Mark Rubey, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 8 of 20

Broken bracelet link lost at La Jolla Cove found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Martin was snorkeling in the water right off La Jolla Cove and when came ashore, he pulled off his wet suit. In doing so, his bracelet broke and pieces sprung off into the sand and shallow water. He managed to find most of it, but, the end couple of links were still missing and he couldn’t find them. In talking with a few people on the beach, he met Bill, who is a regular there. Bill told Martin to contact the local metal detecting club, The San Diego Coinshooters, for help. He emailed Mike,  who’s in charge of our club website. Mike then contacted me to see if I’d be interested in helping him. I contacted Martin right away to get the story and location. Since Martin lived out of town and had already returned home, we had to do this all by photos and descriptions. The site isn’t an easy area to search. Lots of rocks and mushy sand on a tidally active steep beach. Since it had already been a week since the loss, I told Martin that it was going to be a long shot, but, I was game if he was. With the go ahead, I hit the beach at 3:30 am to take full advantage of the low tide at 5:30am. He’d made a map for me to go by, and it proved accurate. I started at one end of his circled search area and about 3/4 of the way though it, I got a weak, bouncy signal mostly down in the mid teens on my Equinox showing a target at 8-10 inches deep. Everything heavy sinks deep very quickly at this beach, so, not unusual, and probably just another pull tab or bottle cap. This time, we were in luck. I found his bracelet links in the bottom of my scoop. Initially, Martin thought it was just a gold link that was missing, but, it turns out that both a gold and silver link had been lost, hence the strange signal. This is a very sentimental bracelet for Martin, so, he plans to have a jeweler fix it. A happy Martin made the 2 1/2 hour trip here to San Diego to pick it up. A pleasure to me you Martin and thank you for the reward and gifts.

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Ring lost at La Jolla Shores found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Annabelle was at La Jolla Shores surfing when, while ducking under an incoming wave, her hard earned graduation ring popped off her finger and plunged in the waist deep surf. After an online search, Annabelle’s mother Ginny, called me about an hour and half later to see if I could help. Do beaches eat rings? Sure I could! At least I would give it the old college try! Surf hunts are never easy, and with a storm southwest of us causing some bigger surf, this was going to be an extra challenge. I picked 11:30pm as a time to meet, as low tide was going to be coming up at 1:15am. Annabelle lost her ring about and hour and fifteen minutes from +5.9 high tide, so, with a -.01 low tide coming up, the ring should only be in very shallow water or wet sand. I met with Ginny, Annabelle, and her two brothers on time and we proceeded to the search area. As I suspected, the surf was not going to cooperate. Rouge waves kept blasting up the wet sand wiping out my grid marks, and after a half hour and a few tries going from beach to breakers, I gave up on that plan and tried running parallel to the shore where I was able to take some bearings from lights off in the distance to help keep me on a straight line. After another 15 minutes and not finding a single non-ferrous target all night, I got a nice solid 10 on my Equinox in ankle deep water. One scoop later, and I see a nice looking ring in the basket. I walked over to Annabelle and Ginny and asked if this was THE ONE. Annabelle picked up the ring in relief, joy, and disbelief. A pleasure to meet you all, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost in Mission Bay found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Cynthia and her husband Juan were cooling off in the waters of Mission Bay. Cynthia’s ring was bothering her finger, and when she adjusted it, it came off and sunk into waist deep water. Try as they might, they couldn’t find it. An online search brought them to TheRingFinders.com website and my contact info. We arranged to meet an hour before the afternoon low tide at 1pm, which should be low enough to where the ring might be just in the wet sand instead of waist deep water. That makes searching much easier. I arrived a bit early and a short time later Cynthia and Juan arrived and found me down by the water. They directed me to the search area and I proceeded to start a grid pattern from lower slope out into thigh deep water. Some time, and lot’s of good sounding junk targets later, still no ring. Being a hot Sunday afternoon, there were lots of other people and children playing in that area too, so, it could be I may have missed it in dodging around them. I then started a grid 90 degrees from my last one. I started up on the slope and worked my way into the water. In ankle deep water, I got a sweet sounding 11 on my Equinox, sifted the sand out of the scoop, and saw Cynthia’s beautiful ring in the bottom. I looked over to where they were sitting, gave them thumbs up, and held up her ring in triumph. An emotional Cynthia fell into her husband’s arms, people on the beach were amazed, and I ended up answering many questions about our service. Cynthia and Juan were high school sweethearts, so, it was wonderful to help continue the ring’s story for them. A pleasure to meet you both, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost in Ocean Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Montague contacted me about a ring his wife lost in the water at Ocean Beach. She had been in waist deep water holding their daughter when her family heirloom rose gold ring slipped off and into the surf. In looking at the tide chart, Montague agreed to meet me there at 1am for the low tide and a better shot at finding the ring. Being Saturday night, there was still lots of people partying and parking was still a problem, but, we eventually met and proceeded to the search area. Running a grid pattern from lower slope into knee deep water didn’t produce the ring, so, after re-evaluating where she was probably standing, I moved higher up on the slope. After a few more passes, I got a much higher reading than a rose gold ring should produce, but, I like to remove all targets to reduce the chance of them masking the signal I expect to receive. I scooped down, and pulled up a ring, but, as I suspected, it was a silver ring. Well, it turns out that was a second ring that she dropped into the water! Another search of the immediate area produced the nice low tone that I was hoping to hear, and the rose gold ring was in my scoop. A happy Montague now got to head home and bring the good news with him. A pleasure to meet you Montague and thank you for the reward.

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Lost ring in Coronado found.

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Patrick and his family spent the day at the beach in Coronado. Toward the end of the day, he went to brush some sand off his hands, and his platinum wedding band was brushed into the beach as well. The good thing was, that they knew where in the area it should be, and they didn’t leave until they could get help. When I got the call, I grabbed my gear and headed straight over. We managed to find each other in the dark by meeting  by one of the lifeguard kiosks, and then proceeded to the search area. They cleared their gear away so I could sweep the area. 10 seconds, two steps later, and first target, I had Patrick’s ring in the scoop! If only all of the hunts could be this easy. A pleasure to meet you Patrick and thank you for the reward.

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Ring Lost at La Jolla Shores found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Bonnie and her fiance were visiting here in San Diego and went to La Jolla Shores to enjoy the sand and water. They went out surfing, and when coming in on a wave, her engagement ring came off in waist deep surf. An online search brought them to The Ring Finders website and my contact info. I got the call later yesterday and after looking at the tide chart, figured I’d give it a try this morning at low tide. It wasn’t going to all that much lower than when she lost it, but, every little bit helps when detecting in the surf. Bonnie sent me a Google map and I used that to start my search at 6:30 am this morning. They showed up about 20 minutes later and I discovered that I needed to move north about 50 yards and was told it should be just north of where they had cones placed on each side of the lifeguard kiosk the day before. Being early still, they hadn’t put the cones out yet, so, we just had to guess where they had been. After a new starting spot, I began my grid and after a short time, they said they had an appointment to go to, wished me luck, and left.

I continued on with my shore-to-surf grid pattern heading north through the search area. After an hour and not a single target, I decided to go back to the starting point and head south. Half hour later and still not a signal, I began a crossgrid working parallel to the shore and working from deeper water toward the beach. At this point the tide had turned, started to come in, and the surf was getting rougher. After reaching ankle deep water and nothing to show for it. I was wondering where to search next. At that point, I noticed that the lifeguards were putting the cones out. Since they usually put them in the same area each day, I took a closer look, and realized that I needed to go south just a little more to completely cover the supposed search area. After a bit, I was just about finished with that area too. Wet, cold, tired, hungry, I was going to call it a day after the next pass or two. Just then, I got the signal I’d been waiting to hear all morning. One scoop later and I was relieved to see Bonnie’s ring. I emailed them the good news and headed home. They came by my house a little before noon and a happy Bonnie was reunited with her beautiful ring. A pleasure meeting you both, good luck with your move and upcoming marriage, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost at Fiesta Island found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Richard spent the day fishing on Fiesta Island. While cleaning some of the fish he had caught, he shook his hands to get some of the fish scales off, and his wedding ring went flying into the dry sand. He spent 3 days searching through the sand in that area, even buying a detector and trying his luck, but, he couldn’t find it. His online search brought him to TRF and my contact info. I met Richard at the site in the late afternoon where he showed me where he was setup the day of the loss. I’ve searched many areas of Fiesta Island before, and could understand why he had trouble trying to find his ring without any real experience using a detector. This area is tough even for seasoned pros. People have been burning wooded pallets and other scrap lumber on this Island for decades. Aluminum cans were thrown into the campfires and pull tabs litter the landscape. Anywhere you take a scoop of sand will result in 4-5 metal objects, so, it’s a real challenge to find just one signal in all that mess. It wasn’t a particularly big search area, but, it was slow going. 1 1/2 hours later, I had run 3 different grid lines over the entire search area, my trash pouch was almost full, and still no ring. I attacked ground zero at still a different angle and got another mixed signal on my Equinox…..the kind I’d been digging for the last hour and a half. After filtering out the sand, and pulling out 3 nails and 2 other pieces of melted aluminum, I finally see a ring in the scoop with the shells and rocks. Sure enough, it was Richard’s ring. Richard was overjoyed and was able to head home and give his wife the good news. A pleasure to meet you Richard, and thank you for the reward. 

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Ring lost at Ocean Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Lorena was visiting town and enjoying Ocean Beach with some friends and placed her ring in the cup holder of her chair. Time to leave, the chair got folded up, and the ring ended up in the dry sand. A common way rings get lost. Searching was fruitless and Lorena had to go back home up north. She contacted me to ask for my help in finding it. She had planned on returning the next morning to show me the search area, but, having already been a full day on the loose, I had her give me directions as to where she was when the ring fell into the sand. She did better than that. She had some photos that were taken while she was there in that location. Knowing that beach well, I could find that spot fairly easily. Finding the ring might be another thing! I waited until the sun went down so I could actually find a parking spot on a Saturday night. Not easy, but, I lucked into one. The beach was still mobbed with party goers. I made a beeline west toward the water and straight through the middle of search area. Before I got there, I see another guy detecting right through where I planned to search. He didn’t stop for any targets, so, i began my grid. Off to the right was a large group still camped on the beach, so, I started on the left. Made a dozen passes or so without so much as a pull tab. Not a good sign. Somebody (maybe the guy who I first saw) had already scoured the area? At that point, the crowd on the right was picking up and leaving. Great, I can now search the other side before I try to track down the other detectorist to see if he may have found the ring. Still not much in the way of targets until I made 5-6 passes and got a solid 6 on my Equinox. That’s usually a foil drink seal, but, I scooped it anyway as small gold can read in that range. Sure enough, a drink seal. Drat! Moved another 2 feet and got another solid 6 reading. Another juice seal I bet, was what I was thinking, but, after scooping it up, I discovered her ring! As I surveyed the spot I found it, I realized that the other detectorist had missed it by no more than a couple of feet! I texted Lorena that she would have to come back down to San Diego after all, but, instead of having to show me where the search area would be, she could pick up her ring. A pleasure to meet you and Pierre, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost at Mission Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Pete and his wife were escaping the heat inland and decided to go to south Mission Beach. Pete took his wedding ring off before going out in the surf, and gave it to his wife to hold. It was a bit big for her fingers, but, that’s where she held it. By the time Pete came back, his wife wasn’t feeling too good, and in their haste to pack up and leave, the ring came off and into the dry sand. After Pete did a Google search to get help, he came across one of my posts and texted me.  Being a Saturday afternoon, parking was going to be impossible, so, I had an early dinner and hoped the crowds would lighten up a bit so I could actually get to the beach.

I texted Pete back when I got to the beach and found he was already there waiting. He showed me the search area, and I started at what he thought was ground zero, and spiraled out from there. Naturally, since he had been there earlier in the day, the tide was at a different level, people had come and gone, so, figuring out exactly where they had been camped wasn’t a sure thing. After quite a bit of the supposed search area was covered, I was beginning to wonder if someone had already found it. I was finding a few other targets with similar target I.D.’s so I was still hopeful that it was still there somewhere. At the end of one of my passes, I was dodging around where some people were sitting and hit an area a bit out of the initial search area. It was an area where I was going to expand into next. I could see that people had been there recently by the disturbed sand. Sure enough, I got a nice solid 15 on my Equinox and found Pete’s ring. A happy Pete can now go home and make his wife feel a bit better. Nice to meet you Pete and thank you for the reward.

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Lost ring at Pacific Beach found.

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Demian and his wife were visiting here and had a day at Pacific Beach. Demian like to surf and after riding a wave, grabbed his board in thigh deep water, when IT happened. Yup, his ring slipped right off and into the surf. When I received the call for help the next day, we talked about the loss to determine time, tide, location, water depth, etc. The tides were not going to be in our favor for a surf hunt, so, the search had to be delayed until a good minus tide coming up many days later. Not an ideal situation, as I like to jump on them right away, but, attempting deep water hunts in the surf are usually just a waste of time. It’s just too hard to keep a decent grid pattern going without leaving gaps with the waves pushing you around. Demian sent me a Google map with the approximate area he was surfing and the likely spot where the ring came off, as they had to leave town and go home.

Anyway, fast forward 11 days and a nice -0.9 tide on Father’s Day, I hit the beach at 2:30am to take as much advantage of the lower water level as possible. I started a grid parallel to the water’s edge and work my way out with the lowering tide. An hour later without so much as one target, I was beginning to wonder if someone had already been there and done a thorough search of the area. A nice solid 12 rang in my ears from the Equinox and sure enough, it was Demian’s ring! That’s the ratio of trash to treasure I like to see! I texted Demian and later that morning I got the happy return text. We arranged to meet the next day for the ring reunion. A pleasure meeting to two, and thank you for the generous reward.

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