Joe Au-Franz, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 24 of 36

This ring find began when I got a call from one of the Waikiki Beach Boys. A young couple Joel & Alba from Maryland reported to him that Joel lost his Tungsten Wedding Ring in the dry sand on the beach. While applying suntan lotion Joel forgot he had taken off his ring and didn’t realize until after they had left the beach. After returning and not finding the ring the Beach Boy googled and found the ring finders. Joel asked if I could be there soonest and I said yes I’m only 10 minutes away. I packed my Excalibur & Scoop and actually got ther in five minutes without traffic. Joel met me on the corner and we walked to the spot on the beach they figured the ring would be. I turned on the Excal and 5 seconds later the ring was in my scoop. Rapid recovery and very grateful couple. Aloha to Joel & Alba!

This ring find began when I got a call from Dave Sheldon our foremost Ring Finder on Maui. Dave passed me a number for a couple from Los Angeles that had lost 3 Platinum & Diamond Wedding Rings in the sand at Ulua Lagoon Ko Olina Resort. I immediately called the number and Sarote answered and told me he was on the beach with his wife Tanya and their young son when a gust of wind blew their umbrella down. Tanya jumped up to grab the umbrella and didn’t realize until she sat back down that her 3 wedding rings she had placed on the lap of her dress were gone. They searched and other friendly tourists on the beach pitched in but the rings were gone. I told Sarote to relax in the area, stop searching and I would be there in 30 minutes to recover their rings. I assured him in the dry sand we shouldn’t have any problem at all. When I arrived Sarote had a parking space reserved for me just up from where the rings were lost. That was convenient. I met Sarote’s lovely wife Tanya and she reenacted to me what occurred. I started my grid search and on the first leg nothing. This beach is very noisy on the Excal from EMI so you have to listen carefully. Second leg found a deep crusty penny. I knew it wasn’t the rings but wanted to clear the grid. On the fourth leg and actually out of the area Tanya thought the ring would be I got an excellent tone. One scoop down and there was the first ring. Sarote was in awe and came over to retrieve it. I said wait there I hear another target in the hole. Another scoop and two more rings appeared. Tanya and Sarote were overcome with joy and praised my services. I told them the equipment is very good as long as you know how to use it. With all three rings back on her fingers Sarote said Thank you for saving our vacation. We took some pictures and I bid them a tremendous vacation for the rest of their time in Hawaii. Aloha to Tanya & Sarote.

This metal detecting find began when I received a call from Nigel who was visiting Hawaii from Vancouver, Canada. While his lovely wife Nelo was removing their daughter Nya’s shirt to put suntan lotion on the shirt snagged her gold necklace pendant and it popped off into the sand. They looked at the sand and it was gone. Nigel googled and found my metal detecting services on theringfinders page. I was at work but agreed to leave a little early to get into Waikiki before rush hour traffic. When I arrived Nigel met me at the shrimp truck near the parking lot and we walked down to the area on the beach that his darling daughter Nya lost her necklace charm. Nelo described to me what happened and showed me the area she believed the pendant came off. It was only a 10 by 10 foot square so I fired up the Excalibur and started my search. 10 seconds into the search I got a nice low gold tone and one scoop down there was Nya’s charm in the scoop. It was just big enough not to fall through the grate. Nelo was absolutely amazed that it was found so quickly. Nya was eating some cheesy snack which you can see on her hand in the picture and was excited to get her charm back. Vacation back on track. Aloha to our friends from up North Nigel, Nelo & Nya.

This ring find began this morning when I had an email from Patrick who lives in Chicago. A little after midnight he sent an email request for ring finder services at Ala Moana Beach Park near Waikiki. While playing catch with a football in waist deep water and while Patrick was making a catch the football hit the ring and it popped off his finger. He wasn’t quite sure which direction it went and his unfamiliarity with the beach he felt somewhat hopeless in finding the ring. I responded to the email and told Patrick to call me ASAP as that beach is constantly being detected. Losing it at 2:30 the previous day is an eternity of time for that beach. Moments later I got the call. We agreed to meet in 30 minutes at Life Guard Tower 1E which was near where the ring came off. As I arrived Patrick showed me the extreme ends of the grid and waist deep water is alot to cover. I figured it was near high tide the day before when he lost it so the ring should be shallow. I started my grid search and Patrick was my seaward marker thankfully as there ain’t no objects to line up on there. After a few grid lines I only found a few pieces of foil. I was beginning to think this ring was found already. After about 45 minutes Patrick was shivering and looking as if this was going to be a hopeless cause. Then suddenly in thigh deep water BOOM! My detector screamed in my ear. I knew instantaneously it was going to be his ring. Patrick wasn’t looking my direction and I did a quick scoop and there in the basket was an awesome platinum and diamonds encrusted ring. I started walking towards Patrick and probably from the look on my face he said, “You found it?” “I think so”, I said. Does it have several diamonds? “Yes all around the ring,” he said. “Oh then this must be it”, as I handed him the ring. The look of total elation and relief came over Patrick’s face. He was so thankful and told me he didn’t think we were going to find it. What a Great way to end 2017. Aloha to Patrick. On a side note he didn’t have to tell his wife he lost the ring. Whew!

This ring find began Saturday evening when I got a call from Lars who lives in Kailua. While fishing with friends at Nimitz beach his Platinum wedding band fell off into the dry sand. He saw where it entered the dry sand and bent down to retrieve his ring. Wait! What? It wasn’t there and he spent another hour sifting the sand for his ring. It got dark and he abandoned his search. Frustrated to see the ring fall into the sand and not find it Lars wasn’t going to give up that easily. His friends recommended a metal detectorist or even to rent one. Then a google search led him to “the ring finders”. I got the call and agreed to meet Lars at the beach first light the next morning. When we arrived Lars took me to the circle on the beach he made with sticks and said the ring is somewhere in there. The area was only about 15 feet in diameter so I started a search. Guess what? No ring and no targets. I expanded the grid search and about five feet outside the circle I got a nice tone. One scoop down and there was Lars’ incredibly designed Platinum wedding band. He was amazed how far off he was in his search. Another thrilled customer! Aloha to Lars.

This ring find began when I got a call Friday evening from Tracy who lives in Kailua. Tracy works for NOAA Hawaiian Monk Seal Rescue and was currently involved with a rescue at White Plains Beach. Her team was in the process of removing a fish hook from the throat of a Hawaiian Monk Seal when Tracy found her wedding ring getting tangled in the process. She remove the ring and placed it in the back pocket of her shorts and continued with the assistance on the monk seal. The team decided the monk seal would require sedation and in patient care so they transported the monk seal to their sanctuary for surgery. With the monk seal safely in transport Tracy went to retrieve her ring from her back pocket and it was gone. She and her team looked around the beach but it was no where to be found. The lifeguards at White Plains gave Tracy my number and we decided to meet the next morning for the hunt. An accident on the freeway made me about an hour late but Tracy patiently waited. When I arrived Tracy took me down to the spot on the beach from the moment she placed the ring in her short’s pocket. There was quite a bit of beach to search and the area was fairly trashy so I had to work through the chatter. After searching the first area with no luck Tracy showed me the path she took to the next area she was in. Nearly halfway to that spot along the path I got a great signal and one scoop down I retrieved the target. Looking in the scoop and pulling out the ring I showed Tracy and said, “Nah! This can’t be your ring.” She looked over in utter amazement and said, “Yes! That’s it!” A hug of relief and Tracy called her husband to give him the good news. Tracy was so thankful and said the knot she had in her stomach instantly went away. Aloha to Tracy! BTW the Hawaiian Monk Seal had the fish hook successfully removed and was returned to the wild that morning. Mahalo to the Team for their dedication and hard work keeping these beautiful creatures healthy!

This ring find began when I got a call from Jono who was on his honeymoon from Brisbane, Australia. While applying suntan lotion to his leg his ring fell off into the sand and disappeared. After searching he gave up and went back to his hotel. They called my home where my wife Wendy gave them my cell number. I told Jono I’d leave early from work to search as I didn’t want another detectorist to score their ring. We met in the parking lot and walked down to where Jono’s lovely wife was sitting in the sand near where the ring came off. It started to drizzle a bit so I cranked up the Excalibur and started my grid search. First target after 20 seconds was Jono’s Gold Wedding Band. Fast & Easy! Aloha to Jono!

This ring find began when I got a call this AM during the football game. It was Jamie from Kailua who had me recover his ring at Kaimana Beach last December. This time he was running and wrestling with his dog on Kailua Beach when he noticed his ring had come off. Jamie said Joe I need your services again. He had looked quite awhile for the ring himself but the sand as usual consumed it. We met at Jamie’s house and cruised down to Kailua Beach. Jamie took me to the spot he was wrestling with his dog and I started my grid search. After a few coins I got a great low tone and one scoop down there was Jamie’s ring. Elapsed time about 7 minutes. I told Jamie I never wanted to see him again. He just smiled and laughed that’s for sure. Aloha to Jamie!

This ring hunt began when I got a tearful cry at work from Keyara who lives in Kapolei Hawaii. While sitting in shallow water with her daughter her gorgeous engagement ring fell off. She reached for it but the sand instantly gobbled it up. While searching on her phone for a ring recovery she came across my contact info first. I told her I could leave work a little early and come out and retrieve her ring. Shallow water should be a cinch! When I arrived Keyara’s husband Tony took me down to the beach and showed me where Keyara was in the water and I began my search. Several coins and a pull tab after about 20 minutes I was beginning to think the target location had to be off. Tony assured me the location was correct. There was really no surge in the lagoon to speak of so on my own I expanded the search grid out in a northerly direction and “BOOM” there was a great platinum tone and one scoop down there was Keyara’s ring. Tony was in shock as he thought his area was correct. No matter the ring is safely and happily back on Keyara’s finger. Aloha to Keyara & Tony!