Doubtless Bay Tag | Page 3 of 3 | The Ring Finders

Gold Wedding Ring Lost in Sea at Coopers Beach, Doubtless Bay – Found

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
Contact:
Ring Finder – Ring Recovery Specialist…Lost ring? Lost necklace? Lost keys?… Metal Detector Service – Call ASAP 021 401626
Four days ago, while on holiday at Coopers Beach, Mary-Ellen lost her wedding ring of 32 years while messing around in the shallows. Her friend messaged me asking if a recovery was possible… Mary-Ellen and her husband were able to meet me on site which always greatly sways the odds in favour of a recovery.
The following morning, I drove up to meet them at Coopers Beach to try and find her lost ring.
As her husband marked out the boundaries of their swimming in the wet sand, I checked the dry sand where they had been sitting. Nothing found (other than the usual can pulltabs and bottle caps). So I moved down into the area where they were swimming and started to search the marked areas…as Mary-Ellen and her husband decided they might have gone a bit further down current – and extended the search area again.
I don’t mind people changing their minds mid search as it influences where I direct my efforts to maximise the chances of a successful recovery.
Ultimately, after covering 1,300 square metres to 90+% confidence, the tide chasing me out and the sun taking its toll, I had to call it a draw. A “draw” as the beach had won this time but I was going to be back.
That afternoon I was chasing a pair of hearing aids on a shelly trash-infested beach in Kerikeri – Unfortunately after six hours they still eluded me, possibly taken by tide or located elsewhere. Can’t always win.
The following day saw me driving a three-hour round trip down to Whangarei to recover Joshs lost wedding ring at Ngunguru (His story is below).
Yesterday was a rest day!
Despite four days having passed since she lost the ring, I was back chasing Mary-Ellens lost gold and diamond wedding ring again this morning… Confident it wasn’t likely to be in the original search area I followed the falling tide down and expanded the search area outwards, both along the beach and further seaward. Assume Nothing, Trust No-One, Check Everything.
About 10m outside the original search boundary, I got a faint but positive tone in the headphones.
.
They were in the process of packing up the tent to head home when Mary-Ellen got a text
“Hope you’re still in Coopers. I have something for you…”
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Two Rings Lost at Tapuaetahi Beach – Found!

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
Contact:

Ring Finder – Ring Recovery Specialist…Lost ring? Lost necklace? Lost keys?… Metal Detector Service – Call ASAP 021 401626

It’s been a long, hot, and very dry summer – Perfect for beach-goers to relax on the sand, and lose their precious jewellery.

Marion contacted me after hearing about The Ringfinders, and explained how she had been holidaying as a guest at a private beach, notoriously difficult to access and requests from non-residents – Including Ringfinders on a recovery mission, were met with a negative answer.
Marion was also unable to regain access so I knew that I would have to call in some favours on this one in order to get through the electronic gate and be able to find her rings without coming back to find my car towed.
This is when I recalled a discussion with Tim last year after I found his ring at nearby Matauri Bay ( Story here). At the time, Tim had queried the likelihood of finding another ring with a 30 year headstart, lost in a rocky bay while surfing at the same private property. It wouldn’t have moved or been detected, but thirty years… and clefts and crevices would be needle in a haystack. The upside was he could gain access through his contacts, and I would spend some time looking for his ring first.
The duly appointed day arrived and as the gate slid open and I drove through, it felt like I was entering Hallowed ground. It was several kilometres to the bay, surrounded by the residents houses. Fully expecting to be challenged I was surprised to be waved at as I passed walkers and people tending their gardens. I casually waved back while working out a plan B in case I returned to find my car had been towed due to a breakdown in communication…
The bay where Tim lost his ring was a sea of basalt boulders, most weighing 40+ kg. Tim, his wife and I of us spent a full hour, each with pinpointers rummaging in and around, but short of a systematic stringline search taking some weeks, any recovery would have been pure dumb luck. We located the remains of a fishing reel and one fishing weight. Tim conceded his ring had a new home and at least we had spent a cumulative time of three hours on it.

We headed back to the main beach and as I got kitted up at the car, Tim and his wife took their chairs etc down the path onto the sand.
With my experience in Search and Rescue, I have developed a fondness for tracking humans, a skill which has served me well as a RingFinder.  It wasn’t surprising to see that Tim and his wife had set up their chairs in the primary area of interest. Humans can be so predictable in their unconscious decisions!
“You are kidding?” when I asked Tim to move a dozen metres to the right. I briefly explained behavioural profiling and how we, as a species, tend to follow the same instinctive actions. They took it in good humour as they moved their new basecamp.
A few minutes later, Marions’ first white gold ring appeared in the scoop – right where Tim and his wife had been sitting! Tims wife didn’t believe how fast it had been found and as they were admiring the ring, I started the spiral search and less than a metre away, the second emerged.

I texted Marion the good news and as I headed back to the car, a young lad passed me with his metal detector heading for the beach…

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