Pete McGhee

  • Land/Shallow Water Search
  • Diver/Underwater Search

Cost For My Service

I charge a minimal base travel rate for callouts. As a guide: Paihia $20, Russell $60(includes Ferry), Mangonui / Taupo Bay / Coopers Beach / Taipa $40, Whangarei Central / Tutukaka / Opononi $70, Whangarei Heads / Kai Iwi / Ruakaka / Kaitaia $90

Allocated time for a search is dependent on the circumstances of loss and elapsed time. This has shown to be effective for 90% of recoveries. I will often voluntarily extend this to maximise chances of finding your lost ring.

With a successful recovery, I work on a reward basis. That is, what you think my service has been worth to you, and that you can afford. No find, you only need pay the travel component.

SCUBA will incur an extra cost. Please contact me for further details on SCUBA searches.

Search Types

If you have lost your ring on a beach, it's time-critical, and each tide works against us. Please don't hesitate! Getting a Ring Finder on site quickly greatly improves the chances of the recovery of your ring, watch, bracelet or keys.

Water searches, Gardens (even after many years), compost heaps, swimming holes, stockyards, Golf sand-traps... Almost anywhere.

Rings, tools, keys, bits of tractor, manhole covers, survey marks… almost anything containing metal.

Please note: Metal detecting is prohibited on Historic and DOC Reserves, although I can obtain permission by Heritage NZ and/or Dept. of Conservation on a case-by-case basis.

If the item is lost on Private Property, you will need to secure permission from the landowner for access. Please also arrange for nearby electric fences to be turned off during the search as well, if possible.

In the event the item is not located, please file a Lost Property report with Police. I will also add your details to my ‘Little Black Book” in case it turns up on a later hunt... I've had two rings resurface on ocean beaches after 3 and 5 years in the sand.

Please note, I do not locate buried power cables, water lines or other 'sensitive' utilities.

# Contractors! - Looking to hire a metal detector in the Bay of Islands area to find a lost bucket tooth, pin, bracket, snig chain or manhole? Working in the quarrying industry as my day job, I am fully compliant in H&S around heavy plant and on industrial sites. I have full PPE and conversant with Take5 and risk assessment procedures.

# Insurance Companies and Police: I am NZ LandSAR trained in human behaviour and decision pointing, tracking, clue processing, scene processing, scene and evidence protection and chain of custody. Any searches with or on behalf of such organisations are fully documented and reported with GPS tracking, timeline and observations and actions. I aim to operate to a POD exceeding 95% at all times.

Police, please contact me for PolSAR referee and specific details.

Search Locations

East coast of Northland from Whangarei to Kaitaia, Incl Karikari / Tokerau, Doubtless Bay, Mangonui, and Bay of Islands (Also outer islands if transport is arranged by you)

West coast from Dargaville northwards.

Searches south of Whangarei or north of Kaitaia are considered individually.

Pete McGhee's Bio

Experienced in search and recovery with over 36 years of metal detecting under my belt, with many hundreds of items returned to owners in that time before I became an 'official' Ring Finder.

Trained in mantracking and clue awareness with Search and Rescue (a valuable skillset which allowed me to track straight to a set of keys lost in 15 acres of orchard as well as determining actual movements of people, sometimes vastly different to their recollection).

I happily work in wind, hail, rain or tropical cyclone as long as my safety isn't compromised.

If I am unable to commit to the search, I will endeavour to find a colleague who can help find your lost ring, bracelet, necklace

Pete McGhee - Recent Blog Post

  • Ring lost in Surf at Woolleys Bay, Recovered at 4am (2024)

    Joanne posted on Facebook that she had lost her special silver ring in the surf at Woolleys bay, and asked if anyone had found it. Knowing the beach well, I knew the ring would already be well under the surface, and likely quite deep with a few tides having passed since. I very rarely solicit […]

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  • Tearful Loss of Wedding Ring at Ruakaka, Tearful Reunion When Found (2024)

    A very tearful Laura phoned – she had just watched her wedding ring vanish into the sand beneath her feet while in the sea at Ruakaka. Her husband immediately grabbed the pink swimming goggles off the indignant daughter and he spent a long time searching for it until he was, as Laura described, “mildly hypothermic”. […]

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  • It’s Not all Gold. Lawn cleared of Nails… (2024)

    As I was waiting for the tide to fall at Ngunguru for a recovery, I was browsing the local social media. Angie had just posted asking for someone with a detector to find and remove nails from her lawn in the area around an old bonfire site. I had time to kill, so I got […]

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  • Lost Ring on 90 Mile Beach, NZ. Found! (2024)

    90 Mile Beach (Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē) in the north of New Zealand is a vast, flat, featureless strip of sand. Open to the Tasman Sea, the surf is generally large and relentless. Layers of titanomagnetite (iron sand) cause issues with most metal detectors, and there is a definite art to being able to hear through the constant […]

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  • Engagement and Wedding Ring lost in Sea at Russell, NZ – Ring Finder Saves the Day (2024)

    Jan phoned me last night, quite distressed. She had just been swimming off the beach at Russell when her wedding ring slipped off her finger. She momentarily glimpsed it on the gravelly seabed and did a ‘duck-dive’ to grab it.  Her gold and diamond engagement also slipped off – Disaster! Repeated attempts to grab either […]

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Pete McGhee - Testimonials

  • I cannot thank Pete enough and highly recommend him for jewellery recoveries (2024)

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    I cannot thank Pete enough and highly recommend him for jewellery recoveries.

    I lost both my ring and necklace that were very sentimental in the surf at Taupo bay and had lost all hope after groups of us searching. After being recommended on the local Facebook page I rang Pete the next day and he said he was able to come that night. After marking where I lost my jewellery Pete set off searching. He was extremely thorough and asked many questions to try his best to locate it. After a while of searching, I was starting to lose hope, as were those who had gathered to watch him. Pete started digging and held up my ring, a few minutes later he held up the pendant to my necklace. The relief I felt in that moment was amazing. Pete is incredible, very kind and thorough. I cannot recommend or thank him enough!

  • You are an absolute earth angel Thank you so much for finding the ring (2024)

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    You are an absolute earth angel

    Thank you so much for finding the ring starlias dad & I gifted starlia for her 21st

    It felt like something was missing while it was gone

    I just knew you would find it

    You don’t just find lost items for people , you return a missing piece and restore happiness

    Your gift sure is a beautiful one ????????

  • We are so very grateful for your hard work Pete... (2024)

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    My 81 year old Mum decided to do some weeding at the bach on Tokerau Beach. She threw some weeds into a nearby clump of flax bushes. Later in the day she realised she’d lost both her diamond engagement ring and her emerald and diamond eternity ring!!!

    We scoured the whole property but couldn’t find it. I’d seen a post a few days earlier on the Karikari peninsula page about someone who had lost a bangle on the beach. I searched the page and found Northland Jewellery Recoveries and contacted them. Pete was very quick to respond and came out the next day. After a very professional and thorough search Pete found BOTH of mum’s rings within 45 minutes in the flax!!! We are so very grateful for your hard work Pete. You certainly made not only Mum cry, but you made her day. Thank you so much.

  • A saviour. Pete didn’t give up. (2024)

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    A saviour. Pete didn’t give up.

    I lost the ring at Long Beach, Russell.

    I contacted Pete and sent him a photo, marking the location, which was slightly off to one side of where we actually had been.

    Pete went to the site twice, locating it on the second go.

    I can’t recommend Northland Jewellery Recoveries enough.

  • so grateful for Pete and his service !! (2023)

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    We were swimming at Tokerau this afternoon when my daughters gold bangle came off in the ocean. It’s a sentimental piece that she got for her First Christmas last year and I was so upset .

    My partner Scott was quick to call Pete and he was on his way !!

    I had marked a spot on the bank of where we had walked down from and off he went.

    30-45 mins later and we had our bangle back !!

    So so grateful for Pete and his service !!

    Thanks again

  • Can’t even put into words how happy I am, such quick, kind efficient service. Totally would recommend! (2023)

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    Was doing some ridiculous acrobatics on the property this week and managed to lose my watch in the grass, after searching for three days and racking my brain, I decided to contact Pete to come by with his Metal detector and scour the property.

    I wasn’t very hopeful, since all four of us had been heavily searching the area, after one hour pete told me to come for a walk with him, and low and behold!!!! Right there! In the grass! What a gem.

    Can’t even put into words how happy I am, such quick, kind efficient service. Totally would recommend!

  • Highly recommend Pete!! (2022)

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    Pete arrived yesterday to help find my wedding ring which I had lost in my garden over two years ago.In half an hour he had found it in the lawn bordering the flower beds.Such a lovely Xmas gift for me and so reasonable. Highly recommend Pete!!

  • You are an absolute legend... (2021)

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    Thank you so much Pete! You are an absolute legend. We couldn’t be more thankful that the community directed us to you. I drove out to meet you having prepared myself for disappointment, never expecting that you would locate my ring even before we arrived! You should take a lot of pride in what you do and the amazing thing you are able to do for people by reuniting them with lost precious items.

    Great human being.

  • Billy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts... (2021)

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    Pete you are amazing.

    An absolute miracle worker. I am humbled by what you have done and how you rearranged your life to help me in a moment of sheer and utter devastation. I can never thank you enough.

    Sorry for all the cuddles I didn’t know what else to do or say or how to express how thankful I was.

    Billy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

    Massive appreciation from heaven and earth xxx

  • You are truly remarkably. (2021)

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    Thanks Pete for a truly outstanding effort. I had given up all hope but you wouldn't give up hope even when it was cold, dark, sinister seas and you were wet. Having my family rings back again to hand onto another generation is something I will always be grateful for. You are truly remarkably.

  • Highly recommended! (2020)

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    Fantastic service – professional, thorough, meticulous. Great result. Highly recommended!

  • Pete is the real deal... (2020)

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    Pete is the real deal.

    I Lost my Ring in Kai Iwi Lake and Pete found it (Amazing! I never thought I’d see my ring again since it had been missing for days before I found out about TheRingfinders).

    When I did contact him I received fast Response to queries. Fair Deal – very reasonable Base Fee, and he was very easy to deal with. He even proactively advised to do the search asap rather than wait for weekend given the location I lost it was in reach of holidaymakers.

    He also offered to do the search on his own to save me having to take a 5+ hour round trip drive from Auckland (given that the videos I sent him had enough details to pinpoint the location of where we setup our gazebo that day).

    I’ve Received my ring back via Mail nicely wrapped. Thank you Pete!!

  • So very happy that Pete made contact (2019)

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    So very happy that Pete made contact as I took the bold step to ask on our local FB grapevine for help. Every so often I would return to the supposed site to try and find the lost earring and as the months progressed I started to doubt where I thought I had lost it. Pete didn’t take very long and was very thorough – he has to contend with my guinea fowl calls in the back ground but within 1/2 hour after deciding to explore further Than the initial field area & after carefully listening to my poor recollection of the loss – there it was – in bedded in the under growth – I certainly would never have seen it If it wasn’t for the metal detector alert as it looked quite insignificant and dull And certainly didn’t look like metal but another piece of undergrowth !. Not for long – will be off to get it properly cleaned tomorrow .

  • Fantastic work Pete... (2019)

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    Fantastic work Pete. We really had resigned ourselves to not getting the ring back and are beyond delighted with your perseverance and success.

  • Highly recommend your services to anyone in need of a pro – ring finder! (2018)

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    Pete!

    Me (and my wife) are eternally grateful for your efforts. Especially as you found it the day before our 2nd wedding anniversary.

    I was worried that it would be a tricky mission for you, but you found it so quick.

    Highly recommend your services to anyone in need of a pro – ring finder! Happy to provide a reference if a future client needs one. Just give them my number.

    Looking forward to seeing future stories of you reuniting rings with their owners.

    Thanks so much,

    Luke

  • Please if you ever lose your jewellery or other metal items and need help to recover them I strongly recommend this gentleman. (2018)

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    I was truly blessed by the help of Pete

    He traveled from Kerikeri to Ruakaka to help me find my wedding ring that I lost while swimming.

    I had this ring made from my mothers jewellery after she passed away – a very sentimental and emotional part of my life that also represented my future with my beautiful wife and all of our 8 children a positive influence on making healthier lifestyle changes within whanau .

    My heart was broken and I was very upset to the point of being frustrated with myself for letting it happen. The realisation I may never see it again hurt me.

    That day I snorkeled from 1.30-5.00pm thinking of my mum then went home got x2 metal detectors my x3 sons and good friend Ismalia then from 19.00-midnight searched hard at night with torches detectors on beach and in tide with no luck .

    My wife got a message from Pete McGhee through media networking then late Saturday asked him to meet us there Sunday.

    He arrived at 9.15 and the area was marked out with me on the beach himself in the tide with my x3 sons. Then at 11.30am Pete found my wedding ring.

    I honestly couldn’t believe our luck I just wanted to break down with emotion and relief a massive weight of heaviness gone.

    I had been doing karakia every day, even that morning, but the difference was having a person like Pete who was committed driven passionate and very professional about the outcome of todays challenge.

    Thank you so much for your mahi today we are forever grateful enjoy our koha.

    God bless Earles Clan Xx

    Please if you ever lose your jewellery or other metal items and need help to recover them I strongly recommend this gentleman.

    He is humble honest and fair kia ora koutou nga mihi Pete McGhee!