There’s something uniquely powerful about metal detecting that goes beyond just finding “treasure.” It’s about the stories attached to the items we find—and more importantly, the items we hope to find.
Recently, we at Relic Expeditions teamed up with Ryan from Horde of the Rings for a very special mission: a live ring recovery in beautiful Brockville, Ontario. This wasn’t just any piece of jewelry; we were searching for a gold family heirloom lost over 13 years ago.
The Backstory
The homeowner, Julia, lost the ring back when she was just twelve years old. While swimming in the mighty St. Lawrence River, she had placed the ring on a towel for safekeeping. In a moment of forgetfulness, she picked up the towel, gave it a shake, and—just like that—the ring vanished into the grass and rocks.
A decade and a half later, a chance encounter with the Relic Expeditions decal on James’s truck brought that memory back to the surface, and we were called in to see if we could finally bring that heirloom home.
The Search Area
We set up on a stunning property right on the riverbank. The challenge? The terrain. We were working with a mix of manicured turf, a stone retaining wall, and a rocky shoreline. Over 13 years, objects don’t just sit on top of the grass; they migrate, sink, and get shifted by the brutal Canadian winters and river ice heaving.
Tools of the Trade
For this recovery, we brought out the heavy hitters:
- Minelab Manticore: Ryan’s “beast” of a machine, known for its incredible target separation.
- Nokta Simplex Ultra: James’s reliable workhorse, perfect for navigating the jumpy signals of a historical riverfront.
What We Found (and What We Didn’t)
Metal detecting on a historic waterfront is never quiet. Every few feet, our machines screamed with “ghosts” of the past. Among the items we cleared out to “quiet” the area were:
- Old Foil and Can Slaw: The classic enemy of the ring hunter.
- Copper Plates: A strange, green-patinaed piece of copper that gave us a heart-stopping high signal.
- Jet and Sea Glass: The shoreline was littered with beautiful blue sea glass and pieces of “jet”—conductive petrified wood that can sometimes trick even a seasoned pro.
The Reality of Recovery
One of the most important things we discussed during the live stream is that recovery isn’t always instant. People see the 30-second clips of a “mail-in” find, but the reality is hours of methodical swinging, digging clean plugs, and managing expectations.
While we didn’t pull the gold out of the ground during this specific live window, the search doesn’t end here. The “Ontario Ring Recovery Service” is all about persistence. We’ve recovered everything from key fobs in deep snow to rings lost for decades, and the look on a owner’s face when that metal finally glints in the sunlight is why we do what we do.
Watch the Full Hunt
You can watch the entire live process, hear the tones of the Manticore, and see the beautiful Brockville scenery in the full video below.
Watch the full video here: Ring Recovery Live on location
Have you lost something special? Or do you have a story of a long-lost item being found? Let us know in the comments below! Don’t forget to subscribe to Relic Expeditions and Horde of the Rings for more historical hunts and recovery missions.