Terry Cannon called me today and explained that she lost her engagement ring in her front yard early this morning. I came out a few hours later and was able to locate her beautiful engagement ring within 45 minutes. Happy I could help and thanks for the reward!
I had been at the market this Saturday afternoon, and just pulled up in front of the house about 1:00 PM, when I received a call from Mike who had lost his ring in the sand earlier in the day. He is on vacation from Michigan, and did not want to leave his token of love behind in California. I told him I would be there in 1/2 an hour, and got ready to go.
I met Mike at the location, and he took me out to the spot of the loss. We went over what he believed had happened to cause the loss, and I agreed with him that the ring should be in the immediate area. I set up and began the search, and got a couple of bottle caps, a pull tab and an old battery. After going over the area, I began a cross grid knowing that sometimes a ring can be on edge or turned in such a way as to not be able to find it in one direction, but able to find it if searched for in a perpendicular direction. During the third pass on the cross grid I got a good strong shallow signal, and reached down and plucked Mike’s ring from the sand. I asked Mike about his ring, type of metal, etc., and then opened my hand to show him what I had found. Needless to say, he was very happy, it was now about 2:00 PM. It took a little more than an hour from first call to recovery for me to bring a great big smile back on Mike’s face, and that what it is all about.
Mike sent this nice complement:
Hey Steve,
If you lose your ring or other metal item of value, 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, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice 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.
Lindsey had been on the beach the night before calling me. She and her friends were sitting in the sand enjoying the sunset and adult beverages. As they walked back off the beach, Lindsey realized that she was missing her IPhone 6+. It was dark and they couldn’t find it that night.
The next morning she borrowed her Mother’s phone which she set up the “Find My Phone App” .. After four hours of frustration she found my contact number after searching online for a metal detector and called me.
It was about a 20 mile drive that took about 45 minutes. We stayed in contact via cellphone. Lindsey was sitting on the beach worried about the possibility of losing all the information she had on her phone. We decided to not trust the GPS coordinates that didn’t seem to work for her. I grid searched the location where they had sat the night before. Then the place the app had directed her. Searched north of the location about 40 feet. She was positive that they had not been south of that spot.
Here is how it works. I told Lindsey that I wouldn’t be satisfied until I did a few more lines of my grid to the south. Yes!! About 25 ft. into the location where she said they had not been. One IPhone 6 that was not lost anymore. It happens more than I want to believe. Successful searches happen when you search just outside the box. If I ever search for a iPhone using the Find My iPhone app, I will start at the pinpoint coordinates and spiral out with my grid pattern.
Lindsey was a happy to have her phone back, but she had gone through a lot of emotional ups and downs that day. Especially when we were running out of location she had remembered she had been.
James called me about 5:30pm tonight saying he lost his wedding band in the sand and wondered if I was available to help find it. While we were talking I found out the resort they were staying at was in Myrtle Beach which is TRF Matt Fry’s area. I called Matt and he told me to go ahead and take the call.
Got to the location in about 25 minutes and met James and his wife Angelia on the beach who are vacationing with their family from Canada. James pointed out the area and I started my grid search. About half way through my second pass I get the “tone”. Bingo, dug a scoop and saw his ring laying in the sand, picked it up, blew it off and handed it back to James. Their excitement of getting his ring back is what it’s all about.
James and Angelia, thank you very much for trusting in me to help find your ring and your generous gift. Have a very safe trip home tomorrow!!
Jim
Mrs. Volberg contacted me to discuss a ring she lost while walking her dog after a large snowstorm in Northampton, Massachusetts. The last memory of her lost ring was earlier that morning, just before she put on her gloves to go to Smith Farm Fields.
We began searching several places she stopped to let her dog off-leash. In one place, in particular, she remembers the dog getting startled due to a cross-country skier. She remembers removing her gloves during the commotion – glove removal is a common way to lose a ring in the snow. As we searched, a man stopped and asked what we were looking for with a metal detector. When we told him about the lost ring and the potential search areas, he revealed that he found a woman’s 14k gold ring in the middle of the path last weekend! The location and time frame lined up perfectly. Mr. Baldwin not only found her ring in the snow, but he went a step further and verified ownership by requiring Mrs. Volberg to identify the engraving on the inside of the ring. However, she had a moment of doubt when she recalled no engraving inside the lost gold band. What are the chances that Mr. Baldwin picked up this lost ring and happened to be at Smith Farm Fields during the same day and time I was searching for Mrs. Volberg’s lost ring! Thank you, Mr. Baldwin, for your honesty and caring personality!
Mrs. Volberg & Mr. Baldwin
Lost a piece of jewelry in the snow while in a public place? Jewelry is commonly lost during snowstorms. Don’t waste your time renting a metal detector, have a member of The Ring Finders find your lost ring or jewelry. I serve Hartford, Connecticut, surrounding areas, and even Massachusetts! If you lost a piece of jewelry, contact me now through www.metaldetectionkeithwille.com or call/text 860-917-8947.
Keith Wille’s Media Mentions:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/science/archaeology-metal-detectorists-pequot
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-lost-jewelry-hunters
http://www.theday.com/local/20160823/with-stroke-of-luck-waterford-resident-gets-his-ring-back
I was actually just finishing up an unsuccessful search for a ring lost in Malibu when Dave called me. He had just lost a tungsten carbide ring in a dry sand berm ( mound ) 10 feet high.
After he described that he had been messing around on a sand dune, I asked him to be careful not to move too much sand as this could get the ring out of range of a metal detector.
I was only 7 miles away from Dave’s location and able to meet him within 30 minutes. Another 10 minutes with my XP Deus metal detector on the steep hill of sand I got a good signal almost on top of the mound. A quick dig with my scoop and there was Dave’s ring.
We were lucky that I was in the area. 4pm on a week day is peak traffic time on Los Angeles freeways. It would have taken a couple hours, maybe three hours to drive the 70 miles from the other side of town.
I recently received a text from a nice woman, we will call her Betty in nearby Medford. She explained that her husband lost his wedding ring in their yard. She also stated that she was heartbroken. She found me by doing a search for metal detectors, she was going to rent one, but found the Ring Finders instead.
She described it as a plain white gold thin wedding band.
We made arrangements to search 2 days later. I arrived and looked over the area, lots of trees, shrubs and leaves. This could be a long hunt due to the size of the property.
I started a grid search and immediately found the underground sprinkler system. Other than that, there were no signals in the area. About 20 minutes into the search I got a good signal. I looked down and could see the ring through the grass.
I started to take a picture of the location and the ring when Betty came over to see what I was doing. I picked up the ring and held it out for her. Tears streamed from her eyes. I also received several hugs.
Another successful search. If you ever lose anything metal, don’t waste your time trying to rent a metal detector. It takes years to learn how to use one properly, especially if you are looking for jewelry. I can search in shallow water, sand, dirt and grass. Need a property marker found? Give me a call.
Jim called me, inquiring if my metal detector could locate a small hearing aid. My answer was, it depends on the location and the type of hearing aid. It would be necessary to meet at the location and I would need the other hearing aid or a spare battery.
Jim was sure he lost the hearing aid when he pulled a doggy pop bag from his pocket, where he had put his one and only hearing aid. It was a grassy area at a park which was a couple blocks from his home.
We met at the park and I was able to tune my XP Deus metal detector to get a reading from the small battery. The area was 20′ x 120′ with 2″ thick grass. The hearing aid was about the size of a cashew nut which made me think this would possibly be an eyeball find. Even though Jim had searched the evening before calling me, I know the lighting angle of the sun may make it easier to see at a different time of day.
I asked Jim to start at the opposite end of our search zone and I worked toward him. Twenty minutes into the search, Jim yelled at me, ” I Found It!” He was a happy man because it had just been repaired and he was upset at himself for carelessly putting it in his pocket with the plastic bag.
This ring find began when I got a call this morning from Danny visiting on a vacation to Hawaii from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Danny explained that he was in the protected beach area at around 5:30 PM the previous day when he jumped from a rock and started swimming ashore when his gold wedding band came off. He immediately went ashore got his wife Brittany and a mask and snorkel and went back into the water to look for his ring. Unfortunately he didn’t find his ring but fortunately for them they didn’t tell anyone and found the ring finders on the internet shortly their after. I met Danny & Brittany at the zoo parking lot and we proceeded down to the beach where the ring was lost. I explained that this area was the most detected beach in Hawaii and our odds would be slim but I would do my best to search the area. I marked my shore grid markers and went on the hunt. The area was sterile of any targets. Danny joined me in the chest deep water and was my visual marker for each leg of the grid. Initially Danny thought he was 20 feet from the breakwater wall but as I was passing that distance the search started to feel hopeless and that another detectorist already found the ring earlier that morning. I continued on and about 30 feet from the wall and a few feet from my Danny marker I got a screaming low tone target. I looked over at Danny and said I think we might have your ring. Two scoops later their was a fat gold ring in my scoop. I pulled the ring out of my scoop and showed it to Danny. Excitedly he exclaimed, “That’s it!” Several tourists nearby started clapping and Danny shouted to Brittany on the shore, “He found it!” Smiles all around and another vacation ends on a happy note. Aloha to Danny & Brittany!
Last Friday night I just happened to be looking at Craigslist when I noticed a post that was talking about a wedding ring lost not too far from where I live. The post said that the gentleman was leaving on a plane to go home, and could not go back and search for the ring, I also noticed that it had been recently posted, so I decided to get in touch with him to let him know I would try to help. I will let Nate’s testimonial about the loss and recovery tell the rest of the story.
Nate’s story:
I was skeptical that anyone could find my ring, but Steve is amazing and really came through for me!
So, on the last day of our recent vacation, while on a shuttle to LAX to fly back home, I realized my wedding ring was no longer on my finger. I was devastated and figured the ring I’d worn 18 years was gone forever. I wasn’t even sure where it had fallen off. I contacted the theme park and car rental agency without any luck. The next night, in a desperate “what do I have to lose” attempt, I searched the internet for help. I hesitantly placed a Craiglist ad in the “lost and found” section with a Google maps screen shot and address of the beach area we went to before flying back home. I offered a reward as incentive so if someone found it they might consider returning it to me instead pawning it. I was texted right away by a guy named “Steve” who was a member of “TheRingFinders.com” I figured he was probably a scammer. He called and left me a voicemail too – so I verified the website, and his phone number area code, which actually was from California. I called him back (Friday at 9:00pm) and I provided him some more details about where I thought I may have lost my ring near the beach. He was nice and sounded legit on the phone, and didn’t ask for any money from me. Steve went out right away, and within an hour (Friday at 9:52pm), he had recovered my ring and texted me a picture that looked like my ring. I was shocked and beyond happy! Ang and I couldn’t believe it – and so I asked him to provide a clearer picture of the front of the ring (the first was taken with a flash in the dark area where he found it). He sent a clear picture when he got home and it was definitely my ring! We arranged shipment, and a few days later, it is back on my finger as I type this message! I’m so grateful for Steve’s help. He is the real deal! So, if you ever lose a ring (or keys, or phone, etc) and need help – even from out of state – theringfinders.com might be a good place to turn for help (rather than hoping some honest person might see your ad on Craigslist like I did – I got lucky!)….. and if you lose something at the beach near LAX, call up my new found friend Steve – he is amazing!
If you lose your ring or other metal item of value, 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, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice 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.