Lost Ring Gulf Shores, AL – FOUND!!!
Yesterday, I had already been in the water in Gulf Shores for hours and I was worn out. I got into some dry clothes in the parking lot and started to head back towards my wife in Orange Beach when I looked at my phone. When I saw that I had several missed calls from the same Arkansas number, I knew someone needed help. Before I left the parking lot I listened to one of the voice mails and then called back Whitney who was very nice and very concerned. She was down from Arkansas with her husband Doug and they had recently celebrated their 10th anniversary. In fact, he had just given her a beautiful diamond wrap ring to go around her main ring as a gift and they had just had it soldered on. So you can imagine her dismay when she was messing with a boogie board on the second sandbar and the rope quickly snatched her ring off sending it flying into the gulf. I ended up only being a few miles away and told them that I would come immediately. When I got there, the tide was going out and they were really concerned because the sandbar was obviously moving. They only had hours until that sand swallowed up her heavy ring and it had already been three since she lost it. Luckily Doug had acted quickly when he saw Whitney panicked in the Gulf and called out for her not to move. He came out and got a great frame of reference off a building and even threw out a few quarters as markers. When I got set I quickly found the quarters but unfortunately the ring was nowhere to be found. I started to see everyone get really down as I made lap after lap but I tried to keep them positive and told them with moving sand and waves, sometimes you just have to put your time and effort in. I had about one or two laps left until I knew Whitney would know we were out of space and I could see it in her eyes that they were resigned that they were going to lose her precious ring. That’s when I heard that beautiful sound in my ears. I looked up and saw that it was close to as far out as they thought but a bit west. I couldn’t help but get my hopes up as I realized this could be it. I very gently placed my scoop so I wouldn’t scratch it and as soon as I saw the flash of a diamond I reached down in the scoop and grabbed it letting the sand rush off in the water. I held it up with a big smile and Doug came running first. He held it out to Whitney and I got to watch tears of joy show just how special it was to them. I’m so glad I could fix the first day of this trip Doug and Whitney and I wish you many more happy decades together.
I was called late in the afternoon to find a lost wedding and engagement ring in the sand at Pensacola Beach. The beach this day was packed with folks enjoying the weekend and fine weather. Sarah and Ron had their umbrella and beach chairs set with an extra shade tent for the infant baby. Sarah took her rings off and set them on the cooler while applying sunscreen on the baby. The baby squirmed about and somehow kicked the ring that when flying through the air, landing in the sand and burrowed in out of sight. At this point Sarah didn’t know the ring was missing but after taking care of the baby and getting him settled she soon discovered the rings were missing. Sarah and Ron frantically looked around for the rings, sifting the sand as best they could with no success. People were weaving their way through the crowded beach and impacting the area where the rings could have been buried. When I arrive I first surveyed the area they thought was the most likely spot. There were beach chairs, umbrellas, coolers and towels laid out every where. I politely asked everyone it I could move there property so I could check for the lost rings. Luckily everyone was cooperative. It didn’t take long to locate a couple of targets, the first was a aluminum can pull top that sounded surprisingly similar to a gold ring that had been soldered together. The second was the ring! Their beach neighbor had a tent set up with fabric sides. Apparently the baby sent the ring flying which hit the side of the tent with a little bounce and settled in the sand that may have been stepped on sending it a little deeper in the dry sand. In any event Sarah and Ron were overjoyed the ring was back on her finger. They were all smiles and grateful. 
A local surf shop in Pensacola, Waterboyz, celebrated its 30 year anniversary since opening its doors. They celebrated by having a special ring make for the founders. Since the founders surfed, one of them lost his ring in the water at a break west of the Pensacola Pier. The ring was solid silver and my detector literally screamed when I passed the coil over it. The ring was found and returned to its happy owner who was amazed it was recovered from the surf. I was more than satisfied to have been of service, and had a long shot recovery success. 
