Canada
Lost a wedding ring in a park in Canada?
Britannia Beach in Ottawa and Bowring Park in St. John's are described here; the area pages below take the other cities park by park.
A wedding band that came off in a Canadian backyard, a city park or at a lake beach can be searched for, because it is usually on ground you can go back to. What decides it is how little ground is left to cover: one garden bed, one end of a soccer field or one stretch of sand, rather than a whole afternoon's walk.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Canada. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the backyard, park or beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and the other cities listed lower down each have an area page, naming their parks and beaches one by one. Ottawa and St. John's do not, so Britannia Beach and Bowring Park are written up on this page instead.
Mostly grass, sometimes water
Much of the ground on the Canadian area pages is grass: lawns at home, city parks, soccer fields, ball diamonds and dog parks, from Calgary and Edmonton across to Regina, Winnipeg and London. On grass the question is which part of the field or yard you were on, and who has walked it since.
Water comes into it on the Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Lake Huron shores at Toronto, Cobourg, Crystal Beach, Port Dover and Sarnia, at lake beaches in Barrie, the Okanagan, Halifax and Dartmouth, off cottage docks in the Kawarthas and Haliburton, on the river at Britannia Beach in Ottawa, and on salt water in Vancouver, White Rock, Victoria, Parksville, Halifax and Prince Edward Island. There, the first questions are whether it dropped on the beach or into the water, and whether you could stand where it happened.
How we handle a loss, from any province
Write when it suits you
Late at night after the game or the morning after a long weekend, send a WhatsApp message. One person keeps that thread from start to finish.
Questions before anyone goes out
We ask what you did in the hour before you noticed, who else was there, and whether the grass has been cut or the field played on since.
A swim across the lake
A ring that slipped off during a swim across a lake, somewhere between one shore and the other, is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Costs in the same chat
We explain the costs before any search is booked, so you can talk it over at home first.
Our Ring Finder Service Locations in Canada
- Atlantic Canada
- Barrie and Georgian Bay
- Calgary and Banff
- Edmonton
- Fraser Valley
- Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton
- Kingston, Cobourg and Prince Edward County
- London and Sarnia, Ontario
- Niagara and Lake Erie
- Okanagan
- Saskatchewan and Manitoba
- Toronto and the GTA
- Vancouver Island
- Vancouver, North Shore and Richmond
Which page covers your town
Each card below names the towns and ground on its area page, linked above. Britannia Beach and Bowring Park have no area page, so their cards say more.
Start with the city you were in
Vancouver, North Shore and Richmond
The city beaches from English Bay out to Spanish Banks and Acadia Beach, West Vancouver out to Whytecliff, North Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby and New Westminster, and up the Sea to Sky to Squamish, Alice Lake, Pemberton and Joffre Lakes.
Fraser Valley
White Rock's beach and pier, Crescent Beach and Blackie Spit in Surrey, Delta out to Centennial Beach, the Langleys, the Tri-Cities, Alouette Lake, Rolley Lake and Mission, then Cultus and Chilliwack lakes, Harrison Hot Springs and Hope.
Vancouver Island
Dallas Road Beach, Esquimalt Lagoon and the fields of Oak Bay, Nanaimo's harbourfront, Pipers Lagoon and Westwood Lake, Rathtrevor Beach and the Parksville Bay sand, and the Qualicum Beach waterfront.
Okanagan
Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton: lake beaches as far as Kalamalka Lake and Ellison Park, the parks where weddings are held, and playing fields.
Calgary and Banff
Calgary's backyards, river parks, Fish Creek and sports fields, Quarry Lake and the town parks of Canmore, and Banff's streets, riverbank and lakes.
Edmonton
Edmonton's river valley parks, festival grounds and off-leash areas, plus St. Albert and Big Lake, Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park and Astotin Lake at Elk Island.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Moose Jaw with Wakamow Valley, Regina with Wascana Park, and Winnipeg, with their city parks and sports fields, and the Lake Winnipeg beaches from Gimli to Grand Beach.
Toronto and the GTA
The Toronto beaches from Marie Curtis Park to Cherry Beach and Kew-Balmy, the Oakville and Hamilton waterfronts, and parks and lake beaches in Brampton, Guelph and Cambridge.
Niagara and Lake Erie
St Catharines, Queen Victoria Park at the Falls, Crystal Beach in Fort Erie, and Port Dover with its beach and pier, out to Turkey Point and Long Point.
Barrie and Georgian Bay
Barrie's waterfront beaches and parks, the beach areas at Wasaga with its fields and band shell, and Collingwood.
Kingston, Cobourg and Prince Edward County
Breakwater Park in Kingston, Victoria Beach and West Beach in Cobourg, Presqu'ile, the Sandbanks beaches, and the County towns of Picton, Bloomfield, Wellington and Ameliasburgh.
Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton
Cottage docks and town beaches, from Lindsay, Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls and Balsam Lake to Haliburton village and Minden.
London and Sarnia, Ontario
London's sports fields, parks and Fanshawe Lake, then Sarnia, Bright's Grove and the Lake Huron beaches at Grand Bend and Pinery.
Atlantic Canada
Fredericton, Halifax and Dartmouth, Charlottetown and Summerside: lake beaches, ocean beaches from Lawrencetown to Cavendish and Parlee, playing fields and waterfront walks.
Britannia Beach, Ottawa
Britannia Beach, in Britannia Park on Carling Avenue, is one of the City of Ottawa's supervised swimming beaches. The river bottom near the swimming area varies and has sandbars. New buoy lines are part of the swimming area's layout, and a lane rope marks where the riverbed slopes.
Bowring Park, St. John's
Bowring Park is a large city park in the west end of St. John's, lying between the Waterford River and South Brook. Inside it are a ball field, a soccer field, a dog park, a duck pond, a playground and a splash pad, with walking trails and paved roadways running between them. Tell us which of them you were at.
Places we cover in Canada
- Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver
- Richmond and Burnaby
- Surrey and White Rock
- Chilliwack and Harrison Hot Springs
- Victoria and Nanaimo
- Parksville and Rathtrevor Beach
- Kelowna
- Vernon and Penticton
- Calgary
- Canmore and Banff
- Edmonton and St. Albert
- Regina and Moose Jaw
- Winnipeg
- Toronto
- Hamilton and Oakville
- Brampton and Guelph
- St Catharines
- Crystal Beach, Fort Erie
- Port Dover
- Barrie
- The Town of Wasaga Beach
- Collingwood
- Kingston
- Cobourg
- Picton and Sandbanks, Prince Edward County
- Lindsay and Bobcaygeon
- Haliburton and Minden
- London, Ontario
- Sarnia
- Fredericton
- Halifax and Dartmouth
- Charlottetown
- Britannia Beach, Ottawa
- Bowring Park, St. John's
Lost close to home
Rings and other jewellery
- Wedding bands and engagement rings
- Class rings and signet rings
- Chains and pendants
- Stud and hoop earrings
- Tennis bracelets and charm bracelets
Straps, pockets and key rings
- Smartwatches and everyday watches
- An Oura ring taken off for a game
- House, car and cottage keys
- Phones
- Glasses and sunglasses with metal frames
Ordinary days it went missing on
- Mowing or raking the backyard
- Coaching or playing on a city soccer field
- Unloading the canoe at the cottage
- A swim inside the buoy lines at Britannia Beach, Ottawa
- A walk round the Duck Pond in Bowring Park, St. John's
- Wedding photos on a park lawn
Four stages, one WhatsApp thread
The same whether the loss was in a yard in Regina or on a beach in Nanaimo.
Tell us what came off
Describe the item on WhatsApp and name the town. Say what you were doing when you noticed: mowing, playing, swimming or packing up.
Mark the ground
Drop map pins on every stop of that day, starting with the one where you know it was still on you.
The detectorist gets your notes
Once a metal detectorist who can travel to that yard, park or shore is found, your pins, photos and notes become their brief.
You agree, they search, you hear back
Nothing goes ahead without your agreement. After the search you get a plain report on WhatsApp covering the ground that was searched and anything that turned up.
Questions about Canada
My wedding band slipped off during a swim at Britannia Beach in Ottawa. Does it matter where I was against the lane rope?
Yes. The lane rope marks where the riverbed slopes, so where you were in relation to it tells us whether you were over the sloping part. The bottom near the swimming area also has sandbars, so say whether you could stand, and pin the spot where you walked into the river.
The car keys fell out of a pocket somewhere between the Bowring Park dog park and where we parked in St. John's.
Then the search follows the way you walked. Bowring Park has several parking areas, one of them at the east entrance next to the Duck Pond, so tell us which lot you used and whether you went round the pond or along a trail.
One of my earrings came out while the children played at the Bowring Park splash pad.
Say whether you stayed beside the splash pad the whole time or also went to the playground or onto the grass, and pin where you stood. A photo of the other earring gives the detectorist its size and shape.
Is metal detector hire worth trying for a ring lost in our own backyard?
If the loss is fresh and the ring is somewhere on your own lawn, a rented detector can work. Once water, a small piece such as an earring, or a lot of ground comes into it, it makes more sense to have a detectorist search.
Our cottage is near Haliburton. Does the Kawarthas page reach that far, or only the lakes around Lindsay?
It reaches Haliburton. The Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton page runs from Lindsay, Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls to Haliburton village and Minden, and takes in your own dock and yard as well as the public beaches.
Our ring went missing in Collingwood. Is that on the Toronto page?
No, Collingwood is on the Barrie and Georgian Bay page, together with Barrie and the Town of Wasaga Beach. Send us a pin for where you were.
Saskatoon has no area page. Can we still write to you?
Yes. Tell us the town, the park, field or yard, and what came off, and we look for a metal detectorist who can reach it. The same goes for Montreal, Quebec City, Long Beach near Tofino or the Point Pelee shore.
Canada
Pin the spot, then tell us the story
Open WhatsApp and tell us what came off, in which town, and on what kind of ground. Send the map pin as soon as you have found the place on the map, or from the spot itself.