Lake County, Illinois

Great Lakes Historical Recovery
Text Box: February 5, 2005 Great Lakes Historical Recovery Mike Barber Hi-- A few weeks ago, while helping my friend clean snow off his car, I lost a ring that was given to me after my Father passed away last month. My wife & I searched for hours upon hours and came up with nothing. Needless to say, I was quite distraught. We ended up going to Wal-Mart and purchasing a Bounty Hunter metal detector. We had no idea how to work the darn thing and didn't know how to filter out the trash from the treasure. Things weren't looking good. We put up REWARD signs describing the ring and asking the finder to call us at home. Nothing happened. We called pawn shops and local Lost & Found places to see if someone had picked up my ring...nothing. On a whim, I did a Google search for "metal detecting" hobbyists. I came across a website called www.gometaldetecting.com. They had a message board so I posted this message asking them for advice: “Hello-- Last Wednesday, while helping clean snow off my friend's car, I lost my Father's ring. It was given to me when he passed away last month. My wife & I searched and searched for hours. The snow is starting to melt and we keep going back to search, but no luck. We even bought a $200 metal detector but it is confusing to use and the snow makes it that much more difficult. Does anybody know of any service in the Chicago area that offers (cheap) metal detections?? I am not "metal detector" literate and know next to nothing about the hobby. I just would like to hire somebody to help find my ring. If you can help or point me in the right direction, please do so...” I was told to do a search for Chicago area metal and treasure finding clubs. I stumbled across the website for the Great Lakes Historical Recovery group. There were a few email addresses on the site. I sent a copy of my posting to all of the addresses. Just a few hours later Mike Barber emailed me telling me he'd be happy to help me find my ring. It had been over a week since it was last on my finger and my hopes were fading fast. After a couple of emails and phone calls, we agreed to meet at the specified location Saturday afternoon. It was real warm and most of the ice and snow was gone. It seemed my chances of finding my ring were slim to none. My friend's car was in the way and Mike's detector kept picking up detections from his car. I tried calling my friend to have him move his car, but could not get a hold of him. As Mike continued his search, I called area pawn shops & police stations and kept trying to call my friend to have him move his car. Mike kept getting detections, but usually it would just end up being a penny, a bottle cap or some other useless tin. Mike pinpointed something under what was remaining of the ice. He started digging and when I least expected it, plucked out my Father's ring!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! I had given up all hope and when I least expected it I was seeing my Father's ring once again! Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have been given the gift of Mike's help. All he asked was that he be able to take a picture of the ring for his collection. I was more than happy to oblige. It was the singular most happy moment of my life. The ring originally belonged to my Grandfather, Floyd Murphy. Grandfather passed. When my Father passed in December, it was given to me. When my Dad was alive, he always told me how he loved the ring and how it would be mine when he passed. I was heartbroken when I lost it and felt like I had disgraced the family name and that a piece of my family's history was lost forever. I had hit rock bottom. Out of the kindness of his heart, Mike Barber took time out of his weekend to offer a helping hand. I am forever grateful and will remember his efforts for as long as I live. A big round of thanks & appreciation to Mike Barber & Great Lakes Historical Recovery! Sincerely, Joel Murphy...Wheaton IL