Mesh Ring found in Surf at Del Mar, CA.
MONDAY Nov. 3, 2014
John called me while I was metal detecting near San Clemente, Ca. He told me how he and his wife had taken their dog to Del Mar Dog beach Sunday for a run on the beach. His wife really didn’t feel like going but John persuaded her to go. The weather was perfect for a walk on the beach with their dog. The nice day was upset when John’s wife lost her Tiffany, silver mesh ring while throwing a ball for their dog to chase. It went directly into about one foot of water and immediately disappeared into the sand.
I would be about 45 minutes till I could get to the location, but there was still enough low tide to give it a try. I guess John called Tony Eisenhower , a fellow RingFinder . Tony contacted me and we both met with the information that John had given him. John was unable to leave work to point out the exact location, which is always a big help. Long story, short, the two of us were unable to find the ring before the incoming tide chased us out of the water. I was not sure I could make it back Tuesday at the next best low tide, but after finding out that Tony could not make it. I went back as the tide was receding. I was worried that possibly somebody with a metal detector would find it and not return it to John, because he had posted the loss on Craig’s List with a perfect google map. Most people are honest, but there have been reports about people using Craig’s List for their own personal treasure maps.
When I arrived at dog beach Tuesday about noon there were no other detectorists on the beach. I started the grid search without the pressure of an incoming tide. Within 30 minutes my CTX 3030 gave me a nice solid signal and there was the ring. This part of the beach has a medium hard packed sand and the surf has been more or less calm. Even with these conditions, the ring had managed to work its way down about 5 inches in the sand in about 48 hours. It is always an advantage to have the person that lost the item present to point out the location, but in this case John was unable to leave work. On the other hand, sometimes I get a little nervous when the person is standing there with that look of doubt and despair. It is all worth the time to see the smiles and joy when you return a sentimental ring. I did not get to see John’s wife when he surprised her with the good news, I know it was a special moment for her.
I received a call from Evan asking me if I could help him find his 18kt gold wedding band. I was a couple miles away so it was just a few minutes to get to the park where he had lost the ring the yesterday. He and his wife were sitting on a curb along the side of a service road in the park. They realized they were sitting on some ants. When he stood up he swatted the ants off his pants with his hands and felt his ring fly off his finger. He actually heard the ring hit the asphalt, but it had bounced off the side of the road. Heavy leaf and ivy covered the side of road and the edge of road was a steep slope. It could of bounced 20 feet or more down the embankment . After crawling around in the leaves and ivy I moved 50 feet down the road from where Evan had been sitting. A few swings with my CTX 3030 about 12 inches off the edge of the road laying in the leaves and rubble was Evan’s ring. The ring was not only special because it was his wedding ring. His dad had made the ring for Evan. It was a special search with some tuff conditions. Another time that I was thinking about coming back tomorrow with some other search coils and equipment. A couple more swings outside the main search area proved to be the solution to making this a successful search. And a lot of luck.
