Joe’s buddies were throwing him a bachelor party here in San Diego. Got the beach house, check, got the beer, check, took an Uber to get the Cardiff Crack (a special Tri Tip roast beef sold up the coast a ways), check, hitting the beach and throwing the football around in the water, check. What they forgot was that you should leave jewelry at home and not take them to the beach…..especially out in the ocean. He’s from Arizona, and just started wearing this ring, so, a common rookie mistake :-). The cold water combined with slippery conditions allowed his ring to just fall right off in the waist deep surf. An online search and The Ring Finders popped up with my contact info. I get the call just a hair after high tide, so, we made arrangements to meet a good 5 hours later when the tide would be a lot further out. Makes the search much easier to contend with when you can avoid most of the surf, current, and undertow. I arrive around 8:30 pm and meet Joe at the location. Earlier I had him take some reference points and pace off how far he had been out in the water. These were important details that help narrow the search area and increase the likelihood of success. I started gridding and getting no targets at all…..as in mind-numbingly quiet. After about 4-5 passes, I get a solid 11 and scoop a bottle cap. Rats….even though I figured it wasn’t going to be his size 14 tungsten carbide ring, I was at least hoping for something good. 2 more passes and I get a screaming 20 on my Equinox. Now, that’s more like it! Sure enough, Joe’s ring was in the scoop. He and his buddies were totally amazed and thrilled that Joe’s ring was recovered. Let the bachelor party begin! It will be a lot more pleasant trip home to AZ too, since I just realized that the ring is inscribed with “til death”, which might have been the consequences coming back home without the ring! Pleasure to meet you Joe, and the bachelor party gang, and thank you for the reward.
I have detected with Mark and I know how much effort he puts into finding jewelry of sentimental value. He will go out several times including the middle of the night to find a lost item. He is an experienced detectorist and his success rate of finding sentimental items is off the charts. I love reading these success stories! Congrats my friend on another great rescue!