Lost & Found Category | The Ring Finders

Jeffrey called me about 4:30pm about finding his misplaced ring. I know the beach well and there are many detectorist that comb the sand daily. Therefore it was most important to start searching ASAP. I told Jeffrey that I could meet him at the beach in about 45 minutes. I made it to the beach in 35. I got ready and when Jeffrey showed up we started the short walk to a secluded sandy spot. I thought it would be an easy search – I was wrong. Two beer cans, a couple of pull tabs and a quarter and one target so deep it is still there. But no ring.

Then it was off to second area closer to the water and wet sand. Dang! I had the wrong detector for this search, but I would give it a try anyway as it was a small area and I could see just where Jeffrey had been sitting. In just three swings of the detector a solid response to a buried object was ringing in my ears. Next was to take a scoop of sand and yes in the sand was a platinum ring, the object of my search. I sifted the sand from the scoop leaving only the ring. Now it was Jeffrey’s turn to do something except watch me with great expectations. It was his task to remove the ring from the scoop and place it back on his finger were it belonged.

The round trip from and back to the cars took less than 25 minutes. When back at the cars a couple of quick stories were shared and pictures were taken. The only down side to this return was it delayed both Jeffrey’s and my timely entrance to our dinner engagements. However, the entrances were made with smiles, just a bright as the ones in the photo for sure.

This is what my idea of metal detecting is all about: Doing the right thing, obeying the rules and comradeship. Here is a story of a return that took many turns to a fabulous end. In chronological order this is what transpired, to the best of my recollection. Sunday afternoon Bennet was enjoying the thrills on a Cape Cod beach and took his necklace and wedding band off an put them into a beach chair’s pocket for safe keeping. Sometime later while packing up to leave the beach the chair was folded and carried to the parking lot. During the movement the jewelry fell from the pocket and was buried in the soft sand. The missing items were not noticed until Bennet went to retrieve them from the pocket. They were not there, gone!

Bennet knew about metal detectors, found J&E Enterprise of South Yarmouth, and rented a detector. To no avail Bennet searched the beach area and returned the rental. At this point he was told about TheRingFinders.com and was suggested he contact a Ring Finder that could help. The first to respond was Leighton who made arrangements to meet up with Bennet and search early on Tuesday morning. Leighton also had no luck in locating the missing items.

Leighton called me and explained the situation. I then called Bennet and set up a search time of 5pm. I left my cell phone and Bennet’s phone number at home, a big mistake. Oh, well…I started to search, found a very good large target area and knew immediately that the detector I was using was too sensitive for the iron in the dry sand. I returned to the car, changed detectors and headed back to find a 5 coin spill which I retrieved. As I moved on I was asked if I had found some coins, yes I had, but I was looking for a gold chain and wedding band. A few more words were passed when Anya piped up with “I saw them Sunday evening, a boy had found them with his detector” AND…the boy is right over there…

I knew what I had to do and hoped what I was going to do did not backfire and cause a problem. I went to the group of people around the boy who was pointed out to me. I introduced myself and said I heard that some jewelry was found Sunday. I was so pleased with what came next. Complete agreement that the right thing to do was to return the items to the rightful owner. And this was from a 14 year old boy named Colby! I know how hard it was for him to give up his Best Find EVER in his two years of detecting. I have been there as others I know have been in the same situation.

Now to get Bennet to the beach…I called my wife from Colby’s father’s cell phone. My wife then call Bennet and he showed up about 20 minutes later, alone. Colby’s prize find was returned to its owner who left and promised to return with a gift for Colby and he did along with many family members. What a sight, all the people mingling, thanking Colby and congratulating Bennet…unbelievable to say the least. Even Anya and her family were in on the act.

This has to be one of my favorite returns. No I did not physically find the lost jewelry, but I did coordinate its return by “finding” the means to get things right. I really do admire Colby and wish him the best with his future detecting adventures.

Colby: May the ring of gold be in your ears and its glitter in your scoop! – Rick (WaterWalker)

Trying to teach children how to do a hand stand in a lake lead to a lost ring. That is just what happened to Justin. Unlike Little Tom Thumb, Justin stuck his hand into the sand and pulled it out without his wedding band. Unable to find it by himself, Justin’s mother contacted J&E Enterprise to rent a detector and ended up with a better alternative – contacting a Ring Finder, in this case, me. I left home within an hour of being contacted, in the water 45 minutes later and within another 5 minuets Justin was wearing his ring again. As for me…I did not get my swimming trunks wet.

The beach was filled with family members who all gathered around to make a grand picture of smiles.

As many questions that were asked it was not until James was in the water with me and remembered a small splash which he thought to be a gull’s dropping. But where was the little splash? Close to the big splash from a rock that was being tossed. But where is the rock…Here it is and the little splash was about 20 feet away.

After a two hour search this little splash was right on…but it was not make by a bird, rather it was made by Erin’s engagement ring. Another 3 minutes of searching and the ring was in my scoop. As Erin was not at the beach James had the honor of removing the ring from my scoop. It was now up to James to place the ring back on his wife’s finger.

Many on the beach had heard of the ring’s loss and were amazed that it was found in such a vast area. Had it not been for James’ keen memory, I might still be looking for the jewel that means so much to the wonderful couple.

“In the Dog House”, with a title like that I was pretty sure I had a mission. While Mark was upgrading his sprinkler system he lost his wedding band, or so he thought. He rented a metal detector & squished the mud from the re-dug sprinkler heads through his fingers but came up empty. Time to call in professional help. I did a thorough scan of the front yard hoping to not have to dig up the yard but that wasn’t the case. We dug one head, then a second, and that’s when the Garrett pinpointer sang out, Marks gold wedding band, mission complete!
A plain gold band, no way, they all have a story and Marks is special to him. Hand engraved by an Artisan, in both his and Janet’s rings, is ‘Mo Anam Cara’ which in their ancestral heritage, Old Gaelic Celtic, means “my soul friend”.  Mark said, “it very much represents our relationship”.

Thank you Mark for the call, I very much enjoyed our post-find conversation, all the best.

 

The Ring Finders Portland & The Gorge

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I received a message from Dave on my Ring Finders South Jersey page stating that he lost his wedding band.  I contacted him immediately and arrived at the beach shortly after.  After speaking with Dave about where the lost ring might be, the search was on!  The ring was found and returned after a quick grid search near the water’s edge!!!  The couple is now able to enjoy the rest of their vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey!

 

I received a call yesterday morning from Sara, about some rings that she had lost in the water the day before. She and her family had been at the beach for the day while vacationing from Minnesota. She told me that she lost the rings in the afternoon and when I looked at the tide charts, I could see the tide was still low, but on its way up. I said I could meet her there in 30 minutes, and we arranged to meet.

When I got to the beach, Sara showed me where she believed she lost the rings, and I began my search. I searched for about 30 minutes, when Sara came over and said her husband Tony (who was up on the hill overlooking the beach with their son) told her we needed to move about 50 feet to the South. I continued my search, but the tide was getting too high, and the waves were making it more difficult to search any deeper. I knew the tide was going to be a minus tide this morning at about 6:30 AM, so I told Sara, I would come back for a search at 5:00 AM. She asked if there was any chance of a recovery, and I told her I always have hope.

Well I got up at 4:00 AM and was on the beach at 5:00 AM. There was definitely a lot more sand to search, and I knew that if it was there I had a good chance of getting it. I could not search where Sara’s husband had mentioned because at 5:00 AM in the dark there was a woman playing in the waves right in the exact area, so I chose to begin where Sara had originally shown me. I started, and began to work my way towards the spot of the loss, and when I drew near the woman left, which made it easier to search the area. Once I began in the area, I made a few passes, when I got a loud bang of a sound in my headphones. I dug, dumped the sand, kicked it around, I ran my coil over the sand, heard the bang in the headphones again, kicked that sand again, and then saw the rings, still together. The great help was that they were able to meet me at the beach the day before and show me exactly where the loss occurred. I got excited, put the rings in my pouch, and made my way home. I waited until a couple of hours later to send Sara the message, so she could sleep in and get some rest. I sent a picture of the rings, and she sent a text back of her unbelief and happiness. We met back at the beach about an hour later, and I was able to give Sara, Tony’s token of his love and commitment to their union, given to her 12 years before. They were leaving for home tomorrow, and she had been worried the rings might be lost forever. What a great day!

 

If you lose your ring or other metal item of value, 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, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice 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.

Mary’s husband called me the morning after she lost a white gold diamond ring in the surf at Paradise Cove near Malibu, CA. Mary was in waist deep water at a mid high tide when she was unexpectedly hit by a large wave. She felt her ring come off her finger right at that moment.
Her husband want to know if there was a chance to find it. I told him, we first needed to return to the general location. Then we had to see the sand conditions. ( The So. Cal. beaches vary from day to day ) Also our chances are better if somebody can be available to tell exactly what happened and where the loss occurred.
We agreed that Mary would meet me at Paradise Cove at 11:30am. The tide was rising which wasn’t a good thing. If necessary, I might have to return the next day at the lowest tide. First things first, meet the person that lost it, get the general location and give it a try with my CTX 3030 metal detector.
Everything went like clock work as we met on the beach. Mary told me that she had worn this ring for 10 years and it meant the world to her. She paced back and forth helpless on the upper sand watching me each time I dug a pull tab, etc. In my mind I was planning a return trip for the next day. Then the 12-07 reading on my CTX ID screen and a definite tone to match. I knew the ring would be in this scoop. Yes! Mary’s white gold diamond wedding ring. It was halfway up in the wet sand and must have been thrown forward as the wave hit her from her backside.
Where, how and when didn’t matter now. What was important, is the fact that all our efforts worked to get Mary’s rearing back where it belongs and the story of her ring goes on. I don’t get tired of doing this when I see how grateful Mary was. A sight to remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have lost your ring or other sentimental keepsake, please contact me ASAP. You will not be bothering me. I will answer the phone 24/7. Our chances of finding your valuable metal keepsake are greatly increased by getting together as soon as possible. I use the state of the art metal detectors which also make for successful searches. My search areas are, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove, Corona Delmar, Balboa Beach, Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Huntington State Beach, Oceanside, San Clemente, Doheny State Beach, Dana Point, Aliso Beach, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Malibu, Paradise Cove, Westwood, LosAngeles, Hollywood including all of Orange and LA counties.

 

 

MY EARS ARE STILL RINGING!

I got a call about a lost class ring from a visiting teacher to Kona.

James – from Texas – had wanted to rent a detector from us, a service which we do provide.

As an instructor, his biggest challenge was that his classroom was a floating one – teaching on the big ship currently out in Kailua Bay – and he was stuck on the boat giving lectures then watch-shift. He could see the beach but not physically get to it!
Could we look for it on his behalf? Of course! That’s what we’re good at!

James described how he’d lost his ring – he been rough-housing with some of the students and was tackled in the water while at King Kamehameha Beach – he’d seen the ring fly off and sink to the bottom. Stamping his foot on it to mark the spot, he was confident that he’d could reach down through the water to pick it out of the sand, but then he was instantly tackled again – all hope of finding it was gone.

I went out with my detector and got in the water after a large number of paddlers finished beaching their large canoes. I watched as the sand churned under their feet and hoped the ring wasn’t getting deeper and deeper in the sand…!

I hadn’t gotten a good description of James’ ring, so wasn’t sure what type of tone I’d get as my Minelab Excalibur detector gives a variety of sounds based on the metal content (i.e. gold, platinum, tungsten, etc…) of a ring.

I picked up a few coins, some trash and then – bang! – my headphones gave off the sound of a massive gold object! I almost jumped as the sound was so loud it scared me! 

I scooped up the sand with my long-handled scoop – nothing – but there was definitely something down there! Another scoop and a bright yellow golden object flashed in the basket as the sand drained away! 

There it was in all its glory – a beautiful and massive golden class ring that was no longer lost! With the Texas A&M coat of arms on top, it must have weighed a quarter of an ounce!

 

We had to wait a day for James to come to shore – but he was thrilled to have his class ring returned. We laughed together about sheer size of this ring – and the fact that my ears were still ringing from when I found it! 

I’ll be sure to turn down the volume next time I look for another ring from Texas!

Here is a photograph of some of the Rings that I have found over the years that I could not find the owners.