The Ring Finders
Metal Detecting Service Inc.

On Saturday, March, 3, 2012 at about noon or so, I received a call from Natalya indicating that she was at Muir Beach in Mill Valley, CA and that she had lost her ring earlier that day.  The distress in her voice was clearly evident.  She asked me for advice, and I told her that I could come down and help her search.  After a 2 hour drive, my wife Judy and I arrived at the parking lot of the Tennessee Valley Trailhead.  Her boyfriend Andrew met me at the trailhead, and after a 1.7 mile walk he and I arrived at the small hidden beach.  During the walk, he informed me that she was very stressed at the loss, and was not willing to leave the beach until the ring was found. It was a beautiful warm day, perfect for a visit to a California coastal beach.  Upon arrival, I was introduced to Natalya, who was guarding a small section of beach where she thought she had lost her white gold diamond studded engagement ring.

Natalya informed me that she had taken a fall, and the ring had flown off her left hand and disappeared into the sand.  It was clear that there had been a lot of digging in front of where she was had landed on the beach after her fall.  After hearing the story of how she fell, however, I decided to begin my search behind where she landed since she indicated that she had thrown her right arm forward and her left arm backward during the fall.  I turned on my favorite metal detector, my Whites V3i which was equipped with my coil of choice, my double D 6X10 inch elliptical.  Although the beach was made up of all black sand, the detector had no problem balancing out the minerals.  I began my search and noted to myself that although this was a very popular beach, there were no junk targets sounding off.  After about a 1O minute search, I heard the tone of a non ferrous metal in my headset, I heard re-scanned the target and noted that the signal was double with a null in the middle.  My screen showed 3 green bars lined up vertically, and a Visual Discrimination Indicator of 31.  The icons showed ring or aluminum pull tab.  I thought to myself that this was it!  I pinpointed the target, and bent down to investigate. My detector indicated that the target was virtually right on the surface.   I began to carefully move the sand aside where I believed the target to be, and immediately her beautiful engagement ring appeared.

My Whites V3i had done its job again! Natalya’s ring was about a half inch below the surface.  I heard a few people that were watching me search gasp in delight as the ring appeared.  I picked up the ring and presented it to Natalya.  She was so happy, that she started crying, came over and gave me a big hug while thanking me profusely!  She was happy, Andrew was happy (and relieved) and I was happy to have helped another person become reunited with a lost ring.  It ended up being a great day for all.

On Tuesday, January 31, 2012, I received a call from Kevin.  He told me in a voice mail that he had recently been coaching Rugby at a park in Sausalito, CA, and that he discovered after coaching that he had lost his heavy 18k gold inscribed wedding band.  From his voice, I could tell he was very distraught about the loss.  He asked me if I would make the trip down from Sacramento, CA to help him search for his precious ring.  I called and told him I would be glad to do so, and we arranged to meet at the Marin City Field on Sunday February 5^th, at around 10:00.

When I arrived at the park, Kevin was already there. It was a beautiful clear and sunny day in the low 60s.  I asked him to place some bright orange soccer cones on the field to mark the area he had covered while coaching.  While he was placing the cones, I unpacked and set up my detector of choice, a Whites V3i which was armed with my favorite 10 inch Eclipse elliptical double D coil.  I approached the field, and mentally clutched when I saw the size of the area we needed to cover.  But, after a brief discussion, Kevin revealed that he had spent about 80% of his coaching time the day he lost his ring in a smaller section around mid field.  I suggested we start with that area, and if I was unable to find his wedding ring in those sections, that we could then expand the search area.

I began my search and determined based on Kevin’s description of his ring, that I would be looking for a Visual Discrimination Number (VDI) in the high 40s to low 50s.  I began to find targets that I normally would dig such as dimes, quarters, etc.  But, I was there to help Kevin reunite with his wedding ring, so I honed in on looking strictly for jewelry VDI numbers. I detected several targets that looked promising, but they were all too deep to be Kevin’s ring since he had just lost it about days prior to calling me.  I determined that based on the mass of the ring and when he had lost it, his ring would be no more than about one inch deep.

After about 30 minutes of hunting, I came to the end of my first pass.  As I was making my last swing before turning around to go back in the other direction, I heard a medium tone in my earphones, and saw the three green bars light up all in a row on my screen and a 51 appeared on my screen.  I rescanned the target and heard that familiar double blip signal when a detector coil passes over a ring.  I pinpointed the target and noted its depth to be about ½ inch.  I held my breath while telling myself that my V3i had scored another find.  I bent down spread the grass and saw the glint of a gold wedding band laying on its side half buried in the damp soil.  I looked back at Kevin and noted he was not looking at me.  So, I put the ring on my right index finger and walked back to him.  I announced that I needed to take a break to which he said no problem.  I pointed with my index finger upon which I had placed his ring and said is that a iPad 2?  For a moment there was silence as it sunk in that I had found his wedding ring.  Kevin was immediately overcome with surprise and happiness.  He simply could not believe it.  I was happy to have found the wedding band for him and he was clearly overwhelmed by the find.  It was a good day for all.

On December 22, 2011, I received a telephone call from Deane asking me to help him locate his wedding band.  He told me he had lost the ring on Thanksgiving day at a park in West Sacramento while throwing a football.  He described the ring as a heavy gold band and told me that he believed he knew approximately where he lost the ring.  I met him at the park on Christmas Eve morning and he showed me the area where he had been playing catch.  I laid out cones to mark the approximate area to hunt for the ring, and I fired up my weapon of choice – my White’s V3i metal detector with the 6 x 10 double D coil.  I began my grid search of the area, and soon discovered that it contained many coin targets as it overlapped an area where a snack bar was located.  Luckily, Dean had brought his wife’s identical wedding band with him which allowed me to scan the ring and thus narrow the target signal range.  I knew I was looking for a visual discrimination indicator (VDI) between 45 and 55.  After hunting for about an hour, checking a number of possible targets, and covering the majority of the area where Deane thought he had lost his ring, I observed that my detector screen was showing a VDI number of 51 with all three frequency bars lined up in a row and showing green. Based on the screen information and the sound of the signal, I immediately suspected that I had located the wedding band.  I pinpointed the target, bent down, spread the grass apart and there it was!  Deane expressed both excitement and disbelief all at once as soon as he saw his ring.  When I handed Deane his wedding band, I could see both relief and happiness on his face. I too was very happy as my White’s VDi metal detector had helped save another marriage!

On December 6^th, at about 1:30 p.m., I received a call from James. He conducted a Google search and as a result, found me through The Ring Finders website.  He told me that his son had taken his wife’s 18K yellow gold diamond studded wedding set into the back yard and had dropped it while playing.  James told me that he and his wife were both blind and he asked me if I could come and help find the ring. I could clearly hear the distress in his voice, and I immediately said of course I would help them.  I told him I would be at his house at around 3:00 p.m., after I topped off my rechargeable battery.  He told me that their house was located in the College Greens area of Sacramento, CA.

I arrived at the house and introduced myself as a member of The Ring Finders, a metal detecting service.  The ring’s owner, Brandie, led me to the back yard and showed me the area where her ring had been lost earlier that very day.  After a quick visual search, I was unable to find the ring in the thick grass, and I went to my car to retrieve my Whites V3i metal detector.  I decided that my 10 inch DD elliptical coil would be best suited for this search.  I selected my modified coin and jewelry program, and prepared to methodically search the back yard.  After talking with their son for a little while, I learned that although he had an idea where he might have dropped the ring, he was really uncertain as to the exact location.  Based on that information, I determined that a whole yard search was in order.   I conducted a grid search, dividing the L shaped yard into two sections.  I began finding bits of foil, a few pull tabs, some nails, a buried tent peg, and a host of other junk targets.  When I hunt for jewelry, it is my practice to dig all targets because I have found that jewelry will often read as junk (pull tabs, foil, etc.) and will also hide next to other junk targets.  After a 45 minute search and just after beginning the second portion of my search, I saw a VDI number of 37 and 3 green bars all lined up appear on my screen.  I knew I had hit pay dirt!  After pin pointing the target, I carefully separated the grass, and saw Brandie’s beautiful wedding set.  I immediately went into the house and reunited her with her ring.

To say the least, Brandie and James were both very excited that I had located the ring, and Brandie rewarded me with a giant smile and a big hug.  Finding the lost ring had made her day and mine too.  My weapon of choice, my Whites V3i metal detector, had once again done its job and helped me to help a lost ring find its owner.

On Sunday, August 8, I received a call from Melisa Mistler of Grass Valley, California. She explained that her new husband had lost his wedding ring in their front yard and inquired if I would drive to Grass Valley and attempt recovery. Melissa explained that she and her husband were newlyweds, but theirs was a very special situation. Melissa and her new husband, Michael Yates, had been childhood sweethearts. They did not date in high school but kept in touch while each was away at college. Sadly, after college they had lost track of one another. Melisa was the head of her high school reunion committee and it was her responsibility to locate and inform her classmates of each reunion, but Yates had been difficult to track down because he traveled the world before he eventually settled in Seattle, Washington. He never attended any of the high school reunions.

After college at Southwest Baptist in Missouri, Melisa returned to Nevada County and settled in Grass Valley where she opened her own business, M3Mall. Melisa recently collaborated with another high school classmate in a fundraiser for yet another classmate who is suffering from stage 4 colon cancer. Michael happened to see an article in the newspaper about the event which included a photo of Melisa. Michael decided to attend the fundraiser and on February 2, 2010, they were reunited . The old friends quickly rekindled their childhood romance, eloping on March 12, 2010!

They were distressed that Michael had lost his traditional Claddagh ring which had been ordered from Ireland. The elements of this symbolic ring are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown). Melisa and Michael had thoroughly searched the yard, but had been unable to find the ring that symbolized the special love that had lasted all the years Michael and Melisa were apart. I told Melisa that I would be happy to come to Grass Valley and try to locate the ring for them. When I arrived at Melisa’s address, a lovely old Victorian home, I set up and began a grid search of the front yard area where she and Michael thought the ring might have been lost. Within an hour, I had recovered the ring, along with a full set of keys – which oddly did not belong to the couple. I was happy that I was able to locate the Claddagh for Michael and Melisa. It is a special ring for a special couple with a very special story.

Last week, I recieved an email from Marti of Folsom, California.  She and her husband, Charlie, had been to the north shore of Lake Tahoe and while spending time together on the beach, Marti lost her white gold wedding band.  The couple was a few days shy of their 39th wedding anniversary and Marti was heartsick at the loss.  In fact, she told me in her email that she was unable to even talk about the incident and would have her husband Charlie call me to explain what had happened.  Charlie did call me later and told me that they had been sitting on the beach when Marti took her ring off to apply sunscreen.  He thought that she had likely placed the ring on her lap and then forgotten to put it back on before she stood up to go swimming in the lake.  Charlie was certain he put me in the area in which the ring was lost and asked me if I was available to travel to Lake Tahoe.  Since Lake Tahoe is over two hours away, making my call out fee greater than normal, I suggested that he try screening the area first.  I explained how to make the screen and how to drag the beach.  Charlie later called to advise that after two hours of back breaking work he had not been successful and they wanted me to attempt recovery.  I met Charlie in Truckee and followed him to the trail head leading to the beach.  I began my recovery effort by setting up a grid, using orange cones in the area Charlie identified as the area where they were sitting.  As usual, I expanded the area 10 feet in each direction to be safe.  Fortunately, Charlie had the identical wedding ring.  I was able to scan his ring with my Whites Spectra V3i and see what information I could expect on my detector screen if I was able to locate Margti’s wedding band.  I then began my grid search and after locating a number of coins and trash targets, I got a solid, repeatable signal and was certain that I had located the ring.  I told Charlie to carefully use the hand sand scoop on the target area.  As soon as he brought the scoop up out of the sand, I saw a flash of silver and knew we had hit pay-dirt.  Charlie was incredulous, elated and emotional all at the same time when he recognized that I had recovered his wife’s wedding band.   He jumped up and gave me a high five!  He gripped the ring tightly in his hand and exclaimed, “Thank you!”  I was so happy to have been able to recover this significant symbol of such a lengthy marriage.

UPDATE:  The local news station, KCRA did a very nice piece on the recovery of Marti’s ring.  See it here:  http://www.kcra.com/video/24545394/   The local paper, The Sacramento Bee also ran a story.  Read it here:  http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/10/2947730/momme-when-your-ring-falls-off.html#

Anil was so happy to have his ring back!

This morning I was contacted by Anil, a young man who told me he lost a ring last night while participating in cricket practice at a grade school in Folsom, CA.  He had found me through my Ring Finders blog, and proceeded to tell me he had a pretty good idea where he lost it, and that it contained about 16 grams of gold and had a stone in it. He had searched the grass for a good amount of time, but he was unable to find it.  He had placed the ring in his pocket so that he would not lose it  but it had come out inadvertently while he was participating in batting practice. 

I met him at the school this afternoon, and we discussed his activities the night before.  He showed me the area where he thought he had lost the ring, and I marked it with bright orange soccer cones, expanding it by about 5 feet on each side to be sure that I would cover the area correctly.  I began my grid search, and hit two targets immediately.  My Troy Shadow X2 coin check button told me that they were coins, and that they were not surface targets.  I continued my search, and I suddenly got a strong hit.  I started to hit my coin check button to see if it was a coin, and as I was looking down at the ground, I spotted the ring!  It had blended into the brown grass of the playing field, hiding from Anil.  I immediately picked it up and yelled to him – “I found the ring,  look!”  He was very surprised and extremely happy.  He could not believe that I had found the ring so quickly and easily.  It was easy to see the relief on his face.  We chatted as we walked back to the car, where I took his picture with the ring.  He thanked me a number of times again for helping him,  and he said that he would now be able to have a great weekend.  I was happy that I had been able to help him find his ring that obviously meant a lot to him. It was a successful hunt, indeed.

 On Thursday June 10, I was contacted by a woman who had found my name in the Ringfinders’ directory.  I called her up and learned that she was unable to find her   beautiful Leo Diamond rings – the rings were gold and had a total diamond weight of 4.23 carats. She was, as you can imagine, sick about the loss.  She had worn them 6 years and had never before misplaced them.

The lady was certain that she had not lost them in her yard(s), but she wanted to be sure.  She had torn the house apart, and thought they might still be in the house.  Unfortunately, the house was set on a slab foundation with a lot of re-bar set into it, and I explained to her that that could make searching inside the house difficult or impossible with sensitive metal detecting equipment. In addition, as you all know, there are numerous electronic devices and metal objects in modern houses that make detecting a challenge inside.  However, I knew she was very distraught about the loss of the rings so I offered to come out and try to help her search for the lost rings anyway. 

Friday morning, I put her address into my GPS and made my way out to her house.  Upon my arrival, I asked her numerous questions in an effort to jog her memory as to where she might have put the rings by mistake or where they might have accidentally fallen.

She informed me that the last time she remembered having them was on Monday May 10th, over a month before she contacted me.  And, unfortunately, she had had visitors in the house since the time she noticed tha ring was missing. She remembered that she had them on when cleaning the pool, but had used the hand other than the one on which she wore the ring due to the effect  of chlorinated water on gold rings. She told me how careful she was with her rings, and that 99.9% of the time they go into a particular jewelry box when she removes them, but like most people, on occasion she has placed them on the kitchen counter or in a pocket. Unfortunately she had no mental picture this time of having removed them, and could not remember where else she might have placed them.  She was surprised that it had taken her 3 days to notice the rings missing because she is so methodical and careful with them.  She had ripped the house apart, looked in the furniture, the car, the garage, all of the pockets in the clothes she had worn that week, the hamper, washer, the kitchen.  You name it, she had looked there for the rings.  

So with that background, we began our search anew.  We  looked in the bedroom – behind furniture, in her book case, under and behind the dresser, chairs, tables, etc etc. etc.  Then we moved to the back yard.  I metal detected the yard around the pool at 90 degree angles in an effort to find the rings.  I found coins and various metal objects, but unfortunately, not her rings.  We then searched in her car, under the seats, in the seats, under the carpets, in the dash compartment holders, all again with no luck.

Finally, in a last effort to help her find her rings, I carefully metal detected the front garden bed where she had done some gardening.  I had her search the gloves she wore and I slowly detected the garden bed.  Again, I found various metal objects, including coins, but as luck would have it, not her gold rings.

I told her after completing the searches of the back yard and the front garden bed, that I was confident that the rings were not there.  I was careful to overlap my search swings and I covered the ground searched from various angles to be sure that I did not miss the rings if they were hiding in the ground searched.

I am disappointed that I was unable to help her find her lost rings. But, she was grateful for my efforts, and at least she feels confident that the rings are not in the small grass area around her pool and not in her front garden bed. I hope she finds her rings.  She has promised to let me know if they turn up in the house. I hope to hear from her, and if I do, I will blog the happy ending.