All six rings were wedding bands: two were platinum; two were white gold; and two were yellow gold and all six rings were lost by vacationers near or in the waters of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The first lost ring was found on a down hill slope heading toward a very wet marsh area with heavy over growth. It was thought the ring was in the marsh, a thought I did not want to pursue. Just as I was about to give up on the slope and put my boots on to go into the muck my ATPro locked onto the ring’s signal. Many Smiling Faces and words of praise added to the vacationer’s enjoyment.
The second call was from a swimmer who had lost his ring while playing football in the water only minutes after arriving on the Cape for a summer vacation. The vacation did have a rough start, but ended with Smiles.
Five days later a call to help search one of the Cape’s bay side beaches for a lost wedding band resulted in more Smiling Faces for another ball playing vacationer.
The next two rings were returned three days apart. Both calls for help came from a neighboring town’s lifeguard who had also aided in a ring’s return last year. One ring was found in the dry sand very near to a very deep hole a youngster had been digging. Had I been an hour later the ring may have found itself under 18 inches of sand and out of the range of my detector. The second call led me into the surf for another successful search. Both of these returns made for many Smiling Faces.
The sixth ring took a few days to find. It started when all I had to go on was street name near the beach were the ring had slipped off a finger; it was a long shot at best. Three days later I received a phone call from the owner who answered the pertinent questions that would help me focus on the ring’s location. Information that was essential was: location (water or dry sand), time of day, depth of bather at time of loss, and a description of the ring etc. Three hours later I was in the water again and it still took an hour before my Infinium sounded off indicating the ring’s location, retrieval and return to the owner sporting a now Smiling Face.
A word of wisdom I wish to pass along follows: when an object is lost in the water or dry sand the person should stay in the immediate area, have someone get a hand full of coins, bottle caps or pull tabs and mark the spot where the loss happened. Then contact a nearby detectorist to help in the recovery. One worldwide organization that has detectorists that can help is: www.TheRingFinders.com. Since becoming a member of TheRingFinders two years ago I have helped over 30 people that have lost an item. Another source for help could be any local metal detector dealer or club.
Rick Browne
A family outing at Fox Brook Park, near Brookfield, Wisconsin, turned into an all-hands-on-deck search for a tungsten wedding band belonging to Steven Graetz. Despite the best efforts of friends, the ring eluded discovery in the shallow beach. I was out of the country at the time, but Steven still managed to locate me through The Ring Finder’s website and we made search arrangements soon after I returned. 
