Joe Au-Franz, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 9 of 36

This Ring Find began when I noticed a missed call on my phone from Conor.  When I returned the called Conor told me he was on his Honeymoon from Portland, Oregon and had just lost his 24k Gold Wedding Band in shallow water at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki.  He said he had about a 10 foot radius to search.  I told Conor I’d grab my gear and be there in about 15 minutes if he could meet me at the Kapahulu Pier.  After arriving on the beach Conor’s lovely wife Yumeng joined us and was the depth marker on the seawall while Conor came in the water with me to show me where he thought the ring would be.  I started a grid search slightly East of Conor’s mark just to be sure.  Thankfully this area is so heavily detected the hunt was silent then suddenly a booming hit on the Nox and on the second scoop there was the 24K Gold ring in the scoop.  2 for 2 today and Yumeng and Conor were so gracious I was able to find his ring.  Aloha to Conor & Yumeng!

This Ring Find began at 5AM this morning when I got a text from Bob who was on vacation from Mayville, Wisconsin.  Bob texted “Lost an Engagement Ring at the Hawaiian Princess in Waianae.  Believe it is lost in the sand in a specific area or path.  I texted, I need a few more details and to call when you are free.  Bob immediately called and was able to text me a photo of the area when the sun came up.  My schedule eased up and I was able to head out during my lunch break.  Bob and his lovely wife Michele met me at the Hotel and escorted me to the beach area.  I started the hunt at the beginning of the path to the area they sat on the beach.  Once there I did a complete grid search with no luck finding the ring.  I could see Michele was starting to get that look of hopelessness when I said we aren’t done yet lets expand out on each side of the sand path as to that point I had only found one Lincoln cent.  I took a few more steps on the East side of the path and got a booming #10 on the Nox.  I took one scoop and there was Michele’s gorgeous ring in the scoop.  I told her, “Got it!”  As she came over to look in the scoop as soon as her ring came into view she burst into tears.  Elapsed hunt time was maybe 10 minutes but it probably seemed like an eternity to her.  Michele said, “You saved our vacation!” Look at those smiles.  Aloha to Michele & Bob!

This ring find began when I got a voicemail from Raquel who was on vacation from Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Bill.  While sitting in shallow water at Shorebird Beach Waikiki her White Gold & Diamonds Engagement ring fell off and disappeared in the shore break sand.  They and several others hunted with mask & snorkel for over two hours and couldn’t find the ring.  Raquel “Googled” water metal detecting services and that’s how she found my number.  My work day was nearly over so I called her and said I’d have my wife drop me off at the nearby Army Museum and hunt for her ring.  Thankfully traffic was still light and I was able to get there in about 30 minutes after picking up my detecting gear.  When I arrived Bill & Raquel showed me the area of concern and Bill even stood in the water as a marker so I could keep position as I hunted around beachgoers as the tide and surf was coming up too.  I went out to the deep side of the grid and searched toward shore.  There were a few targets but not the ring.  Raquel assured me she was in very shallow water so I guessed the ring could have been pushed up the shoreline by a swell.  Sure enough as I started gridding the wet sand I got a loud #9 on the Nox and in one scoop I had the target.  Anyone that has hunted this beach knows how coarse and lumpy the sand is so I dumped my scoop in the higher up wet sand and as I glanced down there was Raquel’s stunning ring glistening in the sand.  I bent down picked it up and exclaimed,  “Got it”!  Raquel was so relieved I could see a few tears welling up in her eyes.  We hugged as I handed her back her ring.  Oh the joy of a recovery!  Aloha to Raquel & Bill!