WW 2 Military Dog Tags Lost .. Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA. .. Found and Returned
I talked to Craig on the phone, he told me about losing WW2 military dog tags that had been passed down to him from his grandfather. He was very distraught as these meant the world to him..
We talked for a few minutes on the phone about the location. It is a small beach cove at the Montage Beach Resort in Laguna Beach, CA.. The whole cove is less than half the size of a football field. I knew exactly where he was describing his loss. He agreed to meet me there, but I knew I could get there before Craig. It was important to beat the oncoming beach crowds.
I was able to spot where Craig had been digging the night before. I set up and searched a 20×20 ft area before he got to the beach. He was very positive as to where he had been the day of the loss. As I searched, I picked up the trash metal. Explaining to Craig that if I had to cross grid they would not bother me on my second pass. I showed him a peace of metallic strap which he told me was the same piece of metal he coached away from a seagull. He actually was feeding seagulls that day to get it to drop the metal strap.
I could not find his lost military dog tags. He was starting to believe that some young guys, that were sitting behind him, may have taken his heirloom keepsake. We talked about other options he might try to find his chain and tags.
I went home thinking that it could be possible the tags were buried deep because he had moved a lot of sand trying to find them. Long Story shortened.. I returned the next morning with a Pulse Induction detector that may give me a few inches more depth and would get all metal types. Starting at one end of the beach, I gridded the whole beach ( 2 hrs ). Up against the cliff in the sand I spotted an edge of one of the dog tags sticking out of the sand. Swing my coil and bam, a solid sound. Craig’s grandfathers WW2 military dog tags. More than 50 feet away from anywhere he had been. I had searched every bit of sand except about 50 square feet. Ready to call it a day.
We think that the seagulls may have taken them to that location or the young teenagers may have taken them to there, losing them or just throwing them there. We will never know! I do know that Craig was a happy guy.