Family Vacation Blues – Not with the Ring Finders…
A family vacation in Northern Minnesota certainly could have been dampened when a wedding ring slipped off a finger into a lake. But with the Help of Ring Finder Paul Nolan this Vacation was Quickly put back into Enjoyment mode once again. Found in 19 Minutes.
Found Ring
Happy Again
Everyone was Happy once again.
Richard spent the day fishing on Fiesta Island. While cleaning some of the fish he had caught, he shook his hands to get some of the fish scales off, and his wedding ring went flying into the dry sand. He spent 3 days searching through the sand in that area, even buying a detector and trying his luck, but, he couldn’t find it. His online search brought him to TRF and my contact info. I met Richard at the site in the late afternoon where he showed me where he was setup the day of the loss. I’ve searched many areas of Fiesta Island before, and could understand why he had trouble trying to find his ring without any real experience using a detector. This area is tough even for seasoned pros. People have been burning wooded pallets and other scrap lumber on this Island for decades. Aluminum cans were thrown into the campfires and pull tabs litter the landscape. Anywhere you take a scoop of sand will result in 4-5 metal objects, so, it’s a real challenge to find just one signal in all that mess. It wasn’t a particularly big search area, but, it was slow going. 1 1/2 hours later, I had run 3 different grid lines over the entire search area, my trash pouch was almost full, and still no ring. I attacked ground zero at still a different angle and got another mixed signal on my Equinox…..the kind I’d been digging for the last hour and a half. After filtering out the sand, and pulling out 3 nails and 2 other pieces of melted aluminum, I finally see a ring in the scoop with the shells and rocks. Sure enough, it was Richard’s ring. Richard was overjoyed and was able to head home and give his wife the good news. A pleasure to meet you Richard, and thank you for the reward. 
Lorena was visiting town and enjoying Ocean Beach with some friends and placed her ring in the cup holder of her chair. Time to leave, the chair got folded up, and the ring ended up in the dry sand. A common way rings get lost. Searching was fruitless and Lorena had to go back home up north. She contacted me to ask for my help in finding it. She had planned on returning the next morning to show me the search area, but, having already been a full day on the loose, I had her give me directions as to where she was when the ring fell into the sand. She did better than that. She had some photos that were taken while she was there in that location. Knowing that beach well, I could find that spot fairly easily. Finding the ring might be another thing! I waited until the sun went down so I could actually find a parking spot on a Saturday night. Not easy, but, I lucked into one. The beach was still mobbed with party goers. I made a beeline west toward the water and straight through the middle of search area. Before I got there, I see another guy detecting right through where I planned to search. He didn’t stop for any targets, so, i began my grid. Off to the right was a large group still camped on the beach, so, I started on the left. Made a dozen passes or so without so much as a pull tab. Not a good sign. Somebody (maybe the guy who I first saw) had already scoured the area? At that point, the crowd on the right was picking up and leaving. Great, I can now search the other side before I try to track down the other detectorist to see if he may have found the ring. Still not much in the way of targets until I made 5-6 passes and got a solid 6 on my Equinox. That’s usually a foil drink seal, but, I scooped it anyway as small gold can read in that range. Sure enough, a drink seal. Drat! Moved another 2 feet and got another solid 6 reading. Another juice seal I bet, was what I was thinking, but, after scooping it up, I discovered her ring! As I surveyed the spot I found it, I realized that the other detectorist had missed it by no more than a couple of feet! I texted Lorena that she would have to come back down to San Diego after all, but, instead of having to show me where the search area would be, she could pick up her ring. A pleasure to meet you and Pierre, and thank you for the reward.
Bailey was spending a fun evening on Kure Beach with her family. Bailey is also planning a September wedding. She was asked to perform a cartwheel in the sand. Before the attempt, she gave her engagement ring to her younger sister for safe keeping. During the excitement and festivities, the ring slipped off of little sister’s hand into the sand. Both sisters were very upset. The following morning I get a call from Bailey’s father. He explained what had happened and plans were made to meet just afternoon. When I pulled the first target, a red can top, Dad yelled that I had found it! I think that helped ease the stress levels. Unfortunately, my 2nd target a silver can top gave Bailey false hopes it was her ring. The 3rd target was the one we all had hope to recover! The excitement & tears made the 2 hour drive to their location all worth while!
Pete and his wife were escaping the heat inland and decided to go to south Mission Beach. Pete took his wedding ring off before going out in the surf, and gave it to his wife to hold. It was a bit big for her fingers, but, that’s where she held it. By the time Pete came back, his wife wasn’t feeling too good, and in their haste to pack up and leave, the ring came off and into the dry sand. After Pete did a Google search to get help, he came across one of my posts and texted me. Being a Saturday afternoon, parking was going to be impossible, so, I had an early dinner and hoped the crowds would lighten up a bit so I could actually get to the beach.
I texted Pete back when I got to the beach and found he was already there waiting. He showed me the search area, and I started at what he thought was ground zero, and spiraled out from there. Naturally, since he had been there earlier in the day, the tide was at a different level, people had come and gone, so, figuring out exactly where they had been camped wasn’t a sure thing. After quite a bit of the supposed search area was covered, I was beginning to wonder if someone had already found it. I was finding a few other targets with similar target I.D.’s so I was still hopeful that it was still there somewhere. At the end of one of my passes, I was dodging around where some people were sitting and hit an area a bit out of the initial search area. It was an area where I was going to expand into next. I could see that people had been there recently by the disturbed sand. Sure enough, I got a nice solid 15 on my Equinox and found Pete’s ring. A happy Pete can now go home and make his wife feel a bit better. Nice to meet you Pete and thank you for the reward.
Lauren & Rick were spending some time along the Crystal Coast. While staying in a beach house rental, Rick gave his wife his wedding ring to hold while he took a dip in the ocean. Lauren placed his ring on her finger and stayed on the beach with their puppy. The pup made a sudden move towards Rick and the lunge caused his wedding ring to go flying into the sand.
12 days later, Lauren contacted me and I headed out that day. A lot of favorable conditions made this recovery possible.
Received a call regarding a men’s gold band that “flung” off while shaking out a blanket on the beach. The client explained that he and his wife were in town celebrating their one year anniversary. Took a short ride over and met up with client, his ring was recovered several minutes later.
Received a call yesterday late morning about a lost wedding ring set. Jess explained that she had taken her ring, which was actually three rings fused together, off and placed it in her wallet which was then placed in her beach bag. At some point during the day she thought one of her kids may have knocked it out of the purse while looking for money for the ice cream man, but neither she or her kids were sure. She had already returned home to PA before realizing that the ring was missing. Jess was able to provide some location details and given the time of day she called and it’s possible location I thought it would be best to try for it after the crowds had cleared. Took a ride over later in the afternoon and recovered the platinum diamond ring in about 20 minutes.
Comments from Jess: “I can not explain my emotions after coming home and realizing that my wedding ring was gone. I kept trying to trace every step and thing I did and just kept searching thinking it would appear. I don’t like to wear my ring on the beach because it gets so dirty but this has been a big lesson for sure. I literally was so sick in my stomach all day yesterday and honestly thought it was gone for good as the chances of finding it were so slim. Thank goodness I found Jeff and his team. He was professional, asked the right questions, and got the job done! He was incredible and I could never thank him enough!”
First recovery of 2020 is a success. Received a call from Jackie explaining that she believes she “may” have inadvertently dropped her FOUR rings yesterday while at the beach with her family. After gathering some details I met up with Jackie and her husband, at the beach, about 30 minutes later. This recovery took less than five minutes. Literally walked two steps into the search area and BAM all four popped out of the shallow sand. Jackie broke down immediately, understandably, as one of the four rings belonged to her mother. No hugs due to COVID but super happy to say the least. She is very fortunate that these rings survived in the area they were in for an entire day without being found by a free lance Detectorist.
April 16th, 2020. During the Wuhan virus pandemic.
Andrew emailed me asking for help to find a ring, not for himself, but for his friend Hazel. In January, Hazel was sitting on the front porch when her ring slipped from her hand and hit the wood deck. They were not sure if the ring rolled off into some bushes or slipped in between the boards. Andrew knew in his heart that the ring was there and it could be found. He had looked through the openings of the deck and around the bushes with a powerful light, but no luck.
When I arrived, I met Andrew and Mike.
Front of the House
Hoping the ring rolled or bounced off the low deck, I searched the bushes thoroughly with my AT Max. I found the usual hidden trash, but no ring. I then concentrated my search under the deck. 
There were only a few inches of space to work. I detached my shaft and reached under the deck with my sniper coil. I borrowed a leaf rake from Mike as the one I brought was too large to fit under the deck. I heard targets and raked them out, then used my pinpointer to scan the debris.
Tight Access Under the Porch
It was then I had the pleasure of meeting Hazel. She remembered precisely how the ring sounded when it rolled on the wooden deck. From her description, I redoubled my efforts to search farther under the deck.
Found!
I stretched my arm and extended the coil to the limit when I heard a promising target. Mentally marking the spot, I used the leaf rake and pulled out more debris. I waved the pinpointer over the dirt and leaves and dug down to find the ring!
Andrew’s determination to help his friend resulted in a happy ending!
