Lost & Found Category | Page 278 of 493 | The Ring Finders

Man’s Gold Wedding Band Lost on Bald Head Island NC – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This little adventure started when I got a text message from Chuck on Aug 26th that read “Hi Jim, I lost my wedding ring on Bald Head Island’s east beach last night about an hour after low tide (just when it got dark). I have a very good sense of where it went down but no equipment to search for it before our vacation ends on Saturday. I don’t see BHI on your list of locations, but I’m wondering if you know any detectionists who do work on the island. Thanks for your time!” When someone tells me they lost a ring at low tide, I immediately suspect they were waist to chest deep. Luckily, not in this case though. I responded back to Chuck asking how deep he was and what type ring he lost. Never being to the island, I had no idea what I was up against or how to get there. I contacted 3 other area TRF members, Steven Ray, John Finnerin, and Matt Fry to see what they knew about Bald Head Island. I got enough information from the 3 of them to piece everything together, so when Chuck text me back that he was only ankle deep I had a game plan. I called Chuck and told him I could get an early start the next morning, make the hour plus drive up to the ferry terminal, catch the 7am ferry, and be there before the low tide at 9am. The only thing I needed from him was to pick me up at the island ferry terminal, and take me to where he lost his ring. He readily agreed, so the plan was set.

This morning when the alarm went off at 5am, I realized that now that I’m retired, this is really an un-Godly hour of the day. Nevertheless, the plan worked and Chuck and his father-in-law were sitting in a golf cart (the only 4 wheel transportation on the island) waiting for me when the ferry tied up. Chuck drove us out to the beach access where he lost it, and as we’re walking out to the beach, I asked him how he lost it. He explained that the family was sitting near a sea turtle nest waiting for the hatchlings to make their way out of the nest and head for the ocean. At one point Chuck went to the water’s edge to wash the sand off his hands and when he shook his hands his ring flew off, straight down, and disappeared into the wet sand. Chuck knew exactly where it happened and had a landmark he made up in the dry sand. I turned the Equinox 800 on and went to work, doing 5 parallel grid lines down towards the outgoing tide line. When my lines started getting washed away, I changed to perpendicular grid lines. I started at the point Chuck had showed me and went both east and west expanding the search area. I wasn’t having any luck so I changed to my second machine, which I’ve learned to bring along just in case. I turned the White’s PI on and started at the same point Chuck had originally showed me. I think it was on my 2nd line, I hit a great signal. I dug a couple of scoops, got the target out of the hole and in the scoop, washed the sand out in the surf and there was Chuck’s ring. I did a little dance up towards Chuck and he knew I had it. I let him reach in the scoop and pull it out. It took me at least an extra 30 minutes, because I just missed it on the first pass when I must have zigged instead of zagged, but Chuck’s ring is back where it belongs. Now the family’s drive home will be much more enjoyable.

Chuck – thanks so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a safe trip home and take of yourself.

Jim

      

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White gold Wedding Band ring lost at Oleta Park , Florida… found and returned to the owner

  • from Fort Lauderdale (Florida, United States)
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I got a call to find a white gold wedding band by a man. he wanted to wait to go to find it. I thought that it was ok to wait. Due to bad weather conditions and the fact that it was a state park. He was reviewing his videos of his  outing at the park to see exactly where he lost it. he changed the search location slightly by one exit . Then back again to the original. I then found it after about 10 minutes of searching . I was soo happy That I was able to find his wedding band.

 

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Jetties Beach Nantucket, Massachusetts – Ring Lost, Found, returned by TheRingFinders

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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Holly and her husband were on a quick get-away anniversary vacation to Nantucket for a bit of fun and sun. All started well then slight rain dampened the day but not the spirit for some beach fun. John was in the water in a flash with Holly following a more slowly. That would not be as much fun as was having which gave him the idea of a quick attack, on his wife and launching her into the air with a water landing, his idea of FUN! Yes he thought, but not so much as he felt for the ring on his left hand that had been there for 8 year, it was gone.

After a long search, a local person with a metal detector was asked to search for the ring, Many targets, but not ring were found. Gone forever John and Holly returned home. Holly just could not give up on a very sentimental item. After a bit of Googling TheRingFinders, my name came up. She thought it would not hurt to reach out without telling John. During the call I had to assure her the ring was still where it was lost and if anyone could find it I was a good choice. I also said to double the chances I should have another Ring Finder, Leighton Harrington, go on the search with me. Holly agreed. That set the wheels in motion. Timing of tides and ferry schedules and weather forecasts narrowed the date down to the25th. It turned out that was John’s birthday.

After a 5am meeting with Leighton for the 6am ferry ride, a walk to the ferry, the ride to the island another walk to the beach, a cup of coffee and snack on the way, we were on the beach. We put our gear together and headed for the water, marking the sand with lines to show the most likely area the missing ring would be in. As I put my feet into the water OOPS I forgot to take off my shorts. I took care of that shortcoming and back in the water Leighton had his first signal, an earring he wanted to show me. I took three steps toward Leighton and had a signal of my own. Bingo! The birthday boy’s ring was in my scoop, Happy Birthday John.

We has planned for up to 6 hours to search for the ring. We now had almost all that time to just enjoy the rest of the day, our main reason was in the pouch. Our return ferry ticket were for the 4pm sailing.
We made good use of the time detecting three beaches we had never been to before.

Back home arrangements for the ring’s return via the USPS was set. Another great day enjoying a wonderful hobby and making others smile was coming to a close. A peaceful night’s sleep without worries of a missing ring will be had by all, except John who will not know of the find until the surprise reuniting is completed by Holly. I only wish I could be there, I know it will be emotional and a day to remember.

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Falmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts – Lost, found & returned earring from a sandy beach

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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This Covid19 pandemic has caused more than physical pain. The pain that one feels as an item is ripped from an ear as a mask is removed is unbearable. I have been called to find two hearing aids and Madelan’s 3 piece diamond stud earring is the second diamond stud I have answer the request to help. I have been successful in each search. The problem of these items is the amount of metal that the detector must recognize a very small amount to say the least. In the case of the hearing aids only the battery is recognized. There is even less metal in most stud earrings.

Now that you know what a detectorist is up against on with the story.

Madelan is a frequent visitor to the beach and on one day she was involved in a ring search which I was later call in on. She was present when I found the ring and said she would never forget the event. Good thing she did not forget how to contact me. She now needed my help in finding one of her custom made 3 piece diamond stud earrings. The parts of the earring are: the back was a butterfly, the circle was an invisible jacket for the solitaire stud. Of course when called to help I was on my way. Again I called on Leighton another Ring Finder to help as I knew it would be difficult to find the 3 small pieces.

Frank, Madelan’s son had made and “X” in the sand and bet his mother a pizza that is where her earring is. The initial search did not reveal the earring. Tweaking my detector for maximum sensitivity at a specific frequency ensured the best response when the coil was directly over any one of the parts. And Yes, Frank was owed a pizza for dinner. With the finely tweaked detector the part could not hide anymore. The three pieces were found, cleaned and returned to Madelan.

Everyone on the beach enjoyed watching and later talking to Leighton and myself. Photos taken, stories exchanged and many Thank You passed before Frank and his mother were off to their favorite pizza house for an enjoyable dinner. Leighton and myself returned home for a good nights sleep as we had scheduled a 6 hour hunt for a lost wedding band the next day. How much more enjoyment can one person endure?

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14k Gold Wedding Band recovered in Waupaca County

  • from Green Bay (Wisconsin, United States)
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Kevin was making memories, tossing his kids off the swimming raft into the lake when a unwelcome memory intervened – his wedding band also decided to take a plunge.   The bottom was 12 – 15 down with limited visibility.   Luckily, Jeff Wettstein was available with his hookah technology.     Tom Caldie was the aquanaut, and he recovered the ring perched on top of some invasive milfoil plants after almost two hours of gently sweeping over the top.  Lucky for that, as deep silt was under the plants, and the ring could have been dislodged and sunk down too deep for recovery.  It took a light touch to detect a signal without losing the ring forever, but it was well worth the effort.     This is why they call this the “Book of Smiles!”

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Beachcomber, Cahoon Hollow, Wellfleet, Massachusetts – Armenian gold cross lost, found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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The day before Kyle’s graduation he was playing volleyball and sporting his graduation gift of a white gold necklace and an Armenian cross. A quick jump, a spiked ball and on the way down to the sand the net caught the cross which then was in a free-fall into the sand. Kyle found the necklace and he and several others were not so fortunate in finding the cross. He left the beach in the dark and did not sleep well as his wish was to wear the cross on the virtual graduation. That was not to happen.

Just before the ceremony Kyle’s found a link to TheRingFinders.com and called Luke. Luke was in heavy traffic leaving the Cape for the day and would not be able to search until the next day. As TheRingFinders often do, he called me to take on the search. I did.

I would wait until the pay to park was lifted and there were less people on the beach. My plan partially worked. I did not have to pay to park, but I did wait on the volleyball game reach a point were the players would take a 10 minute break. They knew of the loss and some had some were part of the previous day’s search. I thanked the players and started my search. It only took about 6 minutes before I had the cross and left to meet Kyle for the return. As I left everyone said how amazed they were and to pass congratulations on to Kyle.

A drive that should take 10 minutes took almost an hour due to the Cape Visitors trying to find a meal or to leave the Cape. Just bad timing. We made the meeting, passed the co-dos, took photos, told a few stories, and parted or ways with smiles on everyone’s face. Kyle’s smile was the biggest of all.

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Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts – Wedding Band lost, found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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Matt took one dive too many. On the second dive his grandfather’s wedding band which is now worn as Matt’s wedding band slipped from his finger into the depths of Nantucket Sound. It was about 3pm and I was getting ready for Leighton’s arrival for an afternoon of detecting fun. It was then when Matt called and relayed the information of his lost ring. What luck, Leighton was on his way, not need to call him. Two searchers are definitely better to have searching than one.

We met Matt on the beach, got the run down on how and were his ring was lost. Leighton asked Matt to go to the spot where he thought he lost the ring. I was following when I heard a signal that was from a pull tab. Continuing on, my second signal proved to be the object of search. I call all to come to the beach where the ring was verified as the missing ring.

Matt removed the ring from my scoop, smiled and was very thankful as you can see from the picture below. All this in less than 2 hours from the time the ring slipped from Matt’s finger. This return was made only 75 feet from a ring return the previous week. Just loving this hobby.

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Craigville, Hyannis, Massachusetts – Lost necklace, cross and ring found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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Three times was the number of detecting hunts it took to retrieve Oleg’s three pieces of jewelry. During the first try I thought my skill was lacking because I had a ring in my pouch but could not locate either of the other two pieces of jewelry. It was time to call it quits for the evening and give Oleg the ring and apologize that I had not found the other to pieces. I was feeling bad, but not as bad when Oleg told me the ring I found was not his. And to make things worse, it was his 12th anniversary.

I requested that he not replace the items for at least two weeks. I wanted more time to locate the jewelry. The second try was not much better except I found an Apple watch series 5 – see the related story. Then it happened, I got stung by a jelly fish. OUCH!!!!!!!!! But still no ring.

Two days later Leighton Harington (also a Ring Finder) and I were meeting for a get-together hunt. As so, this was the perfect chance to end the madness of looking for Oleg’s lost articles. About 30 minutes into the hunt I found Oleg’s ring and a minute later the cross. Leighton came to the area and because the detector he was using was more sensitive to small link chains he had a better chance at locating the chain and he did. The bad part of the hunt was yet to come. And it did with a painful outcome for both Leighton and myself. We both were stung by jelly fish.

So much for the found items. It is time to return them, but how? A friend could pick them up, I could hold onto the item until Oleg could return to the Cape, or the dreaded USPS. I convinced Oleg to trust the USPS service. And the pieces were posted with tracking number and expected delivery day as Friday. The package was delivered a day early, but to the neighbors mail box. The mix up was rectified and Oleg face was smiling once again and his heart filled with happiness.

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Craigville, Barnstable, Massachusetts Apple Watch found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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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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Gold Heirloom Wedding Ring Lost at Sea 19 Days Westport WA

  • from Mercer Island (Washington, United States)
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SeattleRingHunter Lost Item Recovery Specialist LAND & SCUBA Call ASAP 206-618-8194

Watch video link below…

Jonathan contacted me explaining a few weeks prior he and his wife were surfing at Westport WA. He told me that he stashed all of his gear on the big rocks near the shore line. However when he started walking in the surf he was concerned about his gold heirloom wedding ring. At this moment when he went to check his ring it got loose and fell off his finger. He watched it fall into the ocean water and was devastated. He then spent a lot of focused time and energy searching the sands hoping to find his ring. Even after purchasing a pair of swim goggles and returning the next day at low tide to no avail Jonathan was not able to locate his gold wedding band. After this experience he did an online search on metal detecting for a lost ring. He found TheRingFinders.com website and started calling for help. A few other finders were unable to assist and Jonathan was told to give me a call. I answered the call and the hunt was on! I scheduled the hunt for an early morning tide with a two and a half hour drive with nothing more than a hope and a prayer that the cell service was good enough to support a face time video call. Jonathan stayed in Seattle as I headed out to the beach in the middle of the night. I reminded him to keep his phone on so I could call him once I arrived on the beach.

Fortunately the cell service was good for a FaceTime call. We spent forty-five minutes on video chat in the dark with my flashlight crawling all over the beach in search of that one specific patch of rocks where he stowed his gear. After much time we settled on one specific spot that grabbed his attention from his best memory. I keep Jonathan on the call as I walked out into the surf and this was one of the smartest decisions I made all night that truly paid off immensely.

We were amazed his gold heirloom wedding ring, having been lost at sea in the surf sands for a total of nineteen days, remained in place as if held by the very hand of God until the day of recovery. I was honored to have the oppertunity in recovering Jonathan’s ring. Now his cherished family heirloom wedding ring can live on as an example to all to never give up on hope and faith. A truly inspiring story and reminder to each of us that difficult situations can and do end with success!

Watch this full featured video:

Cheers,

Jeff Morgan

#SeattleRingHunter

206-618-8194

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