Joe Au-Franz, Author at The Ring Finders

Lost White Gold Wedding Band at Fort Kamehameha Beach…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began when I got a text from Amanda who lives on Hickam AFB with her family.  Amanda found me on the Ring Finders!  So, earlier this morning as she applied sun tan lotion she removed her white gold wedding band and placed it on a beach chair for safe keeping.  At some point it went missing from there and when I arrived I could see finger raking marks in the sand where they had searched.  A few people on the beach were somewhat in the area and they kindly moved their gear so I could hunt without interference.  After firing up the Manticore I detected a steel pipe running all the way through the search area so I was happy when the first target a piece of aluminum came through strongly.  I started on the high side and worked low.  A few mork junk targets and then I got a nice shallow #15 on the VDI and I told Amanda, “this sounds real good.”  Sure enough their was the white gold wedding band in the scoop.  Early Christmas present!  Aloha to Amanda!

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Lost Koa Inlaid Zirconium Wedding Ring at Ulua Lagoon Ko Olina…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring fing began Thursday 12 December when I got a call from AJ from Eagle River, Alaska who lost his Zirconium, Koa Inlaid Wedding Band at Ulua Lagoon Ko Olina while picking up his gear to run for cover under a tree while it started to rain.  Somewhere along that route his ring went missing.  He was leaving that day but gave me a map of the area.  I went Saturday morning and during the vast grid search AJ’s ring popped out of the dry sand in front of a tree near the grass.  It was dead center in the area he drew.  I texted him the good news and the ring finally arrived in Alaska today as you can see the smile on his face.  Aloha to AJ!

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Lost Platinum & Diamonds Engagement Ring at Paradise Cove Beach…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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Paradise Cove 121924 MOV_0780

This ring find began when I got a voicemail from Liz saying that Aloha Security told her I might be able to locate her Mom’s Platinum & Diamonds Engagement Ring in shallow water at Paradise Cove Beach.  I told her I had a hunt in Waikiki I had to finish up and then I would head right over to Paradise Cove.  When I got to Paradise Cove Liz’s mom Debbie, from NYC, was waiting at the lagoon to show me the area to hunt.  She told me she was throwing a football with her grandchildren and when she reached to catch the football her engagement ring flew off into shallow water.  I walked out to the furtherest distance Debbie was and started a grid search back towards shore.  On about the third leg I got a nice 27-32 hit on the Manticore and on the second scoop there was Debbie’s amazing ring in the scoop.  She was so thankful and I think she was about to cry.  Many people had looked for her but it was buried.  Another vacation saved!  Aloha to Debbie and Family!

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Lost Yellow Gold & Diamonds Engagement Ring at Queen’s Beach Waikiki…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began when I got a text from Will from Washington DC who was visiting Waikiki with his fiance’e Hannah.  Will told me Hannah had lost her Yellow Gold & Diamonds engagement ring in the sand at Queen’s Beach in Waikiki and if I was able to help today or tomorrow.  Knowing this beach is heavily detected I asked if we could meet in about 4 hours as I would be off work then and could grab my gear at home and swing right over.  As I arrived Will and Hannah were just moments away and when they arrived Will drew a grid in the sand for me to search.  After about 10 minutes only trash targets were found.  After talking to Hannah I asked her to extend the grid out into the direction she jumped up when a bumblebee and pestered her and she jumped up and that was when she thought most likely the ring came off.  Surely, the first target in the next grid was a screaming gold tone and one scoop later there was Hannah’s stunning ring in the scoop.  I yelled over to her & Will “Got it!”  I let Hannah reach in the scoop to retrieve her ring and a sigh and look of relief was certainly evident.  Will said Thank you so much.  That truly saved our vacation.  My pleasure!  Aloha to Hannah & Will!  May the wedding be extra special!

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Lost Gold & Diamonds Bvlgari Wedding Band at Royal Hawaiian Beach…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began yesterday evening as I was heading home from Ko Olina.  I got a call from Kenny on vacation from San Francisco and was translating for Danny & Sunny who were on their honeymoon from Paju, South Korea.  Danny while tranferring his ring for safe keeping to a beach pouch his Gold & Diamonds Bvlgari Wedding Band fell into the water and disappeared at Royal Hawaiian Beach in Waikiki.  Traffic was horrible and I couldn’t get there before sunset.  It was actually dark when I arrived.  Then I found out the ring was actually in the water aways not on the shoreline.  Tide was up and the shore was getting pounded.  I found a great target on the Manticore but I couldn’t pull it out from between two chunks of coral.  I decided and had Kenny translate to Danny & Sunny that I would return Saturday afternoon low tide for better conditions.  When I arrived all three were already waiting on the beach.  A fellow detectorist was also there out in the deeper water and he turned out to be friend who would hunt later if I was unsuccessful.  After a few grid lines I found the target from the night before in between the coral chunks.  This time I was able to approach from a different angle and after probably 6 or 7 scoops I had the target in the scoop with so many coral rubble pieces.  I started carefully removing the coral and there in the glistening sun Danny’s awesome ring appeared.  I yelled towards where they were sitting on the beach, “Got It!”  Danny and Sunny ran down to the water’s edge and I let Danny remove his ring from the scoop.  He was over joyed and started crying.  All the nearby tourists started clapping and saying congratulations.  It was quite the seen.  Thank God Kenny was there to help translate all the necessary info for a successfull hunt.  Aloha to Danny & Sunny!  A special Aloha to Kenny who hung around to make sure these newlyweds had a happy ending.

 

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Lost Gold & Diamonds Sentimental Mother’s Day Earring at Kaluahole Beach…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This Earring hunt began when I got a text from Carolyne saying, “I lost an earring in the Diamond Head area.  Ring if you can help.”  I asked if she had parking as this area was all condos with no street parking.  She responded “Yes” The tide is high right now…It’s probably lost forever”  I said, “No.  Low tide is 6:30”  I’ll call you before I head over.  When I arrived Carolyne directed me to the parking and escorted me to the beach entry.  Her husband Mark was going to come down and walk me out to the area down the coast a bit.  Carolyne had the other earring in a bag,  so I scanned it on the Manticore and it was a 3-4 on the VDI.   Mark took me to the search area and I told him it could take awhile so he didn’t have to stick around.  I started the hunt and there were several iron pieces along the retaining wall I had to work through.  The first possible target was a small chunk of Aluminum.  The next target was a #10 on the VDI and to my surprise it was the stunning earring.  Mark had started walking back to his condo when I yelled, “I got a gold earring with diamonds”  and he came back quickly to confirm.  He was in shock saying, “That’s it!”  I found out it was actually lost two days prior so what a blessing it didn’t end up in the coral after at least 4 pounding high tides.  The difference in the VDI had to be the earring Carolyne let me test was closed and the found earring was open.  Good point to remember.  When we got back to Carolyne she was obviously ecstatic after a successful recovery.  A few hugs & handshakes and of course the smiles.  Aloha to Carolyne & Mark!

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Lost White Gold & Diamonds Wedding Band at Kaimana Beach…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began when I got a call from Dean who was on vacation from Newport Beach, California and enjoying his vacation on Kaimana Beach in Waikiki.  The day before he had placed his ring in his towel and when he picked it up the ring flew out and disappeared into the fine sand of Kaimana Beach.  Knowing Kaimana Beach is heavily detected and it was lost the day before I asked Dean to go to the beach and guard the lost area until I could get there.  It was my lunch break so I knew I could get there in a few minutes and hopefully the ring hadn’t been found.  When I arrived at the beach Dean & Rick were waiting.  They showed me the area and I fired up the “BEAST”.  First target #30 on the VDI.  Boom!  Dean’s awesome white gold & diamond ring was in the scoop.  I was amazed how quickly it was found as the area was a few parking stalls in size.  Back to work in record time and Dean’s family was so appreciative of the recovery.  Aloha to Dean & Rick

 

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Lost Gold Arabic Design Wedding Band at Ulua Lagoon Ko Olina Resort…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began on 2 November when I got a message asking “How much do you charge to locate a ring?”  from Jose who is in the Army stationed on Oahu.  It’s reward based and that’s always up to the customer.  Since the lagoons were rough and with high tides along with a three day coin show that weekend I told Jose I would hunt Veteran’s Day early morning.  He sent me some excellent photos of the area to hunt.  Since I start on the left side of a grid normally and work to the right it actually took an hour and a half to recover the ring as it was on the extreme right side of the grid as I was begining to think this was going to be a fail.  Jose swung by this evening to pick up his ring.  Smiling & Freed from the dog house!  Aloha to Jose!

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Lost Gold Wedding Band at Nai’a Lagoon Ko Olina Resort…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began when I got a text from Emanuel on vacation from Portland, Oregon saying, “My wife lost her wedding band on Sunday while swimming in the lagoon number 3.  She was swimming in chest deep water along the shore.  We agreed to meet Friday afternoon as their schedule was busy and the surf was freakishly up in the lagoons.  When I arrived Emanuel showed me the swim route and I began my grid search.  It was quite a large area and about 45 minutes into the hunt in belly deep water the Manticore found the yellow gold wedding band.  They were waiting in chairs on the beach and I waved that I found Viorica’s ring.  Emanual said, “God bless you!  You really made our day.”  Big smiles all around.  Aloha to Viorica & Emanuel!

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Lost Platinum & Diamonds Engagement Ring at Waimanalo Beach…FOUND!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)
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This ring find began when I got a text from Josh who was on vacation from Cleveland, Ohio with his Wife Novi & Son Johnathan that said, “Hello.  We lost a ring.”  I asked where and he said “Bagley Beach” which turned out to be Waimanalo Beach which is a bit further South.  Turns out his wife Novi’s ring fell out of a beach bag when her son came ashore after being stung by a Portugese Man-O-War.  Josh shook the sand out of the beach bag not knowing Novi’s Platinum & Diamonds ring was inside.  I was just finishing up work and told them I would run home grab my gear and head over.  It was about 30 minutes from my home.  When I arrived Josh met me and directed me to a parking stall that just opened up.  We headed down to the beach and it’s known for all the metal trash from all the parties that go on there.  Although the area was considerably small I must have dug a dozen targets.  Thankfully too I went out of the grid as the ring sang a nice 15-16 on the Manticore a few feet out of the grid.  Novi was obviously relieved when I pull her ring out of the scoop and said Got it!   A few pleasantries and I was on my way.  Aloha to Novi, Josh & Johnathan!

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