Ring Finder in Dewey Beach, Delaware Recovers Lost Wedding Band in Atlantic Ocean

Brian Rudolph, Lost Item Recovery Specialist (Land, Water, Sand, Snow, Leaves, Cliffs, Houses & Vehicles) Will Find Your Lost Keepsake! Call ASAP (301) 466-8644!

I was contacted by Dana who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was desperately calling on behalf of her husband (who didn’t know that his wife was calling me for help). The backstory goes like this:

Stephen, Dana and their family drove from Philadelphia to Dewey Beach, Delaware for a little vacation. They stayed at Stephen’s parent’s beach house. The plan was to enjoy a few days on the sand and in the water. Unfortunately, their time was cut short when Stephen lost his cherished wedding band out in the Atlantic Ocean while holding his four year old daughter in his arms. Stephen attributed the sliding off of the ring from his finger due to a recent weight loss of over 60 pounds, and of course, the ocean water that additionally caused his fingers to shrink in size, making the band extremely vulnerable out in the Atlantic.

As soon as Stephen came up onto the shore with his daughter, he realized that his beloved 14 karat yellow gold and multiple diamond wedding ring was missing from his finger. He was devastated. The poor guy was so upset that he stormed up to his beach blanket, packed up what he could carry and then walked off the sand heading towards his vehicle.

Stephen was in tears over the loss of his irreplaceable keepsake. He had never taken the ring off in all 16 years of his blissful marriage other than a few times to avoid damaging it. The disappointment was so great that as soon as the family got back to the beach house, Stephen had his family pack up all of their belongings and he immediately drove them all back to Philadelphia later that evening! Dana told me that her husband was so angry and upset about the incident that he actually got physically sick on the drive home. That’s how tough this loss was for the man.

Two days after the family settled in back at their Pennsylvanian home, Dana was on Facebook and someone suggested to her the idea of contacting a member of THE RING FINDERS to see if a specialist could try finding Stephen’s ring out in the Atlantic. She sat on the information for another 24 hours and then finally decided to do a search on the directory. That’s when Dana discovered my metal detecting services in Dewey Beach, Delaware.

After I got all of the facts from Stephen’s wife regarding the loss of the wedding band, I explained to Dana that because so many days had passed, we had only a small chance of recovering the lost jewel. Yet, I shared that if there was one person that could pull the keepsake from the Atlantic Ocean, I was her ring hero.

Next, me and my client coordinated with Stephen’s mother, Pat, who was still vacationing at her Dewey Beach house. I worked it out to meet up with the family member over at the search site around the lowest tide hour of the day. Since Stephen’s mother was present at the time of the loss of the ring, she could recall the approximate location where Stephen had been hanging out in the water. I was excited about this challenging water search out in the ocean. It was a long shot, but I like trying to defeat the odds when it comes to recovering lost rings in tough environments.

When I met up with Pat at the beach, she immediately showed me where the family had their things lying on the sand and the general area where Stephen had been hanging out in the water when the band presumably came off. The two of us knew that we had a very small window of opportunity for me to search the Atlantic because: One, low tide was already upon us. And two, an ugly storm was coming our way. Time was of the essence.

Based on the information I obtained from Stephen’s mom, I used two markers to make my search boundary noticeable from the ocean while detecting out in the water. Before heading into the Atlantic to start metal detecting, I prayed with Pat that God would bring about a miracle for Stephen. I explained to her that I believe I have God’s favor when it comes to the searching for lost wedding bands. The reason for this is because the wedding band represents a covenant between spouses. Therefore since God loves the covenant of marriage (He was the one that created it from the beginning), I believe God would want that ring to be returned to its rightful owner.

Once we finish praying, I started wading the water of the Atlantic Ocean. There was another family up on shore that had been watching me the whole time as I was being beaten up by the incoming waves. They didn’t think I had a chance in the world to find such a tiny piece of jewelry out there in the vast waters. However, like most, they were still intrigued and entertained by my valiant efforts and they kept watching me scan the ocean for the diamond ring.

Back and forth I continued to detect the water, hoping to get a decent signal to investigate. For the longest time I got absolutely no hits. In fact, I started thinking that I was going to have to wrap up the search because: One, I had been out there so long and there was no sign of the ring. Two, I was really taking a beating by the violent waves. And three, I could see the storm quickly approaching in the distance and we would need to take cover sooner than later.

Even though I was fighting against many odds of finding Stephen’s ring, I continued to do what I know to do best, and that is: keep the focus and keep the hope alive within and not give up the search. I kept swinging my coil back and forth and moved farther into the water even though I was getting pounded by the waves over and over again.

At some point, just before having to call it quits for the day, I actually got a promising signal on my detector screen. It was coming up in the number range of exactly the kind of target I had been searching for. I believe the object that I zeroed in on was buried approximately 6 inches in the sand and about 4 feet of water below out in the surf. Quickly, I pinpointed the exact spot where the mysterious item was hiding and then positioned my sand scoop in order to try to bring up the target from beneath the sand.

After a few unsuccessful attempts of scooping up the piece of metal due to how crazy the waves were pounding me, I finally got the object into my sand scoop. Then, I sifted out the shells and silt and there, line at the bottom of my scoop was one of the most handsome men’s wedding bands I had ever seen! And it was huge too! I couldn’t believe it and yet I could at that moment because I had seen the amazing work of God before and this search was no exception! I was so excited and I couldn’t wait to surprise Pat and family with the incredible news! I did it! I pulled the lost ring from the Atlantic Ocean and cheated its tough resistances! What an amazing moment that was!

When I revealed the ring, I did so in front of Pat and her son Stephen who we did a FaceTime with right there out by the water! Neither one of them had any idea that I had found the wedding band and it brought both mother and son to tears! The family on the beach who were watching me the whole time also joined in the celebration and was quite amazed at what I was able to accomplish that late afternoon out in the Atlantic Ocean!

Finally, Pat and I partnered together to surprise Stephen’s wife Dana who was the one who originally called me after learning about THE RING FINDERS on Facebook. We FaceTime’d her and once again, I had another family member completely in tears as she sat in her vehicle on the side of the road! There were children in the backseat of her SUV and even some of them began to cry as well! It was truly an unforgettable moment for me and for everyone who witnessed the unbelievable news!

Stephen was in complete shock when he saw his ring in my hand! There was not a thought in the world that he would ever wear that wedding band ever again! And yet, the reality of the matter was that Stephen’s irreplaceable diamond wedding band that he cherished with all of his heart, that had been in the Atlantic Ocean for over 3 days…was coming back home to Philadelphia!

One would never be able to imagine the amount of thanks and praise that we all offered up to God for answering our prayers out there on that Delaware shore that one special afternoon!

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