Ohio
The clasp gave way somewhere between the beach towel and the car
Lake Erie beaches and islands, state park reservoirs, fairgrounds and back lawns
East Harbor State Park has 1,500 feet (about 460 metres) of Lake Erie sand. The Ohio State Fair in Columbus means rides, live music and livestock. A chain can snap at either, and you may not notice until you are back at the car. This page is about a lost necklace in Ohio, and just as much about a lost bracelet, a ring, keys or a watch.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Ohio 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.
We also take enquiries about engagement rings, Oura rings, earrings, Apple Watches, key fobs, metal-framed glasses and hearing aids.
Two photos from the day mark the ends of the search
With a lost gold chain or a bracelet you may only know that it was there in the morning. So open the day's photos. Find the last one where you are still wearing it and the first one where you are not. Where you went between those two pictures is the search area, and it may be far smaller than the whole day.
Instead of working through the results for metal detectorist near me, send one WhatsApp message with those two photos, a pin or a marked map of where you walked, and a picture of the piece.
Areas and towns we cover in Ohio
- Cleveland, Akron and the Lake Erie shore
- Headlands Beach and the Headlands Dunes
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Columbus and central Ohio
- Toledo and Maumee Bay State Park
- Sandusky and Sandusky Bay
- Marblehead and East Harbor State Park
- Kelleys Island, North Pond, the Glacial Grooves and the North Shore Alvar
- Put-in-Bay and South Bass Island
- Dayton
- Cincinnati
- East Fork State Park
- Caesar Creek State Park
- Grand Lake St. Marys
- Indian Lake
- Salt Fork State Park
The Lake Erie shore, the islands, the reservoirs and the river towns
Six parts of the state. The first two cards lead on to longer pages.
Cleveland's beaches and the lakes south of Akron
Edgewater, minutes from downtown Cleveland, has 2,400 feet (about 730 metres) of sand and beach volleyball. ODNR calls the 35 acres (14 hectares) at Headlands the largest natural sand beach in Ohio, and at its east end a 1.3-mile (2 km) trail runs through the grasses and sand of the Headlands Dunes to the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse. Between Cleveland and Akron, Cuyahoga Valley National Park has the Towpath Trail along the old Ohio and Erie Canal and a boardwalk above Brandywine Falls. South of Akron, the Portage Lakes have a public beach on Turkeyfoot Lake. Detail is on the page for Cleveland, Akron and the Lake Erie shore.
Columbus, the state fair and the central reservoirs
ODNR describes Alum Creek's beach as the largest inland beach in its park system. Buckeye Lake has two public swimming areas, Fairfield Beach and Crystal Beach. The Ohio State Fair is held in the city, at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds. The city's parks and campus are on the page for Columbus and central Ohio.
Kelleys Island, South Bass Island and the Marblehead side
East Harbor State Park sits on a peninsula reaching into Lake Erie. A strip of beaches and dunes 2 miles (3.2 km) long separates the harbor from the open lake. On Kelleys Island, kayaks are rented at the state park's sand beach. At North Pond a mile-long boardwalk leads through woods to a marsh tower, with a spur to a sandy Lake Erie beach, and the Glacial Grooves lie about a mile (1.6 km) to the northwest, near the North Shore Alvar. South Bass Island State Park, a few miles from Put-in-Bay, stands on white cliffs and has a small stone beach.
Two beaches at Maumee Bay, in sight of the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse
Maumee Bay State Park has an Oregon, Ohio address, and ODNR says the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse can be seen from its Lake Erie shore. There is one sand beach on the lake and another on the park's inland lake, a man-made 57 acres (23 hectares) for sailing and canoes. Tell us which of the two you were on.
Dayton's riverfront and the lakes toward Cincinnati
RiverScape MetroPark lies on the bank of the Great Miami River in downtown Dayton, with swings, summer concerts and a winter ice rink. Caesar Creek State Park, near Waynesville, has a 1,300-foot (about 400 metre) beach. East Fork State Park is 25 miles (40 km) from Cincinnati. Its main beach on Harsha Lake is 1,200 feet (about 365 metres) long and has no lifeguard. Great Parks gives Winton Woods a Cincinnati address: 2,529 acres (about 1,025 hectares), with a campground beside Winton Lake. It calls Miami Whitewater Forest, at Harrison, its largest park.
Grand Lake St. Marys, Indian Lake and Salt Fork
Grand Lake St. Marys has four public swimming beaches. At Indian Lake, Old Field Beach and Fox Island Beach give 1,400 feet (about 425 metres) of shore between them. Salt Fork State Park, in eastern Ohio, has three swim areas for boaters on its lake.
From your first message to a booked search
The same person from your first message to the last
You write to one person on WhatsApp. That person finds the detectorist and tells you how the search went.
The walk from the water to the car, drawn on a map
The two photos, the pin and the line you walked go to the detectorist with a picture of the piece, so nobody has to ask you for them again on the day.
A whole day on South Bass Island is hard to narrow down
Ferry, rented golf cart, the stone beach, lunch in Put-in-Bay. If the bracelet could be anywhere along a day like that, the odds are poor, and you hear that from us before anything is arranged.
We ask about the ground before we look for anyone
Metal detecting in Ohio can mean sand at East Harbor, a mown lawn in Dayton or waist-deep water at Caesar Creek. Our first questions are about where you stood.
Ask about cost in your first message if you like
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Water levels and seasons, from Lake Erie to Grand Lake St. Marys
Lake Erie and its seiches
NOAA says Lake Erie is known for seiches. Strong winds from the southwest pile water up at one end, and it swings back when they ease. So the water's edge on the day of a search may not be where it was on the day of your swim. Tell us whether it was windy that day.
Grand Lake St. Marys and the other reservoirs
Grand Lake St. Marys covers 13,500 acres (about 5,460 hectares) and has 52 miles (84 km) of shoreline. Say whether you were on a beach, wading or out on a boat. A photo that shows the water's edge on the day is worth sending.
Memorial Day to Labor Day, and the months either side
Those are the dates ODNR gives for kayak rentals on Kelleys Island and for Buckeye Lake's beaches. The National Weather Service's long-term averages for the water off Cleveland run from about 34 F (1 C) in February to about 74 F (23 C) in August. For Columbus, its long-term average date for the first measurable snowfall is November 20.
Questions from the beach, the fairground and the back lawn
My gold chain broke during a volleyball game at East Harbor State Park and I only noticed back at our campsite. Worth going back to the court with a flashlight tonight?
Go if you like, but do the remembering first. Find the last photo where the chain is still round your neck. Then send us the court, the path you took back and the campsite number.
My bracelet went missing on a day trip to Kelleys Island. Does a search have to happen before the season ends?
There is no set deadline. ODNR does say the state park campground closes for the winter, and it tells winter visitors to check the ferry schedules. The park's swimming beach is only 150 feet (about 45 metres) long, a small place to describe.
My daughter's necklace came off at the Ohio State Fair, somewhere between the rides and the livestock. Can a fairground be searched at all?
Parts of it, yes. Start with the fair's lost and found office, because on pavement somebody may have picked the necklace up. A patch of grass where you sat down to eat can be searched like any lawn, so tell us which patch.
I took my earrings out before swimming at Caesar Creek and folded them into my towel. At the car there was only one. Is a single earring too small to bother you with?
No, write to us. The beach is 1,300 feet (about 400 metres) long, but your towel was only ever in one place. Tell us where you spread it, where you shook it out and which way you walked to the car, and send a photo of the earring you still have.
My bracelet came off while I was gardening at home in Dayton yesterday. I was about to look up a metal detector rental. Sensible, or a waste of a weekend?
Sensible. Renting one yourself can suit a fresh loss on dry sand or a lawn, and yours is both fresh and on a lawn. A detectorist makes more sense for wet sand, water, a large area or a small item such as a thin chain or a single earring.
We drove out from Toledo to sled at Maumee Bay State Park and my car keys fell out of my coat somewhere on the hill. Is a sledding hill a realistic search?
It can be, if you can show the line you took. Photograph the slope from the bottom and mark on the picture where you set off, where you came off the sled and where you walked back up.
My engagement ring slipped off while I was swimming at the main beach on Harsha Lake at East Fork. Who do I tell?
Tell us, and the park office too in case it is handed in. Harsha Lake covers 2,160 acres (about 875 hectares), but a swimmer off the main beach was in a small corner of it. Let us know where you walked in, how long you swam and whether your feet touched the bottom when you noticed.
Ohio
Send the photo with the necklace on, and the one without
Add a pin, the day and what the piece looks like.
Between those two photos is the ground to search, whether sand at Maumee Bay or a fairground lawn. Send them on WhatsApp with a pin and a description of the chain, bracelet, lost ring or keys. Our reply says what we think the chances are and what would happen next.