Larry Royal, Author at The Ring Finders

47 days and Pismo Beach gives up lost Platinum ring

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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I woke up early today to a much needed rainy morning in Calif. As I forced myself out of bed my only thoughts were of the joy and good feelings that I knew were going to happen later in the day, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning it was over a month an a half ago 9/12/2015 when I received the following e-mail with a slightly blurry Web picture of a ring from a young man named Brad.

“Hello,
So today I was at Pismo Beach with my family and as I was playing with my son in the water my wedding ring came off. I just found this website and thought I would give it a shot. We entered the beach off Main Street and were about 75-100 yards to the right. I was in thigh high water and it was around 1pm when it happened. I added a picture of what my ring looks like. It’s platinum and has quite a bit of weight to it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Brad Hieb.”

I immediately sent Brad an e-mail asking if he had any more details i.e. how deep of water, any remembrance of landmarks in relationship to where he was? I had also downloaded a Google satellite map of north Pismo beach with an area I had marked out which I sent and asked if he could give me any closer idea as to where he was when he lost the ring? We had a few more e-mail conversations such as how tall he was as “thigh high” to one person could be much different on another since I am 6’5″ tall. Brad told me his wife took a tape measure and best they could tell the surf was about 28″ deep at the time he lost the ring. I looked up the tide tables for that day to get an idea where he might have been in the surf line and I soon realized he was probably a ways out in the surf and this might be a tough recovery, but hunt was on.

I had gotten the search area narrowed down to about the size of two football fields long located from the mid surf to the mean-high-water line of the mighty Pacific. I immediately started hunting at the first low tide the next day. During most of the month of Sept. and first part of Oct. there had been no real low minus tides and even though I went from wet sand to waist deep in the pounding surf, up and down the beach all month long I had no luck in finding the lost ring. I had even gone out several times at 3 & 4 AM for the only good low tides during those months trying to get the best shot at finding the lost treasure, but with no success.

Then on Tuesday 10/27/2015 around 6:30 PM after 47 days and about 40 to 50 hours spent searching for this one ring  during the ebb of a minus low tide at the far north end of the planned search area. the Excal ll with 10″ stock coil I was using got a hit in about 2 feet of water. My heart skipped a beat as I thrust my carbon graphite handled Stealth 720i scoop into the cold water about a foot down and lifted the heavy mass of wet sand rinsing it away as I pulled it from the water only to have the scoop come up empty. I waved the detector’s coil over the depression I had left under the water and the signal was still there.

I took another scoop, deeper this time standing on the scoop all 350 lbs. of me going a nearly two feet down. As I lifted the load and the sand was washing out the holes in the scoop I caught a glint of silver, I had a ring…a big beautiful silver colored ring and once I grasped it in my hand and felt its weight I knew it was Brad’s Platinum ring that I had been searching for. I could not wait to get back to my vehicle where my cell phone was to give Brad a call.

I dialed the number I had, Jenifer, Brad’s wife answered. I told her I had found the ring…I could hear her voice break with emotion. I assured her it was now safe and secure until she and Brad could come from Fresno to pick it up, to which she replied, “Next Monday they would be here” I also told her I would send Brad an e-mail with a picture of the ring which I did.

That brings us to today and like I was saying it was raining and cool, but at noon today in Pismo Beach it got all warm a fuzzy as Brad and his 22 gram Platinum ring were reunited and here are the pic to show the smiles on Brad and Jenifer’s faces along with their three sons Nathaniel, Liam and Hudson as the lost ring, a symbol of their commitment to one another was returned to its rightful place on Brad’s finger.

Knowing that all jewelry has a story and the very personal feelings that go with it I am proud to say I along with “The Ring Finders” which is how Brad found out about me and my services played a part in this very happy reunion.

As we parted ways I heard young Nathaniel, who had told me earlier he had a metal detector remark “I know what I want to do when I grow up” I gave him a thumbs up and with a smile on my face walked away wondering what future lost treasures that young man would find and whose faces would he put smiles on.

Brads_plat_ring Brad_Jen_11-2-15 Brad_Larry-11-2-15

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Hedge in Los Osos gives up wedding band.

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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I was checking my e-mail when a letter from a lady, Dawn-Marie in Los Osos Calif. a small community just south of Morro Bay caught my eye.  The e-mail started out with a question “Could I help her?” and went on to tell a tell of losing her husband’s white gold wedding ring in their driveway. Now I must admit curiosity got the best of me so I gave her a call to see what was going on and how could I be of help. It seems while getting out of the passenger side of their car, parked on a slanted concrete driveway and while holding her husband’s wedding ring at the same time had the ring fly out of her hand, it bounced on the concrete and then disappeared. Both she and her husband heard it hit the concrete, but never seen where it went. After looking in, under and around the very thick hedge next to the driveway and searching all the surrounding area for a day with no success Dawn-Marie found my Ring Finders ad on Crag’s List and sent me an e-mail. I was not able to go look for the lost ring right then due to prior commitments, but would come out the next day and see if I could find the ring.

I made the 25 mile trip as the day was getting abnormally hot for a fall day on the Central Coast and knew I needed to find the ring fast or I was going to over heat.  Being a coastal boy any time it gets over 80 deg. I’m ready to go find some shade at the beach, sip ice tea and watch the ladies sunbath on the sand & enjoy the surf.

Once I got to the slanted driveway and seen the thick hedge next to it I figured out my Tesoro with the Clean Sweep coil would be best to get in and around the thick bushes. After an initial sweep of the easy stuff and finding a few pennies and bottle caps I started working into the hedge and the thought the ring could have bounced and landed in the hedge and stuck never making it back to the ground. I began shaking the hedge and rechecking the slanted 20′ x 6′ area which was the only place the ring could have gone as the rest of the area was concrete or asphalt. I went back to the bottom of the slope and in a few sweeps of the coil I had a strong hit next to the border bricks and about 3″ of leaves, carefully reaching in I had recovered the lost ring.

Dawn-Maries face broke into a smile as I asked her “Is this the ring?” Score another one for “The Ring Finders”.

Dawn Dawn-Marie_ring

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Shell Beach gives up a 3ct ring after 19 days

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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The day started out slow with no good finds on the beach in Pismo… so it was a late lunch with plans to go fishing for a little dinner off the pier when my phone rang it was Rudy wanting to know if I could help him and his wife who had been exploring the tide pools and rocks in Shell Beach north of Pismo Beach the day before when his wife Rosa lost her 3ct custom made wedding ring. It all started when Rosa had dropped her cell phone in about 6″ of water right at the edge of the surf  while jumping off the rocks unto the sandy beach. Rosa began frantically searching for the cell phone in the surf of the incoming tide and as she was feeling around in the soupy sand, seaweed and water mix she saw her 3ct diamond ring slide off her finger. Rosa found the cell phone about 6″ under the sand and seaweed mix, but the ring was nowhere to be seen. She called to her family and friends to help look and sift through the sand all the while the tide was rising.

I told Rudy I would meet them at the location which happened to be about the same time of day the ring was lost, now this area of Shell Beach is shear 100’+ cliffs with cascading steps leading down to the rock strewn beach, locally know as 1,000 steps beach. I got to the area where Rosa had jumped off the rocks and started my search. The tide was coming in and I knew I did not have much time to search before the waves and water depth would be to much for me to handle. I was in water up to my neck with about a foot of dead seaweed setting on the bottom, after about an hour with no targets of interest I felt it was getting unsafe to even be there as the waves were hitting the rocks with the rising tide. I told Rosa not to lose faith and that I would come back at a lower tide and continue to look for the ring.

I had been keeping an eye on the area nearly everyday, but the tides had not been low enough to proceed any farther out than I had been, then on 9/29/15 we had a minus low tide in the evening and I planned to try again for the ring. I began my search right where I left off 19 days before and in less than 5 min about 10′ farther out under the ledge of a large rock formation I got that sound that is so sweet to a detectorist ear, I knew it was the ring I just had to get my scoop in there to dig it out, after two scoops I had it. I won and the ocean gave up another treasure.

Once I got home I called Rosa and let here know the ring was recovered, all I heard was screaming and sounds of joy on the other end of the phone as she was telling others I had found it. We made plans to meet the next day as she and Rudy drove the 150 miles over to the coast from their home in the Central Valley town of Visalia to get the ring. All of this would have not been possible with out “The Ring Finders” web site.

Oh, on a side note a local Fresno ABC TV station got word and did a news piece on the recovery here is a link to the show http://abc30.com/news/visalia-womans-lost-wedding-ring-found-by-larry-the-ring-finder/1010970/

Rosa_3ct_9-29-15 Rosa-Rudy Rudy-rosa-larry

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Pismo Beach gives up another lost treasure

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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The sun had just come up and I was in the back yard watering the plants with a cup of joe in my hand when the phone rang, it was a lady asking for help for a friend who had lost her diamond wedding ring the afternoon before in the surf at Pismo Beach. I asked for the details…Lindsay, the lady who had lost the ring had been setting in a few inches of water at the edge of the surf when an incoming wave just sucked the ring right off her finger, she saw it come off, but was not fast enough and the surf and sand buried the ring before she could even move. Reality set in as Lindsay frantically searched for the ring, it was gone and she thought she would never see it again.

Bright and early the next day Lindsay and family went back to the beach with a metal detector they had bought at Big-5, but not knowing how to use it and the fact it was not capable to operate in the surf they had just about given up hope when a local detectorist wandered by with an offer to help, but when he realized it was in wet sand and incoming surf he could not help either as he was not set up to work in the water, he suggested they contact me through “The Ring Finders” knowing of my capabilities to hunt in and out of the salt water.

I arrived at the location as fast as I could knowing there is only a small window to search with an incoming tide threating to cover the area which was exposed right then. I had told Lindsay to mark out an area on the beach giving me an approximation of where she had been setting so when I arrived I could start searching immediately. After two passes on the start of my search grid with waves hitting me knee high I had that tone in my headphones telling me I had a target that sounded right. I made one deep dig and after washing out the sand heard the rattle in my SS scoop that told me I had something good. I walked up to the dry sand where Lindsay and family were watching from and told her to look in the scoop…..she reached in and brought out the lost ring and then started to cry, she was sure the ring was gone and almost had called me, telling me not to come since it was lost in the surf and probably would not be found.

Lindsay got her ring back, I got the satisfaction of beating Pismo Beach out of another one and we all had a good day after that!

Lindsay_9-20-15 Lindsay_Pismo_ring-9-20-15

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It took a month, but lost wedding ring in Pismo Beach is home.

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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Around Aug 15 2015 I received an e-mail through “The Ring Finders” from a young man named Matt asking if I posted any of the rings I find?  I replied that I don’t due to the large amount of scamming replies I have received when I did list some of the found treasures on “Craig’s list”. I did let Matt know that if he could give me a brief description of what was lost and a general area where lost I would take a look for it. Matt lived 150 miles away and could not take me to the area where he thought he had lost the ring, but he did send me back a pic from Google Earth with marks showing the area of the beach he had been playing catch with a football on near the high tide line. This photo was instrumental in helping me find the ring which turned out was in that area, but due to the tides and wave action had sunk almost 13″ deep in the surf.

I spent over 40 hs. over the course of the next three weeks looking for the 14kt white gold wedding band, I along with a few other local detectorist I had let know about it were looking hard for the lost treasure. The good low tides were happening in the early morning and as usual I was following the tides, so at 3 AM with a nice buttery smooth sound in my headphones I got a smile on my face and the cold of the surf and fog that surrounded me were quickly forgotten, only getting a good scoop of sand between the waves was on my mind. I like to operate with a “one shot, one kill” attitude when raging cold surf is hitting me and the dark of the unknown is surrounding me.

I did it “one shot, one kill” I had the target in my scoop and walked out of the waist deep surf thinking, “this just might be the ring I had been looking for”.  I knew I was just on the edge of the targeted area…more in the water than I thought it might be, but as an avid long time beach hunter I know how much things move in the ever changing sand & surf. Once I had a light on it I knew right away it was the ring that Matt had lost. After returning home and cleaning up the night finds I sent an e-mail to Matt with pic asking if this was his ring since it did match all the descriptions he had given me right down to the proper size. In a mater of minutes I received a phone call from Matt just astonished that I had found his wedding ring, he thought it was lost forever, he then went on to tell me how he and some others had looked for the ring along with a detectorist that day it was lost to no avail.

Matt had also just received some more good news from his wife, he was going to be a father again for the second time so his 4 yr. old son was going to have a playmate. To top that all off it was him and his wife’s 9th wedding anniversary that week so with me letting him know his wedding ring was found a new baby on the way…. it was a good week for sure.

I met Matt yesterday afternoon and returned his ring and got that big smile of happiness pic that comes from getting back a lost treasure with so much meaning behind it.

Matt-2 ring-shell-Matt

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Morro Bay and a recovered treasure

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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The sun was up and it was time to head back to the beach wagon, it had been a fine morning on Pismo Beach with one good mood ring and a 7.5 gram 14kt white gold mill grade men’s band I snagged in the surf. As I was getting out of my wet gear the cell went off to let me know there was a message. Upon listing to the message I called Mark who had left it and ask how I could help.

He proceeded to tell me that the day before that he and his family had been on the Morro Bay Strand and he had lost his custom made wedding ring. Apparently he had taken it off and stuck it in his pocket to keep it from getting sandy as he and the kids built sand castles, it was also the same pocket he had his cell phone in. Yea, you can see where this is going…he had pulled the phone out to take pic of the activities not realizing the ring had popped out of his pocket, it was only when they had gotten back to the car that he found that the ring was not in his pocket.

He was determined to find the ring, so when he got back to the vacation rental house the family had for the week he got on line to see where he could rent or buy a detector and found “The Ring Finders” which lead him to me and the call I received the next morning.

I told Mark it was a 50 mile round trip for me and a little gas money would be needed, but that I would do everything I could to recover the ring which as it turned out was a beautiful, one of a kind, mans gold ring with three rather large triangular shaped diamonds. He agreed to spring for some gas and would meet me at the parking lot in about hour and a half.

Once we got together I had him walk the 1/4 mile through the dunes to the water’s edge at the beach with me swinging the coil behind him. Once we got to the shore line I asked him show me where they had build sand castles, then I told him to mark out an area that he felt would cover all the area he had moved around in while there the afternoon before. I thought this was going to be a big search area, but to my surprise he had only been in one area and played in the sand in that one area probably 100′ by 100′, I started searching.

After about 2 min his farther in law who had been there with them the day before came up to me and pointed out exactly where they had placed their beach chairs, the sand was still disturbed there he also pointed out real close to where the sand castle was built at the water edge in front of where the beach chairs had been. The tide had been in & out since then so there was no evidence of where they had been built, only his recollection. I did an adjustment of my search pattern and in less than five min right at the edge of the surf in wet sand I got that tell tail sound as smooth as butter on my Ecal ll that let me know it was something good…yep it was the ring.

The whole family could not believe I had found it until they all had a good look at it and Mark had the biggest smile of them all. Walking in and out of the 1/4 of a mile of soft sand along with finding the ring at the surf’s edge took a total of 45 min “The Ring Finders” one, the beach zero!

Mark_8-13-15_Morro-BayMarks_ring_MB_8-13-15morro_bay_ring_8-13-15mark

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Another recovery in Avila Beach Calif.

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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The night had been warm and muggy so unable to sleep any longer at 4 am I decided to hit Pismo beach for some early morning hunting and to just get out of the house. Around 8 am and no great finds just the usual clad and crown tops I knew I needed a cup of joe and some grub if I was going to make the rest of the morning. I was putting the gear away in the back of my beach wagon, a 91 Isuzu trooper when the cell phone went off telling me there was a message, I don’t carry the phone on the beach. There was a message from a lady named Stephanie who told me she had lost a ring the day before while on the beach in Avila about 6 miles north/west of Pismo and if I could help her please call.

I dialed the number and a pleasant voice came on, it was Stephanie, she told me the ring was gift from a late aunt and had more sentimental value than anything, I asked how she had lost it.  She had taken the ring off and set it in the cup holder built into the beach chair then when leaving the beach folded up the chair not remembering the ring and proceeded to her car, about half way there it struck her that she had not put the ring back on and started feverishly backtracking her steps and looking for the ring. After a few hrs with no success she gave up for the day and intended to come back the next day, it was while at home and doing a search on the web she found “The Ring Finders” and me. I told her that I would meet her at the beach after I had a little breakfast and could she tell me the general area that she had been in so I could check things out if I got there before her.

After Coffee and some filling biscuits & gravy  I headed out to Avila Beach to see what I could find. I was there about 1/2 hr. before Stephanie and had found some clad and quite a few crown tops, but no ring and would have never found it if I had not look down the beach to see someone going between the sunbathers with a cheep beep-beep machine as if looking for something, not even close to where I thought Stephanie had told me she had lost the ring. I wandered down the beach and it was Stephanie and her husband with a barrowed detector trying to figure it out.  They showed me the area that they had been in and as I looked around I thought this might be a tough hunt as there was quite a few sunbathers already covering that area of the beach, but I just worked my way between them and in less than 5 min I had a hit that I knew was it, but told her it was just aluminum keeping her in suspense then as I handed the ring to Stephanie I could see the look of relief on her face as she got a smile from ear to ear. Yep that was the wayward ring and it was now home.

Score another one for The Ring Finders.

8-10-15-Avilastephy-avila

 

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Diamond ring found on Pismo Beach 5th of July

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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July 4, 2015 three in the afternoon, I was getting ready to start the Bar-BQ and had the fireworks on display so all the neighborhood kids could see what was going to happen at dark. We throw a  4th July party in our cul-de-sac, it has become a very big party and yearly tradition, this was no exception.

The phone rang and a soft hesitant voice asked, “Is this the ring finder?” to which I replied “yes, how may I help you?” Then it all came out, her name was Trisha and she with her family had been on the beach south of the Pismo Beach pier where she had lost her wedding ring. She had looked for it in vain, even took pictures of the area’s land marks with her cell phone so they could come back and search if they did not fine it that afternoon. When Trisha informed her father-in-law of her loss a light went off…he had remembered seeing my Isuzu trooper that I advertize “The Ring Finders” on while at the beach and gave her my number, that is how she found me and my services.

I explained to her there was no way I could go right then due to the 4th of July block party I was in charge of and on top of that Pismo Beach would be imposable to get on to that afternoon due to the big fireworks show Pismo shoots off the pier every 4th of July evening. There were traffic jams for miles in every direction on all the roads into and out of Pismo Beach, plus there would be no place to even park even if I could get there.  I try and stay away until the 5th then I hunt the beach for the lost treasures.

Trisha told me the general area where she thought the 1.3 ct diamond ring was lost and I knew there would be no one in that particular area hunting during the night. The 4th of July is a big deal for many of the local detectors who come out on that night and hunt around the pier area where the most people are located during the show. Pismo Beach has anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 people show up for their great fireworks show. Since Trisha had lost her ring more than a mile from the area of the most people I felt it would be safe for the night and that I would meet her and her husband Nate at 6 am the next morning to see if I could locate the lost ring.

It was a cool, wet, foggy morning as I pulled up to the arranged meeting area and donned my hunting gear, Trisha and Nate showed up right on time and after explaining how I work we set out. Walking down the stairs off the wooden boardwalk and on to the dry sand of the beach, Nate told me they had walked a few hundred yards up the beach north of the lifeguard station in the dry sand, then put up a sun shade for the day. Trisha explained she had not gone into the water and basically just walked to the area then back with one trip on the wet sand to the surf  in a straight line, but did not get her hands wet and had not been doing any strenuous activities like Frisbee that afternoon.  By mid afternoon they decide to leave the beach, it was when they had gotten back their car that Trisha discovered her wedding ring was missing, she immediately retraced her steps from the parking lot to the board walk to no avail, then back to the beach to search the area where they had been, taking pictures for later reference.

I started the search at the stairs while having them walk the same rout they had traveled to the area where they had been, I walked behind them, all the while searching. Once we matched up the picture to the exact area I had Nate mark out the perimeter of general area that they had been in, then I drew out a 3X larger area and started my grid search. About 15 minutes later I was seven steps from the center of the area Nate had marked and had a hit that screamed in my headphones, I knew that had to be it and yep a 1.3 round diamond solitaire in a fat platinum setting was sparkling in the bottom of my scoop. I yelled at Trisha with a smile on my face and while holding it up asked her if this was her ring….all she could do was cry and smile while shaking her head yes, I think Nate might have gotten a few grains of sand in his eyes too.

Chalk up another one for the “The Ring Finders”

1.3 ct. diamond Platinum setting recovered on Pismo Beach

1.3 ct. diamond Platinum setting recovered on Pismo Beach

Trisha & Nate

Trisha & Nate

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Lost Ring Pismo Beach Calif.

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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Mark another one up for “The Ring Finders” I had just got in from a rough day at the doctors, you know the kind where they poke, prod and dispense advice you don’t want to hear, I had stopped at the store for a few groceries on the way home, as I was hauling them into the house the phone rang. A young sounding voice asked if I was the guy on “The Ring Finders” from Pismo Beach? ” Yes, what can I do for you?” I answered. He told me he had just got married one day ago and they were on their honeymoon, and while playing in the dry sand he had lost his wedding ring on Pismo Beach about 3 hours earlier.

He rented a cheap metal detector locally, but did not know how to operate it and soon discovered it would not even beep when going over his wife’s wedding ring so he took it back. Dejected, he and his wife went back to their motel room. While wondering what to do he got on line and asked “How to find a lost ring” and “The Ring Finders” came up, clicking on the links he found and called me wanting to know if I could find his lost wedding ring. I got the details and arranged to meet him in 20 minutes at Pismo Beach. Once we were at the area where he was sure the ring was lost I asked him to draw a big circle that he was sure the ring was in, “don’t go little make it bigger than you think it should be” I told him and he did, about 30′ across. Once I started my pattern and had covered half the circle I had a hunch and went out side the circle and after one lap and about 3′ outside the circle I found his ring. Total hunt time a little over 15 minutes and the look on him and his new brides face was priceless when I handed back the ring

Pismo Beach 5-5-15Pismo 5-5-15.

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Lost Diamond Engagement Ring Avila Beach, California.

  • from Pismo Beach (California, United States)
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Jenifers lost ring 4-22-15

The Ring Finders and a Royal Success

 

I recently got a call from a distressed young lady who lost a 1-carat diamond ring set in Platinum on Avila beach about three miles from Pismo Beach on 4/26/15. The lady, Jennifer had been crying since the loss, Jennifer had taken the ring off to put on some suntan lotion and forgot to put the ring back on after setting it on the blanket. The afternoon winds came up so she hurriedly shook the blanket and headed to the parking lot, upon arriving at her car she realized the ring was not on her finger. She raced back to the area, but to no avail, the ring was not found. Jennifer then went home to tell her husband the sad news, her husband was livid and then stopped speaking to her(He had paid $7500 for the ring).

Through a round about way a former “The Ring Finders” member, now disabled and unable to metal detect suggested Jennifer contact me. The next day I met the Jennifer on Avila Beach at an agreed to time and walked to the area where she said she had been resting in the sand. I knew the direction prevailing winds on Avila beach blow and which side one would stand shake a blaket, so with a little logic within 45 seconds and ten steps, I got a nice hit and pulled up the ring in my basket, Jennifer was elated and started crying. I think I might have got a few grains of sand in my eyes at the same time. With a tears of joy running down her face and a big hug she forced a $100 bill into my shirt pocket in thanks (for saving her happy home).

If it had not been for “The Ring Finders” Jennifer might have never gotten her precious ring back. I joined “The Ring Finders” the very next day.

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