Friday the 13th might be regarded as unlucky by most, but for one Kellyville resident, it was a day she’ll look back on with fondness.
John Waldrop and his son Avyn are hobbyist metal detectors from Kellyville, who are always looking for new and exciting places to try out their hobby, hoping to score a big find or discover some unique relic.
On Friday, they’d not only make a fascinating find, they’d help reunite 13-year-old Taygann Spencer with one of her most prized possessions.
Waldrop and Avyn were scouring the softball fields in Kellyville just before the stormy weather was expected to roll in. After 30 minutes with no luck, they were about to head home when Avyn heard another chirp from his detector.
Waldrop stopped him to check the spot again and sure enough, he had a nice signal. When they stooped down and dug out the dirt, they saw a bit of a silver sparkle. Upon wiping away the rest of the dirt, they realized they’d uncovered a World Championship Runner-Up ring.
Avyn’s first question was, “Do I get to keep it?” but his dad knew that the right thing to do would be to at least try to track down the owner. They cleaned the ring up and began asking around on Facebook groups. Turns out that someone in one group had a daughter with the same ring. That person began to ask around, and found Taygann Spencer, who had lost the ring two-and-a-half years ago while practicing at the softball field.
Spencer told the story of how her team, the Bristow Pirates, had been playing at the World Series tournament in Muskogee in July of 2015. Over the course of four days, the Pirates played hard and made it to the championship, winning their last game at 2am in the morning.
After receiving their rings in September, Taygann wore it practice, where it fell off her hand and was lost. “I was very sad!” she told Waldrop. “For the last three years I’ve gone back there to practice, and would still look around for it. I had just started to give up on it.”
Waldrop is proud of his son’s find, and for the experience it’s given him. “I think it’s not only good for the hobby, but a good character lesson for my son,” he says.
