Another call from the 4th of July was from Wendy who lost her tennis bracelet at a fire on the beach the night before. I headed up Sunday morning to try and help her out. Once she arrived we headed to where she thought it was lost around the fire but had no luck.  About 15 minutes later her friend came to the beach and said we were not in the right place and had us come closer to the entrance of the beach where I found the bracelet that had unfortunately broken but could be repaired. After a brief celebration we parted ways and I headed off to look for another

4th of July was busy on cape cod I received several calls/texts on on the 4th. One of which was from Karla who had lost her wedding rings on a small beach at cliff pond in Nickerson State Park I told her I could head down in the morning due to the party we were currently having at that point, in the mean time her husband had rented a detector from the hardware store and successfully found the engagement ring which left the wedding band for me to find. I called her the next morning and she said her husband would meet me there and show me the search area, while still on the phone with her I setup my machine and walked on the beach. I had her tell me the approximate location and about 20 seconds in had the ring in hand She was definitely at a loss for words, her husband met me at the entrance to the park a few minutes later to pick up the ring.

Big Cedar Lake, near West Bend, Wisconsin, covers 937 acres. By comparison Graftton, Wisconsin, resident Danielle Danbrea’s wedding rings, soldered together, covered less than a square inch. The prospects of finding her ring in such a large body of water were daunting.

Danielle and her husband, Ryan, were celebrating the 4th of July with friends on the lake while anchored at a popular sand bar. That’s when the unthinkable happened! Unbeknown to her, Danielle’s rings quietly slipped of her hand into the murky water.

The following day, Saturday, I received a text message from Ryan advising of the unfortunate circumstances. Could I help?

As it turned out, the weather turned to rain and overcast skies on Sunday. This meant fewer boats and swimmers in the area, ideal for setting out buoy markers and conducting a grid search. After a 45-minute drive, I arrived at the lake and hiked a third of a mile through the woods to the shore pulling a large wagonload of equipment. Armed with photos taken from the boat on the day Danielle’s rings went missing, I was able to position my buoy markers close to where they had been anchored.

Using a large XP Deus search coil, I systematically scanned the lake bottom for the next three hours. The usual pull tabs, bottle caps and shotgun-shell casings (leftovers from duck hunters) filled my pouch. By this time, I was outside the search zone. Returning to the start point, I began searching in the opposite direction when a promising signal invited investigation. Sure enough, Danielle’s beautiful rings soon lay gleaming in my scoop!

Despite the many challenges of finding a small ring in such a large lake and under these circumstances, the obstacles were no match for state-of-the-art metal-detecting technology, forensics and experience. If you or someone you know has lost ring, don’t let its story end. Contact me. Who knows, we just might be able to put a smile on someone else’s face.

Kaylee had got in touch with me on July 5th saying that she lost her late father’s wedding band, she wanted to know if I could somehow help recover it because of its sentimental value,  I said I can try but no guarantee’s. I told her that I was working everyday until Tuesday.  We had made a plan to go that evening but Big thunder and lightning storms were in the area.  Kaylee got called into work a few minutes later.  It just wasn’t going to happen at that time. I again called her and suggested that we try again at 6:30 AM.  She said that more storms were moving through at that time.  Fortunately it moved through quickly and we made it a plan.

I asked Kaylee to stand in the area where she had seen it slip off her finger.

I started to grid carefully and covering every inch. I mentioned to her don’t give quite yet, as I was pretty sure of finding it, and that it’s going to be right on top.  The bugs were eating us up but I continued on. Sure enough 13 passes later at the water’s edge I seen it on top of the small rocks just like I thought.  It’s now reunited with Kaylee once again.  Congratulations Kaylee I am so happy I was able to get it back where it belongs.  Sincerely Leighton.

Pricilla delighted to have her pendant back!

Gold Cross pendant with diamonds

A beautiful evening at Coronado Beach near lifeguard station 5C became a bit more exciting when a pretty young lady, Pricilla, entreated me to help her find a sentimental gold cross with diamonds that fell off her neck while running between the surfline and her blanket.  After centering on the most likely area and running a concentric, expanding search pattern, the pendant was located under 3″ of loose sand 15 yards from start point and within 4 minutes. It rang a strong 7 VID on my Equinox 900; unfortunately, the fine necklace it hung on was not located.  Her smile and joy were reward enough.  It was serendipity that I was in the right place at the right time.