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

Lost Silver Wedding Band at Kuhio Beach Waikiki…..FOUND!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

Andrew Waikiki Ag band

Andrew Waikiki Ag band1

Don Bryant & I were returning from a ring find when a young gentleman approached us and asked if we could help them find a ring in the water. He took us over to where Andrew was painstakingly trying to find the ring in shallow water with his hands. Andrew showed us the general location and because I still had my scuba gear on Don went to work. 30 seconds later and the first target Don nailed the ring. Nice way to end our day hunting. Andrew said he wasn’t afraid of losing the ring he was afraid of his new bride. Smart man, very smart! Aloha to the newlyweds!

Lost Gold Wedding Band at Kokololio Beach Park……FOUND

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

interwoven AU band

Kristina Velez & Husband

I saw a craigslist post of a lost ring at Kokololio Beach Park and replied to it offering ring finder services. Kristina responded by email the next morning and asked how I could find her husband’s ring that she had lost while holding it for him while he took a swim in the ocean. I told her to read my blog then if she was comfortable give me a call and I’d make arrangements to look. Kristina called and was anxious to find her husband’s ring so I talked my wife Wendy into going and told her we could go get prime rib afterwards as it was our 22nd Anniversary. As usual she was cool about it and off we went. We met Kristina at the beach parking lot and she walked me over to the area where she last knew she had the ring. When we arrived on the spot my worst fears came to light the area was littered with bottle caps and other metal trash. We picked up a few pieces of trash on the surface and then I started my grid search. First target brass grommet, second target aluminum tent peg third target BINGO a gorgeous interwoven patterned Gold ring. It took all of about 90 seconds. They’re not always this easy but I got to leave early for that Anniversary dinner and Kristina was elated to have her husband’s ring back. She went on to tell me that everyone else told her a metal detectorist would never find it. Well she held her head high and went off to show them the results with the biggest smile she could make. Aloha to Kristina.

Lost Platinum Wedding Ring at Ko Olina lagoon…….FOUND

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

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Saturday, May 9, 2015

I was celebrating Mother’s Day at a local Chinese restaurant with my wife and her family when I got an urgent call from Scott. Apparently while he was enjoying the day swimming at Ko Olina lagoon #4 his Platinum Wedding ring fell off and disappeared in waist deep water. His attempt to locate the ring was futile as the sand in the lagoon is very loose and makes it impossible to find. I told Scott I could be there around 2 PM however he would need Ko Olina Security permission to metal detect in the lagoons as they are normally off limits to detecting. The Security Guard Nickolas was very helpful and actually reserved us some parking which was otherwise completely full. Scott on the other hand was very fortunate to remember exactly here the ring came off as the second leg of my box search nailed the ring. There were hugs and smiles all around. Aloha to Scott and his lovely wife.

Lost Diamond Wedding Ring at Waikiki Beach…….FOUND

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

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Friday night my friend George sent me an email that a gentlemen named Sahak Vardanyan (Sam) from Los Angeles had lost his ring in shallow water at Hilton Hawaiian Village on Wednesday. George currently only does dry land detecting so he gave me some additional locating data and I told him I would look in the AM. Time was critical as Sam and his wife Annie were leaving Sunday. My fellow ringfinder on Oahu Don met me at the beach at 0530. We brought our Excalibur’s and Don went out on scuba and I took off to do the wave curl and shallow water where the ring most likely came off. On about my fourth line in the grid search in waist deep water I got that tone we all know as GOLD. I dug in my scoop and low and behold there was a pull tab!!! What? It was definitely GOLD. I made another sweep and there was another target. Yep, fooled me the first time but the second scoop was Sam’s wedding ring. I contacted Sam by email and we met under the Rainbow Tower so I could return his ring. I think you can tell by their “Smiles” this vacation was going to be just fine. Aloha to Sam and Annie!

Lost Diamond Engagement Ring at Ewa Beach…..FOUND

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

14K Solitaire ewa beach ringewabeachrf#3

Saturday, January 24, 2015

As I was doing some “Honey do list” items my daughter Korin handed me the phone and said, “Someone lost their ring Dad.”  I answered the phone and Jenna explained to me that she lost her ring in the sand at Ewa Beach.  I was far enough along on my chores so I told Jenna I could be there in about 45 minutes as the location is on the opposite side of the island from where I live.  She said she would wait on the beach by the spot where she thought she lost her ring.  I told her, “Don’t try finding the ring it might make it harder for me to find it.”  I arrived with my Excalibur and I was met by Alex, Jenna’s fiance.  Jenna explained that she put her ring in her shorts pocket and when she put them back on after sunbathing she realized the ring was gone.  They showed me the general area and I started a box search in an East-West direction.  With nothing but pull tabs and 55 cents in clad I asked if there was anywhere else she went.  Jenna pointed to a picnic table 75 yards away and said they sat over there awhile and walked straight over and back.  I made three passes towards the picnic table but the area was so littered with metal trash I was getting overloaded with targets.  I decided to go back to the original box and try a North-South grid search.  It paid off on about the fifth line I got what could only be a Gold Ring tone.  I made a gentle scoop and the target was captured. When I looked into the scoop I couldn’t see anything.  I dumped the residual and scanned the pile getting the same tone.  This time I took less of a scoop and their was the tiny Size 3 White Gold Solitaire Diamond ring at the bottom of the scoop. “I might have your ring Jenna.”  Excited she quickly came over to where I stood and I said, “If you can describe the ring in my hand it’s yours.”  Startled and just getting it the day before she said it was silver colored and a single diamond.  Is this it?  As I showed it to her tears started streaming down her face and she said,  “I really didn’t think you were going to find it.”  It only took 30 minutes but to her it must have seemed like an eternity.  A bit more challenging for me but the Excalibur performed well in deep sand on such a tiny ring.  Aloha Jenna & Alex.

Lost Gold Ring at Natatorium War Memorial…FOUND!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

TeuilaFriday, December 19, 2014

As I was returning from Metal Detecting on Scuba I surfaced in about 10 feet of water and began snorkeling into the beach.  As I approached two young ladies I noticed that panicked look one gets when they lose something treasured.  I asked the first young lady if they lost something and she responded that her friend Teuila had just lost her Gold ring and she was stressing.  That’s when I raised my Excalibur from under water and said “Maybe I can help.  Where did she lose it?”  They showed me the general area and as I started the box search I asked, “Is this too far towards shore” and Teuila said, “Probably.” so I made a 90 degree turn and on the second sweep of my detector I had what could only be a Gold Ring tone.  I knelt down and stuck my head in the water and through my mask the sun was glinting off a pretty gold ring.  I stood up with ring in hand and yelled over to Teuila.  “I might have your ring.” Shocked it happened so quickly she came over to where I stood and I said, “If you can describe the ring in my hand it’s yours.”  She immediately described the ring and I reached out and dropped it into her hand.  Then without hesitation she gave me the biggest hug I’ve had in a long time.  A few cheers went up from the tourists in the water that realized I just found her ring.  She said, “What are the odds that you would be here exactly when I needed your talents?”  I pointed up and said “The Big Guy upstairs must of wanted you to have that ring. Glad I could help.”

Lost Gold Ring at Kaimana Beach…FOUND!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

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Wednesday, August 20, 2014:
I received a call at work from my wife Wendy this afternoon at around 1 PM. Apparently the message I left with the Lifeguard at Kaimana Beach Park paid off. Wendy told me that a lady named Lisa had called and left her number concerning a lost ring. So after my lunch break I gave Lisa a call and she said, “The Lifeguard at Kaimana Beach Park gave her my card and said I was the “Detector Guy” that found her daughters ring.” First of all I never show or tell the Lifeguard exactly what I’ve found only that it’s a “Ring” or “Bracelet” etc. I politely asked Lisa to describe the ring her daughter Talia lost and if I had it I would gladly return it to them. The ring in question was so unique it only took a few adjectives of description and I knew the owner would soon be reunited with their lost heirloom ring. The Queen Elizabeth crown ring had been in their family for over 25 years and Talia was heartbroken when she discovered it missing after going for a swim with her father and two brothers. She felt the ring come off and made an immediate dive underwater to retrieve it but as usual the sandy bottom consumed the ring on Tuesday, August 5th. After the swim out to the reef flag and back her father and brothers borrowed goggles from the Lifeguard in hopes of finding the heirloom ring in the shallow water where Talia remembered losing it. Unfortunately, after numerous attempts searching with the googles all hope was lost.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014:
This was a typical evening for me on a metal detecting stroll through Kaimana Beach in chest deep water. One of my favorite spots because the Hawaiian sunset is so spectacular from this beach. About an hour before sundown after finding a few clad coins I get a very loud yet growling tone on my Excalibur thinking to myself it’s another Corona bottle cap. But what in my scoop should appear the most unusual 14 karat gold ring that I’ve ever seen. I almost didn’t dig this ring as the crown shape made it sound like a growling bottle cap. A word to the wise “DIG EVERYTHING”. You’re either removing trash from the environment or uniting a family with a lost heirloom. Both are good deeds. I immediately went to the Lifeguard and asked if anyone had reported losing a ring. He said not today but thought the day before a family that frequents the beach regularly had lost a gold ring but he didn’t remember the details. Since he had my card if any reports were made or the next time he saw the gentleman he would give them my contact information. As many of you know timing is everything especially in this hobby. The story behind this ring is Lisa purchased it from a museum for her mother 25+ years ago on a trip to London England. When Talia was visiting with her grandmother her grandmother noticed Talia liked rings (as she was wearing many on her fingers) so she gave the Queen Elizabeth Crown to her. Talia cherished this ring and was devastated when she lost it. As the story goes and as brothers always do they told their mother she lost it while swimming. Lisa and I arranged to meet in front of Zale’s Jewelry store in Kahala Mall to return the ring to Talia. Mom didn’t tell her why they were going to the mall so as you can see in the photo Talia was surprised and extremely joyful to be reunited with her precious ring. They were so grateful to me and made me feel really good as well. That’s the most rewarding part of this hobby.

Lost Wedding Ring at Waikiki Beach…Found!!!

  • from O‘ahu (Hawaii, United States)

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Hot muggy day on Oahu when I received a panic phone call from Jodi who just lost her ring at Waikiki Beach.  She explained to me that she had just entered the water and reached up to adjust her ponytail when she felt her ring slip off into the water.  There was a little bit of surf not too bad so she tried feeling around for her ring with her bare feet.  The combination of sand and stones made it very difficult to feel anything let alone the ring, so after 10 hopeful minutes she gave up.  A tourist on the beach told her she saw a guy metal detecting the previous day with a shirt that said, “Ringfinder something or other”  Jodi quickly did a Google search on her phone and found the site and that’s where I come in.  She called my cellphone and I just happened to be a few blocks away and could be there in about 5 minutes.  Knowing the ring was just lost moments ago I asked Jodi a few simple questions then I walked into the water where Jodi said she had been standing when she lost her ring.  It wasn’t 30 seconds when I had a target on my Excalibur and with a nice gentle scoop there was her ring.  It was almost too easy.  I wish every search could be like this.  Then Jodi faded away?  The ring, place and situation is real unfortunately Jodi is not.  I’m sure this ring had some wonderful memories attached to it but they are now lost forever because the owner probably never heard of The Ring Finders.  We are here to help.  Aloha, Joe