Thank You. I have an magnet on an extendable rod that I plan to try today. Will drain the oil first and then try through the oil fill tube and maybe the drain plug hole if possible. Probably will not be successful, so guess I will have to load it up and take it to a technician - which is complicated due to the rural area in which I live.
While this was my fault, if it had the B&S engine that the TB30R has, would not have happened. The red plastic covering was manufactured for the B&S engine, but Troy-Bilt (MTD) decided to place their engines on the TB30 ones. The oil fill tube is under the plastic and difficult to reach - impossible if bagger is on. So have to use a very small bottle, put oil in it and then hold that over the fill tube. Forgot to remove cap.