Dave Cartee, Author at The Ring Finders

3 rings lost at Fort Morgan- Found in the Gulf!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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This weekend was awesome!

I started it by meeting my two new friends, Lawson and Jordyn, at the crack of dawn in Fort Morgan. The day before, they had been throwing a football in the Gulf when Jordyn suddenly felt her ring slip off her finger. It was actually three rings—her engagement ring with the two wedding bands soldered to it. When she called, I knew I needed to make the long drive over the next morning.

It was a beautiful morning, and something big was chasing huge schools of mullet in the deeper, darker water. It was a little spooky… but also pretty exciting.

After about an hour and a half of searching, I started to realize the rings weren’t where we thought they should be. Jordyn is pretty athletic, so I figured she may have chased the football into deeper water. The tide was also over a foot higher than it had been the day before, so I worked my way out until the water was up to my ribs, keeping one eye on the detector and the other on the dark shapes moving beneath the mullet schools.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to go much farther before I heard an unmistakable, booming gold tone. (That’s what three gold rings together will do! 😃)

When I looked into my scoop and saw the rings, I knew I was about to make two people very happy.

The teary-eyed hug from Jordyn and the sincere handshake from Lawson said it all. Those special rings represent so many memories, and I was grateful to help put them back where they belong.

Thanks for trusting me, y’all! I’m so glad I could help.

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Mom’s Heirloom ring lost in Navarre – FOUND!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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I have a passion for helping people find their sentimental rings and that is exactly what my new friend Kathy had. Kathy and her family were at Navarre beach and sat down to enjoy the gulf. Kathy’s daughter told her that she should take her ring off to make sure she didn’t lose it. This is normally wise advice, but unfortunately it got placed on a towel and quickly came off while playing with the grandkids. This was a very important ring because it actually belonged to Kathy’s mom and it was the only ring she chooses to wear. Needless to say she was distraught and I’m very glad she called me. I came out quickly to Navarre before sunset and got the lowdown on where they were sitting and what had happened. I did a couple of passes back-and-forth with no luck. I asked her to go back over the events of the day and she pointed out a very nice group of Neighbors. I decided to take a pass closer to them since I thought they wouldn’t mind and I’m glad I did. I didn’t go very far until I heard a great gold tone and gave Kathy a big smile. When I pulled it up in the scoop she said, does that mean you found it? And I told her that’s exactly what it means and held the scoop out to her. Sentimental heirloom ring is back where it belongs. 😃 Thank you so much for trusting me Kathy.

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Stealth mode ring recovery!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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I almost didn’t post this story but I wanted to make sure y’all know I’ve been standing watch. This gentleman called from a town I cover and asked that I not share his name or take his picture. I can absolutely do a stealth mission when needed. It was pretty straightforward, his wife put her Diamond wedding band in the cup holder of her chair and when she shook out the sand, it went flying. A few minutes in ninja mode 🥷 and I had it back to him. I got approval for a selfie and a pic of just the ring and I was gone like it never happened. 😉 Mission accomplished.

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Lost Rings in Perdido – Found them all!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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I’m so glad Kristin called me. She was visiting Perdido with her family and had taken her rings off to put sunscreen on her son. A while later, as they were relaxing in their chairs, her son walked up and said, “Look at the ring I found, Mommy!”

Kristin’s heart dropped when she realized he was holding one of her rings.

They quickly marked off the area and gave me a call. I won’t dramatize this one too much—the walk from the parking lot took longer than it did to find the remaining rings. Even so, they were amazed, especially since they had already spent at least an hour searching on their own.

It pays to have a good starting point, a good machine, and a whole lot of experience.

Thanks for trusting me, Kristin! I hope this experience kindles your son’s treasure-hunting spirit even more. 😃

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Lost Ring in Navarre, FL – Found in the Water!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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  1. This morning was awesome! Even though it rained a ton, the lightning held off long enough for me to help my new friend Kilo find his wife’s engagement ring out in the water.

    This past Friday was their anniversary, and they went to the Glow Kayak place in Navarre to enjoy a nighttime paddle. They hadn’t gone far when Kilo’s wife got a little grass on her hand. She tried to flick the grass off and heard a loud plop as her ring hit the water.

    Even Kilo heard the sound and asked what it was. She exclaimed, “That was my ring!” Kilo quickly jumped into action, leaping out of his kayak to try and mark the spot out in the sound at night, in over waist-deep water. That is not an easy thing to do!

    The next day, Kilo came out armed with a new detector, a scoop, and a mask and snorkel. Unfortunately, after 6-8 hours in the water on Saturday, he had no luck.

    Meanwhile, Kilo’s wife had looked up my information, and Kilo quickly agreed to let someone with a bit more experience give it a shot.

    I met Kilo Sunday morning early, and we hit the water. Although it wasn’t exactly where he thought, I was able to do a thorough grid search and recover their beautiful ring. Anniversary weekend saved!

    In the pic, Kilo’s smile says it all! Congrats to the happy couple, and thanks for trusting me to help find your ring.

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Perdido Bay lost ring saves the weekend!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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Friday evening , I got a call from Annie in Lillian, Alabama. She and her brother Ben, along with several friends, had come down to their house on the water and spent the day on the dock and in the bay, having a blast. Ben, though, lost his wedding ring somewhere out in that water. They’d been out to chest-deep and deeper, playing around, so I met them on the dock to help. My wife joined me and sat on the dock with all the friends watching the show—she’s my lucky charm. I hit the water and it was definitely chest deep. I realized that it could be a long evening. Luckily though, not long in, I got a strong tone. A couple of scoops, and I had the ring. Everyone on the dock was celebrating. The best part was that Ben hadn’t even told his wife yet so as not to worry her on the drive down. This way he got to surprise her with the ring and an awesome story when she arrived and save the day and the holiday weekend. 😃👍

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Ring found on Anniversary, Gulf Shores, AL

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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Dustin texted me yesterday while I was wrapping up in Gulf Shores. Unfortunately, we kept missing each other until I was almost back to Pensacola and already committed to a family dinner.

When we finally connected, he was so kind on the phone that I walked him through a few tricks he could try to find his wife’s ring without a detector. I also told him that even though they were heading back to Indiana the next day, I’d get up at the crack of dawn and come back over if needed.

Dustin gave it a solid effort, but by the end of the night it was clear he still needed some help—so we made a plan to meet early Saturday morning.

When I arrived, Dustin mentioned it was also their anniversary. At that point, there was no question—we had to find that ring.

As soon as I stepped onto the beach, I could see where they had been digging and moving sand the night before. A stick was still in place marking where their umbrella had been. I started there and only made it a few feet before I got a strong, deep gold signal. It was clear the ring had been pushed even deeper during the search.

Two careful scoops later, I had her ring in my hand.

Congratulations, Dustin—this one should make for a much better anniversary trip back to Indiana. 👍💍

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A Good Sign in the Sand – Amanda’s Lost Ring Recovery

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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I love October. It still gets dark late enough that I can get out later in the afternoon without suffering from heat exhaustion. Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve done a recovery, so I was super excited when everything aligned perfectly and Amanda called about her lost ring.

She and her husband were down from near Indianapolis, exploring the area and thinking about moving here. They decided to spend some time on our beautiful beaches. While throwing a football at the water’s edge, Amanda slightly jammed her ring finger. Worried about swelling, she took off her ring and put it on her right hand. It wasn’t the best fit—but it seemed fine for the moment.

When she felt better, she went back down to the water’s edge and started tossing the football again. But when she sat back down in her chair later, she realized the ring was gone—and that sinking feeling of loss and panic hit hard.

She called me, and we went over the details. She wasn’t sure if it had flown into the Gulf or dropped into the sand. I told her it would be a few hours, but I’d bring multiple machines later that afternoon. Like a trooper, she stayed there all day watching and marking the area.

When I arrived, I started at the water’s edge, searching the drop-off zone first. No luck. I worked my way higher into the wet sand—still nothing. I debated whether to head into the water or stay dry a little longer, and I’m glad I chose the latter. After a few more passes, I got an awesome tone and number on my machine. I knew I had it.

I walked over to Amanda’s chair, shaking the sand gently from my scoop and watching her face. You could see the exact moment she realized her ring was back—tears started flowing as she slipped it back onto her finger. She told me she and her husband had the ring custom-made years ago and were afraid it might be a bad sign not to move to Pensacola or Orange Beach.

I told her maybe it was the opposite—a good sign that there are good people here who will help you when you need it. She smiled, wiped another tear, and agreed.

I’m so glad I could help. Welcome to the area, Amanda! If you ever need me again, I’ll be here. 😃

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2 Ring Recovery Day! – Pensacola Beach

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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What a great Saturday!

I needed this. It started with a call from Bryan. His friend Colton had lost his ring while they all played football in the sand. I knew when I got there and it was meticulously staked out with water bottles, sticks and even Crocs that they had a good idea where it might have flown. Sure enough, 10 minutes later and we had the ring back where it belongs.

As I was getting in my car, I got my second call of the day. Branden had a bit tougher situation with the ring being out in the Gulf but he was just down the road so I headed over to help out. A few hours later after a pretty big search, I heard an awesome signal that made the day complete. Branden had his ring back as well while his family watched on.

Truly great people I got to meet today. Thanks for making my Saturday fantastic.

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5 star review in Orange Beach- Found!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
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This was one of my all-time favorite returns. Lindsey called Sunday afternoon and explained that she had lost her wedding ring the day before out in the Gulf in Orange Beach. The other problem is that she and her family had already gone home to Louisiana and she didn’t know what to do. I told her not to worry and that I was pretty good at helping people tell me where they had lost their ring. I started asking questions and before long, I was on my way to a condo in Orange Beach.

When I got in the water and checked my landmarks, I decided where to start based on our conversation. Immediately I noticed a man making a beeline for my position. I smiled and waved hello as he got within speaking distance. As soon as he asked me if I was there to help the lady from the day before, I noticed another man and woman headed my way as well. I had no idea just how popular Lindsey and her family had become, but I was about to find out.

The three of them asked several questions and I told them who I was. I then asked if they had been helping look the day before and what had happened. They told me that a lot of people had been combing the area but had no luck. One gentleman told me that I was in the right area but I needed to move forward a bit. I explained that I had decided to start there based on my conversation with Lindsey and I had asked her which way she was facing when she went to catch the football they were throwing. I said that it looked like I was too far away, but I promised them that I would grid search the whole area and invited them to watch.

The same man asked me how successful I was in the water. I told him that I didn’t want to jinx myself but I had a pretty high recovery percentage. I went about two more feet and heard that gold tone in my ears. I told them all that I thought I found it, and they incredulously inched closer. It took several gentle scoops, but finally, I held out the scoop with the beautiful diamond ring in it. One man asked if he could take it out, and I told him yes. He turned and held it up and yelled to the beach, “He Found The Diamond!!!”

As we walked in, the beach went crazy and people came out of the woodwork congratulating me and looking at the ring and explaining that they had been amongst the dozens who helped look for Lindsey’s ring the day before. Somebody suggested that we FaceTime Lindsey and I said that sounded like a great idea. I wish I had a screenshot of my phone because when Lindsey answered, there were upwards of thirty people behind me yelling, “We Found It!!! 😃” and shouting their congratulations. It was too loud to hear Lindsey, but I could see that she was emotional and happy. I held the ring up and told her that it was safe and that I would call her soon.

Wow! I made my way off the beach and had the chance to speak to a very happy Lindsey and sent her a photo of her ring. I ended up meeting her in Mobile today at lunch as she and her family drove over from Louisiana. The best part of this entire recovery is when their daughter insisted on making me a beautiful sign for the recovery photo. As you can see, she gave me five stars and that makes all of the effort worth every ounce of hard work.

Thank you, Lindsey, for trusting me with such a special ring!

-Dave 😃💍

 

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