Smart Phone Lost at Huntington Beach, CA...Found and Returned.

If you lose your ring or other metal item of value, don’t wait, time will work against you, please call as soon as possible. 310-953-5268

I woke up this morning with an email from Justin who had lost his smart phone at the beach the day before, and was wondering what he could do to try to locate it. I immediately called his number which went to voice mail, then replied to his email asking him to call, so we could discuss the loss. When he called he told me he thought about renting a metal detector which I discouraged, because rental agencies usually rent out the cheapest detectors, and that would just cause a lot of frustration for someone unfamiliar with a detector. Knowing the beach and that the County is usually real good about grooming the beaches with sifting machines, I told him I would meet him at the spot as soon as I could get there to help him in the search.

When I got to the beach, I could see Justin out in the sand dragging his feet in a grid like manor. I walked out and we met. I began asking what had happened, and he told me that what he usually does is put his phone in the sand under his towel so no one would find it and take it while he went in the water. The problem this time was that when he was about to leave, he grabbed his towel and left for the car forgetting he had placed his phone in the sand. He ended up coming back to the beach and searching in the sand about 10:00 PM, but was unable to locate landmarks in the darkness and identify the spot he had been in earlier. I began my grid working my way from the outer most spot towards the other end of his parameters. I found a number of tent stakes and bottle caps, but no phone. I then passed the half way point in the search when I received a good signal, I carefully inserted my scoop behind the signal so as to not damage the phone. When I pulled out the scoop, there was the phone, but I noticed the screen was damaged, and thought I might have missed somehow. When I picked it up to show Justin, I asked if the damage had already been there, and he reassuringly told me it had been. He then went on to explain that this phone had traveled the world with him as he backpacked in many different countries and was full of the pictures of those experiences. Now how do you replace that? Made his day, and that’s what it is all about!

Justin sent the following testimonial:

“I forgot to dig my phone out of the sand underneath my towel after I was done body boarding one late afternoon. I’ve been hiding my phone underneath my towel ever since I started body boarding and such but I guess I got unlucky and forgot to dig it out this time. I walked to my car and realized that I didn’t have my phone and then rushed back to the area where I set my stuff. Having forgotten where I set my towel exactly, I probably spent a good hour or so combing the sands with my feet. I couldn’t find my phone although I recalled hiding it probably 2 inches under the surface of the sand. I went back later that night to try and find my device using Google’s find my android system. Still didn’t find it. I found Steve online and emailed him that same night and got an email back early the following morning. I called Steve and explained my situation and he offered to drive an hour down to the beach to help me out. The phone was still there according to Find My Device. I drove down to the spot and marked an estimate boundary in which I was certain the phone would be within. Steve greeted me and went to work right away. Using a grid system in the boundary I laid out, he found my phone after finding a lot of metal pins and bottle caps. It probably took around 30- 45ish minutes. It turns out I was combing the right area the night and afternoon the day before but I set my stuff a lot closer to the shore. Steve advised that I dry out my phone first since it looked like the waters came in over it, but fortunately the phone is water proof.

I’m really glad I contacted Steve in time as I had planned to find metal- detecting equipment myself and search for my phone. Steve explained why that was a bad idea when I called him that morning and you could observe for yourself why it was so just by watching Steve work. I also want to mention that Steve didn’t hesitate to offer his help on an early Thursday morning, just shortly before a doctor’s appointment! I had a lot of cool pictures and memories stored on that phone from my travels as well as important notes and documents for school and work. Not everything was backed up into the cloud so I was pretty upset at the thought that I would lose the fun memories I captured with my phone. Thanks a million, Steve!!!”

 

Don’t let the County beach cleaning machines take your lost valuable, call as soon as possible! I will work hard, using the most up to date metal detectors, to help you find what you thought might never be found again. I search, Beverly Hills, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, Northridge, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice Beach, Zuma Beach, and all parks, yards, gardens, and ponds (to 5 foot depths) in all of Orange County, all of Los Angeles County, and Ventura County.