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Engagement Ring Lost for 4 months! – Pensacola Beach – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)

I am so honored to be able to write up this story as one of the most amazing ring returns I have had with the Ringfinders. I warn you, it’s probably going to be a long one. 😃 2019 has been a great year. Early in the spring I had a call from a couple that had lost both the wife’s engagement ring and her wedding band out in a very large area of sand. My Father-in-Law, Tom Ledew had a freshwater machine but he didn’t have a saltwater machine. He had expressed some interest in the Ringfinders so I decided to ask him to join me and loan him one of my Saltwater machines. You can read the long story on another post but suffice it to say, Tom found one and I found the other and he now has a good Beach machine and is hooked. 😄. So that brings us to our current story… back in July, the day after the Blue Angels flew, I got a call from a very nice young man named Thomas. He had proposed to his beautiful bride, Dani only a few months earlier and she had not had the chance to have the engagement ring properly sized. They were in the water at Quietwater beach along with hundreds of other people and the ring just slipped off her finger sometime in the afternoon. I immediately came out to the beach and got all of the information that I could, right down to pictures from the boat, the tides and even the gps coordinates where the boat they were in was anchored during the air show. It was a huge area as far as water recoveries go but this is one of the nicest couples that I have met and I set out to do my best. I searched everywhere and dug up hundreds of pull tabs and I even found two other rings (one, I was able to find the owner in Tennessee 😃) but I could not find Thomas and Dani’s ring. I was bummed but I knew it was a large area so I asked if I could come out at sunrise the next morning. They said of course and I put in a few hours that morning and then put in a few more after work. All to no avail. I told Thomas that I could not find it and he was down but I told him I truly thought his ring was out there and with his permission I would like to keep looking for it when able and I would also like his permission to have my Father-in- Law help me with the search. Thomas said I could do whatever but felt the ring was lost forever and he said with all the people swimming that day he feared someone had seen it on the bottom and picked it up. I told him not to worry and that maybe one day I would come across it and call them. Fast forward 4 months and here we are in November. They were such a nice couple that I just haven’t been able to let their ring go. Anytime I am out that way, I always search for it a bit. I even came up with some down home engineering that anchors into the sand and lets me do overlapping circles to be absolutely sure I hadn’t missed a spot. Tom had been out to help me several times also and was becoming equally vested in finding this ring. Well within these 4 months, Tom Ledew was accepted into the Ringfinders over in Orange Beach, AL. (Congrats Tom! 🎉) and he had a recovery in the Gulf. I mentioned that Tom has a good beach machine but he remembered that first experience with my Excal which is simply the best machine there is for finding a ring out in the saltwater. Tom asked if he could borrow it and of course I said yes. He found the ring that day in AL so quickly and was so amazed that he had to have one for himself. Then it got really cold 🥶 and our plans to get in the water got put on pause. Through it all I kept going back to thinking about Thomas and Dani’s ring and I just knew I had covered the area where they thought it was. I also kept thinking that maybe Thomas was right and someone had picked it up but I just knew that gold sinks in the sand so quickly that it was almost impossible. I decided that the only possibility was it had to be a bit deeper where maybe the boat had swung around and Dani had to swim out a little to get on the ladder. Swimming + an oversized ring = an unhappy couple. So Tom and I made a plan to go back out and see if my theory was correct. Tom beat me to it and got his coil over it first but I am so glad that he did. This was his first major target recovered with the machine he tried for the first time earlier this year in the spring. It all comes full circle. 😃. The most fun I had was calling Thomas. Dani happened to be sitting right next to him when I started telling them who I was. Thomas had saved my number as “the Ring Guy” so he knew pretty quickly. They were shocked that after 4 months (twice as long as they had been engaged) this random guy would call and tell them that he had the ring that would forever remind them of the day that Thomas proposed. Congrats y’all, I hope this will remind you through the years as it will me to never give up!  😊

Ring Lost On Siesta Key, Recovered By SRARC

SRARC Ring Finders Metal Detecting Service – Tampa Bay Area, Pinellas County, Manatee County & Sarasota County

Lost something important? We can HELP! Our services are FREE! Donations to the Club are accepted.

We will send a team of metal detector experts to search virtually any location. Some of the most common are parks, beaches, creeks and even your own backyard. If you have lost your ring or any other precious item, “Don’t Wait – Call Now.”

Ring Lost On Siesta Key, Recovered By SRARC

Susan and Bill arrived on Siesta Key from Rhode Island for a weekend of family reunion to celebrate Bill’s Birthday. Their children, two siblings along with their children and grandchildren were due to arrive the next day for the beginning of the party. They headed out to the beach for some sun and relaxation before the big event commenced. Susan took her freshly cleaned and polished engagement ring off and set it on her chair to put suntan lotion on. They left the chairs to walk down the beach and when they returned, they quickly folded their chairs and towels and returned to their rental. About an hour later Susan realized she had forgotten about her ring. They returned to the beach and searched but it was not to be found. At some point she mentioned the lost ring to the rental homeowner and the owner found The Ring Finders site and sent it to Susan. Susan found SRARC on the site and contacted Howard Mett’s while she was standing in the spot where she thought they had been sitting. Howard contacted Mike who responded and after arriving at the site he found it right where she thought it would be. As the ring was returned, she looked up at him with tears of joy and a great big smile. SRARC hopes that she can now relax and enjoy the upcoming reunion and celebration.

Lost Ring In Lewes Delaware, Found By Dave Milsted

  • from South Jersey (New Jersey, United States)
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I received a call from Jeff two days ago. While out walking in Lewes Delaware, he lost his wedding ring. He was trying to flick a cigarette, and when he did, his ring went flying. We made arrangements to meet today.

Jeff & Jason took me to the area where the loss occurred. It was a 25-foot by 15-foot area. It was cold, forty degrees and very windy. The area is overgrown with a lot of thorn bushes. Jeff had already searched the area. I fear that the ring may have been stepped on.

This search was not easy. The thorns were big and plentiful. I had to use a small coil on my metal detector. The long grass and vines on the ground kept entangling my detector. After 2 hours, I was discouraged. I recommended Jeff to come back at night with a flashlight and shine it into the 8-foot high sticker bushes. Maybe the ring got caught in one of the branches. Hopefully, the ring will shine in the light.

I gave it one more search in an area that was difficult to search. I got the tone I was waiting to hear. I moved away the thorn branches, long grass, and vines, there it was. It was partially buried in the ground.

We were all amazed that the ring was found. We had all given up hope. Hugs & handshakes were given. Now it was time to get warm! Another happy client!

Wedding Ring Lost in Douglas Park, Santa Monica…Found by Looking Out of the Box

  • from Redondo Beach (California, United States)

Steve’s Emergency Metal Detecting Service For You if you lost a ring or something precious to you. Don’t wait, time will work against you, please CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268

I was at home getting ready to grill up some Johnsonville brats for the family when I got a call from Vamsi. He had been at the park earlier in the day to be with his child. At one point the little one began pulling on his hand. At that time he realized his ring was gone. He wasn’t completely sure that was when the ring was lost, but it seemed the most likely time. I was going to let him know that I was getting ready to cook for the family, and could come when I was done, when my wife who was standing near told me to go and find the ring. She knows how much this service helps people, and would rather wait on dinner to see someone have their joy restored. I took her advice, and told Vamsi I would be there right away.

When I got to the park Vamsi met me and took me over to the playground area where the loss was believed to have happened. There were multiple sand pits with different types of playground equipment, with walkways dividing them. He showed me the sand pit that he believed the loss to have occurred, and I began my search. I got a good signal, and dug a coin. I got another signal, and another coin, and another, and then the area went quiet. I let him know the ring was not there, and asked if he could show me the other area where he thought the ring might have come off. The other pit was on the other side of the playground, about 70 feet away. We started moving in that direction, when I decided to do a search in the sand pit that was behind where he had been originally. I made a few passes when I received another good signal, and dug. I came up empty, and checked again, it was still there so I dug deeper, and came up empty. I checked again, and again it was still there, but deeper than I could have thought the ring might have sunk, and dug deeper. This time I had something in the scoop. I turned on my head light, and in the scoop was Vamsi’s ring. He was very happy, and excited to be able to go home and let his child know that the ring was found. What a fun night!

Vamsi sent the following testimonial:

A cool thing that happened to me today, a bit of an emotional rollercoaster (don’t worry, nothing serious):
For background – my wedding band was purchased from Amazon (prime!) for a variety of reasons. (1) It was $7, at a time that I was spending a lot on other wedding-related expenses, (2) I’m notorious for losing personal items (especially sunglasses) and didn’t want to risk losing something valuable, (3) its cheapness (and replaceability – did I mention Amazon prime?) would cancel any potential emotional attachment, (4) I thought it would make for a funny story.
Well, as things worked out, I’ve held on to the damn thing for almost 5 years. And never lost it outside my house, but the brief times I can’t find it around here I freak out. Emotionally attached indeed.
Today, my kids had the day off for Veteran’s Day, but I was at work. Our new babysitter was helping with the kids, and she took my toddler son to the park a few blocks away. I work nearby so I decided to drop by and say hi. My son was so excited, and grabbed me to follow him to the swing. I chatted nearby with the babysitter, then followed him to another slide. He grasped my hand tightly again to follow him, and I froze – I felt a sudden panic as if I felt my ring fall off. I frantically looked around, sifted through the nearby sand, but couldn’t find anything. Or maybe it didn’t fall off, and it was never there? I’ve definitely left it (or lost it) at home a few times, so that was the more plausible explanation – just a phantom sensation associated with his squeeze and seeing my naked finger. On my walk back to my office, I called my mother-in-law to ask her to check the bathrooms or my nightstand, in case I left it. No dice, but I still knew it could be hiding somewhere.
I went back to the playground about 45 minutes later, did a cursory sweep of the area again and realized the futility of such a task. I spent the afternoon in a bit of a funk. Not certain it was lost on the playground, but very much not certain it wasn’t. This time felt different. I put up an ad on Nextdoor. I started researching metal detectors, and even ordered a basic one on Amazon. I looked for my ring and realized it’s been discontinued, much to my chagrin, but some other company offers an identical one (this time $18! alas!). I contemplated getting a nicer ring this time, but really wanted to keep trying to find it. After all, THIS is the ring that my wife put on my hand on our wedding day. I can’t pretend I’m not invested.
I returned home, futilely searched the few spots it might be, then gave it up to spend time with my kids. My son was sad, but I knew this wasn’t his fault – his only “crime” was being so excited about seeing his father that he may have accidentally pulled off a cheap piece of jewelry? And I can’t even be sure that happened? Perspective!
Meanwhile, someone on Nextdoor recommended a metal detecting network called The Ring Finders, comprised mostly of volunteers and amateur sleuths. On a lark, I contacted the first guy listed in my neighborhood. A man named Steve (https://theringfinders.com/Steve.Smith/)  seemed more than willing to come give it a shot, and said our best bet was to get started ASAP. We arranged to meet at 6:30. I felt sort of sheepish as I drove over to the park, as there was still some shot that I had misplaced it at home, and imagined the entire episode. He pulled out a nicer looking metal detector than the beginner one I had ordered, and a scoop to sift the sand. We set out in the darkness to the area I believed the ring might be hiding. Not 30 seconds later, and he gets a ping, almost exactly where it would be in my mind’s eye! Eureka! Instead, his bucket came up with a half dollar coin. Cool, but not the treasure we were after. He methodically swept the area and moved further away from our starting point. He came up with a few dirty pennies, but nothing else. I started to lose hope, but Steve was undaunted, and we started to move towards the only other area I knew my son and I had been.
Just before we left, he decided to check the other side of the path, in case the ring had flung itself a few meters in the wrong direction. My hopes were fading fast, but onwards. He got a faint pinging, one that indicated the source was buried a little deeper. I was sure this was another penny. The scoop came up with some detritus, but the pinging persisted. He scooped again, and then again. Lo and behold, my little ring! Buried about 6 inches deep, no idea how. I was floored, and beyond grateful. This was a pretty great way to redeem a day that was heading south quickly. Steve asked to photograph the ring, and myself, and we both left the park in great spirits. A good day!
Anyway, just thought I’d share. Thanks to Nextdoor and definitely to Steve. That was pretty cool.

 

Don’t let the County beach cleaning machines take your lost valuable, 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, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice Beach, Zuma 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.

CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268

Ammo Box Time Capsule in Palos Verdes, CA…Found After 8 Years of Being Buried

  • from Redondo Beach (California, United States)

Steve’s Emergency Metal Detecting Service For You if you lost a ring or something precious to you. Don’t wait, time will work against you, please CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268

Shawn called me asking if I could help him. It was a unique request, he and his friend had buried an ammo box (time capsule) full of their personal things 8 years prior, and now decided to dig it up. His friend had gotten very ill, so Shawn thought it would be something that could bring a bit of light back to him if he brought this memory to his friend. Also he was doing some construction in the area, and thought the time capsule might be covered, making the recovery impossible, so he wanted to get I found. We arranged a time when we were both available to do the search.

When I arrived, Shawn took me to the area, and showed me where he believed the box had been buried. It wasn’t a very big area, maybe 8×8 feet, but the ground was very hard and rocky, so a general dig would have been difficult. I tried one detector, and was receiving too much interference from surrounding metal, then switched detectors to be able to pin point the buried box better. I found one signal that was intermittent, so I continued to look. I then found another better signal under an earthen ledge. Shawn seemed to think the second signal might have been closer to the area where the box was originally buried, so he began to dig there. He carved out a few inches of the ledge with no box, so I checked again, but this time checked the depth range on the detector. It showed that he needed to go in about 9 to 10 inches, so he continued to dig. He finally hit something hard and metallic, and figured he found the box. He dug a little more finding that it was the box. Shawn then called his children and their friend over to finish the dig so as to include them in the excitement of finding “buried treasure”. It was fun to see their excitement as they dug out the time capsule, and then opened it up. I am sure that Shawn’s friend will also find some joy in seeing this item he and his good friend had participated in burying together. This is truly a fun service to be a part of!

 

Don’t let the County beach cleaning machines take your lost valuable, 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, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice Beach, Zuma 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.

CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268

Wedding Ring Lost at Venice Beach…Found and Returned

  • from Redondo Beach (California, United States)

Steve’s Emergency Metal Detecting Service For You if you lost a ring or something precious to you. Don’t wait, time will work against you, please CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268

I received a call from David; he lost his wedding ring at the beach, and although he knew the small area in which it was lost, was unable to find it. I asked a few questions, and let him know that I would come immediately so as to not let time work against the recovery of his ring.

When I got to where they were sitting at the beach, I could see where they had been looking because of the grid marks in the sand. I then asked David to show me what happened, and from then I began my search. I swung once over some flip flops, and got a good signal, but noticed they had small buckles on them, so I moved them to another area. I swung again, and received the same signal, dug once, and had David’s ring in my scoop. It seems as though they had placed the flip flops right over the ring as they searched for it. David was very happy to have his ring back, and I was happy to have made his day!

 

Don’t let the County beach cleaning machines take your lost valuable, 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, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice Beach, Zuma 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.

CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268

How to Find Lost Keys – Hire a Metal Detector.

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
A rather desperate Glenn phoned me at work yesterday afternoon – The jeans he was wearing when he went out to price a job had a previously undiscovered hole in the back pocket.
He parked his BMW, dropped the keys in his pocket and set to work.
His heart sank when he headed back to the car and realised his predicament.
There were a few catches to this tale; He needed the car to operate his business, The section was derelict and overgrown with waist high weeds, metallic scrap from renovations littered the site (along with domestic detritus from the previous habitation), said property was a solid 2 hour drive away – a smidge under 100miles(!) … and they were lost four weeks ago.
The one redeeming point was the fact that the keys were ‘safe’, albeit lost. They were tucked in the weeds somewhere and not going anywhere.
Mind you, neither was Glenn without them.
I managed to wrangle the next morning off work and headed south at 3am, I needed to be back at the desk at noon so made sure I was on site and ready to go at first light.
Using photos Glenn had taken of the property for his quote, I had several good known points and was able to determine his aged tracks between them.
The actual task of getting the coil close enough to the ground was impossible with the matted thatch of grass and thistles that had grown noticeably in the warm early summer weather.  I would be fibbing if I said I didn’t regret taking this one on when I saw the state of the undergrowth, especially with only a few precious hours available and a revisit out of the question.

First of all, I simply walked his exact path without the detector in order to define the known route and avoid confusion with other peoples tracks and the disturbance later when vegetation had been swept around by the coil.  The exact stops where he took the photos were dotted with fluorescent spray paint. These would become focus points where body position changed (turning, crouching etc). Likewise, places where he walked downhill were likely a higher probability as the material on the back pockets is more relaxed and mobile than when stretched going uphill.
I verified with Glenn by phone whether the keys were in left or right pocket. Since he walked clockwise around the property it weighted the search to that side of the tracks, slightly.
Out with the detector.  I started with a fast pass along the entire route. The endless hits on old buckles, tarpaulin grommets, roofing iron offcuts, toy cars and bits of galvanised tin was soul-destroying but each target had to be verified.
Second pass was a wider sweep, nudging slightly further into the weeds either side, although it was so dense the coil wasn’t making any headway.
I switched to a much smaller coil but while it was more efficient at getting into the grass, it became quickly apparent that with the lesser footprint I wouldn’t be able to clear the area before running out of time.
Final plan was to physically break down the thistles and flatten the grass as much as I could, then use my ‘dustbin lid’ big coil with its larger detection area and greater depth capabilites.
Three hours after starting, I got a reasonable high tone, out with the pinpointer and rummaged it through the long grass.
Parting the stalks showed a key, several keys!
Not sure who was more relieved, me or Glenn when he got the photo of the now found keys.

Lost Wedding Ring While Hunting In Parkland County, Alberta

  • from Edmonton (Alberta, Canada)
Contact:

   

I received a call from Steve on Saturday asking for my assistance to locate his white gold ring which had been lost in the bush while hunting.  Steve explained that while he was driving out of the bush he got his truck stuck axel deep in muskeg, and had to be pulled out by the landowner.  When he realized his ring was missing  he went back home to get a metal detector.  Steve checked the location he thought the ring was in and after a couple of hours he gave up. He searched the internet on how to find rings and came upon my article in a newspaper and gave me a call.

Since the ring was lost on private land I told Steve I required permission to search his land.  Yesterday we got the ok to search, but in the mean time it had rained and snowed and the temperature had dropped to -28 Celsius over night.  I told Steve I would meet him in the afternoon as the weather was supposed to warm up to -7 Celsius.

When I met up with Steve at the location where he thought the ring was lost I was glad it had snowed the night before as it gave me an advantage to locate the ring.  I was able to track my foot steps and after about 2 hrs of searching the area with no luck Steve was getting very discouraged  and thought  the ring may have been carried away by his truck tires  somewhere else,  and that it  was pointless continuing the search.  I told Steve that he gives up to soon and told him that  if the ring is near, I will find it.

As dusk was fast approaching,  again Steve wanted to call it quits.  I told him I would get my other detector and do a quick search of the area.  I asked Steve to recall the last time he saw his ring and he told me that he had his hand in the mud and had shaken  his hand near the rear tire.

I expanded my search to about 20 feet from where the truck had been stuck, and heard Steve say ” it’s not here”,  then I heard the sweet tone of my detector!  The expression on Steve’s face was unbelievable.   He was so grateful to have his ring back on his finger.

Thank you Steve.

 

 

Lost Ring Willmore Park Edson Alberta

  • from Edmonton (Alberta, Canada)
Contact:

 

  

I received a call from Rod regarding his fiancee’s lost engagement ring.  After asking Rod a few questions I agreed to drive out to Edson which is a 2 hrs drive west of Edmonton.  I told Rod to have his fiancee  call me.

Tamara called me and explained that she was walking on the trails in Willmore park and noticed that her ring was missing from her finger.  Tamara told me that she had a metal detector and had spent a few hours retracing her foot path but had not found the ring.  I asked her if she had checked her car and the clothing she was wearing that day and she told me she had gone through everything and everywhere and that her kids had also checked.

When I meet up with Tamara in Edson  I again asked her if she had checked her car and jacket pockets and she said yes,  then as we drove to the area where she thought she had lost her ring, and as I get out of  my car at the park, I heard Tamara screaming “I found my ring”.   She had found her ring in the inside pocket of her Jacket!

Thank you Tamara for calling me to help you find your Ring.

FOUND LOST WEDDING BAND! ELKINS PARK, PA John Favano

  • from North Wildwood (New Jersey, United States)

Last week Merle realized that her wedding band was missing after she gave her dog a bath on her deck. She searched through the leaves but did not find the ring. That’s when she found me.  After gathering some information from her daughter, Brooke, I started to search in the leaves and ivy near the deck.  A few minutes later, the ring was recovered!