Brianna cold when her ring went missing somewhere between where her car was parked and her grandma’s apartment. After spending some time with family, Brianna ran briskly from the apartment to her vehicle. Grasping the steering wheel and pulling away from the curb she felt something missing. When I got there, I was able to search all the area where the vehicle was parked with no luck. Starting towards the apartment I got a great signal and pinpointing down thru 6 inches of snow revealed her ring with one on the most sparkling and gorgeous diamond settings I have seen. Putting it back on her finger suddenly warmed her up again, and with grandma giving the thumbs up from the apartment window melted away any doubt of the recovery.

Jonathan

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Lost White Gold Ring w/Diamond in the Snow Found in Bloomfield Hills Michigan

  • from Detroit (Michigan, United States)
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Groundhog Gold…..

Being holed up in the current Michigan deepfreeze, Mohammad and his wife decided to run a few errands. Upon arriving home, a friendly snowball fight ensued that left her ring missing. Agreeing to meet on Monday to search, after arriving I set up my MXT metal detector and began a grid search. In just a few minutes I got a great signal with the detector. 6 inches of snow cover was hiding the ring! Amazingly in one of the pictures, the beautiful ring’s shadow appeared. Coincidentally a certain groundhog saw his as well. Can we put faith in a rodent to predict when spring will arrive?  Or does seeing the ring’s shadow predict the next 6 weeks and beyond will be warm and comforting for Mohammad and his wife…..

Jonathan

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Lost White Gold & Diamonds Engagement Ring at Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began when I got a call from Braiden who happened to be on the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach, as a young lady named Laura, got bitten by a bee on her finger and as she swung her hand to get rid of the bee her White Gold & Diamonds Engagement Ring flew off into the sand and disappeared.  She was in a panic state as she couldn’t find her ring and wasn’t really positive as to where it landed in the sand during her stressful bee sting moment.  Braiden agreed to meet me on the boardwalk and direct me to where Laura was.  I arrived rather quickly and Braiden was easy to spot at 6 foot 7.  When he introduced me to Laura she was still crying but still had the wherewithal to describe the event and where it should be.  I fired up the Manticore and told her to relax as there would most likely be some trash found during the hunt.  I show my clients every target I retrieve so they know I’m not going to pocket their precious item.  My first target was a piece of foil and as I showed it to Laura a look of dishearten surprise was obvious.  I told her again I would show her everything I dig.  Next target “Boom” gorgeous ring in the scoop.  “Now you can get excited” I said, as I let her retrieve her ring from my scoop.  Tears of relief flowed down her face and she gave me a giant hug of thanks.  Applause and cheers rang out from the tourists on the beach.  Vacation saved!  Aloha to Laura from Canada!

 

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LOST 14k GOLD ENGAGEMENT RING in CATAWBA, NC…….FOUND!!!!

  • from Raleigh (North Carolina, United States)
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I received a text from a young lady on Sunday stating she had lost her 14k gold engagement ring in her backyard while pushing her little sister on a sled.

As she pushed her, she fell and stood up and shook her hands off and at some point the ring fell/flew off her finger.

Due to the road conditions, we agree on Tuesday after I got off work to drive down and attempt to locate her ring.

I arrived and met her and her mom, got the story and began my search. After about 30 mins, I get the signal I was hoping for. After a quick brush away and pin-pointer locating the target, there was her ring in the snow!!

I love helping people find their lost and irreplaceable!!!!

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Ring count for 2026: 3 (3 – recoveries)

GOLD – 3 (3 – recoveries)

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Gold Wedding Ring Lost In The Snow – Found in Pittsburgh by metal detector specialist Brian Carpenter 814-244-2300

  • from Indiana (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Lost your ring, other valuable jewelry, cellphone, keys, or other metal object…call or text Brian Carpenter at (814)244-2300 as soon as possible. I am a ring recovery/metal detecting specialist serving Pittsburgh, Indiana (PA), and most of Western PA. Why rent a metal detector when you can get a trained operator with top of the line equipment at the same time…

I was contacted by Joshua who stated his wife had lost her gold wedding ring in the snow in front of a house in Pittsburgh. They were visiting from New York  and the ring had fallen off of her finger outside of their car. I was able to make plans to search for the ring the next morning.

I arrived to find out that while the ring was lost out in front of the house it was along the street rather than in a driveway. I met Joshua who showed me where he had parked. Two days had passed and of course they had been searching and people were moving snow as they shoveled out parking spaces and sidewalks. I inspected the area and my heart started to sink. This looked next to impossible. On the curb next to where they had parked was a neighbor’s garbage to include a trash can, an old air conditioner and what looked like a stack of old shelving. Just as an added bonus to what looked like an incredible task was the fact that the temperature was in the single digits.

I started to search, got a pretty promising sound and began combing through the snow. I forgot to mention this was an old cobblestone street. As I got down under the ice I found an copper penny in one of the cracks on the roadway. I was starting to prepare for this to be a VERY long haul. I started to move around the car and to the area of the neighbor’s trash. As I moved around the plastic trash can I got another pretty good hit. I got out my pinpointer and it was a relatively small target. While removing the snow to find the target I caught a glimpse of gold that disappeared back into the white fluffy snow. I dug down and finally there it was – the ring! I hate to say it but I was in disbelief. I have said it before but this was nothing more than simply devine intervention!! I had only been searching for about 20 minutes or so when I found the ring.

I took the ring to the house and gave it to Joshua. He was amazed and very happy that I recovered it. Then I found out they were newlyweds and had been married for just a week. They were returning to New York the next day. As always it was a pleasure to meet another kind and generous client and return their lost ring.

 

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Keys Lost In The Snow – Found by metal detector specialist Brian Carpenter in Pittsburgh, PA! Call or Text Brian at 814-244-2300

  • from Indiana (Pennsylvania, United States)
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Lost your ring, other valuable jewelry, cellphone, keys, or other metal object…call or text Brian Carpenter at (814)244-2300 as soon as possible. I am a ring recovery/metal detecting specialist serving Pittsburgh, Indiana (PA), and most of Western PA. Why rent a metal detector when you can get a trained operator with top of the line equipment at the same time…

After one of the massive snowstorms that covered the country recently and hit Pittsburgh pretty hard I was contacted by Donquia who had lost his keys in front of his house. Donquia said he slipped on the front steps and his keys went into the snow. We made arrangements for me to come out the next morning.

I arrived in the area to find only a small path on the street in front of Donquia’s house to be plowed and the rest of the area was nothng but piles of snow and plowed in cars. With nowhere to park I left my truck sitting in the middle of the street, got briefed by Donquia and got started. He was pretty sure he went one way and the keys went another. I started to sweep over the snow with a few hits but no keys. I then had to drive around the block as someone needed to get by on the roadway. When I came back I parked in the street again and started on the opposite side of the steps. After a few minutes a nice sound came through my headset. I started to dig with my snowshovel and jackpot, I found Donquia’s keys!

I was happy to find Donquia’s keys relatively quickly so he could get to work a bit later. As always, it was a pleasure to meet another kind and generous client and recover his lost item.

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Three Gold Rings, Engagement, Wedding, Lost In The Kennebunk, Maine Snow, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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Just before 5:00pm, Friday January 30th, I received the following message , from Maggie

“Hey, are you close to Kennebunk, Maine ? We have an individual who lost three rings in the snow after tossing a ball for the dog. What is the cost to have them searched for?”

I replied “Hi So sorry to hear this. I do not charge for my Emergency Metal Detecting Services or my Time. I do however have a Transportation Fee of $25.00 to Kennebunk and that’s it.”

Maggie replied “When can you come? 80 York St”

I replied “Well, it would be dark before I can get to Kennebunk Maine tonight. I need good lighting, to find a ring in the snow. I could be there first thing in the morning, 7:00am, 8:00am or whatever works for you.”

We agreed that I would arrive at their location, bright and early, at 7:00am, as the sun was coming up. Maggie then explained the location was actually The Mooring , a Memory Care Facility and also a Respite Center, just off of Rt 1, in Kennebunk , Maine and not far from the Wells Maine town line. Mary is a caregiver , to the elderly, a very demanding job. Mary is staying at the Respite Center, for a short time and had been playing with a Labrador puppy named Millie. They were playing just outside the door, on the patio. Mary had been throwing a ball, into the snow and Millie had been retrieving the ball, bringing the ball back to Mary and repeating the playful game over and over. At some point during the playful game, Mary noticed her three rings were missing. The rings were a Yellow Gold Engagement Ring, a Yellow Gold Wedding Ring and a White Gold Ring, which was a gift, from her husband. All three rings had Diamonds in them and Mary was just beside herself, that the rings were no longer on her finger. Maggie, a staff member at The Mooring, told me that she would be working from 7:00am to 7:00pm, the next day and she would let me into the secure facility, to search for the rings.
So, Saturday morning , I left my home, in Saco, Maine, in the pre dawn hours, at 6:30am. I arrived right at 7:00am. Maggie was in the vestibule waiting for me and took me inside to meet Mary. Mary repeated the story that had been told to me, by Maggie and we then went outside, to the patio area. Mary showed me where she had been standing, on the patio, while throwing the ball. She also pointed in the direction that she had been throwing the ball. The most likely place the rings would be were just on the other side of a table and chairs, on the patio. I was then told that Mary and others, including staff had searched the area already but hadn’t been able to find any of the three rings. I could see the area had been disturbed quite a bit and was hoping the rings hadn’t been pushed too far down, into the snow or even moved out of the area. After shoveling quite a bit, a few days earlier, for a cell phone, I really wasn’t looking forward to shoveling more snow. But, I had brought my shovel, just in case.
I started the search by moving a few chairs out of the way and pushing the table slightly back, from the deep snow bank. I then started searching the snow, on the patio itself and nothing was found, until a minute into the search, when I received my first target. It was not the ring, but something under the patio. I then received a loud repeating target , near the base of the snowbank. It was definitely a non ferrous target and was ringing up a solid 41, on the VDI screen. As I moved the snow aside, with my hand, I saw the outline of a Yellow Gold Ring. WOW, only a minute or so and the first ring had been found. I passed the ring, to a now emotional Mary, who had some happy tear, in the corner of her eyes. Mary identified the ring, as her wedding ring. Well, that was easy enough and I knew the other rings had to be very close by. Another minute or two and I received another solid low tone non ferrous target, reading 25 on the VDI screen. This target was in the side of the snowbank and as I was brushing the snow away, a ring fell out of the snowbank. I reached down, picked it up and it was Mary’s Yellow Gold Engagement Ring. I passed it to Maggie and I could see Mary, on the patio, with happy tears still flowing. Now just one more ring. The White Gold Ring that was a gift from her husband. Almost immediately, I received a very low tone, non ferrous, reading 15 on the VDI screen. This just had to be the White Gold Ring and it was located just slightly higher, in the snowbank, than the Engagement Ring and less than a foot away. As I removed snow, with my hand, I saw the white band of the ring, sticking out of the snowbank. YES, SUCCESS!!! All three rings were now back on Mary’s finger and she was just so happy to have them back. Mary told me she hadn’t slept at all, last night because her precious rings were gone. Her husband was coming to visit her at 8:00am and she hadn’t called and told him that she had lost the rings. Now she had them back, she had no more worries. It wasn’t even 7:30am and she was just so relieved the rings had been found, prior to her husband’s arrival.
We all went back inside, as it was very cold. When I had arrived, the air temperature was a -3 degrees, without the wind chill. As we were talking and warming up, Maggie told me that she has followed my stories for years and knew who to contact, as soon as Mary told her about her lost rings. As we were all celebrating and smiling I took a photo of Maggie holding the three rings. Mary had asked me not to include any photos of her, in the story, like many other of my clients have in the past. Mary told me she is just not a social media person and I always honor their wish, not to have there photo included. Mary did say I could use the photo of her rings, back on her finger and I could sense a big change in her demeanor. Mary was now smiling, happy and most of all, she couldn’t wait to see her husband, just a half hour from now. What a beautiful moment seeing Mary smiling, awaiting to see her beloved husband, with the precious and sentimental rings, back on her finger, where they belong. I truly have the best job, in the world.🤗❤️🙏

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