Dave Cartee, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 2 of 9

Lost Gold Ring and a Special Dime!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:


Saturday night I was about to turn in when I got a message from Megan.  I quickly read it and knew I had to help her so I asked her to give me a quick call.  She immediately called and explained that earlier in the day she was swimming in the Gulf when the ring that was on her pinky finger slipped off.  This ring had been her father’s and she had it resized to fit on her finger.  She was frantic to get it back.  Megan knew exactly where she had been sitting on the beach so after a quick Google Map pin to mark the area, we made plans to meet in the morning.  I got there a little before she did and had already made a few passes in the Gulf when she arrived, said hello and sat down to watch.  I went back and forth with zero targets for a long time until I finally heard a good tone.  It was too high pitched for the gold band I was looking for but I never pass up a good tone so I quickly dug it up.  I called out to Megan that “it was just a dime” and kept going.  I didn’t go two steps until I heard a perfect low tone and I signaled to Megan to watch.  Sure enough, I had her delicate gold ring in the scoop and I started walking towards her.  I held it out to her and I could see that she was crying a little when to my surprise the first thing she asked was if I still had the dime.  I said that I did and gave it to her and she smiled with a tear in her eye.  She went on to explain that her family had “this thing with dimes”.  It started back in 2014 when her Grandfather passed away.  Before he left, Megan’s Grandmother asked him to “drop a dime” to let them know he was okay.  Dimes started appearing for the whole family and the stories have continued for years.  Megan’s Grandmother passed in April and she dropped dimes for Megan and her cousin within hours.  So you can imagine that after over an hour and a half of watching me find nothing, the words “it’s just a dime” made her perk up and take notice.  Megan said that when within 60 seconds later she had her ring back, all she could think was “OMG, no way Grandma”.  I love this hobby!!!  I’m so glad you got your ring back Megan and I’m very glad I could help deliver a dime!  God Bless!

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring from the Boat – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

Bryan is a Police Officer from Tennessee and brought his whole family down to Perdido Key to enjoy a well deserved vacation.  They decided to rent a boat and headed down the waterway to the East and finally settled at a place where a lot of boats pull up close to the shore and enjoy the water and sun and sand.  Bryan’s wife took her ring off to apply sunscreen and put it down on the boat and quickly forgot that it was there.  It was only later in the day after they had moved the boat a couple of times and started to head back to the boat rental place that she had the panicked realization that she didn’t have her ring on and it was nowhere to be found.  Thankfully, when they got back, a kind soul saw them distressed and suggested that they reach out to me.  Bryan wasn’t completely sure of the name of the place and as he described it, I got a knot in my stomach.  All National Parks, National Seashores and Florida State Parks have made it illegal to metal detect.  To make matters worse, this was very close to a National Historic area and that makes it crazy illegal.  I explained to Bryan that I couldn’t go there and of course he understood.  Over the years, I have had this happen a few times and I’ve learned that the best way to approach it is to have the person who lost the ring reach out to the Park services.  We spent the next few hours googling and ultimately finding some contact info.  It wasn’t long until a contact that Bryan spoke to in Ohio of all places was able to put him in touch with the Chief Ranger here in FL and before you knew it, we had written permission to go on an adventure.  Bryan lamented that they no longer had the boat and were leaving for home on Saturday.  I was so vested in this ring now that I told him I would not only take vacation from work on Friday but I would also take him out there in my own personal boat.  We made plans to meet Friday morning and I called my Father-in-law, Tom and asked him if he wanted to go on a big search.  As always, Tom was ready to go.  The three of us headed out this morning in my boat and enjoyed the calm water and the dolphins rolling.  We even had a big spinner shark put on a show in the air off the starboard bow.  We were on a mission though and as soon as we dropped anchor we all piled off into the water.  Bryan had a pretty good idea where they started the day but as I mentioned before, they had moved the boat a few times and weren’t sure where it had fallen off.  I told Tom that I would start on the right and he took off to the left.  We both started our grid searches and it wasn’t long until we realized just how big this area was.  I learned more about Bryan though as we walked along and determined that regardless of how things went, I would consider him a friend.   After about an hour, I sent Bryan over to check on Tom.  I saw from a distance that Tom had a signal and I stopped to watch since targets had been few and far between out here. Tom gently scooped a couple of times so I knew it was deep.  He held out the scoop to Bryan and pulled something out that I couldn’t see from that distance.  I yelled “Did you find it” but I needn’t have bothered.  Even at that distance I could see Bryan’s expression change to one of shock and disbelief and gratitude all rolled into one.  Bryan had his wife’s ring back!  It was an awesome ride back with more dolphins and a huge group of jet skiers but the best part was facetimeing with Bryan’s happy bride.  Bryan, you are a good man and I thank you for all you do for your community.  I’m glad we could make that drive back to Tennessee a little bit easier tomorrow.  Nice Job to you Tom!  I’m glad you are on my team.

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring Navarre Beach – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

It would be great if every Saturday morning could start out like this one. This one actually started out yesterday with a phone call from Mary from Ohio. Mary explained that their family had been coming to Navarre for decades but this trip had started out on a sour note. That morning her son-in-law was in the gulf throwing the football back and forth when suddenly he realized that his wedding ring was no longer on his hand. To make matters worse, Jason is left handed so when he threw the ball he could have flung the ring off just about anywhere. When Mary told me everything, I explained how I could help and she said that she would call me right back after she talked to her daughter Diana. I was already planning my trip when I got a text saying that they had decided not to look for the ring. I was shocked and asked why, Mary explained that both her husband and Jason felt like there was no way it would be possible to find the ring in that huge body of water and they didn’t want to get their hopes up. I thought to myself that I knew I could find it but I hoped that my words didn’t get in the way of God’s plans for this young couple. After a long conversation, my wife laughed and said that it was different that I was the one trying to convince the other person to let me find the ring. 😊 I must have said something right though because Mary asked me to come the next morning. I drove to Navarre this morning and got there at 7am.  I got to meet everyone and quizzed Jason about the ring and explained what I was going to do. I told him that he was officially allowed to be optimistic now and he gave me a sheepish grin. I waded out about waist deep in the water and started my search. I made a couple of passes and heard the telltale sound of gold. I saw Jason and Diana and Mary all watching me expectantly as I very gently scooped up the ring. I got a huge smile and started wading that way. Diana rushed down to the water’s edge and said that she didn’t even believe it yet. When I presented the scoop and she pulled Jason’s ring out she burst into tears. I asked Jason if he was optimistic yet and he told me that I was amazing. I’d say that’s a good turn of events for the day. I love helping people like this! 😃

Tags:
Category:

Saving Mother’s Day – 2 rings FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I got a call from Alan this past Sunday that started out with “we need you to save Mother’s Day.”  Needless to say he had my attention. It turns out that Alan and his family had taken his Mother to the beach to celebrate the day and had a wonderful time until it was time to go. Alan’s mom had wisely taken off both of her rings and put them in the small zippered compartment on her beach chair. When it came time to put them back on, something had happened. These are beautiful rings. One was a present for a previous Mother’s Day and the other had been an anniversary present. These rings were honoring her as a Mom and it just wouldn’t be right to lose them on that day. Alan and his Mom called and explained what happened and where they thought the rings were and I asked my wife if it was ok to go. She has a soft spot for anything to do with rings for marriage and family so not only did she say yes but she joined me on the trip. I always say that Jeannie is my lucky charm on these hunts. She has a great track record. When we got to Orange Beach and met Alan the first thing you notice is that he is really tall. He is a basketball player and makes me feel short. 😃. The second thing that you quickly find out is that Alan has to be one of the nicest people I have ever met while doing this. He showed me where they were and we made our way over. I was just about to introduce myself to the family next to us and apologize for being so close when she said “I recognize you from Facebook and the Ringfinders.”  That made me smile and I took it as a good sign. I started gridding out the area and Alan stayed right with me. He wanted to know all about the machine and how it worked, he asked about the coolest things I’d found while diving and we talked about what it looked like for him to go to Europe to continue his basketball career. He also uses his degree to help people write books and gave me the nicest compliment when he suggested that I should take my stories and write one myself. Meanwhile my wife had an idea and asked Alan if he had any pictures from earlier. He handed her his phone and it wasn’t long until Jeannie found a selfie and triangulated where she thought the chair was. Being a wise man and always listening to my wife, I walked over to the spot she was standing and immediately heard a gold tone. I scooped it up and held it out to Alan and as he started to freak out on the first ring, I could already hear the second one in the sand. When I got it out, Alan was already FaceTiming his Momma. When she saw them she was absolutely beside herself and I came over to wave hello. She was crying happy tears and Alan was ecstatic. Jeannie came over to wave hi and Alan said sorry, she ran off for just a second. When Jeannie looked puzzled, Alan said that she was so happy that she had to run around the house and take a victory lap. Haha, now that is the reaction I want every time!  Alan, it was an absolute pleasure to spend some time with you and I am so glad we got to “Save Mother’s Day!”  ❤️😃 God Bless!

P.S.- my favorite picture is the one he is FaceTimeing his Mom in. 😃

Tags:
Category:

3 Rings Lost – 3 Rings Found!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I decided to go Pompano fishing after work yesterday afternoon but like always, I threw my detecting gear in my vehicle just in case. It’s a good thing I did because there was only a few hours of daylight left and I had just set my fishing rod down when I got a phone call from George. It seems they were right down the road in Gulf Shores and had been enjoying the day with family. Laurie, George’s daughter had taken off all three of her gold and diamond wedding rings and placed them in her chair’s cup holder to put on sunscreen. It was only at the end of the day when they were loading up their vehicle that Laurie realized what she had done and saw that all three were gone. They quickly did some googling and found me and very intelligently marked the area they had been sitting as a starting point. As George explained things, I was quickly breaking down my fishing setup and I told him that I would be right there. I decided to grid out the whole area since they didn’t know exactly where they were and it wasn’t too many passes until I found all three together in one scoop already buried several inches deep in the sand. Laurie said that this was their first day of vacation. I can only imagine how losing those three beautiful, sentimental rings would have ruined the whole trip. I am so glad y’all called me and I was able to avert a tragedy and help turn this into a great story for years to come. Enjoy your Easter weekend. 😃

Tags:
Category:

Scuba Diving for a Lost Ring – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I have been doing this for awhile now and I realized the other day that I was coming up on my 80th return. I was hoping that number 80 would be a special ring and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The other day I got a call from a Pennsylvania number and I answered to hear Terrie tell me that she needed some help. Her family was down vacationing in Orange Beach and when they were docking the boat in the marina, Josh, her son-in-law dropped his wedding ring in the water next to the dock. To make matters worse, the water depth where he thought it came off was about 8 or 9 feet deep. This was definitely going to take some dive gear to search for it. I agreed to come out and meet them and called my friend Charlie to see if I could use his Hookah dive rig. My gear was in for its annual service so this different setup would be a new experience as well. (Thanks Charlie)  When I got to the dock, the whole family was there to greet me and Josh showed me the general area he thought the ring had come off. He also explained that this was an heirloom ring that his father had given him. That made me even more determined as I jumped into the water. I brought along a 30lb weight belt to try and offset not having a steel tank while wearing my drysuit. I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to be able to stay on the bottom. Imagine wearing a giant life vest and trying to swim to the bottom of a pool.  It’s almost impossible. I wanted to use my drysuit because spending a lot of time searching on the bottom in murky marina water will freeze you to death but I decided the only way I was going to find this ring was to take off my drysuit, strip down to my bathing suit and bite the bullet. Now with the heavy weight belt I plunged to the bottom and oriented my gear. I had to look up occasionally to get my bearings by seeing Josh’s silhouette against the sky. I found a few different junk signals and then I heard a much stronger solid tone. I maneuvered over where I could see the bottom through my mask and waved my hand hard to clear the silt and sand. When it finally settled, there nestled amongst some oyster shells was Josh’s ring, safe and sound.  I surfaced and started handing gear up unable to talk yet with the regulator still in my mouth and the weight belt dragging me down. I handed everything up including the sonar cover for their boat that had gone over during the mishap. When I finally got the weight belt off and was able to take the regulator out I got a huge smile and handed Josh his heirloom ring back. I swam over to the boat to use the ladder to get out and the whole time the family was cheering and celebrating. It’s such a great feeling to be able to help people with this hobby. Terrie said it best when she texted me that evening that Josh was back to happy with a pep in his step and I had put their vacation back on track. I’m so glad I could help!  Terrie and Josh you have a great family. 😃

Tags:
Category:

Lost Wedding Ring at the church!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

Sadie called and said that she and her kids had gone to the church for a Saturday afternoon playground session. When they got there the gate was locked so they decided to have a picnic on a grassy area instead. Sadie had me come out the next day and showed me the area it could have possibly been in and I began my search. Being Palm Sunday you can imagine there were lots of people interested and finally a very nice man named Bob with security came out to make sure everything was ok. As soon as he walked up to me he said, “I know you! You run Pensacola Ring Finders”. 😃. He had some experience with detecting and very kindly walked Sadie and a gentleman that was helping out of the search zone. I finished the area and about the time I was going to tell Sadie that we needed to expand the search, Sadie and Bob started yelling for me to come over. Sadie had looked down 30 yards from the area she thought it was in and saw her precious ring gleaming in the sun. I definitely can’t take detecting credit for this one but sometimes knowing where it’s not makes all the difference. I like to think that a little Palm Sunday divine guidance doesn’t hurt either. 😃👏Congratulations Sadie and thanks for the assist Bob!

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring Pensacola – FOUND 5 months later!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I must admit that I assumed my first return during Spring Break this year would be someone out enjoying this nice weather. In reality, George lost his ring in his backyard 5 months ago. Like a lot of people, George had a pretty good idea where it was so he decided to go buy a metal detector and see if he could find it himself. When he finally gave me a call he remarked about how much iron there was in the ground and how hard it was to operate. George asked me to come out and take a look for him. George was right that it was a tough area but luckily I have some of the best machines in the world and I’ve been using them a long time. George pointed me to the area and I began my search. I did the part George had pointed out with a few coils and realized that the ring wasn’t there. I told George that I was going to expand my search and I didn’t make it too far before I heard a nice gold tone in my headphones and headed over to a thrilled George and his wife Michelle. Thank you both for trusting me to come find your ring. 👍

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring Found…. AGAIN!!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

My first ring recovery of 2023 is also another kind of first. This is the first time I have been called on to find the same ring for a second time. A little over two years ago Brenda and Henry called me to come out and find Henry’s 1968 University of Alabama class ring that had come off while putting out pine straw at their home in Gulf Shores. Henry had saved my number in his Rolodex so when it happened again in the exact same scenario, he knew who to call. Henry and I were talking to each other and he looked on as I set my machine to the area he was pretty sure that it had come off in. The first tone I got I explained was an iron tone and told him that I was pretty sure I remembered his ring was a 12-36 on my machine. Not thirty seconds later I got a strong 12-32. As I reached down and uncovered his ring, I told him that I wasn’t far off on the number and I would take it after 2 years. 😃. Henry was ecstatic as I gave him his ring back. I told him to keep a close eye on his ring this time but if he lost it again just give me a call and I’d be right there for the next time. It was a pleasure seeing you again Henry, give Brenda my best!

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring from the boat – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

Ryan is a patient man!  He called me this morning and explained that he was out on the boat yesterday at a popular place for people to hang out and he was throwing a football back and forth. All of a sudden he caught one that slightly jammed his finger making him flick his hand back and forth. When he did he felt his brand new wedding ring of a few months go flying in the saltwater. He explained that they had looked for hours to no avail and he really needed some help. I told him that I wanted to help but I had to work today but with the storm coming this week he definitely needed to find it sooner rather than later. I told him I would have one of a few people I routinely hunt with call him soon and hopefully they could help him. At lunch Ryan reached out and said he hadn’t heard from anyone so I told him to standby while I made a call. My Father in law had accidentally left his phone and my other buddy was working so I called Ryan back. He asked about renting a detector and I explained why that just wouldn’t work. I finally felt so bad that I told him if he could wait until after work and if I could get a pass from my wife then I would do it myself. Being the patient person he is, he waited for me to finish up the workday and I’m very glad he did. Ryan has a great boat and we headed out to the area. When we got there, he had done a great job marking where it came off and I made my first pass. There was a huge drop off and as I turned back I thought to myself that I hoped it wasn’t any further or I would need a scuba tank. I didn’t need to worry though because as Ryan looked on expectantly from the beach I heard a very clean gold tone. He was already smiling as I very carefully used my scoop to pull out his ring. He said that was exactly where he thought it was and he was amazed I was able to find it. Ryan was all smiles on the way back to the dock and I’m glad I was able to help.

Tags:
Category: