Edward Duffey, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 4 of 8

Lost – Vehicle Key FOB, Kill Devil Hills, OBX, NC – FOUND!!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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Angela was taking her first trip to OBX.  What a beautiful day; the sun was out, and the temperature was in the high sixties.

As she went up the very sandy beach access with her with her two dogs on leash, seeing the beach in the distance she was thrilled.  Suddenly an off-leash dog approached her dogs, in the scuffle to keep her dogs safe, she lost her balance and ended up in the sand.

Regaining her bearings, she walked down to the beach to enjoy the waves and sand.  As she left, she realized she no longer had her car’s key FOB.  She looked and looked…no luck.  She met a person who lives at a nearby condo who said, “Call OBX-Ed,” and gave her my number.

I received the call around 5pm.  Angela described her situation and I told her that I could be there in a few minutes.

When I arrived, Angela showed me the vehicle access she had walked up.  It had very deep, soft sand, with deep ruts.  I began the search.  Finding only a bottle cap on the vehicle approach we continued out to the area on the beach where the dogs had their kerfuffle.

Shortly after, the XP Deus 2 let out a scream.  I saw a plastic edge of what I suspected was the FOB!  I bent over and retrieved the valuable item and held it up saying, “Is this the lost FOB?”  Angela was thrilled!!!

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Lost – Lady’s Gold Wedding Band, Outer Banks (OBX), NC – FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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I was working on my truck and my wife was making pumpkin pies from scratch.  The last thing I expected was a lost ring call…but that’s exactly what happened.

I got the call shortly before noon.   A lady on the other end let me know that she had lost her gold wedding ring on a vacant lot about a one-hour drive away.  The lady lives near me in the Outer Banks so we decided to drive down to the site together.

As we drove, the conversation centered around the importance of the ring and how she lost it.  Her husband had passed away only a few days earlier.   They had been married 51 years.  She had been looking at a boat motor that he had owned.

While walking on the lot she got burrs on her sleeves.  She never felt the ring fall off but later that day she found it missing.  A friend offered to help her find it with a metal detector.  They searched for over an hour with no luck.

On the way to the ring site, we stopped  for a quick lunch.  She asked me if I could bless the food.  I asked God to bless our food and help us find the ring.  I had no idea how easy He would make it.

When we arrived, I did not pull in the one space drive but rather parked on the precariously sloped side of the road. I wanted to concentrate where they were parked previously.

As I got my Deus II out, the lady went over to the area she thought she may have lost it.  The sun came out shining brightly on the ring lying at her feet.  She screamed, “I found it!”  She was thrilled.

The ride back was filled with tears of gratitude and memories of her husband.  Mission accomplished!

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Lost-Lady’s Gold Heirloom Daimond Ring, Manteo, NC, OBX – FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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It seemed like a good idea…Tyler and Jesse – due to be married next June, were having an engagement photo shoot with their photographer Naomi.  They were at the scenic and picturesque waterfront in Ft. Raleigh.  What could go wrong?  Then, they decided to go into the water to capture some beautiful images.  When they got to shore, Tyler’s gold diamond ring was missing.

Later that night I got a call from Naomi.  She told me about the photo shoot and the lost ring.  She also informed me that the ring had been given to Tyler by her mom, who had passed away two years ago.  I realized I had to do my best to recover this one.  When she described where the ring was, I knew I had to get approval from the National Park Service (NPS) before searching.

The next day the couple met me at the site.  They were sure it was lost in the water but not sure exactly where.  They showed me an area in the water about 20 by 20 yards that the ring should be.  I contacted the on-duty NPS Ranger, and he left a note on the desk of his boss.

Later that week I got the go ahead!  The ring had been in the water for 7 days, so I headed out immediately.  I contacted Naomi and Tyler (who had returned to Richmond) while I was on-route to the site.  When I arrived, it was nearly 5:30 and I was greeted by unexpected wind and waves.  I stopped and prayed on the beach.

I started the search just in the water parallel with the beach.  I went out sweep by sweep about 4 ft at a time.  The area was loaded metallic trash and iron targets.  I continued going all the way out to the end of the wooden wave breaks. Nothing!

I was running out of time and daylight, so I called Tyler to ask about how far out by the wooden wave breaks they went.  She told me they went about halfway out.  I told her that I went completely to the end and that I had covered the entire area twice.

Deciding to call it a day and heading back in from the deep area, I went further west to an area I had not covered.  I got hit.  It was a 62, which is typical for a nickel.  I changed the program and got a stronger sounding 62.  I knew it could be the ring.  When I brought up the scoop the diamonds and gold glistened mixed in with sand and rocks!

I sent a text to Tyler with the song “Miracles” by Colton Dixon and a picture of the ring.

Water image courtesy of Naomi Culley Photography

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Lost – 3 Pc Diamond Wedding Band Set, Corolla, OBX, NC – FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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Around 10:30 on Friday I got a text from a Karen.  She said that she had lost her wedding and anniversary bands on the beach yesterday.  I gave Karen a call and let her know that I would head out right away, but it would take about 30 minutes depending on the traffic in Duck.

When I arrived Karen took me to the beach where I met Chris her husband and they filled me in on the area that they thought they had lost the rings.  It was an area about 20 by 10 yards away from the water, so I thought there would be a great chance that they were still there.  After about 4 passes with the XP Deus II; no luck.

As I normally do, I started asking more questions about if they had gone to the water and the path, they had taken leaving.  She had not gone to the water with the rings on, so I concentrated on the path to the steps which passed through the area of another group.

As I came near the group with seven or eight aluminum chairs, I got a great hit!  It was the first ring.  Karen began to cry.  The second ring was nearby.  But the gold one was still missing.  I covered the entire area to the steps.  On the way back, I prayed.

With nothing else to do and standing on ground that I had already covered, the neighbor group volunteered to move, and I agreed that it would be the next best step.  As they were moving, I looked down.  In the sand was the outline of the edge of a gold ring!!!  Could it be?  It was.  I picked up the ring and shouted, “Stop moving, there’s no need to move!”  When I did, I could hear Karen behind me and the left chuckling.  She had her three rings back!

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Lost – Lady’s White Gold Diamond Wedding Band, Outer Banks, OBX, NC – FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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I couldn’t sleep well Thursday night.  Around 2 a.m. I got up and looked at my phone.  Someone had mentioned me on Facebook.  It was on a lost ring post.  DIAMOND WEDDING BAND LOST.  It even named the town and access point.  I sent a text to the number listed to call me.   No call.

I decided to get up early and go down to the access to see if I could find it.  At around 6 I called the owner but got not answer.  Trying to find a ring on a beach with no information is a daunting task.

I covered all the obvious areas, close to the water, near the steps entering the beach, areas that showed lots of activity and I even found an area that looked like someone had been searching by sweeping their feet.  Just then a man approached me waving his arms and saying, “excuse me.”

“My wife lost her diamond wedding band last night.”  I asked, “Christina?”  He looked and me very strangely and I said her name was in a Facebook post.

He led me over to the area where they had searched by sweeping their feet.  I started with a long sweep parallel to the beach.  On the second sweep, I got a great hit.  I knew it was the ring.  As I handed it to Christina, she began to cry.  Her ring of 20 years was back where it belonged…on her finger!

 

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Lost – Men’s White Gold Wedding Band, Corolla, OBX, NC – FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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On Tuesday, I got a call at about 10:31am…I did not get it.  Around noon, I called the number back…no answer.  Finally, at 12:30, Tyler called me.  He said that he lost his white gold wedding band on the beach.  I asked him if he thought it was in the water; he said no, he didn’t think so.

I arrived on the scene in Corolla a few hours later.  Tyler was not sure when he lost the ring.  He gave me a general area involving tossing a football near a stump in the water.  The search area was about 30 yards long and just past a stump that was rapidly disappearing in the rising tide.  I fired up the Deus ii and started at the water and worked up toward the parking area.

After I was convinced that I had covered the area, I began working the water.  I was not prepared for a water search but went out about thigh-high.  Nothing!  The tide was rising too fast so we decided to come back tomorrow at low tide which would be around 12:30pm.

I arrived this time in swim shorts.  The beach had grown by at least 30 yards toward the water!  I started large sweeps to cover all the territory that I needed to.  I took a minute to pray!

I continued and after just a few passes my hat slipped down.  I stopped to adjust it and set my coil down on an area of sand that I had gone by.  I got a bit signal as I lower the coil.  When I had finished with my hat, I investigated the hit.  Scoop one was nothing.  Scoop two and I saw the ring shining in the sand.

I put the ring in my cupped hand and called Tyler over.  I asked him if he would go over where he lost the ring again.  As he did, I raised my left hand up with the ring, showing it to his wife Caroline and then bringing into his view.  Happiness!

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Lost – Lady’s diamond turquoise and men’s wedding band, Kill Devil Hills, OBX, NC – FOUND!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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Monday it was raining, with lightning and thunder.  My iPhone rang.  The lady was saying that she had lost her engagement ring on the beach.  I asked her if it was in the water…she said no.  I told her that we had a great chance of finding the ring, but we should try to go out after the storm even if it is dark.  I told her that I would call her in 30 minutes.

I called her and the storm had move off to the south and east.  I met Regina and her friend Susan at the beach access.  As they led me to the beach, I fired up the XP detector.  As we got closer, they said they thought we were at the area…but something was wrong; things looked different after the rain, and they were not 100% sure.

As a beautiful rainbow appeared to the south, Regina gave me a starting point and I began doing sweeps.  When I was about halfway through my second sweep, Regina told me there was a second ring, not as important or expensive.  It was her late husband’s wedding band.  I thought, we must find these.  I said, “So if I find one, I should find the other.”

I was in my third or forth sweep finding nothing but bottle caps when I got a solid sounding target.  I thought it could be the ring but I expected a lower number.  There it was!  In the scoop!  Even though it was getting darker, the diamonds sparkled, and the turquois stone glistened.

I held the stone up to show the ladies who had ventured off to the south.  Regina saw it and immediately began crying as I gave it to her.  One more simple sweep and I dug the other ring out with my toe.  Hugs, tears…another person recovered happy beyond belief!

We found two rings at the end of the rainbow!

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Lost – Gold and Silver Men’s Swiss Army dress watch – Kitty Hawk, Outer Banks, NC – FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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I got a Facebook message at 8:45 pm.  I did not see it until the next day.  The message read:  “Please help friends at Kitty Hawk.  He thinks he misplaced his watch at the beach just above the tide mark. (Soft sand) Swiss Army Men’s Officer’s dress watch.  His wife has a matching one only smaller. (Very sentimental)

I called and talked with Sally.  She told me that they were leaving today at 10am.  I met them at the site after 7:30am.

I started the XP up at the water’s edge (as usual) and worked toward the cottage.  Only a few hits but no watch.  Bill was very meticulous.  Yesterday, when the watch turned up missing, he had recorded directional heading from the cottage to where they had been on the beach.  From that he was able to mark a 30-yard search area near the water.  Yet, no watch!

I continued up over the dune along the walk path.  Bill had mentioned previously mentioned that they had a bag on the beach that was emptied under the house in a sandy area.  I decided to check knowing that if this didn’t work, I would have to come back at low tide and probably go in the water.

Big hit!  The Deus II screamed at me.  I knew it was the watch.  It had worked its way down to about 5 inches in the sand.

I knocked on the cottage door and presented the watch.  Billy and Sally were thrilled!

 

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Lost – Diamond Engagement AND Ruby Diamond Ring, Corolla, OBX, NC – FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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Normally, a person calls or texted me to notify me of their lost item of value.  Monday, I received a Facebook Message at around 4:55 in the morning.  The person, Annalise, said that her sister had lost and engagement ring and a ruby ring in Corolla.  They had left on Sunday and returned to Connecticut after spending the entire afternoon looking for the rings on the beach.

I get up early so shortly after 6 am I sent Annalise a message back and said that I would be glad to look for it.  I headed up to Corolla thinking that she would answer soon.  She did not so I stopped at the first place that met the description of the beach she described.  I spent two hours looking but I did not find the lost rings.

At around 8:50 Annalise called and told me the access where the rings had been lost, however, she was not sure where.  They had walked from a parking area and had ended up on beach near the walkover.

I decided to start at the beach and made a Facetime call to Annalise.  Asking lots of questions, I determined where they had been and the path they took to the beach.  It was time to go to work.  I know from experience how difficult it is to find items when the party has left.  I prayed.

I fired up the D2 and began sweeping the likely area.  Covering first the canopies that were set up on the spot before they were occupied, I got nothing.  Then I started the areas behind them.  Suddenly I got a good hit and a number signifying gold!  It was the engagement ring. What is the chance that I could find the other?  It was about a foot away.  Beautiful!

I texted Annalise the song Miracles by Colton Dixon and a picture…the same picture below with me holding the rings.

 

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Lost – White Gold Wedding Band, Outer Banks, Rodanthe, NC, FOUND!!

  • from New Smyrna Beach (Florida, United States)
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 Cory called me and said that she had left the Outer Banks a few days ago.  She had lost a ring in the sound side of the Village of Rodanthe.  She had been in a local tackle shop and a gentleman told her to call OBX-Ed; he finds rings for people all the time.

Cory received the white gold wedding ring from her wife not long ago and was devastated to lose it during a volleyball game in the water.  They searched for it all day but could not find it and had to leave to go back to their home in near Hopewell, Virginia.

I knew this hunt would be challenging because it is always hard to get the exact spot when the parties have left.  First, I checked with local National Park Service personnel, and they said if it was in the village, I was good to go.  I headed to Rodanthe and had to get permission from the rental company to be there while the property was being rented.

As I started the search, I did a FaceTime call with Cory to get the right spot.  She showed me where it should have been and for the next 90 minutes, I spent time digging lots of trash in the metal-rich area.

I called her back and told her we must think of something else because I had covered the entire area and was running out of ideas.  Just then, she remembered her son saying he saw it fly far to the north of the volleyball area.  I decided to do some sweeps there and not long after had a great sounding target.  It was the ring!  Inscribed inside, “All My Love.”   I took an image of it on my thumb and texted it to her.

The phone rang.  It was Cory.   She was so thrilled!

 

 

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