On Sunday, Margaret was snorkelling at Maitai Bay when she felt her wedding ring catch on her knuckle. As she reseated it, she realised her engagement ring of 57 years had already slipped off into the water.
With heavy hearts, the family returned home, leaving the ring somewhere out in the water.
The next day, Margaret’s daughter visited a jewellers in Kerikeri who suggested she contact me.
I got the call, loaded the water-hunting gear into the car, and headed north to Maitai Bay.
Sarah, Margaret’s daughter, met me there and we went to the spot where they’d been snorkelling — a small rocky bay with crystal-clear, calm water and a steady stream of snorkellers coming and going. Fortunately, the sandy bottom and tidal surges meant the ring was likely buried and hidden from sight.
After my usual “20 questions” with Sarah to narrow down the highest-probability areas, it was clear there was a 50:50 chance I’d need to return with scuba gear. If the ring was in deeper water, at least it would be safe from the many beady eyes peering down from the surface.
While Sarah and her brother searched by snorkelling nearby, I began a systematic detector search. Time passed and Sarah eventually had to head off, leaving me to continue into the afternoon.
A couple of hours later, after expanding the search area, I was ferreting around in the kelp along the edge of the reef and, under the kelp, nestled in a small crevice in the rock, was the gold and diamond ring.
It had likely slipped off when Margaret was either climbing onto, or off, a small rock for a rest.
The next day, I met the family in Kerikeri and had the pleasure of handing the ring back to Margaret.
As a bonus, her granddaughter had made me a beautiful thank-you card, which has now joined the others on the shelf above my desk
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