Al Campbell, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 2 of 3

Platinum Ring Lost in the Bush, Maungaraki, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:

Anna was putting up some Christmas lights on the handrail of their deck.  When finished she realized that her Platinum engagement ring was no longer on her finger.  There was a 2 – 3 metre drop into native bush below.

Anna with her Platinum engagement ring firmly secured by her wedding ring

Anna with her Platinum engagement ring firmly secured by her wedding ring

There was some heavy undergrowth to get through and when I started swinging the coil on the CTX3030 I was picking up trash all over the place.  I was also having problems with the standard size coil.  I was using the Propointer to eliminate as much junk as possible, but I had to bring out the good old AT Pro with the 6in coil just so I could maneuver around the vegetation.  I hit another trashy area and used the Propointer to clean it out.  Thought I had everything but gave the area another sweep and got a good clear signal with the right number.

When the leaves were brushed aside the ring was exposed

When the leaves were brushed aside the ring was exposed

I couldn’t see anything but the Propointer was telling me there was still something there.  I brushed away the leaves and Anna’s beautiful Platinum and diamond ring was just sitting there.  It is amazing how these rings manage to bury themselves so easily.

Well, the reaction from Anna was magic.  She was so excited and I think the smile in the photo says it all.

Lovely to meet you Anna and I appreciate the generous reward.

Tags:
Category:

Small Gold Ring Lost at Moa Pt, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:

From out of the ashes

Gisele had been to a bonfire party on the beach and during the night, while sitting on a log in front of the fire, she flicked her hand and lost a very small gold ring.  All her friends searched in the sand but they were unable to find it. She found out the next day that another group had moved in on their bonfire when they had left, and had shifted a lot of sand into piles to make a wind break and then covered the fire with sand when they had finished.

When my wife and I met up with Gisele she was able to show me an identical ring.  She had made both these rings herself from the gold of a friend’s mother’s ring.  They fitted on her little finger and were a very thin band with a small peridot stone mount. I have just bought a CTX 3030 and although I am very impressed with its abilities I was thinking this was going to be a difficult search.  I ran the coil over the ring’s twin and it showed a low reading, so at least I had a target reading.

Fire on the left. Mound to the right after I had spread some of the sand out.

Fire on the left. Mound to the right after I had spread some of the sand out.

A quick scan over the area just brought up lots of trash.  As I got closer to where the fire had been the sand was full of nails and it was apparent that they had been burning old wooden pallets. I then turned my attention to the windbreak mound.  As it was about 2 feet deep I knew I had to dismantle the mound shovel by shovel to make sure it wasn’t there.  Lots of nails and melted aluminum but no gold ring.

I then did another test with the other ring to see how deep I could pick it up.  With the ring on my plastic shovel I piled about 100mm (4ins) of sand on top and barely got a reading.  This was a bit worrying as this ring could easily be deeper than that.  I was moving sand a shovel full at a time and spreading it out and rechecking with the metal detector.

Gisele and my wife helped out by sifting through the ashes in the fire, with their fingers, to remove as many nails as they could find.  I then moved on to a small pile beside where the main fire had been.  It looked like something else had been burning there and a pile of sand had been thrown over the top of it.  It was full of nails but I started to spread it out and double checking each scoop before putting another scoop on top.  More nail signals and I was just about to put another shovel full on top when a got just a small beep in the right numbers.  I couldn’t get it to repeat because there were so many nails there but I could see the cursor on the screen occasionally flick down to that area.

Blackened gold ring after I brought it to the surface with the Pro Pointer

Blackened gold ring after I brought it to the surface with the Pro Pointer

It was one of my last chances so I got the pro pointer and started removing everything that set it off.  After about eight nails I lifted a blackened ring to the surface with the end of the pro pointer.

I don’t know who was more surprised – me or Gisele, when I told her to come over and have a look. She threw her arms around me and nearly knocked me over.  This is what makes the 2 hour search all worthwhile.  Certainly the hardest successful search I have done to date.

So it looks like the other party had shoveled some sand over the fire to put it out and the ring had gone into the fire with it.  It had been blackened by the fire but didn’t appear to be damaged so I am sure Gisele will be able to clean it up and get it back to original condition.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to find this ring for Gisele – it meant a lot to her.

Gisele holding her tiny ring

Gisele holding her tiny ring

Tags:
Category:

Platinum Wedding Ring found in Lyall Bay, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:

Veronika called me to say that her husband, Sean, had lost his platinum wedding ring while digging out a small garden, next to a public footpath, at the front of their house.  She sounded very anxious so I managed to find he time to go straight to her house to start searching.  They had collected all the long grass and weeds in rubbish bags so it was quick and easy to run the detector over that to make sure it wasn’t there.

The area that was dug over was very small but very contaminated with trash and I was worried about a lot of power wires running directly overhead.  Luckily they did not cause any problem and it was just a matter of working through the trash.

I got to an area that was giving me multiple signals and would occasionally flash up a 45 which was the right number for platinum, but I just couldn’t pinpoint it.  I had to start eliminating the trash out of the ground and finally got a clear signal.

The ring was right underneath these roots

The ring was right underneath these roots

I dug down under the roots of one of the plants and it just popped up with the knife.  I don’t know how it managed to get so far down and under the roots.

There was great excitement and a lovely squeal of delight from Veronika when I told her I had found it, not to mention the big hug.  I just love it when I get these finds.

Thanks for the reward – always appreciated.

Veronica hold the ring

Veronica holding the ring

Tags:
Category:

Engagement Ring Recovered in Yard at Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:

Wayne contacted me through another detectorist and explained that his daughter, Ursula had lost her engagement ring while putting her child in the car.  I was unavailable for a week and they had searched the area on their hands and knees each day in the hope of finding it.

Wayne had put a chalk mark  on the path where the car had been parked.  It started to rain just as I arrived.  It was a small area to search but heavily contaminated with junk metal.  I checked many signal but no sign of the ring so Wayne asked his daughter to come around and give us some more detail.

She was able to tell me that she was getting in the drivers seat when she felt something slip through her fingers and when she looked down her ring was gone, and this was a little bit further up the path.  So this gave me another area to search, but still heavily contaminated.

Ursula's engagement ring hiding at the bottom of the grass

Ursula’s engagement ring hiding at the bottom of the grass

Knowing they had searched the area thoroughly, there was the possibility they had stood on it so I started digging some of the shallow trash to make sure there was nothing masking the good signals.  I was digging up coins, pipes, bottle tops, nails – and there was pieces on top of each other.  A short time later I got a couple of signals very close.  The first one was trash but when I cleared that the other one gave a good signal.  I used the pro pointer and pushed down through the grass and right at the bottom was the small gold ring.  I called Ursula over to show her what I had found and she just burst into tears – tears of joy, of course.  Even when I had packed up and was leaving she was still sobbing and gave me a great big hug.

Wayne gave me a generous reward which was really appreciated, but knowing I had made a young lady very happy was priceless.

Ursula's ring

Ursula’s ring

 

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring at Normandale School, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:
Clare and Austen

Clare and Austen

Clare's White Gold Ring

Clare’s White Gold Ring

Clare rang me this afternoon to tell me that she had lost her engagement ring while playing with her family at the local school playground a couple of days ago.  She had removed the ring and put it in her pocket to prevent it from coming off her finger.  When she left the playground she realized it was missing from her pocket.

I had to wait until school was out but even then there were a lot of children and parents at the playground.  The floor of the playground was covered with a deep layer of wood chip which would easily swallow up a ring if it was dropped.

I had to work around the ever curious children, and the metal equipment left some areas that I couldn’t eliminate with confidence, but eventually I had to ring Clare for some more detail.  She mentioned that she had moved off to a small grassy area where she had put on her cardigan with the ring in the pocket.

I set to work in this area and soon got a solid signal.  As I pinpointed it the beautiful white gold ring revealed itself just under the grass.  It was great to make the call to let Clare know I had found her ring.  A short time later I met her at her house as she arrived home from work and handed it over.  She was so thrilled and seeing the smile on her face made it all worthwhile.

 

Tags:
Category:

Titanium Ring found at Scorching Bay, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:
A Very Happy Trafford

A Very Happy Trafford

Trafford's Titanium Ring
Trafford’s Titanium Ring

I received a call from Trafford who had been throwing food scraps to the sea birds when he felt his Titanium Wedding band come off his finger.  He didn’t see where it landed but thought it may have gone all the way to the water.

He, his wife, and another couple spent almost 2 hours searching the sand but were unsuccessful.

Luckily they found our website when looking for a metal detector to hire.

I arrived at the beach a short time later and met the very anxious couple and got them to show me where they thought they were when the ring came off.

Trafford gave me and area where he thought he had been standing, but there was only a very small area of dry sand as the tide was now fully in.

I thought it was worth checking the dry sand first before getting my feet wet.  I ground balanced the AT Pro to the sand and gave the coil one sweep over the sand.  I got a signal straight away, which looked good, so I dug a shovel full of sand out and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the ring pop up to the surface.

Trafford and Rachel were so excited and they couldn’t believe I had found it so quickly.

The ring meant a lot to them as they have only had it for 4 months and it had been blessed.

I feel so privileged to have been able to reunite them with the ring, and this will add a happy story to its history.

Thank you for a very generous reward.  A share of that will go to the Life Flight Trust Ambulance.

Tags:
Category:

Wedding Ring Found in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:

Colin got my contact details from another metal detectorist in Auckland.  Colin had been working in his garden a week ago when he realised that his wedding ring was missing.

He spent some time searching for it and tried to hire a metal detector.  He got onto another ringfinding website in Auckland and they put Colin on to me.

The area to search was reasonably small but included small bits of landscaping that contained various bits of metal and nails.

After about 30 minutes I got a signal that I thought was another piece of junk, but when I dug about 2cm into the soil the ring revealed itself.

I always get such a thrill when the target appears like that.  But not as much as Colin and his wife.  They were really thrilled.

Thank you Colin for a generous reward – some of that will go to the Life Flight Trust Helicopter.

Colin reunited with his wedding ring

Colin reunited with his wedding ring

Colin's Wedding Ring

Colin’s Wedding Ring

Tags:
Category:

Lost Pendant at Kelburn Park, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:

imageMiranda rang me when she lost a very small gold pendant when the chain broke around her neck.  It was a gift from her mother and she really wanted to find it.

She was able to narrow the area down to 2m x 2m beside a public park.  There was a lot of signals  – it was very trashy – but I figured that the pendant should be on, or very close to the surface, so I used the pinpointer to check any solid signals.

I covered the area and couldn’t find it.  Did another sweep at right angles and still no sign of it.  I then decided to start digging all the signals in case it was below the surface.  I cleared a bit of trash and even a couple of coins and then got a low signal in an area I had already checked.  I went to dig and could just see the top loop above the surface.  Someone had stepped on it and put it below the surface.

Miranda’s face lit up.  She said she could now ring her mum and tell her all about it.

Category:

Ring Found in Hills at Johnsonville, Wellington, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:
Sharon reunited with her ring

Sharon reunited with her ring

Sharon's ring deep in the grass

Sharon’s ring deep in the grass

Sharon was walking her dogs in the hills above her suburb when they were ambushed by another dog.  While attempting to separate the dogs one of her gold rings was flung off her finger and disappeared into very long grass somewhere downhill.

When we arrived it was drizzly and misty but Sharon’s bubbly personality meant the weather couldn’t put a damper on our mood and she couldn’t wait to show me where she had lost her ring.

Sharon took me to the exact spot where she had been standing.  A very large, prickly, gorse bush was very close and had me a bit worried but first to check out the long grass.

In less than 1 minute I got a faint signal.  I pressed down on the long grass and had trouble getting another beep and when it did it came back with a ferrous signal.  I thought it might have been a nail or barbed wire.  I used the pinpointer and tracked it about 6 inches right to the bottom of the tuft of grass, spread the blades and exposed a beautiful gold ring covered in diamonds.

There was an audible gasp from Sharon and as I looked up to see a beaming smile and then received a bear hug that nearly knocked me over.  Priceless.

Very generous reward – some of that will go to Life Flight Trust Rescue Helicopter.

Tags:
Category:

Wedding Ring Found on Farm in Levin, New Zealand

  • from Wellington (New Zealand)
Contact:
Dave's ring given to him by his grandfather

Dave’s ring given to him by his grandfather

Dave reunited with his grandad's ring

Dave reunited with his grandad’s ring

Dave was spending his Easter break doing some work around his friends farm in Levin.  They were clearing some scrub when Dave realized that his wedding ring was missing.  This was a very special ring as it had been engraved and given to him by his grandfather and he believes that it may have  belonged to his great grandfather originally.

When I got the call we took the 1 hour drive immediately, but arrived just as it began raining.  A welcome sight for the farmers as we have had a bit of drought this summer.  We all walked across the paddocks to the area where Dave and John had been cutting into the bush.

The grass was very long but had been trodden down where the men had been working.  I thought this was going to be a tough search but Dave was fairly sure where he had been working and there was no other metal in the ground.

I was about 1 metre outside the boundary that Dave had set when I put the metal detector to work.  I got an immediate and very clear signal.  I couldn’t believe that it could be that easy but when I lifted a layer of grass the ring revealed itself.

Big smiles and hugs all round.  No one could believe we could find it so easily.

My wife and I stayed for a lovely lunch with some lovely people.  The smiles were still on everyone’s faces as we departed and Dave gave us a very generous reward.

Tags:
Category: