Richard Browne, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 9 of 21

Craigville, Barnstable, Massachusetts Apple Watch found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

While I was in chest deep water searching for a lost wedding band I found an Apple Series 5 watch. Unbelievable but there were barnacles attached to it and it had been in the water for only 5 days. I cleaned off the sea creatures, took the watch home and charged it. It powered up without a password. Boy was I in luck. I could search for contacts and information that would lead me to the owner. I would not be the only lucky person, but Maluka would also be very lucky to have her watch with all of her information back.

The information I pulled up gave me the owner’s name, the last person she talked to, a sister (actually a cousin), a local address she met people at and were they met to eat. More than enough to get her to call me. Contact was made then if loosing the watch was not bad enough, Maluaka cold not get back to the Cape to pick up the watch as fast as I could get it to her via the USPS. So its return trip was made by the USPS.

This was just one of the more beneficial and rewarding aspects of being a Ring Finder. It is all part of my hobby of the hunt for the unknown, the searching, finding, researching to find the owner and the return to put a smile on a once frowning face.

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Lost Ring Found and Returned at Earl Beach Harwich, Massachusetts

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Chris was just enjoying the sun and sand in knee deep water right in front of his wife when his ring slipped off his finger into the Nantucket sound. The usual search by several people did not bring the ring out of the sandy bottom. A more drastic recovery would begin by a phone call for help. Unfortunately the call came five days later and after the loss and the Cape’s first tropical storm of this year covered the ring with more sand than my detectors could “see” through. I tried my two best detectors on the first two days of of searching without a positive result. My detectors just could not penetrate deep enough to locate the target.

Chris and Maggie had to return home, leaving vacation land and Chris’ ring on the shore. I told them I had not given up after 6 hours of searching and I would keep them apprised of my further attempts to find the missing ring. Another 5 days passed, tides would rise and lower taking some sand away from the beach cover as I waited for my next search.

Thanks to the parking attendant for giving me permission to park without paying the $30/day parking fee for the last half hour a parking sticker was required. I parked, dawned my gear, and headed to the area. I covered the area Chris had shown me that should be holding the ring with no luck. I moved a bit further down the loose sand area. Within 5 minute I heard the tone I wanted to hear. Yes, after two deep scoops into the sand the ring was glittering as it lay on the bottom of my scoop the sun shown on it. A beautiful sight!

At home a call was made to inform Chris and Maggie of my success. Arrangements were made for a meeting and return on Sunday. We met for a bit of story telling, smiles and photos as the wedding band was returned. Of course there were many “Thank Yous”.

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Yarmouth, Massachusetts: Lost wedding band found and returned by a Ring Finder

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

After a day of 6 hours of searching for a wedding band I was hoping for a day of relaxation before the tides would come around to the point I could get back into the water for another search. Then the phone rang while I was out mowing my yard’s grass. Rachel at a local resort called and left a message that a vacationer had just lost his wedding band on the beach. When I returned the call I spoke with Katie. Yes, she and her father needed my help. However, my pork chop would not wait, I had to eat. There is no telling how long a search may take and I needed the energy packed food, the ring was not going anywhere. It was being well looked after. Well in 45 minutes I was on the beach and searching.

Dave had been watching over a covey of fun filled relatives. One niece, Erin, tossed him a football, that did it. Dave’s wedding band was flying over the beach, dropping onto and then vanished into the soft sand. An hour of crawling on and moving the sand around did not uncover the ring. I arrived to a very warm welcome and cheers not only from the one group but others that had been watching Dave doing his thing on the beach while looking for his ring. I was told watching Dave was quite amusing. Sorry I had missed his antics, I was there to find the ring.

The ring was either gold, white gold, silver, platinum. OK, it was agreed on to called the ring silver in color. That meant my detector could display a wider range of ID numbers on my detector, but that would not keep me from finding it. After three signals from aluminum bottle cap pieces a solid 58 rang up on the detector. The ID number was within the white gold range. I had only been searching for about two minutes before I had a wedding band in my scoop. One of the lovely relatives verified the ring was Dave’s. I would not let her take the ring from the scoop, that was to be Dave’s pleasure.

After a few stories, congratulations, Thank Yous, many other coo dos, and photos, I was on my way home to my waiting desert. Not quite a day without detecting, but it is my hobby and I just love seeing a traumatic time turn into a terrific story to tell along with the others of a great vacation on Cape Cod.

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Scussett Beach, Borne, Cape Cod, Massachusetts – Bracelet Lost, Found & Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

The last day of vacation was not to be the last day on Sunny Cape Cod for Dargel. While tossing a football, running sprints, back flopping into the bay’s cool water somewhere along the stretch of beach Dargel’s very sentimental bracelet came loose, fell, and buried itself in the sand. Hours of searching until darkness set in was not enough time to find the bracelet. After flight changes and with a wing and a prayer the bracelet would be found the following day.

When I received the call, and after getting information about a lost bracelet, I knew I had to go. With such a large area to search I would need all the help I could get. I called Leighton, another Ring Finder, and we set up a meet time at the beach with Dargel. His world wide travel companion said that they would be in an army green Jeep Wrangler. OK, who would have known there would be two such Jeeps in the parking lot? It took a call before we found each other. Then it was off to the beach.

Unknown if the loss was in the water or on the sand, we started searching in the water then up the beach front to the dunes. Only a few targets were heard as we detected and gridding the best we could among some late day sun bather. It was my turn to leap-frog past Leighton, make my way further down the beach, stop, turn toward the water, and start detecting again. I heard a good signal which turned out to be a Matchbox car, and then a second car. I gave both cars to a young beach goer who took them to rinse them off in the water. My next signal came from a rather deep target, maybe another car, as I did not think the depth would be correct for bracelet to be at. I had to dig it anyway. WOW the rope bracelet now in my scoop had cubes on it with initials made of diamonds. NICE! Even better than nice, it was Dargel’s missing bracelet. A verification by a photo really was not needed as Dargel’s description would only match the bracelet I had in my scoop.

After some great conversation and taking of photos there was a quick good bye before Dargel was off to Boston and back to Cuba on the next day’s flight – with his bracelet. A terrific ending to two beautiful days. Look out in the next day as tropical storm Isaias will be over the Cape Cod Beaches. Dargel sure knows how to time his trip and is thinking about another trip back to Cape Cod, after having a jeweler repair the bracelet’s clasp.

Old Silver Beach, Falmouth, Massachusetts Diamond Wedding Band Lost, Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Arriving at the resort earlier than check in time Sylvia and her party went to the sandy beach to wait for their room to be readied. The sun was warm and breeze delightful. A bit of sun tan lotion was in order. As with most beautiful rings with mounted stones one would take the ring off so to keep the cream from lodging itself under the stones. The the ring should be put back on. OOPS here is were Sylvia stood up before putting the ring back on. That was all it took for the ring to disappear into the fluffy sand.

No matter how hard the ring was looked for it had not been found. An attentive lifeguard stepped in to help save the ring by giving Sylvia information about TheRingFinders. A quick call to me and I was on my way. Parking and meeting up with Sylvia took a couple of phone calls before we met up. We were then on the way to the soft sandy area.

I began the search finding several Nip bottle caps, who said no alcohol on the beach? A couple of beer bottle caps and the growing crowd were beginning to wonder if I would ever find the ring. It all happened very fast as it took only about 5 minutes to capture the elusive wedding band in my scoop.
I walked over to Sylvia so she could take her ring from my scoop. This was my third successful wedding band return in one day.

How cheerful the crowd turned. Congratulations were offered and a jeweler chimed in with some useful information on sizing a ring and a reason not to have “bumps” put inside the ring. In one word: Comfort.

Dennis, Massachusetts Chapin Beach Platinum Ring Lost, Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Talk about coincidence:

Leighton and myself had been successful in an early morning ring return, some leisurely detecting, a cup of coffee and departed each other’s company for the day. OOPS Leighton left his wallet in my car. I called and he did a U-turn and returned to retrieve the wallet. While I was waiting a call came in for help in finding a lost wedding band. Yes, Leighton would join in on the search immediately.

Jack lost his platinum wedding band when he did a back flop into the thigh deep water too cool off. He did succeed in the cooling off and also offed his ring as well. This was happening at the same time that Tim took his wedding band off to apply sunscreen lotion not but a few hundred yards down the beach. All the searching that was done did not located the ring.

That evening Jill, Jack’s wife was talking to Nicole, Tim’s wife. They were astound that their husband both had a Platinum wedding band, each of which were lost within minutes, within yards of each other and each would be found and returned by the same person.

Is it not strange how incidents just seem to harmonize and bring people together and make a sad situation into one to celebrate. After Smiles, Hugs, and many Thanks, Leighton and I were on our way home. Total time was less than an hour to the conclusion of this happily ending adventure.

Mayflower Beach Cape Cod, Massachusetts platinum wedding band lost, found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Nicole’s call to her father was returned with a link to TheRingFinders.com. After a short conversation with Tim I was on my way to the bay side of Cape Cod. At the end of the road I tried to call Tim but due to No Cell Phone Service I could not contact him. He was somewhere out on the beach among the 100s of beach goers. One such beach goers was kind enough to let me use her phone to call Tim. When she heard me asking about the ring she was ready to tell me the story. It seams the loss was well known by many of the beach goers.

Tim showed up and off we went eager to start searching for his ring. After about 20 feet of searching to my surprise there were no signals. Oh, my mistake, I had left my detector set to a very specific setting to find a hearing aid. A quick change of a program setting and I was searching again. Quarter, soda bottle cap, 2 beer bottle caps and then the platinum wedding band was in my scoop. I left the ring in the scoop for Tim to remove and place on his finger. I wish I had my camera handy to catch the kiss between Tim and Nicole. As I didn’t and that they would not repeat it for a camera I will just have to settle on attached photos for the Book of Smiles.

In the short talk we had after finding the ring it was revealed that the ring went missing after re-applying sunscreen and not removing the ring from the beach chair’s pocket before moving the chair to a different location. The second bit of information was that Tim had proposed to Nicole on the same beach. Only fitting the wedding band was found and returned with enormous gratitude and smiles.

Harwich Port, Massachusetts gold ring, lost, found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Jeff was enjoying the yearly family get-to-gather on Cape Cod and a football catch in the water of Nantucket Sound. The inevitable happened. His left handed toss of the football was fallowed by his flying wedding band.

After several hours of searching by Jeff and his friends without any sign of the ring. A call to a newly renewing member, Leighton Harrington, help was on its way. The time of day and tide was such that a search could not be started until 6am. Leighton and I often detect together and keep each other company on the trip to the search area, during the search and ride home.

In the water and looking, two rings were found on the first morning’s search, neither were the object of quest. During the day Jeff marked the area with a few coins before Leighton and I returned to search the second day. Leighton found a few of the coins and I found the ring in the same area we had searched over the previous day. If you miss it by an inch, you have missed it. That is why we don’t give up after the first search and crisscrossing the area.

Back at the house, pictures were taken and the return was made. Big smiles and the thought of a tear was observed. After a few stories were exchanged, Leighton and I were on our way for coffee and to set up a meeting time for the next day’s detecting experience. We were feeling great about putting a smile on another person’s face.

Yarmouth Beach Lost Ring Found & Returned Cape Cod, Massachusetts

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

One facet that I love about my hobby is meeting many people. Maurice is one I will never forget. His true feelings for his heritage going back to the Wampanoag Tribe on Cape Cod to his love for a cherished ring that belonged to his grandmother kept me wanting to hear and learn from his words.
What a wonderful story he has about his heritage from the original inhabitants of Cape Cod and their trading, bartering and relationships with other tribes as far away as New York. All this information went along with the fact the larger ring was his grandmother’s who had raised him.

Maurice’s grandmother’s ring along with another ring were dislodged from his little finger while playing in the seaweed with his 5 year old daughter. He searched for the two rings until sunburned.
The next morning he was back searching again. His personality engaged other beach goers to help in the search. The one that helped the most was Sue, the Yarmouth beach’s gate attendant. She remembered The Ring Finder from a ring I returned last year. This lead to our contact. A half an hour later I was ready for the search. Within 15 minutes I had retrieved the smaller band, and anther 5 minutes the second ring was in my scoop. The search and recovery was made easy with Maurice knowing when and where the rings slipped from his finger. The entire beach came alive with cheers and smiles as Maurice removed and showed his grandmother’s, one of a kind, ring.

Maurice and his family left the beach for a Cape Cod lunch and continue enjoying their sea shore adventure form the distant hills of Westfield.

Red Jacket Beach, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts: Lost Ring, Found Ring, Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

An early evening call from a very distressed and emotional young lady, Krista, pushed me to the limits to find a lost combination ring of great sentimental value. So much so that I went out at dusk to look for it. I only had about 45 minutes of daylight left but did my best to no avail.

The next day I had plans to detect with another Ring Finder, Gary Bonin from Woonsocket RI. I had to change our plans and go looking for the lost ring. Nothing we would not have done, as long as were were enjoying our hobby, we would have a great day. With sunrise and permission to park at the resort Gary and I headed into the water to search for the ring. Hours past, the tide went out and came back in without either of us finding the ring. My mouth was drying out, I had used my last bottle of water the night before so it was time for me to call it a day. Gary on the other hand wanted to finish covering an area before leaving. OK, another 15 minutes I could survive. I was not paying any attention to holding a grid pattern and just wandered aimlessly when my detector’s audio signal brought me back to reality. I looked down to my coil, where to place my scoop and much to my surprise I saw THE ring! What a ring, it made my knees shaky, my heart rate went up, all was great. Had it not been for Gary wanting to stay just a bit longer, the recovery would not have been made without another search, another day.

Krista, a quite remarkable person, what an interesting life she has lead. Within the first hour of this vacation she with her two sons and husband were playing a bit of football in the cooling water of Nantucket Sound. Her ring had never slipped off in the water either salt, fresh or pool. This day was different for whatever reason it did followed by frantic searching over the next 5 days. Krista had to leave the Cape, the traumatic vacation was now a thing of the past. She had kept up her best spirits as to not spoil the vacation for all involved. But she was not to give up on finding her ring.

Social media came into play. A plead for help lead Krista to TheRingFinders.com and to my name and contact information.

If you have read this far you know she was to have her ring returned. Many options were mulled over such as mail, a 4 hour drive to pick the ring up, seek help on social media… The last provided the perfect solution. Sandy and Larry, close friends of Krista, were leaving Cape Cod the next day and were to make a drive to my house, pick up the ring, and return it to Krista on Saturday.

Covid19 be danged, Krista asked Sandy to give me a “big, well deserved hug”. Somethings just have to be done. This return is one that will certainly be one of my top 5 of the 243 I have now made, almost half while a member of TheRingFinders.