Lost Electronic Car Key … Doheny State Beach, CA. … Recovered in the Sand
Thursday January 16, 2014
My phone rang at 7:45 am as I was pouring my first cup of coffee. Adrianne had found my name online in TheRingFinders website. She asked if I could help her find an electronic car key that she had lost in the sand at Doheny State Beach. She was not sure if a metal detector could find this type of key because she thought it was plastic. I was sure it would not be a problem, but I brought a rake and a sifting tool in case I had to use them. We set up a 9:00 am meeting at parking area near where she lost the key.
Adrianne and her girl friend had gone to the beach the day before to go stand up paddle boarding. She left her key under the sand and put her sandals on top of them. When they returned her sandals were gone, but she thought her key was still in the sand. She and two of her friends spent several hours on their hands and knees searching for it. It was almost as big as a cellphone but it could not be found by sifting through the sand with their fingers.
I arrived about 15 minutes early so I walked onto the beach. There was an area about 40ft. square that was clearly marked by fingers that had been sifting the sand. I set up my Minelab CTX 3030 metal detector in all metal setting and began my search in the center of the area. Two passes of about 40ft. that took about 15 minutes and I had the car key in my sand scoop.
Adrianne and her friends showed up shortly after I found the key. She had brought her spare key so we could verify that the detector could find the material. She held the spare key up and said it looks like this. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the one I found saying, “like this”. She was so excited I thought she wouldn’t stop praisng me and thanking me. It was another nice day and it feels good to be able to have the time, equipment and experience to do this for people. She did say, that she would find a better way to keep her key when she goes onto the beach.
