Michigan
A ring dropped in the snow in January, or in the lake in July
Four Great Lakes shores, the inland lakes, mid-Michigan and the Upper Peninsula
Houghton, in the Upper Peninsula, averages 202 inches (about 5.1 metres) of snow a year, according to the peninsula's travel association. By July the same state is at the beach. So this page covers two kinds of loss: a lost ring in snow or out on the ice, and a lost ring in a lake.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Michigan with a metal detectorist who can search there. Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the place, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
The same goes for engagement rings, Oura rings, necklaces, Apple Watches, key fobs, metal-framed glasses and hearing aids.
A ski pole in the snow, two landmarks on the shore
In snow, stop where you are. Push a ski pole or a stick into the snow beside the place, then photograph it with something fixed behind it, a lift tower or a porch. Out on lake ice, drop a pin on your phone map. Snow and ice do not last, so tell us soon.
In a lake, line yourself up with two fixed things on shore and remember how deep the water was on you, knee, waist or chest.
Looking up a metal detectorist near me from a ski hill parking lot is slow work. Send us one WhatsApp message instead, with the pin, the photos, the time and a description of the item.
Areas and towns we cover in Michigan
- Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint and the Thumb
- West Michigan lakeshore
- Traverse City, the northern lakes and Sleeping Bear Dunes
- Lansing and East Lansing
- Haslett and Lake Lansing
- Bay City, Tobico Marsh and Saginaw
- Caseville and Saginaw Bay
- Tawas City and East Tawas
- Monroe and Sterling State Park
- Grand Rapids
- Houghton Lake
- Boyne Falls and Boyne Mountain
- Thompsonville and Crystal Mountain
- Gaylord, Grayling and Cadillac
- Marquette
- Au Train, Munising and Pictured Rocks
- Houghton and the Keweenaw
- Sault Ste. Marie
The Lower Peninsula first, then across the bridge
Detroit, the Lake Michigan shore and the northern lakes each have a fuller page, linked from their cards.
From the Detroit River up into the Thumb
Belle Isle is an island park of about 980 acres (about 400 hectares) in the Detroit River, with a swim beach. West of the city are the Diag in Ann Arbor and the two swimming beaches on Kent Lake. On Lake Huron, Lexington has a large beach beside its state harbor. In winter the Metroparks list ice fishing at Lake St. Clair and at Kensington. See Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint and the Thumb.
Lake Michigan sand, Bridgman to Manistee
Grand Haven State Park is half a mile (0.8 km) of sand between Lake Michigan and the Grand River. To walk from Saugatuck to Oval Beach you climb 303 stairs over Mount Baldhead. South Haven's visitor bureau counts ten public beaches, and the City of Manistee runs a cleaning machine over its sand every week. See West Michigan lakeshore.
Torch Lake, Higgins Lake and Grand Traverse Bay
The Torch Lake sandbar lies near the Torch River bridge, and on the Fourth of July hundreds of boats anchor there. Higgins Lake has two state parks and 86 road-end access points, counted by the Roscommon County Road Commission. In Traverse City, Clinch Park is a sand beach beside the city marina. West of town, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has the Dune Climb, a 284 foot (87 metre) wall of sand, and the beach where the Platte River meets Lake Michigan and floaters meet beachgoers. See Traverse City and the northern lakes.
Lansing, Saginaw Bay and the Lake Erie corner
Inland, Lansing has Lake Lansing Park South in Haslett, a sandy beach bordered by four acres (1.6 hectares) of grass, on a lake Ingham County gives as 1.2 miles (1.9 km) long. On Saginaw Bay, Bay City State Park has more than a thousand feet (about 300 metres) of sandy beach, and Tobico Marsh behind it has nearly five miles (8 km) of trails and two observation towers. Caseville, on the Thumb side of the bay, is a busy summer town for its beach, boating and fishing. Tawas Point State Park sits on the sand spit that forms Tawas Bay, where Pure Michigan says the water is shallow and warm for swimming. Down at Monroe, Sterling State Park is the only Michigan state park on Lake Erie, with a mile (1.6 km) of sandy shoreline and a paved marsh trail round its largest lagoon.
Marquette and the Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula's travel association counts three Great Lakes around it and 4,300 inland lakes. In Marquette, McCarty's Cove is the beach close to downtown, with volleyball nets and lifeguards in peak season. South Beach has a shallow shelf, and Au Train Beach, off M-28, has dunes. At Munising, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has Sand Point Beach, with shallow, calmer water, and Miners Beach, nearly a mile of sand and rock below Bridalveil Falls. Twelvemile Beach runs on east of the cliffs. In winter people ride snowmobiles between these towns, and a key fob could drop from a pocket at any stop.
Asking Ring Seekers about a loss in Michigan
The reply comes from the person who arranges the search
Whoever answers your first WhatsApp message is the one who looks for the detectorist, passes on your photos and tells you how it went.
Two peninsulas and a long drive
Michigan is a long way end to end. So your pin, your photos and the depth of water or snow reach the detectorist before they set off, not when they arrive.
Over the side of a boat on Superior
The EPA gives Lake Superior an average depth of 483 feet (147 metres). A ring that went overboard well out from shore is a poor bet, and we say that in the first conversation.
Each lake is its own job
Where metal detecting in Michigan means going into the water, the lake decides the plan. Marquette's visitor bureau calls Lake Superior chilly, and cold water shortens the time anyone can wade.
What it costs comes up early
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Four big lakes, thousands of small ones and a long winter
Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie side by side
Michigan touches four of the Great Lakes, and they are not alike. On the EPA's figures Superior is the deepest, with a maximum of 1,332 feet (406 metres), and Erie the shallowest, averaging 62 feet (19 metres). None of that matters at a swim beach. For a search, what counts is how deep it was where you stood.
Wind, seiches and beaches that change width
Weather moves the water's edge here. NOAA says a seiche, a surge set off by wind and air pressure, can be several feet (a metre or more) high. Lake levels also follow a yearly cycle, highest in late spring and lowest in winter. So put a fixed landmark in your photos.
Snow from December, ice into March
In the Upper Peninsula, snowmobile trails are groomed from the start of December to the end of March, and snow can linger until mid-April. The same months are ski season at Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls and Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville. Tip-Up Town USA, an ice fishing festival, is held on Houghton Lake over the last two weekends of January. A ring that comes off with a glove may be in the snow right where you stood, so mark that place first.
Winter and summer questions from Michigan
My wedding ring came off with my glove beside the car at our Boyne Mountain rental. What should I do tonight?
Mark the place before anything else. Push a stick into the snow where you were standing, and keep feet and the snow shovel off that patch. Then photograph it with something fixed in the picture, the porch or a lamp post, and message us tonight rather than after the thaw, while you still remember where you stood.
My husband's ring came off out on the ice at Houghton Lake during Tip-Up Town. How long do we have?
As long as the ice lasts, so ask straight away. If the ring is lying in the snow on top of the ice, a search has to happen while the ice is still there. If it went down a fishing hole, say so, because that is a much harder job. Either way, drop a pin where he was set up.
I lost my engagement ring swimming at Lake Lansing on Saturday. The lake is 34 feet deep, so is it hopeless?
No. Ingham County does give Lake Lansing a maximum depth of 34 feet (about 10 metres), but you were at a swim beach, not out in the middle. Tell us how deep the water was on you and what you were level with on shore, the bath house or the dock.
Is Marquette too far north for you? My Oura ring came off in the water at McCarty's Cove.
No. We take enquiries from anywhere in Michigan, and then look for a detectorist who can reach Marquette. Place yourself as exactly as you can. Were you near the volleyball nets or further along the sand, and how deep was the water on you?
I searched for a metal detector rental near me before I found you. Is renting one a bad idea?
Not at all. Renting a detector can suit a fresh loss on dry sand or a lawn. A detectorist makes more sense for wet sand, water, a large area or a small item such as an earring or a thin band.
Somewhere on a snowmobile ride out of Munising my truck key fob fell out of my pocket. Is that too vague to search?
It is too wide as it stands, but you can narrow it. A whole day's ride is not a search area. A trail stop or a parking lot is. Think back to where you took your gloves off or reached into that pocket. We take enquiries for keys just as we do for watches, bracelets, chains, earrings, glasses and hearing aids.
Do you only do jewelry? My phone went off a dock into Saginaw Bay at Caseville.
No, phones too. Depth is the first question, so tell us which dock, how far along it you were standing and how deep the water is there.
Michigan
Send the pin before the next snowfall, or before you leave the lake
Add the day it happened and what the item looks like.
If metal detecting Michigan snow or lake sand yourself is more than you want to take on, send us the pin and two photos on WhatsApp. It can be a lost ring, a watch, a phone or a set of keys. You will get a plain answer about the odds and the next step.