Dave Milsted, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 5 of 10

Christmas Lights & Cold Air = Lost Wedding Ring in Westmont NJ, Found By Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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Thomas sent me an email today asking if I could look for his lost wedding ring. He lost it this past Saturday while putting Christmas lights up. I told him I could be there after work today. Westmont is only 5 minutes from my house.

We met, and he showed me 2 areas that his tungsten ring might be. He also said that this is the second time he lost this ring, a replacement since he lost the original. His daughter found it in a river where they were tubing. The original is still missing. He searched the area with no luck. He was fearful that it was hung up in one of the branches in the bushes.

I searched the 2 areas with my metal detector, both areas near concrete, with rebar in it. So my detector was constantly beeping. I decided to use my hand-held pinpointer detector and searched the areas with that. No joy! Pennies, bottle caps and pieces of aluminum siding were present. So I expanded my search. About 3 feet away from the second search area I was able to find his ring. He couldn’t believe it.

This was a nice quick search with another happy client. This hobby is awesome!!

Ring Lost Years Ago in Abington PA Found By Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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Walt called me back in September after seeing an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that I was featured in on metal detecting. He asked if I could find a wedding band that was lost in his back yard several years ago. Our schedules didn’t align at the time. I gave Walt a call yesterday, and we were both available today, Saturday, November 23. He lives in Abington Pa.

I arrived about 20 minutes early, and Walt is already outside waiting for me. He showed me the area in the back yard. His wife, Sharon, was sitting on the porch and dropped her ring. They heard it hit the cement and then nothing more. The porch is surrounded by pachysandra.

There were a lot of metal items lost in the pachysandra. Several nails, s-hooks, an old tarnished silver bracelet, and bottle caps. After about 15 minutes I found the long lost white gold wedding band.

The look on Walt’s face was priceless. He had spent many hours combing through the plants looking for this ring. He said that their Wedding Anniversary was Nov 20th and that this Monday is Sharon’s birthday. I asked if he was going to wrap it up for a present. That is when he told me that she had died this past March. He was so happy that I called this week, as it has been a very sentimental week for him.

Walt is retired from the Philadelphia Fire Department. I love returning all lost items, but when I can help out a fellow 1st responder, that has a special place in my heart.

Lost Ring In Lewes Delaware, Found By Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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I received a call from Jeff two days ago. While out walking in Lewes Delaware, he lost his wedding ring. He was trying to flick a cigarette, and when he did, his ring went flying. We made arrangements to meet today.

Jeff & Jason took me to the area where the loss occurred. It was a 25-foot by 15-foot area. It was cold, forty degrees and very windy. The area is overgrown with a lot of thorn bushes. Jeff had already searched the area. I fear that the ring may have been stepped on.

This search was not easy. The thorns were big and plentiful. I had to use a small coil on my metal detector. The long grass and vines on the ground kept entangling my detector. After 2 hours, I was discouraged. I recommended Jeff to come back at night with a flashlight and shine it into the 8-foot high sticker bushes. Maybe the ring got caught in one of the branches. Hopefully, the ring will shine in the light.

I gave it one more search in an area that was difficult to search. I got the tone I was waiting to hear. I moved away the thorn branches, long grass, and vines, there it was. It was partially buried in the ground.

We were all amazed that the ring was found. We had all given up hope. Hugs & handshakes were given. Now it was time to get warm! Another happy client!

Lost Tiny Earring In Malvern PA, Found By Dave Milsted The Metal Detecting Man

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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I received an email from Marta, she was asking if I could help find a small gold earring. She said that they tried renting a metal detector and the machine would not beep when testing with the other earring. She asked if I would travel to Malvern, PA.

We made arrangements for early Sunday morning to try to beat the heavy rain that was forecasted. I arrived at 7am, and it was still dark. I must have made the deer in the area curious, they all came out to see what I was doing. I waited on the long narrow driveway until I could see without a flashlight.

I was met by Marta’s husband. He showed me the area of the search. He had set up a barricade so the landscapers wouldn’t cut the grass in the area. He even sprayed the area with orange spray paint, it looked like there was a murder there. He stated that his 5 y/o daughter was watching caterpillars in the grass, when for some reason she took off her new earring, given to her from her grandmother, and dropped it. They were a special handcrafted set of earrings from Portugal.

The rain didn’t hold off. It was raining by the time I made it to the search area. They didn’t think I would show up in the rain. I put the remaining earring in a sandwich baggie and set up my machine to find gold nuggets and tested the earring in the baggie. I mentally recorded the number and sound in my mind.

Off to search. There were coins in the area that I didn’t dig. I was looking for a certain number and sound on my detector. I didn’t want to waste time digging in the chilly rain. 10 minutes into the search I get the number that I was looking for. I spread the grass and see gold. It was the earring that I was looking for. I never expected this search to be a quick one. The weather conditions alone could have played a major factor. It took longer for me to put on my Gordon’s “like” rain then it did to find this precious gold earring.

They were amazed that I found it so quickly. The surprised look on dad’s face when he saw 2 earrings in the baggie was awesome. Another happy client!!

Lost Ring in Atlantic City NJ, Found By Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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While on vacation, I received a call from a fellow Ring Finder, Steve Pacifico. He received a request to find a lost wedding ring, but he was at work. He knew I was at the shore, so he gave me the contact information.

Arrie lost her ring on the beach in Atlantic City. She got up off of the sand to go back to her room, started to brush off the sand from her legs and her ring went flying. She said she spent several hours on her hands and knees combing the sand looking for her ring. She didn’t tell her husband.

I told her that I would be there within 30 minutes. She met me on the beach and showed me the area. I started searching. I showed her everything I found, penny, bottle caps, pull tabs. After about 20 minutes I found what I was looking for.

I wanted to surprise her, so I dumped my scoop back in the hole, made it look like I was still looking for something. She looked away, so I picked up the ring and put it on my little finger. I went over and while pointing said could it be over that way? She said maybe. I pointed again, over there? She still didn’t see it. One last time I may be over there? This time she dropped to her knees and screamed. The lifeguards were all looking at us now.

She said the big diamond was given to her husband from his family. It has been in the family for a few generations. I told Arrie that she should go gamble since it was her lucky day. The smile on her face was priceless.

Teamwork paid off for Arrie. Atlantic City is heavily searched by people with metal detectors. By getting there quick we were able to put a smile on Arrie’s face!

3 Sentimental Pendants Lost In Wildwood Crest NJ, Found By Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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Today is my mom’s birthday. She helped me with a recovery today.

Angela contacted me earlier in the week, asking if I could help her find three pendants from a necklace. She was at a wedding in Wildwood last weekend and lost the very sentimental items.

She is a nurse and has odd hours as I do. We decided to meet on Sunday morning, my mom’s birthday. The weather forecast was not looking good with rain and wind predicted before sun up. Angela asked if the rain would be a problem. I told her that I would be there rain or shine.

I got there about a half an hour early, no rain but I did see a beautiful sunrise. Thanks, mom! Angela arrived and showed me the area of the crime. The wedding reception was at the Star Beach Bar in Wildwood Crest. She was around the fire pit, a cabana, and sat in the couches. There has been a lot of wind at the beach this week, so there was a lot of sand drifts around the cabanas and tables.

She said last weekend she and her friends searched, including removing the cushions from the chairs. It’s a good thing as the chairs have been removed for the winter. They also raked the beach. They only found a few coins.

I started a grid search. I expected to find a lot of bottle caps. I was amazed only to have found one. I found a lot of coins. I guess Angela was getting frustrated that I hadn’t found her precious items, so she started to walk around.

I heard a scream. My first thought was an animal came from under one of the cabanas scaring Angela. I went over to find out what happened. Here she found the smallest pendant of the three we were looking for. It looks like the wind had blown all of the sand off of the pendant. It was just sitting on the top of the sand.

So now I had a place to continue the search. The only problem was it was next to the cabana, and it had wood & metal framework. So every time I swung my detector it went off. Angela found a shovel and a rake. I started to shovel large amounts of sand away from the cabana and detect the piles.
Finally, I received a good hit and found the silver pendant.

The last pendant is mostly jade with just a little bit of 14k gold on it. A new strategy, set my detector up to search for gold nuggets. After about 15 more minutes of digging and detecting, we found what we were looking for. Angela was amazed and I got a very big hug. I love my hobby!

Ten minutes after I got into my car for the journey home it started to pour. Thanks for the help mom, and Happy Birthday!!

 

 

 

 

The Ring Finders & Dave Milsted get a little press in the Philadelphia Inquirer!

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a little article in the Sunday September 8th edition on The Ring Finders, Rich Hageney and myself (Dave Milsted).

Her is the link to the article:

https://www.inquirer.com/news/ring-finders-dave-milstead-rich-hageny-chris-turner-20190908.html

Lost Sentimental Earring Lost In Cherry Hill NJ, Found By Dave Milsted the Metal Detecting Man

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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Received an email from Jonathan earlier in the week. He asked if I could help him learn the metal detector that he just bought. I asked what was going on. He said his wife lost a sentimental earring somewhere in their yard. He bought a detector and he tested it on the earring that she didn’t lose and it didn’t beep.

I asked what kind of earring it was. He said it was a stud earring. I told him that studs are one of the hardest things to find due to the small amount of metal. I told him that I could come out and look for him.

We decided on Saturday morning. He showed me the area that they believed it was in, it was rather large. I brought 2 machines, my Equinox 800 and my Tiger Shark. I tested on the earring that they had. Both machines registered. I searched with the Nox it came up as a 1 on the meter.

I started searching. There were a lot of targets. There was 1 area of tin foil slaw (an area of small pieces of tin foil the was probably run over with a lawn mower). That slaw came up as 1 on the Nox.

Just over an hour into the search I was at the swing set. I got a 1 on the Nox. Looked through the grass and saw the earring. The post was bent. I had placed the other earring in a plastic baggie so I would lose it and could place it on the ground to test it. I put the one I just found in it and started walking to my truck.

Jonathan came out of the house and said I guess you didn’t find it. I asked if there was anywhere else that she might have been. I asked if they went through her car? I said let me give you this one back. He started to put the bag in his pocket without looking at it.

I said I might have bent the post. so he looked at the bag. The look on his face when he saw 2 earrings in the bag was priceless. He might be trading in his metal detector for a better one.

Lost Mother’s Ring in Monroeville NJ Campground Found By Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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Calvin called on Tuesday asking for help in finding his girlfriends lost Mothers ring. He had given to her a few month ago, 14k white gold with 2 red and 1 yellow stone. She lost it after falling into a lake 2 days prior.

We agreed to meet Friday evening after my class. I beat Calvin to the spot and were met by Jessica’s stepmom and dad. They showed me the area that Jessica fell into the lake.

I started my search. It didn’t take long before I had the ring in my scoop, 10 minutes of detecting is all it took. Calvin wasn’t there yet. I continued to search the lake until Calvin arrived.

Calvin came up to introduce himself and tell me that I was searching in the wrong area. He held out his hand to shake mine. In my hand was Jessica’s ring.

The look on his face was priceless when he realized that the ring was in both of our hands as we shook. He finally said no way! before he took his hand away to look.

He was so happy. He said that Jessica doesn’t know that he called me, and thinks he is working a side job. He wasn’t sure how he was going to give it to her. They had borrowed a detector to search earlier in the week with no luck.

I love my hobby!!

Lost Wedding Ring in Mount Laurel NJ Found by Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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Jessica called to ask if I could locate her husbands lost wedding ring. He had been playing ball with their dog in the back yard.
I agreed to search a few days after her call. I would be looking for a large silver tungsten ring.
I arrived at the location and was met by Jessica’s daughter. She showed me the back yard and the approximate area that her dad was standing and the direction he threw the ball.
I got started. I immediately found a pull tab. The next signal was the ring. Jessica’s daughter was amazed by how quick I found it. They had been searching for it every night. It took less then 5 minutes.
Jessica called me later to thank me for my help.
I have a GREAT hobby!