Saint Michael Pendent, Manchester NJ (POW/MIA Field) recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder
I received a text from Robyn in reference to a St Michaels pendant that was lost the prior day on a softball field. She had said it had extreme sentimental value, and it had been given to her nephew by his grandmother quite a while back. After getting all the details, we agreed on a time to meet at the ball field. If you know about softball, prior to the game, there is quite a bit of workouts that take place. That said, I started my search on first base, one of the locations it may have come off. Then searched the dugouts with no luck. Checked around home plate where batting practice took place, and still nothing. Then down the 3rd base line where lots of throwing and stretching take place prior to the game, yep you guessed it nothing. So, I walked back to the bleachers where Robyn was sitting, and talking with Michael, her nephew, who lost the pendent. After talking with him he mentioned that after playing first base, he went into the dugout, then out to coach 3rd base, the only spot left to search. Guess what, thats right, nothing again. Something is not right, he positively lost it on the field, but one KEY detail we missed. While heading out to coach 3rd base, he noticed the end of the chain hanging way down by his belt, with the cross stuck on the lobster claw clasp. But, everything was already searched. I stood back deep on the grass/clay line where he might have been playing, mumbling to myself, that I covered from the pitchers mound, all the way to the dugout, and even back on the grass a bit. It was then I realized I hadn’t covered right behind the mound where a first baseman would charge hard to make the cutoff on a line drive to second base. It was just a few moments later the pendant was recovered, right where I just mentioned. This is a perfect example of why we ask so many questions when doing a recovery, that one clue of the chain hanging low, could have eliminated all the extra searching. Regardless, another very happy ending.
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On day one of the vacation, what is the number one priority for most at the Jersey Shore ? You guessed it, head to the beach. And thats exactly what Eric and his family did. What almost ended in tragedy, ended up being a memory that will last forever. Eric was playing with his daughter down where the waves push up onto the beach, when things took a turn for the worst. His absolutely stunning wedding ring slipped off his finger and into the water, and within seconds disappeared out of sight. they searched for what seemed like hours, without any luck. Thats when Eric figured he better call for some help, knowing it may be his last chance of ever seeing his wedding ring again. He gave me all the details, and I agreed to be on location ASAP, as the tide was going to turn, and start coming in. Eric also marked the exact location with google maps on his cell phone, which is a huge benefit, especially when he was not able to meet me on the beach. I quickly searched down the slope to about knee deep without any signs of his ring. The water was ice cold, so rather than using my wetsuit, I ran back to the truck and threw on my waders. I knew it wasn’t that deep, as Erik assured me he was holding his daughters hand when the ring slipped off. I made a few more passes going just a bit deeper. Eric showed up just about then, and we confirmed the mark was right on the spot he was sitting all day long. Just a few more passes and the ring was in my scoop. Nothing better than turning tragedy, into memories.
The night prior to Carries phone call, her son and some friends were over in Seaside Height NJ, on a small but well-known beach they call Sunset Beach. The were messing around like all teenage kids do, when his chain broke and his cherished cross went missing. It was pretty dark that night, but that did not deter their search efforts. Unfortunately they came up empty handed. They returned the following morning and again had no luck. The cross and location were posted on one of the local Facebook pages, where Carrie grabbed my number and called to set up the recovery. She gave me exact details of where the chain had broken, and within minutes, the cross was in my scoop. I immediately called Carrie, and we agreed to meet down the road in about 15 minutes. Another fantastic recovery of a cherished keepsake in the books.
It was another fantastic day in New Jersey so Denise and her family decided to pack up and head to the beach. Denise’s nephew loves the beach, especially flying kites when the wind is just right. Prior to flying the kite, she removed her necklace and engagement ring. Denise slipped the necklace through her ring and secured the clasp, then placed them both in her top pocket for safe keeping. They both had ran all over the soft white sand, almost covering the entire block, well about 2/3 of it anyhow. It was later on when she looked in the pocket and , OH NO, both were missing. Everyone searched the area for quite some time when they decided a metal detector was needed. They headed down to the local store and purchased one, figuring the necklace would soon be located. Well, unfortunately that did not work, so they decided to call in a professional. Once I arrived and got all the details, I covered the entire area where they were flying the kite, figuring that was the most likely area they would have fallen out of her top pocket. With nothing to show for my effort, we decided the next most traveled area was the top of the tide line, and down a bit to the low tide mark. After a few passes, I asked them to move back a little, and sure enough, very close to the chairs, was the spot my metal detector sniffed out the ring and necklace. Everyone was totally amazed, and the best I can figure, either the necklace never made it into her top pocket, or coincidently it fell out right in the area they had set up the chairs and stuff. Regardless another happy ending !!!!
On a nice hot day Anton and his family were enjoying the day on at beach. This can be some of the most sought after relaxation one could ask for after a long day at work. And while people are on the beach there are many things they will do like , swimming, running, relaxing, picnicking, throwing footballs, volley ball, wrestling, etc. OH NO did I say wrestling ? That’s when things went wrong for Anton. In one of the 3 areas he was wrestling around that day his cherished cross was pulled from his necklace and lost in the sand. They searched for a few hours, even with their metal detector, without any luck. That’s when Nicole decided to give me a call to see if I was available to locate the cross. I met them on the beach a little while later and they showed me everything that transpired up to realizing the cross was missing. I started in the most likely spot and within a few moments I had his cross in my scoop. Another fantastic ending to a great day on the Jersey Shore.
What would 4 young men do after their Stockton State College track meet, that’s right, go to the beach to have some fun and cool down in the pristine Jersey Shore Ocean waters. Just prior to going into the water, Brendan removed his cherished cross and chain, and clasped it around the loop on his hat for safe keeping. After they got out of the water, it was placed back around his neck, and just a few moments later, his friend noticed the cross was missing. Luckily his friend Jackson had told his mom Brenda, who was very familiar with NJ Ring Finder stories, from some of the local pages. Brendan, Jackson, and Luke had searched for quite a while without any luck, and that’s when the call came in to me for HELP. I arrived on the Lavallette beach just a short while later, got all the details and searched the entire spot without any luck. After they assured me it must be right there, I turned my metal detectors sensitivity almost as high as it would go, and on the first pass I received a very faint but steady signal, which was in fact, Brendan’s beautiful cross. Another happy ending to a fantastic beach day.
June is a great time of year, weather is warming up, school is getting out for the summer, the beach scene is almost in full swing, graduations, prom, etc. That’s when Hailey had a horrible mishap. She was at the Jersey Shore for the weekend after the prom, enjoying the beach life, when her phone totally disappeared somehow, in the soft sugar sand of Seaside Park NJ. She reached out to me 
On my way home from work I received a text from Habib. He was very anxious to see if I would be able to find his wife’s beautiful diamond earing she accidentally lost at a large family party the day before. He sent me some pics and I was relieved to see the size, due to the fact many diamond earrings are extremely hard to locate. We agreed on a mutual time to meet later in the day, and for him to bring the other earing so I would be able to scan it with my metal detector, which helps tremendously, knowing exactly what tone to listen for. With that information I am able to block out most of the other tones I will receive in a backyard setting. Once on location I met with a gentleman who showed me the entire party setup, and the main areas Saba, Habib’s wife had spent most of the time that day. I decided to begin the search, as Habib was going to be about another 15 minutes due to some heavy traffic. I had quickly covered an area where the tables were set up, especially where Saba was sitting. The yard area was quite huge, and there were many food stations, and activities going on throughout the day. Once Habib arrived I listened to the other earring, and was quite pleased with the solid low tone it gave off. With that information I was able to move quite a bit faster, due to the fact that not may signals of that type would be present. I of course would check anything fairly close. I had changed direction after the first location was done, simply due to the fact the foot traffic would be moving in the direction I was working. I made one pass, and just after I turned to make another one, BINGO, my metal detector emitted a tone that I was almost certain was Saba’s missing earing. After moving the grass around a bit, there it was pressed down even with the dirt, just out of human sight. Luckily there was no damage to the earing. I looked around to find Habib, and he had walked way over to the neighbors house, where there was valet parking, and another possible area the earring could have been hiding. When I showed Saba’s earing to him, he was it total shock, as this recovery could be labeled “a needle in a haystack” Once again all parties involved knew the tiny details to narrow down this vast search area, to just the areas where his wife had spent most of the day.