By Kathy Oswalt-Forsythe
Mike Walker for more than 25 years has enjoyed hunting with his metal detector, finding all kinds of interesting and lost things. The hunts have touched lives as well.
As reports of his successes spread, people regularly call him for help. He has located property stakes, lost wedding bands and engagement rings. He’s assisted in law enforcement evidence recovery – including locating items essential for conviction in several murder trials.
These activities have been rewarding. But recently, Walker’s successful hunt took on a deeper meaning.
As Walker tells it, Vicksburg resident Margo Wyman called him, saying, “We need your help.” Her brother-in-law had died in a fatal car accident on 34th Street. A pendant he was wearing, containing his wife’s ashes, was lost at the scene. Walker wanted to help, but when he went to the site and saw the ditch full of poison ivy and other hazards, he wasn’t sure it would work. Walker persevered, and during the summer was able to present Wyman with the lost piece so special to Wyman’s family.
Walker says he has always enjoyed returning items he finds to the community, but this experience was powerful and meant much more. This was emotional for the family. And “to be able to locate and return the pendant was exciting to me.”
Walker also speaks at churches, clubs, and organizations, where he shares his passion for and knowledge of hunting with a metal detector.
Walker is the current president of the Southwest Michigan Seek and Search Club. This group of metal detecting enthusiasts meets from 7-9 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month at the Ransom District Library in Plainwell.
