Brian Tucholke, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 2 of 3

A Fortunate Encounter and Ring Return, Woodneck Beach, Falmouth, Massachusetts

  • from Falmouth (Massachusetts, United States)
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As I was carrying my metal-detecting gear to search the beach for Rory’s husband’s wedding ring yesterday (my primary mission) I had a chance encounter with Brendan, who was just leaving.  He half-jokingly asked that if I found it, would I return the wedding ring that he’d lost there two weeks previously.  Well, here was another great opportunity to help someone overcome an unfortunate circumstance and to build on The Ring Finders story, so I asked him to walk with me to where he’d lost his ring and give me the details.  I gleaned all the necessary information, told Brendan that I’d look for his ring at first opportunity, and asked him to leave contact information on my phone so that I could reach him if I was successful.  It turned out that after he left, my primary search (for Rory’s husband’s ring) was successful within a short time, so after Rory and I celebrated that find and return, I continued on to the area of Brendan’s ring loss hoping that I could score a second success for the day.  Some might say that it was the doing of St. Anthony, but in any case Brendan’s ring slid under my detector coil and propelled itself into my scoop within about 45 minutes.  Yay!  It’s not often that a detecting day offers up a double!

I made call to Brendan to let him know I’d found his ring and we set up a reunion meeting for today at the beach, where I returned the ring.  Brendan’s smile in the picture tells the rest of the story.  I’m pleased as can be that our chance encounter led to a happy ending!

 

Brendan with his ring.

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Men’s Wedding Ring Found for Owner, Woodneck Beach, Falmouth, Massachsetts

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Rory’s post on Facebook alerted me to the fact that her husband had lost his wedding band at the beach two days prior.  I contacted her and we set up a time to meet just before low tide, similar to the situation when the ring was lost.  It was a beautiful afternoon when we arrived at the beach, and it didn’t take long to go through the details of the ring characteristics, circumstances of the loss, and location.  Rory had a very good description of where the ring was likely to be found, probably in knee-deep water, and I set to work on a search pattern.  It took only about twenty minutes before I had a rich booming signal that was certain to be a ring, and it took only a few moments to dig the target and pluck from my scoop a nice wedding band which was uniquely identifiable as the lost ring according to the inscription inside.  Rory’s surprise and joy when I walked up to her and held out the ring were enough to keep us both smiling for a month of Sundays!  Thank you, Rory, for the opportunity to search for and recover this precious item for you and your husband.

 

Rory with her husband’s ring.

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2-Year Miracle – Men’s Gold Wedding Ring Returned to Owner, Falmouth, MA

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Sometimes miracles do happen!  I was alerted by my daughter about a lost-ring post on the Fabulous Falmouth Facebook page.  Allie posted a picture of a wedding ring that her husband Michael lost 2 years ago on Woodneck Beach in Falmouth, in hopes that someone would find and return it.  The ring had been lost only a week after they were married.  Allie’s picture showed a fairly unique ring style that seemed familiar, so I looked through rings I’d recovered while metal detecting in the past and sure enough, the style, the place, and the date of loss all matched up with a ring I’d found.

Allie and I made contact and we agreed to meet at the beach in the evening so I could return the ring to Michael.  We met and enjoyed a great conversation and celebration – what a nice couple!  I learned that they had never replaced Michael’s ring, though they’d tried, because it just didn’t feel right.  So it was a real delight to be able to return the ring and see it on Michael’s finger where it belonged.  Michael said he will get the ring re-sized to assure that this saga will not be repeated.  Another success story for the Ring Finders, even though with a 2-year delay!

Allie & Michael. The ring is home after two years.

 

Michael’s wedding ring.

 

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Successful Search & Recovery of Men’s Platinum Wedding Ring, Falmouth Heights Beach, Falmouth, MA

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I received a call this morning from Corey, from his home in Boston.  Yesterday, while playing spike ball and enjoying the beach in the hot, humid weather, his platinum wedding band went astray from his pocket where he’d placed it for safekeeping.  His friends found the Ring Finders on the web and told Corey to give me a call to see if I could search for the ring.  I made it to the beach about a half hour after the call and began a search pattern in the area that Corey had described over the phone.  The description was not very precise, so after searching for 45 minutes I called a number that he’d provided for a friend who’d been with them the previous day.  The friend showed up and after some discussion we identified an area another 100-150 feet down the beach where it looked like there had been some heavy activity, likely from a spike ball game.  Sure enough, it did not take a long search before I came across the sweet signal expected from a platinum band and scooped up Corey’s ring.  I made a call to Corey and dropped the ring off at the friend’s house, so it will assuredly will find its way back home ere long.  A big thanks to Corey’s friends for searching out the Ring Finders and especially to Corey for giving me the opportunity to look for this precious item!

 

Corey’s Platinum Ring

Corey’s a happy man with his ring back on his finger.

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Diamond “Eternity” Rings Recovered on the Beach for Owner, Mashpee, Massachusetts

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A beautiful day on the beach looked like it might be a disaster for Adrienne when she lost a pair of beautiful diamond ‘eternity’ rings in the dry sand on the beach.  Fortunately, she found the Ring Finders online, and I was able to meet her at the beach about 45 minutes after receiving her call.  She described how the rings had been on a towel on her beach chair and probably fell off when she moved the chair to another location 12 or 15 feet away.  It took only a few minutes to find the first ring, but the second one was stubborn.  I went over the area 2 or 3 times in different directions but could not get a signal.  Finally, I re-checked the signal from the first ring and noted that the ring in a vertical orientation gave no signal at all but was detected in a horizontal position.  This is not uncommon, though it’s usually not a problem because typically a ring gets buried in a relatively horizontal orientation.  So I moved the sand around in the area where the first ring was found, and soon picked up a signal and had the second ring in my scoop.  Needless to say, there were big smiles all around.  I’m very happy that I was able to help you, Adrienne, and I hope you’ll enjoy those rings and tell the story of the Ring Finders for many years to come!

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22K Gold Ring Found for Owner, Falmouth, Massachusetts

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Will was on his way back home to Canada.  His 22K gold ring wasn’t.  It was buried at an uncertain location on the beach.

Yesterday, a late evening call from Will alerted me to the fact that he’d lost his ring somewhere in dry sand or in the water while they were enjoying a day on the sand and in the surf.  I arranged to meet him early today and he showed me the areas he expected the ring to be: a dry sand area where he’d played ‘spike ball’, an area where the family sunned on the dry sand, and a water area where he’d been swimming.  Will had asked a detectorist who happened by to scan the first area, with no results.  The water seemed like the next best bet so I started there, working parallel to shore from neck-deep in toward the beach.  After about two hours with no results I went ashore and scanned the spike-ball and sunning areas but came up with nothing but some trash.  In the meantime, Will and family had to depart for home.  I’d assured him that if I found the ring I’d arrange to send it back to him.

Back in the water, I started in the middle of the search area, working in- and off-shore toward one side until I reached the edge.  I then expanded the search area and within a few minutes got a nice solid signal.  I sank the scoop deep and a few seconds later was looking Will’s buttery-gold ring sitting in a scoopful of gravelly cobbles.  Success!

The next step will be to ship the ring home.  I had a great time on this search and I’m elated that I’ll be able soon to re-unite Will and his ring!

Update, 23 October: Will’s ring was shipped off to his sister in New York state on 30 August, as it was anticipated that he would be visiting her in early September and this also would avoid possible customs issues in getting his ring back into Canada.  Unfortunately, the planned visit did not work out but now, finally, the ring has made it back to where it belongs!  Will, thank you for adding your background story about the ring.  I’m so happy for you and Swathi that the ‘circle is now complete’!

Will’s 22K buttery gold ring.

At last, back where it belongs!

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Gold & Diamond Wedding Band Recovered for Owner, Mashpee, MA

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Mike forgot his clam rake when he went to the beach, but that didn’t stop him from digging for quahogs.  The only implements available for digging were his hands, and he made good use of them until he realized that his gold and diamond wedding band had been left behind somewhere in the muddy sand.  He took careful note of the area where the ring likely was lost, probably some 50-60 feet offshore, obtained a non-waterproof detector and made an attempt to find the ring but had no success.

Browsing the web, Mike’s wife found my Ring Finders page and contacted me several days later.  I talked to Mike and we made arrangements to meet so he could show me the area to search.  At the beach he waded out to where he thought the ring might be, and I marked it with a buoy and started my search.  After some additional thought he moved the buoy and I searched that area for about 50 minutes until it seemed clear that I was getting out of the zone where the ring might be.  I moved back to the original area and sure enough, within about 10 minutes had the ring in my scoop.  With some huge smiles, handshakes, and hugs the ring was soon back on Mike’s finger where it belonged!

Thanks Mike, for the opportunity to help you out and get that beautiful ring out of the mud and back in its rightful place!

Mike’s gold & diamond ring.

A big smile from Mike.

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Gold Wedding Band Recovered for Owner, Falmouth, Massachusetts

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Just arriving from the west coast to visit her family on Cape Cod, Emily learned that her father had lost his wedding ring at a local pond two days before.  She had previously heard of The Ring Finders so she did a local search, came up with my number, and gave me a call.  Forty-five minutes later I met with Emily and her father John at his home by the pond and we discussed how and where his ring most likely was lost.  He believed that it probably had come off in an area 20′-30′ square while he was playing in the water with youngsters of his extended family.

I went to the edge of the area where John thought the ring might be, made a mark in the sand, and started a shore-parallel search in the shallow edge of the water.  One swing, second swing…  and a whopping signal.  I stuck my scoop in the sand and as I did so the sloshing water exposed a golden crescent.  I bent over, slid John’s ring into the scoop, and carried it up the beach to where he was standing with expectant (or maybe puzzled) family members.  We were all in disbelief that I’d found the ring immediately!  Emily asked if I’d ever made such a quick recovery, and all I could say was ‘Never!’  Sometimes the angels just smile on you!

John, Emily, and family, it was great to meet you and to see the smiles on your faces when we met with success.  Enjoy your summer on ‘golden’ pond!

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Wedding Ring Recovered From Watery Grave & Returned to Owner, Falmouth, MA

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A morning call from Daniel came with the hope that I could find his wedding ring, which had slipped from his finger into the surf the previous evening.  I met him at the beach a half hour after his call and he explained that he felt the ring fall off in chest deep water, near low tide.  He had made good visual notes as to where he stood with respect to landmarks.  He and companions had actually returned to the spot with goggles and tried to find the ring in the sandy gravel bottom, but to no avail.

The morning tide was about the same level as when the ring was dropped the previous evening, so I waded out and set a small buoy in chest-deep water where Daniel thought the ring would be.  I began my search from there and made a half-dozen swaths parallel to shore, working back and forth past the buoy.  Then bingo! that lovely ring tone…  One scoop, a good shake to wash the sand out, and I could see Daniel’s ring nestled in the gravel.  I dumped the gravel and left the ring in the scoop as I waded ashore.  Daniel walked down to the waterline, looking rather puzzled (he later said he wasn’t sure if I’d found something or was giving up!), but he was delighted when he saw his ring in the scoop.  He was just about right on with respect to the ring’s location, as I found it only 15-20 feet from the buoy.  I wish all recoveries were so easy!

Thanks Daniel, for tracking down the RingFinders and giving me the opportunity to recover your ring.  Have a great summer!

 

 

 

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Lost Men’s Wedding Ring Recovered and Returned, West Falmouth, MA

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James was enjoying the evening surf in chest-deep water when he realized that the platinum wedding band he’d been wearing for 15 years had gone missing from his hand.  An online search for help turned up The Ring Finders and in a short time I received a call.  I met him at the beach a half hour later to see what could be done.

Unfortunately the ring apparently had been lost in chest-deep water on an incoming tide, and the tide was now at neck-deep max.  The wind was kicking up waves of 2 feet or so over the sand bar where he thought the ring might have been dropped.  I didn’t have high hopes for a recovery in those conditions but wanted to give it a try before the ring started to work its way down into the sand.  After 45 minutes of riding the waves and being lifted off the bottom, I admitted that no matter how much ‘fun’ I was having I was on a fool’s errand, so I returned to shore.  We discussed other possible places where the ring might have been lost — in the dry sand where James had been ball playing, or near the water’s edge where he had a little tug of war with his daughter.  I covered these areas carefully with no luck and finally had to give up when it was too dark to see.

James and his family were leaving the next morning to return home to New Jersey, but I told him that I’d come back again at low tide that afternoon and resume the search.  Given the uncertainty about where the ring was lost I didn’t feel too optimistic but I was eager to try.  The next day proved to be beautiful, with low wind, sunshine, and relatively calm seas.  I started by gridding the nearshore area where the tug of war took place, then did a swath along James’ likely path when he went out to the sand bar.  Gridding on the bar yielded no targets at all until I found an inexpensive charm bracelet after a half hour or so.  Then another half hour went by without a single signal until…  a nice strong tone that was either a bottle cap or a ring came through the headphones.  One scoop and a good shake to clear the sand, and James’ ring was in hand!

I contacted James and needless to say, he and his family were thrilled to hear that the ring had been found, despite seemingly difficult odds.  His wedding band is now in the post on its way home.  Thanks James, for giving me the opportunity to help out and ultimately produce another Ring Finders success story!

James’ platinum ring.

 

Big smiles from James and his wife Jo.

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