Richard Browne, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 10 of 18

Stand-in Wedding Ring(s) – what a story! Sandwich, MA Lost / Found Ring

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

July 2019

Well, it was a typical 4th of July weekend. The first call for help came with a story about the ring tagging along. The easiest way to tell this is to copy the Thank You note for finding and returning James’ claddagh ring.

Rick,

My father bought me this ring 10 years ago. My grandfather had just passed away and had given his ring to my brother, the oldest boy in the family. So, my father took me when getting that one sized to get one of my own.
A few weeks ago, at my brother’s wedding, nobody remembered the wedding bands, not me, my brother, sister-in-law, planner, nobody. So when the priest asked for the rings, I turned my back to the crowd and slipped off my ring and my brother did the same. They used these to bless their marriage. I was devastated to lose mine. I cannot thank you enough.

James

Help Needed to Locate Lost Wedding Band in Marstons Mills, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

December 7. 2018

Having lost his ring while leaf blowing Jim and his wife visually searched on hands and knees turning over every leaf in hopes of finding Jim’s ring. Having failed at with a visual search they came to the correct idea for finding the one of a kind wedding band, the use of a metal detector. They rented a metal detector and searched with it for many tiring hour of swinging without finding the ring. They resigned to the fact that it was gone forever. After returning the rental, Jim and his wife made plans to locates a similar ring before Christmas. It would not be the same as the one that had adorned Jim’s finger for over forty years but it would have to do.

I stopped at J&E Enterprise, the local metal detector dealer, and was told of the still lost ring. I placed a call to Thelma, Jim’s wife and left a message. Minutes later I had a return call. Thelma was almost convinced that I might help, but wanted to talk to Jim before committing to having me detect their property for the lost ring. Two hours later I was starting a search of their yard. Knowing the loss was recent and therefore there would be no need to dig to retrieve it. After recovering three surface targets; a small piece of copper, a nail with a piece of aluminum attached and a pull tab from a soda can, I heard the perfect sound, that of a round object close to the surface. I looked at the point where my detector showed the object should be and there it was three-quarters of it’s edge shining in the sunlight. It was hard to stop Jim from picking it up, but I asked him to wait until I took a picture and have Thelma come and see just were the ring had been for the past few weeks. A happy ending of a few stressful weeks.

Why did I find the ring in a area that had already been searched with a metal detector. It really boiled down to the facts; I had 36 years of detecting experience, knew which of my 14 detectors had the best chance isolating the one target in an area that had a potential of several trash targets in a short amount of time and understanding the nuances of each sound the detectors was giving off from each detected object, in this case Jim’s ring.

Words I never thought I would hear “It’s Not My Ring”. Centerville, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

November 12, 2018 Chris on left, Eric on right in the picture

While I was helping a neighbor with a computer problem, Chris called asking about help in finding his lost wedding band. He thought it might have been lost while burying his deceased cat. The answer to his question on how deep the detector could “see” a ring was not what he wanted to hear. The cat’s grave was some two and a half feet deep and my detectors typically can “see” a ring at about 12 inches. With this information, Chris new he would have to remove some of the dirt before I would be able to scan the full depth of the grave. He said he would call me back.

About an hour before sunset I received the call asking if I could come and search the area. I left home with the anticipation of finding the wedding band. When I arrived at Chris’s home, he had already sieved the dirt removed from the grave and no ring was found. I scanned the grave site with no indication of anything metal. I then began a search of the areas where Chris had also been doing yard work. As the sun set I brought out my flashlight is hopes of spotting a flash of gold in the darkness. Another half hour passed and I found “the” ring right on top of the ground. I returned to the house, put the ring in my hand and my card over it. Inside Chris’s house I let Chris take the card from my hand as I said “please take “your” ring also”. The joy of getting his ring back turned to sorrow as Chris said “this is not my ring”. How could that be? Neither he nor Leah, his wife, knew of anyone that might have lost a wedding band in their yard. The closest known loss of a ring was that of Leah’s father, Eric, had lost his ring at the beach this summer, not in the yard. As it turned out that Eric indeed did loose his band while cutting down a tree in Chris’s yard and not at the beach. I am glad I had not been asked to look for it at the beach. However a call to Vermont confirmed it was more than likely to be Eric’s ring. Now it was to dark to continue searching so I left for the night with a promise to return the next day.

The next day’s search of two hours turned up nothing except a long lost mail box key and a few coins. Not having any luck with my detector of choice I exchanged it for my second choice detector. Just to have a different “set of eye” and I continued to search the area again. Another hour and I was ready to call it quits for the day. I walked back to the car, I was just dragging the detector across the ground and next to the rear wood porch I heard one signal and it sounded good. The coil of my detector was unable to give me a pin-point location so I put my hand held pin-pointer to work getting closer to the wood riser. There it was. The ring I had been looking for some 5 hours. This “one” was verified as “the one” by Leah. Chris was at work, so I could not give the ring to him at that time. I left the ring with Leah who promised to sent me pictures of the return. Not bad, in two days time, two wedding bands found in one yard and returned to two members of the same family. Needless to say there were big smiles all around including the biggest one the one on my face.

Please read the posting: Lost Wedding Band at Beach, Found in Son-in-Law’s Back Yard. It is about an unexpected find – a missing wedding band of Eric.

And you ask “Why do I enjoy my hobby so much?” This story tells the story very well.

Lost Wedding Band at Beach, Found in Son-in-Law’s Back Yard. Centerville, MA.

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Eric’s ring was not lost at a beach as he originally thought, but rather it was lost in his son-in-law’s back yard while cutting down a tree.

Yes it happens, the initial belief of having lost a ring or other object in one area is not always the actual area in which the item was actually lost. This is proof of one such lost wedding band.

I had receive a call from Chris about his lost wedding band in his yard. While searching I found a ring. When I gave the ring to Chris, to my surprise, he said “This is not my ring. It is too big”. There was no immediate connection to a ring lost by Eric’s ring as it was believed his ring had been lost at a beach some five miles away. Several minutes later and after a call to Vermont, a probable connection was made but not verified until a Thanksgiving Day visit. What a day it was to rejoice for Thanksgiving and having a lost item returned.

Please read the posting: Words I never thought I would hear “It’s Not My Ring”. It is about my search for a missing wedding band for Chris.

Chris on left, Eric on right in the picture

What’s a Vacation Without Your MasterCard? Lost, Found, Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

October 15th Carlos was rushing to avoid the pending thunderstorm and lost his MasterCard in the Jamaican waters. I was also heading in, away from the afternoon’s lightening strikes. I was approached by Carlos with a request to help him find the missing credit card. I could not refuse, so back into the water. First I saw an electronic room key, that there had been no mention of. Just after picking the card up I saw the dark blue patch of the MasterCard. Item retrieved, I headed for Carlos. The sky had darkened and the rain began pelting us as we ran to my room for my camera. I took a few pictures, and gave Carlos three cards, room key, MasterCard and one of my TheRingFinders cards. Now with three cards in hand Carlos ran off to tell his wife the vacation could continue but with a tighter grip on the precious cards.

Hearing Aid Found and Returned in Brewster, Cape Cod, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

It was not my grandmother’s hearing aid. It was super small, no wires, Bluetooth enabled and lost.

It took two detectorists from TheRingFinders to locate a “lost” hearing aid, one that others had no luck in locating. Denis, Anne, neighbors, friends and even the sales person of the hearing aid did not eyeball the lost left hearing aid. Denis with his Bluetooth enabled hearing aid on had been out listening to The Beatles Here Comes The Sun while leaf blowing his front yard. After finishing up an early leaf fall and back in his house he noticed the left aid was missing. The noise from the leaf blower masked the missing music. With the aid of a new detector with a visual indication of the type of metals along with an audio sound, it took me about a half an hour to be fortune enough to hear the signal response of the aid’s battery among all the not so possible signal returns. With a bit of help from a flash light the hearing aid came into view among a bit of tall grass under which it had been hiding from other prying eyes. I surmised that a tree’s branch had brushed the hearing aid from Denis’s left ear which lead to the search. The initial request for help in finding the lost hearing aid came to me from J&E Metal Detectors. I was in the middle of having roof work done on my house and being unsure if I would be able to do a search before darkness fell, I called on Luke for a bit of assistance. As it turned out Luke and I showed up about two minutes apart. Many magnificent people all came together to help in the search and return. My hobby allows me to meet such wonderful people, and friendships I and others can count on in time of need.

Lost Diamond Wedding Band on Private Beach Found and Returned Eastham, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 23rd Connie lost her wedding band just after applying insect repellent to her son. Searching for 2 days, it could not be found. Upon wakening on Saturday morning, Connie took a friend’s advice about TheRingFinders and called me. Two hours later she had the ring back on her finger where it belonged. Was it a coincidence or fate? Connie, her Husband Steven and their son were staying at a home owned by the Browne’s, my last name is Browne, and had lost a Gold ring, their last name is Gold. The ring was found and returned by a Ring Finder. All this on Steven’s birthday. A Happy Day for Everyone!

Wedding / Anniversary Set Lost and Found In Time For Flight Home from Harwich, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 23rd at 5:35pm a voice mail for help was left on my home phone. I had been out detecting and did not answer the voice mail until 6:20. At that time I was told that a fellow detectorist, Luke, was already in the water searching. Knowing the search ethics of Luke I was sure he would find the ring set and all would be good again. To my surprise Janet called again this time to say Luke had detector problems and was unable to locate the ring. She continued to tell me the tide would be low at 5AM and ask if could I come and help that early. Sure I could, but I would rather wait until sun rise and we agreed 5:30 would be OK. I was in the water with information from Luke, Janet and her friend Diane on the location where the ring should be. Luke had cleaned out many nuisance items and I had very few surface targets. However, I did retrieve two rings, neither were the one I was searching for. It was getting very close to the time Janet needed to leave to make her morning flight back home. About 15 minutes to the deadline the ring set was in my scoop, close to where she and Diane said it was lost. Well, I went in to tell Janet that I had found two rings, neither of which were hers and she started to get ready to leave. I then said “but the third…look in the scoop…” Unbelievable rejoicing was her (and Diane’s) response. A rush ensued to take a few pictures for the memory bank and exchange of contact info then it was off the the airport. With her most cherished – I’ll just say “of several years” – ring set made of her wedding band and two anniversary bands, Janet made a safe trip home, thrilled to have her ring back on her finger.

Surfing Haigis Beach Cape Cod, Lost Ring, Exhilarating Search, Book of Smiles

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 2, 2018 Justin Mello lost his wedding band while body surfing the incoming tide. By the time I was contacted it was just too late in the evening to start a search in a rough surf. The next morning Jim and I showed up at 7am and started to search a very angry sea bed. Three foot waves were a threat to our search. We were lucky the waves were calming as the tide was going out. However, our safety was our first objective, finding the ring the second. One set of waves came in and Jim disappeared, playing submarine, not by his choice. When he surfaced he was all in tack save for a bit of seaweed on top of his wet hat. Justin arrived about 8am and told Jim and myself we were in the correct area, but a bit too far out. Heck that was were the big waves were and we were (at least I was) having fun riding them. The tide had gone out for more than an hour, exposing more dry wet sand. We started to search the area that we could not the hour before because of the rough surf. Now in ankle deep water a strong signal said “Dig Me!” and I did. In my scoop was Justin’s white gold wedding band. The exhilarating hunt was over, time for coffee after pictures and a few detecting stories.

Heirloom Lost, Found and Returned on Chapoquoit Beach, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

July 31, 2018 Emily took a late evening dip in Buzzard’s Bay not knowing King Neptune would be ripping her heirloom engagement ring from her finger. The next day Cindy (her mother), Kevin (her fiance’) and a friend, Isabel had helped in looking for the ring to no avail. At 5:05 I pulled into the parking lot. After introductions and the story of the loss I made it into the water at 5:20. On the third pass in the delineated area and my first target, the ring was found. Many onlookers were amazed at how easily I had made the find. It was not me, it was Emily as she knew exactly were she lost the ring. It was within 8 feet of where she had shown me how she had lost the ring. Kevin showed up about 10 minutes late to see the recovery. But he was in time to enjoy the thrill of Emily having the family heirloom back on her hand, soon to be taken in marriage. Well wishes to a terrific couple.