Joe Au-Franz, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 23 of 36

This ring find began on 25 May when I agreed to look for Matt’s Platinum wedding band in Lagoon 3 at Ko Olina resort. Matt was visiting from Southern California with the Mrs. and his band came off will swimming in the lagoon. His flight back to Cali was leaving shortly so he sent me a pic of himself standing in the lagoon where the ring went missing. I decided to go after work and although Matt’s flight was delayed several hours we weren’t able to hook up as road repair work kept me away from Ko Olina several hours. The ring was found very close to Matt’s location in the picture and I texted him a pic after the recovery. Since I was going to SOCAL the next Thursday for a Disneyland vacation Matt & I agreed to meet at our hotel which was about 20 minutes from his home. As you can see Matt & the lovely Mrs. met me in the lobby of the hotel and I was able to hand deliver him his ring. A 2500+ mile ring return. Aloha to Matt and the Mrs.

This ring find began when I got a call from Carlo who was on vacation from Seattle Washington and enjoying the day with his lovely wife Lizzie on Waikiki Beach. Lizzie was putting on suntan lotion and took her rings off to apply. When she got up from her chair the rings fell into the sand. She and Carlo were able to spot the engagement ring but the platinum wedding ring disappeared. After a futile 30 minute search Carlo & Lizzie decidedto search the internet and found the ring finders and gave me a call. It was quitting time at work so I told Carlo to relax on the beach and I would be there after I picked up my gear from home. I was lucky enough to find parking when I arrived and Carlo & Lizzie were about a 5 minute walk down the beach from Hilton Hawaiian Village, As I arrived Carlo and Lizzie helped me clear the area of the metal lounge chairs and then I fired up the Excal. In less then 10 seconds I had a nice tone that was growling like Platinum. One scoop down and there was Lizzie’s wedding ring. Its great to happen so quickly but sometimes we enjoy a little hunting time. They texted me later that “Your kind service saved our trip”. Aloha to Carlo & Lizzie.

This ring find began when I got a call from Paul who lost his Platinum Wedding ring while paddling out to surf on a South swell Tuesday morning. As he was approaching the reef his next stroke he noticed his ring fall into the water and slowly fade from view. He had taken this route out to surf many times so he knew exactly where the ring had fallen off. It was a low tide and the water was slightly murky but he had a good idea of the location so he got some goggles and attempted to free dive for his ring. It was 3-8 feet in the area but the ring was no where in sight. I told Paul who is a local resident we could meet in the AM and I would scuba for his ring. That morning the water was calm but the sky was overcast. I would have preferred some sunlight but you got to work with what you got. Paul and I surface swam out to the spot and Paul described to me again the details of the ring loss. I decided to start shallow and work deep although Paul was thinking the ring would be on the deep end. I fired up the Excalibur then released the air from my BC and submerged for the search. There were several coral chunks in the shallow area so I had to work around them when after only 20 seconds in the water “BOOM” a tremendous tone came over the Excal as I was passing the loop over a chunk of coral. It was about 2 feet by 1 foot in size and had several holes from the urchins throughout. There was just enough light to see down into one of those holes and there was Paul’s Platinum Wedding ring all nice and cozy perfectly fitting into the circumference of the hole. I reached inside with my finger and was able to retrieve the ring thankfully the two nubs inside the ring helped. I stood up to show Paul who was sitting on the reef no more then 15 feet away. “Here’s your ring.” Paul looked at me astonished and said, “No way really?” I handed him the ring and he was seriously relieved. Paul was kind enough to help me rinse off all my gear and get it back to my car. Paul had a big smile on his face as I saw him depart. Aloha to Paul!

This ring find began when I got a frantic call from Rebecca who was visiting from Happy Valley, Oregon on her 20th Anniversary celebration in Waikiki at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. While her husband Levi was reproposing to her in waist deep water her original Diamonds & Gold Engagement Ring dropped into the water. With Rebecca running ashore Levi stood on the spot where the ring fell. He looked with goggles but the ring disappeared in the soft sand. Levi continued to stay on the spot when Rebecca went to the Concierge Desk for help. After a short Google search they found “The Ring Finders” and gave me a call. I had just returned home when my daughter Jodi handed me the phone and said Hilton Hawaiian Village is on the call. I spoke briefly to Rebecca and told her I’d load my detecting gear and be there in about 15 minutes. When I arrived Rebecca met me on the beach and Levi was still standing on the spot in the water. I immediately entered the water and talked to Levi for some details. He admitted that he may have moved a bit over time but was in the general area. This beach is heavily detected and Levi had been standing in the water for over an hour so I was sure the ring was still there. I had a great sounding target but it fell through my scoop twice so I moved on knowing it couldn’t be the ring. Searching around Levi didn’t pan out so I decided to do a grid search. I started at the furtherest point to the East and worked West. Levi was a real trooper and stayed in the water with me as my seaward marker. I looked toward shore and saw Rebecca with the saddest expression ever on her face. I thought to myself I really need to hurry up and find this ring. BOOM!!! A few seconds later I had great tone and in one gentle scoop there was Rebecca’s ring. Levi is a big dude and he gave me a crushing hug and a “thank you so much”. “You are most welcome” I said. Several tourists on the beach were stunned and made many of the standard remarks. “Cool, Awesome, Way to go detector man” When Levi presented Rebecca with her original Engagement Ring tears of joy ran down her face. These are the best moments of this hobby. Another Anniversary vacation in Hawaii has a sweet ending. Aloha to Rebecca & Levi!

This ring find began when I got a call from Gordon who resides in Anchorage Alaska and was vacationing and visting friends at the Marriott Ko Olina. While going for a snorkel in the lagoon his wedding band came off and he assumed it must have come off just as he was entering the water. Traffic was a mess and it took me nearly 2 hours to get to Ko Olina from town. When I arrived Gordon met me at the Tiki Bar and we walked down to the beach to hunt for the ring. It was sure to be easy if the ring came off early otherwise scuba tomorrow would have been the option. I started a grid search from the water’s edge to chest deep water. I just cleaned this lagoon out a few weeks back so the first two targets were shiney new pennies. On about the 4th leg I got a nice tone in knee deep water and one scoop down there was Gordon’s gold ring in the scoop. I picked the ring from the scoop and held it out so Gordon could see it where he was sitting on the shoreline. An eruption of applause roared through the beachgoers and Gordon came running down to get his ring. Comments of “Awesome” and “That is so cool” echoed through the crowd and all Gordon could say was “I’m out of the dog house now”. Another vacation saved. Aloha to Gordon!

This ring find began when I got a call from Jon who is a Marine Corps Captain and flies the Tilt-Rotor Osprey out of Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii. While assisting with a children’s fun day his Platinum Wedding Band went missing. I went out to the base and Jon explained the children were running around bases on a slip & slide course and they would throw balls at them to tag them out. Sometime probably during one of those throws Jon thought his ring must have come off. The grid of the game was easy to see as the plastic slide left an impression in the grass. I started a grid search and covered the entire area in about 30 minutes with no luck. There were a few places where the Excal had underground interference but otherwise the ground was sterile. Jon also had his wife’s matching ring which I could listen to. It screamed on the Excal. We expanded the grid search out but Jon couldn’t imagine the ring getting too far from the grid. His baby was anxious so we called it a day. Jon always wanted to Metal Detect and asked if I could supply him with a good metal detector for Hawaii and to continue hunting for his ring. He came over to my business and purchased the Equinox 600 which is proving to be an outstanding detector in Hawaii. The next day I got a text from Jon with a picture of him pointing at the ring in the grass. I immediately asked him if he found the ring in the grid I searched and he said, “No!” It was actually 10 yards away in another part of the field. Whoa! I was relieved as I wouldn’t have been able to live it down had it been in my grid. He said the Equinox screamed on the platinum ring and he looked down to see it embedded in the grass. Congrats Jon on your first ring find. Glad I could help. Aloha to Jon and thank you for your service to our great nation.

This ring find began when I got a text from Ring Finder Steve Wheeler who takes care of the Eastern Beaches of Oahu. He got a call from Melissa from Anchorage Alaska who was spending a day at Waikikik Beach when her two rings went missing. I called Melissa immediately and decided since the rings were in dry sand I’d better get to Waikiki ASAP so not tolet one of the many metal detectorists that comb the beach find Melissa’s ring. After leaving work and grabbing my gear at home I was at the beach in 40 minutes. Melissa was waiting for me at the Duke Kahanamoku Statue. She told me she was applying suntan lotion on her daughter and placed her rings on a matt. They decided to move so her husband picked up the matt and stuff and they moved to another spot on the beach. Melissa then realized she had placed the rings on the matt and now they were gone. I told Melissa I wanted to start at the spot they started at and move from there. The area was now occupied by other beach goers. After detecting the only vacant area we asked a young couple if they could stand up and allow me to detect the area. They were gracious and stood up and I did a quick search but no luck. I asked Melissa if the family packing on the beach was also in the area they were and she said, “Yes!”. Fortunately they packed and left the beach. I moved to that location and got a wonderful tone and one deep scoop down there was Melissa’s stunning Engagement ring. But she told me she was looking for a wedding band. I asked her to describe the ring I held cupped in my hand and she described it exactly. Here you go that’s it. She then said I had to find the other ring…this one being the Wedding Band. I scanned the hole again and sure enough there was another target and one more scoop and now both rings were recovered. Although Melissa had insurance on the rings and she told me she had lost them once before so they were destined to come back to her. We had a chuckle and a hug and another satisfied customer walked off into the sun and surf. Aloha to Melissa.

This ring find began when I got a 1230AM call from Ata who works for Aloha Security at Ko Olina Resort. He came upon a Japanese couple on the beach in the dark trying to find a Platinum & Diamonds Wedding Ring that had fallen into the sand earlier in the day. They were searching desperately as they were leaving for Tokyo Japan in the morning. After hearing their plight Ata decided if this ring was going to be recovered he had to get ahold of me. Thankfully my wife Wendy was up doing crafts while I was asleep. She knew I wouldn’t want Jun & Mina to leave the island without their ring so she woke me up. Ata asked if I could be there early in the morning and I said “No, I’ll come now since I’m awake.” I told Ata to meet on the beach in a little less than an hour. Traffic was nonexistant at 1AM so I got there in 35 minutes. Ata went and got Mina and Jun from their room so they could show me whereabouts the ring was lost. Mina knew she removed the ring to apply suntan lotion as she watched a young child building a sand castle. The castle was still there in the ambient light of the hotel so we moved some beach chairs out of the way and I began my search. Immediately I found 2 Lincoln cents and 2 State quarters. Minor coin spill. Then on the second leg of the grid I got that Platinum tone all the Excalibur guys will know and since diamonds were involved I took a gentle scoop but nothing. I took another scoop and there was Mina’s Wedding Ring. Jun & Mina were in shock and really thought the recovery was hopeless. We took some pictures and had a few hugs then Jun said, “Mina and I can now sleep peacefully on our last night in Paradise. Thank you so much.” Suddenly the hotel sprinkler system went off and we all got a christening. That was a laugh for all of us. Aloha to Mina & Jun!

This ring find began when I got a phone call from Patrick and Tanya who were driving home through a snow storm in Minnesota. Tanya was on the phone while Patrick was driving. Tanya told me they had just received my contact number from Aulani Disney Resort where I’m the Metal Detectorist for the 4 lagoons on the property. Tanya described a ring that I thought I may have found the weekend before along with 3 others when they were enjoying their vacation at Aulani. I already posted my finds on my facebook page “Metal Detecting Oahu” and I told Tanya to text me a pic of Patrick’s ring. Sure enough it was a perfect match to the right front ring in the facebook photo. I Fedexed the ring back to Patrick in Minnesota and from the above photo you can see it safely arrived. Much Aloha to Patrick & Tanya!

This ring find began when I got a call from Matthew who was on vacation in Waikiki from Australia with his wife Tania and son Jace. While rough housing with his son Jace in the shallow water at Waikiki he noticed his wedding band was gone. He tried briefly to snorkel for it but no luck. I was at home so I went down to Waikiki as Matthew was waiting for me at the zoo parking lot. I figured waist deep water this was going to be a cinch. Matthew showed me the area he was in and it was 30 feet from the Kapahulu wall and no more then 1/2 way out to the surf break wall. I searched until dark and we only found some change, 3 elongated cents and trash. Matthew decided I covered the entire area and we called it lost and not found. I told Matthew I’d ask my buddy Mike if he could check the area the next day. We didn’t think it would pay off but Miracle Mike has worked wonders before. Thankfully the water is getting cold and keeping out the fair weather detectorists. Well Miracle Mike did it again. Extending the search grid out towards the surf break wall at 3/4 the way out Mike came across Matthew’s ring in waist deep water. We figured when Matthew was rough housing with his son Jace he must have tossed the ring off without knowing hence it was much farther out then he expected. Mike brought the ring to my house so I could get it back to Matthew which I did as you can see in the photo. Another vacation ends on a happy note. Aloha to Matthew, Tania & Jace. Also a Big Mahalo to Mike for coming through yet again.