A metal detectorist made a stunning backyard discovery when he recovered two highly valuable Cartier rings belonging to a gold medal-winning sports couple.
Ed Rogers, who describes himself as a “metal detecting specialist,” got a call last month from someone asking for help. At the time, he had no idea he was speaking with an Olympic champion.
Rogers was told that two gold rings had disappeared at a couple’s home in Kansas.
With his metal detector in hand, Rogers began combing through the yard as the couple entertained guests at a house party. The search quickly became a spectacle, with partygoers gathering nearby in what he later called a “cheering section.”
According to his RingFinders.com page, Rogers found the first missing ring in just five minutes. About 20 minutes later, he uncovered the second.
It was only after he had returned home to Kansas City nearly two hours later that Rogers learned he had helped reunite Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall with her cherished jewelry.
“I had no idea that she was a gold medalist. I didn’t have any idea that he was a gold medalist,” Rogers told The Kansas City Star. “I didn’t know any of that until after the fact. … I had no idea they were married.”
Davis-Woodhall later explained to Rogers that three rings had slipped from her finger while she was throwing a grapefruit into the yard for a deer.
Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall was over the moon when Ed Rogers managed to find the rings
The duo lost three expensive rings in their backyard. They managed to recover one, but needed help recovering the other two
The couple managed to recover one ring themselves, but two Cartier pieces – a chunky gold band and a diamond-encrusted gold band – remained missing.
The missing rings are from Cartier’s iconic Love collection and are believed to be worth more than $10,000 combined.
According to an interview with Vogue, Davis-Woodhall revealed she wears the rings – along with the rest of her gold jewelry – while competing.
Davis-Woodhall won Olympic gold in the long jump at the 2024 Paris Games before being crowned women’s long jump world champion at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
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She also serves as a track and field assistant coach at Kansas State, where she works under director of track and field and cross country Travis Geopfert, who coached her to Olympic gold in Paris.
Her husband, Hunter Woodhall, claimed Paralympic gold in the men’s 400m T62 at the 2024 Paris Games after winning bronze at Tokyo 2020.
The decorated track stars married in 2022 and continue to train and compete side by side.
Rogers works as an independent recovery specialist through The Ring Finders, a directory dedicated to locating lost jewelry, phones and other valuables.
The decorated track stars married in 2022 and continue to train and compete side by side
Davis-Woodhall won Olympic gold in the long jump at the 2024 Paris Games
He has been reuniting people with their treasured possessions ever since receiving a metal detector as a Christmas gift in 2019.
‘I like the whole idea of finding things,’ he said. ‘And it is, really, for me, almost more about the finding than the find.’
He likened his passion for treasure hunting to a lifelong love of fishing that began in childhood.
‘It’s just so much fun to do … as soon as I find something and clean it off … then I want to go find the next thing,’ he said. ‘And it goes back to my childhood. I’ve been a fisherman all my life, so we call this dirt fishing.’
Rogers charges a flat $100 fee to cover travel costs, with an additional reward-based payment if the missing item is successfully recovered.
‘What the lost item recovery is worth to you and what you can afford,’ he said,
Rogers said the Woodhalls rewarded him for finding the rings, but did not disclose how much they paid.
‘My motivation to serve comes from that satisfying feeling of knowing valuable items are returned to their rightful owner,’ he added.
