HANCOCK COUNTY — Over 15 years ago, Larry Whiteside parked a combine in a county farm field and used a leaf blower to get the bean dust off. That’s when he noticed his wedding ring, given to him by his wife, Carolyn, at some point had slipped off his finger.
“I just thought, ‘I’ll never find that again,’” Whiteside said.
There was no lack of effort in trying to find the ring. Whiteside searched for it often and even enlisted the help of his wife’s brother-in law, who had a metal detector at that time, but they never found the ring.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryWhile family members thought the ring was long gone, it was never out of mind. Last weekend, his niece, Sara Hardin, and her daughters — Savanah, 14; Sophie, 12; and Sydney, 9 — decided to use their down time during the quarantine to search for the ring.
“When my mom told me about it initially all those years ago, I told myself, ‘If I ever had some time someday, I want to go look for that ring,’” Sara said.
Like most folks, the pandemic and quarantine has left the family with an abundance of free time on their hands, so they borrowed Sara’s dad’s metal detector and decided to launch a treasure hunt for the ring.
The field in which Whiteside was working at the time he lost the ring was probably over 100 acres, Sara said. But her uncle knew approximately where he had lost the ring. He figured it was somewhere near where he was dusting off the combine at the end of the day’s work.
Sara and her daughters got some field flags and shovels and marked the field in the area where Whiteside had told the girls the ring might be located. They then decided the ring could be 25 feet in any direction from the center location, and they set up a grid to start their search.
About 10 to 15 minutes into their archaeological adventure, just north of the center mark, about 8 feet from where they thought the ring was lost, the family got a hit on the metal detector.
Savanah dug up a big chunk of dirt around the ping. They then ran the detector over the excavated soil, and it kept giving off a hit. They dug into the pile of dirt, and within a minute or so, there it was: Caked in dirt was the long-lost precious ring.
“I think the reason we found it is because we said a prayer right in that field before we got going and said ‘God, if we’re supposed to find it, help us find it,’” Sara said.
Actually finding the treasure was rewarding for Sara’s daughters after hearing about it being lost for so many years. Savanah was optimistic about their quest and was excited to just get out of the house and do something fun during the quarantine, she said. Sophie, however had her eye on the prize from the start and felt they’d certainly find the ring.
“I did think we’d find it, but I thought it was going to take a lot longer than it did,” Sophie said.
The youngest sister, Sydney, got excited because they were looking forward to seeing their great uncle’s face when he got it back.
“We kind of surprised him,” Sophie said. “I think he thought we were joking at first.”
The girls found an old ring box, put the ring inside and gave it back to Whiteside. They credited divine guidance and his good directions for helping them look in the right place.
“I think their prayer did a lot more good than my directions about where the ring might be, because after 15 some years, I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday, let alone where the ring might be,” Whiteside said with a laugh.
“He was really shocked when he saw it,” Savanah said.
The ring is still sitting safely tucked inside the box for now, Whiteside said. That’s because the last thing he wants to do is lose it again while he’s out doing yard and field work this spring.
“We just thought we’d never see it again,” Whiteside said. “It just goes to show you if you’re blue or sad, miracles do happen, so keep the good thought.”
