how to find a lost ring in Alameda County Tag | Page 3 of 3 | The Ring Finders

AMAZING…14K wedding band lost for 25 years…RECOVERED!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

Almost 25 years ago, a gentleman working in his yard in Oakland, CA lost his 14K yellow gold wedding band.  The family searched, but never recovered the ring.  In 2008 this same gentleman, a beloved father and husband, lost his life to cancer.  May he rest in peace!

Fast forward to July 2023, fellow ring finder and friend Jes Muse from THERINGFINDERS.COM requests that I cover a call out she had received.  Jes is recovering from a recent surgery and I wish her a successful and speedy recovery.  She sent all the pertinent information for me to reach out to Mr. Limon regarding his fathers lost ring.

After a brief conversation, it was decided that 7-18-2023 at 3pm we would meet at his childhood home.  This home is on the market to be sold and this week would likely be the last opportunity to search for the long gone wedding band.  We met on the street and he showed me the area we would be working,  a small terraced hillside that once was covered in ivy at the front of the home.  The hillside had since been reworked and the ivy removed, being replaced with mulch.

I set up my Equinox 800 and anchored in at the corner of the hillside and grid from bottom to top, right to left facing the hill.  The very first signal was perfect… a VDI (visual discrimination indicator of 16 in both directions….heart break as we pulled an odd brass like fitting.  We continued the grid search systematically removing every target we found.  Then, mid-slope almost exactly where Mr. Limon recalled his father telling him it was lost all those years ago…WE MADE THE RECOVERY!!!!

The signal was not as perfect as I had hoped, but may have been partially masked by another metal object or maybe laid in an awkward position .  The VDI was 18, 19, 20 at 4″ deep and I dug a large plug as to not damage anything below. There, in the spoils of the plug, was the 14K wedding band that went missing almost 25 years earlier.

After recovering the ring, Mr. Limon was kind enough to share all the details I have included above.  He and his family were also most generous in sending me some very emotion evoking photos later that evening.  Thank you very kindly for entrusting me with the search for this very precious piece of your family history and I’m very happy that it will continue to tell a very exciting new story.

The cleaned 14K gold wedding band that rested nearly 25 years in the ground.

Photographed with her late husbands wedding band after 25 years lost in the yard.

Mr. Limon with the fresh recovery of the ring.

Metal detecting the slope where the ring had been lost nearly 25 years earlier.

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

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Lost Platinum and Diamond stud earring on Pleasanton, CA Soccer Field…Found!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

When Aditi contacted me on the 7th of May, I had no clue about the new lesson I was about to be taught.  At this point, I did not even know the issues that existed that would lead to the lessons I would be learning during this recovery.

Aditi requested help locating her platinum and diamond stud earring. The stud had been displaced from her ear by one of her young sons.  They were in a large grass field observing a soccer match when the incident occurred and she had visually seen the disposed earring fall into the grass. Now, these were very nice earrings, but what made them even more special was that these were a 10 year anniversary gift from her adoring husband. After searching for some time the family sadly left the park and Aditi sought out an alternative solution.  A google search put her on The Ring Finders page and in contact with me.  With the last of the days light waning, it was determined that I would perform the search the following afternoon.

The next day was beautiful and I had high hopes for a successful speedy recovery, though I knew that a stud earring in a grass field might be extremely difficult.  I met Aditi’s mother at the sports fields.  She too, had been there the day prior and assisted with the search.  A boundary was set and I grid the search zone with cones I carry in my kit.  I was utilizing my Equinox 800 with the large coil and searched in Park 2.  Additionally, I was using my Garret pin pointer to scan the lawn when potential signals were noted. After 1 hour, the mother suggested we conclude the search but I stayed with it another 30 minutes before calling it off to regroup. I sent a message to Aditi letting her know what I had done and that I had been unsuccessful, but not to lose hope.  I knew that I was going back.

Back home I ran a series of tests with different coils and different settings on my wife’s stud earrings.  I contacted a few trusted detectorists for advice.  The first lesson I discovered in this process was that these stud earrings were very difficult to pick up regardless of settings and coils.  The second lesson I learned was that the Garret pin pointer could not pick up the greater majority of the stud earrings I tested.  This meant that all of the would-be-targets that I did detect and used the pin pointer to clear, it gave me a false probability of detection. I would be going back to the field.

The next opportunity I got, I made the trip back to the sports park and reestablished the grid in the defined search area. I also utilized the 6″ coil in the Gold 1 setting which I found to be the most useful during my testing.   This time I painstakingly visually searched the grass beneath any and all promising targets. About 45 minutes into this trip I had a booming repetitive VDI of 1, I got down low and combed through the tall, thick, green grass and that was when I knew, we had made the recovery!

Before removing the item, I tested the pin pointer…nothing!!!  I took a series of photos and sent a text to Aditi wishing her a Happy Mothers Day followed by images of her once lost and now found platinum and diamond earring.  I’m hopeful that it helped make her day just a little bit brighter.  Thank you Aditi for trusting me with the recovery of your jewelry!  I do not take that trust lightly and will always do my absolute best to prove that.

   

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

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Three gold rings thought to be lost in Alamo, CA…Found!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

A physiological response to real or perceived threats and stressors is that the body increases electrical activity in the brain and produces adrenaline and cortisol.  This is a basic fight or flight response.  Memory loss can also result if that process occurs when fear or anxiety is excessive and (or) persistent.

This seems to have been the case in a number of searches I have been called upon to perform.  Individuals state with absolute certainty that this is where or what they had done with their ring(s) only to later realize that what they perceived to be fact was incorrect. The stress and anxiety of loosing such a valuable and cherished item can cloud the memory of what actually took place.

This was not the case with Caeti!  She contacted me after misplacing 3 of her 4 rings during a trip to the nail salon including her beautiful wedding band with 7 diamonds.  She goes on to explain that she placed all 4 rings into a sunglasses case and then into her purse during the trip.  Once her nails were done, she returned to the car and opened the case to put her sunglasses on for the short return trip home.  Once home, she went to put her sunglasses away in the case and retrieve her rings.  Remember that physiologic response I babbled about above, that is where this kicks in.  Upon opening the sunglasses case, only her engagement ring was found.  The other three rings seemingly vanished and panic set in as she retraced her steps all the way back to the nail salon. A search of the salon and the parking lot produced nothing.  A search of the vehicle produced nothing. The driveway, the house, the purse…all nothing!

The next afternoon I joined the investigation into the missing three rings. I went to the salon and spoke with them, I searched the parking lot, talked to other businesses in the same shopping center, all with no results.  I then made my way to see Caeti.  She was clearly upset about the loss and resolute in the fact that the rings were indeed placed into the sunglasses case.  As I prepared to search her vehicle I recommended a look at the purse and sunglasses case.  She promptly produced both and as I looked down into the sunglasses case I also saw the tiniest of gold peaking out.  All three rings had slipped behind the satiny lining inside the case cloaking themselves from vision.  We had made the recovery!!!

In Caeti’s case the stress and anxiety did not cloud her memory of the events in the least, rather the shock of not initially finding the ring within the glasses case derailed her from what she already knew.  The rings were indeed placed into the case and there they remained.

I’m very much excited that I was able to help locate these (3) rings and get them back into (or onto) the hands to which they belonged.  Caeti, I wish you and your new family a very exciting future and am glad that your tale of woe has transformed into a funny story about that one time…

 

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

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The recovery that started it all: Lost diamond engagement ring lost in Milpitas, CA…Found!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
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I had seen the call for help go out over one of my many metal detecting groups.  When I offered my assistance I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity and thus went about packing for my Mount Diablo overnight with my boys and some friends.

When another md’ing friend asked if I was still available and that another of our piers had searched but had no luck, I again offered my assistance, packed some gear, and off I went.

The client took me to the 5th floor balcony from which the ring was lost and we observed the location from above.  After moving back down to ground level it was revealed that two rings went over the edge and one had been recovered that night from the planter bed.  Now, knowing that a searcher had previously swung over the area, I knew that if we were going to find it, it was going to be found within one of the many plants and bushes in the planter bed.

I offered the client the opportunity to assist by using a Garret pin-pointer to start probing the area including the foliage.  I did the same, and within 20 minutes or so, an ecstatic client exclaimed, “I’ve found it!”  It was indeed within one of the plants of the planter bed.  The stoke was high on both our parts and he requested “Can I give you a hug?” To which I replied “of course.”

The successful search and recovery sparked really good vibes that carried me throughout the weekend. This would serve as my first search as a member of The Ring Finders team and…we made the recovery!!!

 

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Heirloom Confirmation Ring Lost in Pittsburg, CA…Found!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
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It was a routine day at my office where I’m a Project Manager for a steel erection company.  In between writing up change order requests and preparing for an annual Quality and Safety Management Systems Audit I received a text message from the Dunmore Family in Pittsburg, CA.  The text was requesting someone to locate a children’s ring lost in the backyard.

I promptly contacted the family on the phone for more details and to schedule a time for the search.  I explained the service I could provide and the contract that would be required once I arrived to the site.  Once a time was decided upon, I requested the family to confirm the appointment and their address via text message.

Arriving at the location, I was greeted by the family and we discussed more details about the missing ring and how it was lost.  It was revealed that the ring was a gold heirloom “Confirmation” ring that was once a gift to the son who was preparing to pass it down to his son at an impending Confirmation Ceremony.  The child was wearing the ring while playing with a soccer ball in the backyard when it flung from the youngsters hand. The family searched and the ring was not recovered.

Before I searched, I explained my process to the family and we had the child duplicate his actions and the location to the best of his ability.  After approximately 15 minutes of being on site and maybe 6 minutes into the search…we made the recovery!!!

        

Dunmore Family Testimonial:

Thank you Brendon! Thirty years ago our son received a gold ring from his Godmother and was passing it down to his Son. We were all heartbroken when informed it had flown off his finger in the backyard. We searched without success when I googled how to find lost rings and came across “theringfinders.” Brendon responded promptly and showed up the next day and found the ring in minutes. He was timely and courteous and we appreciated the explanation of how he would search the yard and what the different metal detector sounds would mean. Thank you Brendon for finding the ring which will allow it to continue being passed down for generations.

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