Uncategorized Category | Page 442 of 483 | The Ring Finders

        This was another group find! Laura and her husband were enjoying Del Mar beach when her husband lost his tungsten carbide wedding band in about 4′ of water. She did an online search and came up with Stan Ross’s name and sent him an e-mail asking for help. Stan was unable to do it right then and forwarded the e-mail on to me to see if I could take the call. I recieved this e-mail after midnight so I was unable to contact anyone for more details. Not wanting to miss the great low tide at 5:15 am, I figured I might as well give it chance based on the directions I received. Upon arriving at the beach at 3:45 am, I located what I thought was the spot… down a ramp, just south of the sewer pipe and out on the first sand bar. I made two passes and hit a ring! I couldn’t believe it, it couldn’t be that simple! I was right, it wasn’t their ring. I continued gridding that whole area and no luck. As the dawn made visibility a lot better, I looked farther south and noticed another ramp and a storm drain outlet just south of the ramp. Ok, grid this area just like the last. Still no ring. While searching that area, I met another detectorist named Tony. We talked for a while and I asked him if he might have found this ring but he hadn’t. He volunteered to help and we went over the area again. Still no good. That afternoon I contacted Laura and got more specific directions as to the “spot”. Sure enough, it was the second search area.

        The next morning, I figured I’d give it another try. The beach and sand had changed a bit from the previous morning so I was hopeful. I started the grid again and noticed that Tony had also showed up again. We both went over that same area but still came up dry. I called Laura to give her the bad news and told her that I would keep it on my “not found yet” list and would let her know if I found it in the future or if I heard of anyone finding it.

       Well, Tony calls me a couple of days later and says he thinks he found the ring! He went back and hunted that same area again and came across a tungsten carbide ring about 8″ down that looked like a match to the ring photo I showed him. A much more pleasant e-mail and phone call resulted and we arranged a time and place for us all to get together and get that ring heading home. A big thanks to Tony for his determination in finding the ring and thank you Laura for the reward. It just goes to show you how sand movement can cover and then expose targets. Keep the faith everyone!

The winter of 2014 in Ontario, Canada, was brutal. It was made even more difficult for newly married Aberdeen resident, Derek Pennings when his wedding ring flew off his hand as he shoveled snow. Despite his best search efforts the ring was nowhere to be found in the 4-foot high snowdrifts. Derek’s feelings of hopelessness increased when a tractor and snow blower subsequently cleared the snow. Would he ever see his ring again?

I learned about the loss from my mother who lives down the road from Derek. But it wasn’t until the spring, some months later, that I had opportunity to visit my family and to arrange a search for the ring.

Metal detecting has been a family affair since the mid seventies when my late father took up the hobby in Australia. He and my mother spent many a happy hour together probing the ground for lost treasures. And so true to form, my mother, now approaching 84 years of age, accompanied me with her trusty White’s metal-detector in hand. We both secretly wished the other would be the lucky finder.

As it turned out, Derek’s lost ring responded to my Minelab Excalibur detector as I combed a ditch across the road some 80’ from where the ring was originally lost. Disbelief was written over Derek’s face as we drove up to where he was busy cutting firewood. His expression quickly turned to joyous surprise, however, when I placed the missing love token in his hand.

So glad to have been able to assist with the discovery of your ring, Derek! All the best to you and your new bride; may the story of your ring continue for many years together.

If you are reading this and know of someone who has lost a ring, it probably remains right where it was lost, even if it was lost many, many years ago. Contact a member of The Ring Finders closest to you; he or she might just be able to put a smile on your face!