Pinging your way to a metal bounty | Sports & Recreation

If you opened your ears around Riverfront Park on Friday afternoon, you could have heard the gentle ping, ping... ping - of metal detecting.

Linda Scott has been searching for pieces of metal, lost or discarded for about five years. She belongs to the Northwest Treasure Hunters Club.

“Just go where people are. People lose stuff all the time,” Scott said.

She held in her hand, the small bounty mixed with pieces of dirt and grass. Pennies, clothes pins, batteries and even a set of keys marked with the numeral five.

Scott described her biggest find: buried way down next to a tree near the highway, she found a custom diamond wedding ring. Most of the time, their finds include coins and even earrings.

Some of the best parks to search with a metal detector include Riverfront and Manito Park.

The club of about 45 members meets at the Sinto Senior Center every second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. You can find the group on Facebook as well and see what it looks like when they search parks together.

Permits are required for metal detecting. They're only $1 per year from the Spokane County Parks Department. You'll need to get one in-person at their facility at 404 N. Havana.