This ring just slipped off his finger while dipping his hand in the water. It was lost on a military beach and he had to get me access and permission to try and find it. He secured the permission and off we went! He had marked his position by some bushes on the beach. It was close but the ring was found slightly to the left of the mark!
Nick contacted me and said that his wife had lost her wedding band while preparing a raised plant bed, but she wasn’t sure which one. He and his wife has a matching tungsten carbide band set. The first bed I checked had a good signal, but it turned out to be a larger deep signal. The second bed was larger in size, but all of them had galvanized metal sheeting for the side walls. That was a problem, but I managed to work around it. In the second bed I found a signal that was showing a 30 on the Manticore, but was close to the metal side wall so that number may have been skewed. That 30 on the Manticore turned out to be her ring. It was about four inches deep. The total seach time was only about twelve minutes.
I received a call from Dean, who was very anxious to see if I could help find his wife Teanna’s lost engagement ring.
They had been enjoying a beautiful day at the beach, and at one point Teanna had placed her engagement ring in the cup holder of their beach chair for safekeeping. Later in the day, they decided to move closer to the water. Their son grabbed the chair and dragged it down the beach, not realizing the ring was still sitting in the cup holder.
A short time later, they suddenly remembered the ring. They checked the cup holder, but it was empty.
Dean searched for help online, found my contact information, and gave me a call. I told him I could be there within the hour. He was relieved because Teanna, who was nine months pregnant, was understandably very upset, especially on such a blistering hot day.
When I arrived, Dean met me on the beach and showed me where they had originally been sitting. I carefully searched the entire area but came up empty. He then explained how the chair had been dragged down the beach and showed me the exact path. I searched back and forth from the original spot all the way to the waterline, but still no ring.
At that point I knew something wasn’t adding up.
I returned to the original area and expanded my search pattern, thinking maybe the ring had bounced farther than expected. Still nothing. I headed back toward the water and continued searching the chair’s path. About two passes later, I got a beautiful signal that I was almost certain was Teanna’s engagement ring.
Sure enough, there it was—resting safely in my scoop.
The relief on Dean and Teanna’s faces was immediate. They were incredibly grateful to have the ring back, and knowing that such an important piece of jewelry would stay with their growing family made the recovery even more rewarding.
There’s nothing better than being able to help someone in a situation like that.
July 4, 2026: A text was sent at 10:35AM about a platinum wedding ring lost in the beach sand at Glenbrook. At 10:35AM I was underwater, at Kings Beach, searching for another ring. I didn’t read the text until 12:06PM when I got back to my truck. I advised the client I could be at the search location in 45 minutes. With July 4th traffic, I didn’t arrived until shortly after 1PM. The client showed me the ring loss location—a small patio sized beach. The stone and concrete retaining wall was causing some interference for my XP Deus 2 metal detector. After two passes I got a solid repeatable signal. At 1:14PM, I used my pinpointer and hand to reveal the lost platinum wedding ring. Ring recovered in less than three hours from being notified by the client’s first text.
Courtney and her sister and mother had received matching pendants as gifts. During a Fourth of July celebration with her family, Courtney removed her pendant to swim in a pool. After swimming, she retrieved her pendant and walked across a lawn, but then she realized that her cherished pendant had disappeared. The whole family searched the grass, but they couldn’t find the small pendant, so she called me and asked me for help. Some searches take a hours, but some take only minutes. This time it only took me about five minutes with my metal detectors to find the missing pendant in the grass. Another happy ending!
This search began on Monday, June 29, 2026, when I received a text from Kimberly at 7:15 a.m. Her text said in part, “Hi, everyone refers me to you. What else do I have to lose? Last week I lost my family/mother’s ring in the ocean while playing catch with my son. The ring came off just below the pier just off to the right of the pier. The ring is a wide band type ring with three birthstones (Aquamarine, emerald and blue topaz) and four names (which she included) engraved on it. The band is silver.” I asked her the basic questions for a water loss, “what day, time, and how deep was she.” We went back and forth with more questions and answers. Finally, I told her I give it a shot. When I got there, I started a mid-beach to knee deep water grid search just to the south of the pier. After looking at the area as a whole, I face timed her to get a better idea of the area, since what I was looking at was huge. During the face time, Kimberly mentioned some stairs leading down to the beach and also her kids had told her that the lifeguards had put a lifeguard stand out there about where they were. That phone call helped me reduce the area considerably. I changed my position and started at the far side working back towards the pier. After about 2 hours or so and getting hit by the incoming tide, I called it for the day. I called her and told her my plan and that I’d go back out the next day. I also told her the theory about silver rings is that they’re a lighter metal and are more apt to be moved by the waves and current. I’ve had searches for silver rings before that I couldn’t find. I know it wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but I’d rather be upfront and honest with someone.
Tuesday, I arrived back out there about an hour and a half before low tide and decided to work south of the lifeguard stand, she had mentioned and work back towards the pier. I was probably a few grid lines past the lifeguard stand and almost to a set of stairs that came down to the beach from a rental when I made my turn to head back into shore. Boom, I hit a big signal showing a 24-25 (good silver numbers) on the VDI (visual display indicator) on the Equinox 800. Dimes usually show up in that range, but this signal was stronger and louder than a dime. A couple of scoops of sand and shells and I had the target out of the hole. I rinsed the sand out in the surf and gently shook the scoop. I didn’t see anything but shells again, so I shook the scoop again. Still nothing until I looked in the corner of the scoop and peeking out behind a shell leaning upright against the edge was a little bit of silver. Shook it lightly one more time and there was Kimberly’s mother’s ring staring up at me. I took a picture of the ring and called Kimberly, who didn’t answer, so I sent the picture and text saying, “Happy Mother’s Day – again!!!” I had left the beach and headed home when Kimberly responded, “Omg!! Are you still down there? My family is still there on the beach now.” So, I turned around and called her. She gave me their names, so back on the beach; I found Mark and Robin (I think that was their names). They took possession of the ring to deliver to Kim on July 4th. I guess on this search, the silver ring was heavy enough that it didn’t move. With everything said and done, the ring was pretty much where Kimberly said it would be. Lesson learned on my part.
Today, July 4th, I got a picture from Kimberly showing me her ring was back where it belonged.
Kim – Thank you for calling and trusting me to help find your precious Mother’s ring.
Jim
If you have lost your wedding ring, a bracelet, golden grill or a necklace don’t waste the time or the money buying or renting a metal detector. Instead hire an expert metal detecting professional like Dave The RingFinder! Dave is the “metal detective” and knows how to stack the odds in your favor to get your precious jewelry back. Call or text Dave at 805-290-5009 so he can create a plan to get your ring back!
I got a text late on July 3rd from Jen who was visiting the town of Goleta from Phoenix to visit family. They had made a trip up to Gaviota state beach and had been playing on the beach and in the water when Jen noticed her wedding ring was missing. She had been in 3 places while at the beach and she wasn’t sure which one was where it came off. One of these places was in the water as she had been playing with her kids in the shore break. She was concerned that her ring was lost for good as she and her family were leaving to go back to Phoenix in a few days and fortunately she found Dave The RingFinder after a quick search for lost ring recovery on Google.
I checked the tide table for when she lost it so I could see if the next low tide could help us out. There was a 0.0 at 7am so I told her I would head up there first thing in the morning. After leaving the house at 5:15am I arrived at just past 6:30am so I had an hour or so of search time before high tide started rolling back in. I went to the area she marked for me and began to grid perpendicular into the ocean. After about 20 minutes moving south I decided to try my luck going north and after about 10 minutes I finally got a signal that was worth digging on my Minelab Manticore. It took 3 scoops of my CKG scoop to remove it but when I sifted in the water Jen’s ring emerged from the sand! It was another shallow water ring recovery and another vacation saved by Dave The RingFinder.
Don’t Wait — Time Is Critical After a Ring Loss in Ventura or Santa Barbara County
Whether you lost a ring, necklace, bracelet, or other jewelry on a Ventura or Santa Barbara County beach, in shallow surf, in a backyard, at a park, or in an open field — the clock starts the moment it’s gone. Shifting tides, moving sand, and other detectorists can all work against recovery the longer you wait. Skip the metal detector rental and trust the expert — Dave The RingFinder.
Dave The RingFinder serves the entire region including:
Ventura County: Ventura · Oxnard · Port Hueneme · Camarillo · Thousand Oaks · Moorpark · Simi Valley · Fillmore · Santa Paula · Ojai
Santa Barbara County: Santa Barbara · Carpinteria · Goleta · Montecito · Summerland · Lompoc · Santa Maria · Solvang · Buellton
Notable beaches and recovery locations served: Mondo’s Beach · Surfer’s Point · San Buenaventura State Beach · Rincon Beach · Carpinteria State Beach · East Beach Santa Barbara · West Beach Santa Barbara · McGrath State Beach Oxnard · Silver Strand Beach · Mandalay Beach
About Dave The RingFinder — Ventura County’s Metal Detecting Specialist
Dave The RingFinder has been recovering lost jewelry with a metal detector since 2011 and has operated full-time as a professional ring and jewelry recovery specialist since 2017. Also known as The Metal Detective, Dave brings professional-grade equipment, deep local knowledge of Ventura and Santa Barbara County beaches and tides, and a genuine passion for reuniting people with their most treasured possessions. Every recovery is personal.
Before you spend an afternoon chasing down a metal detector rental in Ventura or Santa Barbara County, make one call instead. Dave has the equipment, the experience, and the track record — and he works on your behalf from the moment you contact him.
📞 Call or text Dave 24/7: 805-290-5009 🌐 davetheringfinder.com
Lost something? Don’t rent — trust the expert. Dave The RingFinder is here to bring your jewelry home
Matt called me on July 4th, 2026 after losing his ring in his back yard. He was training his dog on the agility course he has in the spacious back yard, when at some point he lost his ring. What worried Matt was that his landscaper was coming on Monday and feared the ring would either get damaged or flung far, far away. Luckily my plans for going out on the lake today for our Independence Day celebration was a few hours away, and Matt lived less than 30 minutes away. Matt was shocked when I told him I’d meet him within the hour. Traffic was light, so I got there on 35 minutes. Matt showed me the areas in his yard where he had been and just as important where he hadn’t been. Luck was on my side today. I started the search out in the middle of the yard near the flexible tunnel and the second target with my metal detector was Matt’s ring. According to my timer the recovery took a mere one minute and 12 seconds. Matt didn’t see me find the ring, so I surprised him by saying his ring wasn’t in the backyard like he suspected. He had a puzzled look on his face. I told him, “because it’s right here in my hand!” Matt was beyond dumbfounded and was basically speechless for a minute. Matt was very grateful for my immediate response especially on a holiday and the almost instant recovery of his cherished silver, tungsten carbine and diamond wedding ring. Matt admitted that before finding my info on TheRingFinders directory he was looking online to either rent or buy a metal detector to use himself to look for his ring. He then realized that he had no idea how to use a metal detector and it would most likely be a big waste of his time and money, and I could not agree with him any more.
Late Friday, I received a call from Dustin, who had lost a precious silver medallion. He had been wrestling with a friend in his front yard when he felt his necklace snap. He found the broken chain, but the silver medallion—a special gift from his girlfriend—had disappeared into the thick grass. I told him I’d be right over.
As I drove, I prayed that God would guide me to Dustin’s keepsake.
We met at a nearby bowling alley, and I followed him to the house. He showed me the matching ring to the medallion, then pointed to the area of thick St. Augustine grass where they had been wrestling.
I fired up the Minelab Manticore and began searching near the road before working my way toward the driveway. Nothing but deep targets. Thinking the medallion might have flown farther than expected, I moved deeper into the yard.
Then came a beautiful signal—85 to 90.
I reached down with my pinpointer and carefully worked through the dense grass roots until a flash of silver appeared. As I lifted it free, the diamonds sparkled in the afternoon sun. Dustin’s smile said it all.
Praise God—another treasured keepsake was back where it belonged.
Lost something important? Maybe I can help. I’m Ed Duffey, a Central Florida metal detecting specialist focused on recovering lost items. Whether it’s a ring, jewelry, keys, or even a phone, I search beaches, parks, yards, and shallow water—just about anywhere it might be hiding.
If it’s metal and it’s lost, there’s a good chance I can find it.
757-419-0299
Brandy called asking if I would be able to come to the beach and help her and her daughter find a necklace she had lost earlier that day. Since I wouldn’t be able to get there until well after dark, I asked if she knew exactly where it had been lost. She assured me they had marked the entire area with sticks and were confident it had fallen out of a pocket inside her beach bag.
After a long day, I finally arrived at the beach that evening. I had called Brandy with my ETA, and it worked out perfectly that she was able to meet me there. As we walked out to the search area, I was impressed with how well they had marked the location. Even in the dark, it was easy to identify exactly where to begin.
Brandy explained that she had taken her necklace off, placed it inside a pocket of her beach bag, and sometime later it must have slipped out into the sand without anyone noticing.
We marked out a search area of about 20 by 20 feet and I began a slow, methodical grid search. Because it was such a fine necklace, I had my detector’s sensitivity turned up very high so I could hear even the faintest signals. Partway through the search I got a very weak signal and was convinced I had found the necklace. Instead, it turned out to be the metal tip from a makeup brush.
After searching the entire grid without success, I decided to change my approach and perform a cross-grid search from a different direction. As I passed back over the same area where I had found the makeup brush tip, I heard another very faint signal. This time, after carefully scooping the sand, there it was—Brandy’s beautiful necklace.
Brandy and her daughter were absolutely amazed. We had already covered the area once, and they were beginning to lose hope. Fortunately, patience, experience, and searching from a different direction made all the difference.
It’s a great reminder that sometimes the first search isn’t enough. Never give up.