Lost & Found Category | Page 7 of 544 | The Ring Finders

Background:  I received my first TRF call on 15-Oct-26 from Linda that her husband David had just dropped his gold wedding band at a dock on the Stono River at Fort Pemberton Park in Charleston SC.  They were visiting from Indiana and were returning home within a few days.  He was fishing at the dock, which had just opened in September and his ring slipped off and fell in the water right near a piling.  I got as many details as I could and set a plan to meet the next day well before low tide.  Linda estimated the water depth at 4 feet deep during an outgoing tide.  Low tide on Friday 16-Oct was to occur just before 7:00 pm.  Sunset was at 6:46 pm.

On Site Conditions:  No Swimming Signs! Possible bull shark habitat, some chance for alligator encounters (but not concerned about either after searching incident history).  The water depth was about 8-9 feet deep two hours prior to low tide.  The current and water depth made a normal jump in the water and sweeps with the detector virtually impossible.  No access to the water level except for climbing down to the cross-bracing right at the piling where the ring was dropped into the water.  The cross-bracing being at the right spot was a game changer.

Gear:  Minelab Manticore, titanium CKG scoop and carbon fiber shaft, ProFind 40 pinpointer, wetsuit, 16′ aluminum telescoping pole, duct tape.

Approach:  Since the water was too deep and the sun was going down as low tide neared, the only option I could attempt was to duct tape my detector to the 16′ telescoping pole, then climb down the dock structure to sweep with the headphone coil stretched out – effectively creating a 14′ long detector!  After sweeping the probable area, I hit on some good target IDs (and had to raise it up above the water quickly) to see the screen each time.  Once I had some good hits, I had to climb back up, remove the pole from the detector and tape the scoop to it.  After several scoops of clay-like mud and oyster shells, I pulled up a tear drop sinker, hook and leader – classic fake out target ID for gold.  After another climb up to the dock, I swapped the scoop out for the detector and duct taped it up again.  After finding more good target IDs around the spot at the piling, I switched back to taping the scoop to the pole again.  I found another fake out item – a small, open pocket knife.  As the sun was going down and the fatigue of scooping mud and oysters, shaking and sifting for what was now the 20-30th time, I began thinking I’d have to return in the morning.  In the back of my mind, each time I washed the clay off my hand I was expecting a friendly nibble from a juvenile bull shark – or worse.  It was near dark, mosquitoes swarming and balancing on the cross-brace while wresting the leverage of scooping and sifting each time were taking their toll.  Linda was telling me to let her know when I was going to take my last scoop to take pics, etc.  I had taken the last several scoops near the piling, but a little downstream to factor in the drift from the tide.  I figured I would check the scoop I had and then do one more before climbing back up.

Closure:  After two hours, I sifted the scoop that I knew would almost be the last – only one more would be all I could handle by then.  After a little sifting and using my hand to feel the clay, in near darkness, I barely saw the unmistakeable shape and shimmer of a gold wedding band!  I kept quiet and carefully put the ring on my finger, clenched my fist and yelled “I think I’m gonna come up”.  Linda said “You should”…. I responded “I’m coming up because I found the ring!!”.  Screams erupted everywhere.  What a great moment and I was so glad to recover this ring for Linda and David!  A little luck, a nod from God, and some ingenuity to use the detector and scoop in 8-10′ of water all paid off!  This could not have been a better ending as they reach their 30th anniversary soon!

More pictures showing the level of difficulty for this recovery: https://photos.app.goo.gl/csnN9fJEUfibGx1P9