Mark Rubey, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 15 of 20

Wedding ring lost at Coronado Found!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Chase called me asking for help recovering his wedding ring lost in the surf at Coronado. He was out boogie boarding the day before when a wave stripped the ring off his finger in knee deep water. He saw someone on the beach with a detector and asked for help, but, the guy didn’t have a water machine, so, couldn’t help Chase. The guy (Chase didn’t get his name) recommended that Chase give me a call. Thank you, whoever you are! Low tide was just 1  1/2 hours away, so, we made arrangements to meet there ASAP. I met Chase and his wife on the beach at the location of the loss. Oh, did I mention that they had only been married a few days and that they were here on their honeymoon?! This ring just had to be found! I started a grid at ground zero and expanded out from there in all directions. After an hour and only 5 pennies to show, I started at one end of the probable search zone and headed back over the area I already searched doing a slightly different grid pattern. Another half hour into it, I got a real weak target sound in my Excalibur’s headphones on the slope in the wet sand. I figured it was just another penny but didn’t want to leave anything in doubt since I was searching in all metal. I dug down 14″ and the target was still in the hole! Using my Vibraprobe 580 pin pointer, I located the target right in the bottom and grabbed a handful of sand. Well, out popped his gold ring! It really surprised me that it had sunk that deep in less than 18 hours. A very happy couple to have that ring back in time for their flight back home today. A pleasure to meet you both, congratulations on your marriage, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost at La Jolla Shores Found.

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Fernando, was at the beach with his family. They had the umbrella set up, the blanket down, and he was playing in the sand with his children, when, he decided to brush the sand off his hands. Well, you know what happened next! The ring brushed off as well and went into the sand. Even though it was a tiny search area, they couldn’t find it by sifting through the sand with their fingers. They went to the internet and Google where they found Stan Ross, our fellow member and personal friend who was up in Orange county at the time and was at least 2 hours away. He suggested that they call me. I had just returned from another successful ring search down south and was ready for another adventure. The adventure was finding parking at La Jolla Shores on a hot, sunny afternoon! 20 minutes looking for a spot and a 10 minute walk later, I was at their blanket meeting the family and hearing the story. 10 seconds after firing up the E-trac, and 3 seconds of using the Uniprobe pin pointer, Fernando had his platinum wedding ring back. Now it was my turn to make somebody happy by leaving and opening up another parking spot! Nice to meet you all and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost in the surf at Imperial Beach FOUND!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

While scanning the local Craig’s List lost and found, I see an ad asking if anyone had found this particular ring in Imperial Beach, and if so, to contact Cat. I emailed back that if she would like someone to search for it, to give TheRingFinders.com a try. I offered my services and agreed to meet her father Bob down at the location early the next morning to take advantage of the low tide, as Cat lived in Las Vegas and had already returned home. It had been lost a few days earlier, at low tide, and in 4 feet of water. (figures huh?) I had my doubts that it could be found this particular morning because the tide was actually a bit higher than when she lost it, but, I wanted to see the search area and give it a try anyway. The sooner you search, the better the odds of a successful recovery. I figured I would probably have to plan a return trip at a huge minus tide to get out far enough to be in the search area but that wasn’t going to happen in the near future. This was going to be the lowest tide until the end of the month, so, it was now or wait.

Bob gave me directions to where he thought Cat lost the ring and I started a grid with my Excalibur just north of that point and worked my way south to where the rest of the family had camped in the dry sand. I made about six 100 foot passes from slope to chest deep in the surf when I got a strong signal at my deepest point before heading back toward shore. The 3-4 foot surf was roughing me up a bit and making it hard to scoop, but, after my 3rd try, the target was in my scoop. After sifting out the sand, A unique looking ring, that matched their description, was in my hand. I couldn’t believe it! I guess it was either lost in shallower water than she thought, or, the surf may have moved it in a bit before being buried. A call back to Bob, who lived close by, and he was there in a flash. We texted and called Cat with photos which made her day. Another satisfying recovery in less than ideal conditions. Great to meet you Bob and to talk to you Cat. May your ring have more stories to tell!

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Ring Lost at Fiesta Island Found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Christen called me with the typical tale of woe. Her husband, of a little over a month, had removed his ring to apply skin lotion and placed the ring in the beach chair pocket for safekeeping. They prepare to leave, chair gets folded up, ring ends up in sand. Since they didn’t notice it missing until they got home, the trick was figuring out just exactly where it was lost. After searching and retracing their steps as best they could, they went to the internet for help. Maybe rent a detector? Wait a minute, spend $60 to rent one and I still need to learn how to use it? Let’s go to plan B, getting someone with experience who has better equipment than the average rental detector. This is where I came in. I met Christen at the parking area and walked with her over to where they had been camped the previous day. She remembered being between two landmarks, so, that’s where I started my search. After my gridding the area for a little while, and finding lots of pull tabs, I was right about midway between the two landmarks. Good signal, scooped and found the ring. Good job getting me in the correct spot! Let the ring story continue! It was a pleasure to meet you and thank you for the reward.

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Wedding ring Found in Ocean Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

David and his wife were working in a community garden and after the planting was done, David realized his wedding ring was gone! What to do? The internet comes to the rescue. They found me through my Craig’s list ad and called me for help. Once I got to the search area, I realized I was going to have to use the small coil and turn down the sensitivity as there was a lot of mesh metal fencing all over the garden. We were able to move some of them but some were permanent, so, I’d just have to make do. Working backward from when he discovered the ring missing to when he started, I started my search with my trusty E-trac. After about 10-15 minutes, I got a nice 12-17 next to one of the freshly installed plants. About 2 inches down was his ring. Since his wife had a matching one, we were able to confirm it was his and return him to the world of married men again! Pleasure to meet you both and thank you for the reward.

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Lost ring at Coronado dog beach Found!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

I ran across a Craig’s list ad in the lost and found section that told of a lost wedding ring at the dog beach in Coronado. I emailed Lisa back about TheRingFinders.com service and that I would be willing to look for it if they wished me to. A series of e-mails later, arrangements were made to meet at the beach at a low tide on Saturday morning. That beach gets detected almost daily, so. I just hoped the ring was still there, especially with an active Craig’s list ad.

I arrived early to beat the traffic and find a parking spot easier. I started detecting the beach but I didn’t know the search area yet, so, I just made my best guess on the most popular area. After detecting for a while and finding some targets (a good sign), Lisa’s husband, Olivier, and their son showed up to direct me to where they had been several days earlier when the ring was lost…the other end of the beach, of course! Olivier and son had been playing ball at the water’s edge when Olivier’s ring flew off. I had them give me the dimensions of the search area which ended up being about 80′ squared of wet and dry sand. I started at the middle of one edge of the square and proceeded to cut the square in half and work my way toward the edges. 10′ into my first pass, I had my first target, his ring, and it was in my scoop! They couldn’t believe it and thought I must be some kind of magician! A happy Olivier had his ring back so it can continue it’s story. Thank you for the reward.

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Lost engagement ring Found at La Jolla Shores

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Shortly after returning home from metal detecting for fun all morning with some of my fellow Ring Finders, I received a call from Mariana who had lost her engagement ring in the dry sand at La Jolla Shores. I told her I would meet her there in a half hour or so. I then put my cold drink back in the fridge, gathered my gear, and headed back out for what I hoped would be an easy return. As it turned out, that’s exactly what it was. Mariana had taken her ring off before going into the ocean, but, her hands were slippery with lotion, and the ring fell into the sand.  She showed me the area where she was standing when this happened and after maybe 10 seconds, I got a weak low tone in my E-trac that has said “small gold” in the past. I poked my Uniprobe down about 4-5 inches and found the ring. Mariana and her fiance’ were very happy as they are to be wed the first of August. On the way out, I stopped by the lifeguard stand and thanked them for the referral, then headed back home for that long awaited cold drink! I’m glad I could be a small chapter in this ring’s story and help it continue it’s journey into a full novel. My pleasure meeting you, thank you for the reward, and best wishes for your future together.

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Lost rings at La Jolla Shores Found!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Andrea removed her rings and placed them in a sweater pocket while at a picnic with her friends. Since it was too hot a day to actually wear the sweater, she had it tied around her waist. When she was told about some crabs coming ashore, she sprinted down to the waters edge to see them. This entailed running across a short section of grassy park, scaling a sea wall, and then 100 yards or so of sand. After a while, she returned to the picnic table in the park. A 1/2 hour later, she discovered that her rings were gone out of her pocket. She remembered that the sweater was falling off as she ran but didn’t think to check the pocket until now. So, it could be in the grass or short bushes in the park, by the sea wall, in the dry sand, or at the waters edge. The park has real short grass, so, if lost there, it was probably spotted and picked up by someone. Same with the park side of the sea wall as it’s a paved walkway. I decided to hunt the football field size area of dry sand first. After about 45 minutes to an hour of gridding, starting from the sea wall and heading to the wet sand, I got a nice strong and shallow signal about 3/4 of the way to the water that resulted in both rings in one scoop. A stunned and happy Andrea had her rings back as a roar of cheers came from her church group when they heard the good news. Now she could go back and enjoy the party! Pleasure to meet you folks and thank you for the reward.

 

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Ring lost at Coronado Beach Found!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

I’ve had a few recoveries that only took seconds to locate the lost ring. This is not one of those times! Sara called me and asked for help finding  a gold ring lost in the surf at Coronado. She had gone out in the water and when a wave hit her, the ring slid off her finger into the calf deep water. She had inherited this ring from her great aunt Mildred, who had passed away in 2009 at the age of 97, and was just sick about the thought of losing this family heirloom.

I met her at the beach that very evening to try to make a quick recovery before the surf, sand, or another detectorist had their way with it. Unfortunately, the tide was in at that point and the surf rather rough. I went out as far as I could but could see that it would be best to try at a low tide (which was about when she had lost it). I made some mental notes as to the location and paced off my steps from known landmarks so I could return to the spot the next day. Good thing, as the weather during the next afternoon low was very windy with blowing sand, which obliterated any sign of where they had camped the previous day. Went out in the same area but in deeper water. Still no luck. Came back twice more in next few days at an even lower tide during the early AM but still couldn’t find it even after expanding the search area. I called Sara, who had been visiting and had flown back home, and told her that I would still keep it on my list and would be back out in a couple of weeks at a real low minus tide and try again.

Fast forward to that day at 3am. It was a day after a storm, so, typical of our south bay beaches, the water was polluted with bacteria from rain run-off and the beach was posted not to swim in the water. Figures, the one day I get a real low tide and I’m limited as to what I can do. I rehunted the same area and went out as far as I could go without going out past ankle deep. I followed the waves in and out trying to hit the area farthest out that I hadn’t been able to search before. 4:15, dead low tide and I get a nice sound on my Excalibur right at the water’s edge, but, just then, a wave is coming in and I couldn’t get a scoop of sand before I had to retreat. I counted my steps toward the beach so I could return to the same spot. Took 40 steps both ways 5 times before I finally got the signal in my scoop. Yes! I was never happier to get a ring in my scoop than this one. So, after 18 days, 5 trips to search that area, and less than ideal conditions, it was finally found.

I texted Sara the good news and the next day met with her local friend Bonnie who was going to return it to Sara. I’m sure her great aunt Mildred helped guide me on this one! Here’s the ring, a happy Sara, and a photo of Mildred taken at about the same age as Sara is today. It was a pleasure to meet Sara and her friends and thank you for the reward. Can I have an easy ring find now? 🙂

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Two rings lost at Coronado Beach Found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Christie took off her two rings and put them in a zippered pouch in her beach chair for safe keeping. Her 4 year old daughter must not have thought that was a good enough place to store them, so, she transferred the rings without telling her mother, to another pouch that didn’t zipper shut. Time to leave and in moving the chairs, the ring disappeared into the sand…..somewhere. After finger shifting for quite some time, they gave up and left. I get the call later and arranged to meet Christie’s husband Matt down at the beach so he can show me the area where they were sitting. Naturally, the area looks a bit different when you return at a later date, so, the search area suddenly got a bit bigger. After searching the first area with no success, I moved a bit northwest up the beach, tried again, and found both of them within a few seconds of each other with my trusty E-trac. I was pleased to find them before someone else did at that busy beach. Matt was a happy man and sent me the photo of a happy Christie.

 

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