Lost Ring after Tropical Storm - Orange Beach, AL - FOUND!

Yesterday after work I got a call from a nice man named Nathaniel from Huntsville, AL. He and his wife were staying at Orange Beach and had already ridden out Tropical Storm Cristobal so they were really ready to get down on the beach and do some exploring. Sometimes after a big storm there will be tidal pools left after the surge takes out a bunch of sand and leaves the water in it’s place and that’s what Nathaniel was enjoying, throwing football back and forth when his wedding ring came flying off. When Nathaniel called me I went through my standard list of questions and the only thing I was worried about was that a gentleman on the beach with a detector had helped them look in the water for about 45 mins to no avail. It turns out that this was a Good Samaritan from out of town and might not have been familiar with hunting in saltwater. I told Nathaniel that I would be there in about an hr and not to worry that even if it took awhile I was prepared for a night hunt. I was secretly thinking that it wouldn’t take long to grid the tidal pool but when I got there I saw that it was easily the largest one I had ever seen on the beach. It was over 100yds by 100yds. Wow. 😳  Luckily, Nathaniel is a very intelligent guy and had immediately marked his position with landmarks and then walked straight out and marked his position on the sand with a beach chair. We had a great starting point. We went over a few more questions and as the rain poured down, I started my search. I could hear the disturbed areas in my machine where they had been digging, looking for it so with every step I was hoping to hear that gold tone. The first try was a no go so I asked a few more questions about whether he was throwing the ball hard or lobbing it, etc.  I expanded my search and started to see that tell tale sign of doubt and worry on Nathaniel’s face. I told him not to worry that I even had another detector in the car and if I had to I could grid out the entire area. He nodded and smiled a bit as I finished up the larger area with no luck. I came back over and asked him what he was thinking while he was watching me search and he said he was worried. Nathaniel is a big strong guy and he said he was throwing the ball hard so I asked him if he was throwing a tight spiral. He said of course 😄 so I told him that if he had followed through the ring may have flung to the other side towards shore. He said he had thought of that but he didn’t see it splash and he felt like it just had to be the other way. I smiled and politely told him my favorite line that “if they knew where it was, they wouldn’t need me.”  He laughed and agreed to let me do a bit of searching towards the waters edge. I went 3 feet and got a 12-37 which is usually a zinc penny on my machine but I never pass a good signal while searching for a ring and I always dig it very gently so I won’t damage the ring just in case. It came up in the scoop so easily that it didn’t make a sound and when I held it over to Nathaniel he just yelled, “YOU ARE THE MAN!!!”  Haha, that feeling of elation never gets old. It turns out that it was Nathaniel’s wife’s birthday and she was at dinner with family hoping that he would make it in time. When I found out I insisted that we make a run for it and they could send me pics later. As you can see, he made the dinner and I’m pretty sure his wife liked her birthday present. 👍😃. I’m so glad that I could help out, Nathaniel. It was a pleasure meeting you. God bless!