I received a text message from my son-in-law, Donnie Constransitch, saying that he was busy at the aqua park and to call Chandler for a lost ring in the soft sand. I called Chandler and she said she lost her ring last night in the dry sand and she knew the area where it was. I told her I’d be there in 10 minutes.
When I arrived, I called Chandler from the parking lot saying I was walking out on the beach. We met on the beach and she pointed out the area. She described the ring as a yellow gold ring with 5 diamonds. I turned my Equinox 800 on, took four steps and hit a solid 14/15 on the VDI (visual display indicator). That VDI was definitely in the range of a gold ring. I took a scoop of sand, gently shook the sand out and saw the gold ring. I held the scoop out so Chandler could retrieve her ring. I could see the relief in her face and then she told me the story. The ring originally belonged to Chandler’s Great Uncle; it was passed to Chandler’s aunt and then passed to Chandler. I completely understood the sentimental value associated with this heirloom and so excited it was back where it belonged.
Chandler – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure.
I received a text message from Liz about 10 am on Saturday, Sep 5th, saying, “Hi my name is Liz and I’m at OIB. My husband lost his wedding band in the surf yesterday afternoon. We have a metal detector but haven’t had any luck. Wondering if you might be able to help?” I replied asking her to call me. When she called, I asked her where he lost it. She explained that when he lost it he was about waist deep at high tide. I asked her the time and she said around 3 p.m. I looked at the tide table and saw high tide was around 6 p.m. yesterday, so if he lost it around 3 p.m. then he was about mid tide. I told her I’d be there between 11 and 11:15, which I had to adjust to 11:25 once I got my gear and hit the road. On my way, I thought that if he lost it at waist deep about mid tide, then the ring should be at the low tide line.
When I got to their house, I met Liz and a few family members. Liz walked me out to the beach and said her husband, Bobby, had told her that he was west of their house on the beach. Liz set me up behind the neighbor’s house and said Bobby was from this point – that way, as she’s pointing down the beach. “That way” was a long stretch of beach, so it was time to get started. I grabbed my PI and backed up from her starting point and started a perpendicular grid above the mid tide line seaward to about waist deep. I did that grid search from my starting point to the 4th house west. I wasn’t finding anything, and reached the point of wondering if I was in the right spot, and/or going deep enough to search. I took a quick break and reassessed my thoughts about where it should be. With the information I was given, I was positive his wedding band should be around the low tide line. Did I just miss it, swing left instead of right? I grabbed my Equinox 800 and started a cross grid search starting about shin deep at the low tide line. As I’m working up the slope of the beach I got a solid 15 on the VDI (visual display indicator). This was in the range of numbers for a man’s gold wedding band. I dug a scoop of sand, had the target, and rinsed the sand out of the scoop in the surf. When I checked the scoop, I could see Bobby’s gold wedding band peeking through the shells from the bottom of the scoop. I had definitely missed it on my first pass. Liz wasn’t out on the beach when I found it, but one of her family members called her, telling her I was done. When Liz came back on the beach, another family member was able to get a video of Liz’s response. Liz was trying so hard to hold back the tears, but she was so excited. Unfortunately, Bobby was playing golf so he wasn’t there to share the excitement, but I’m sure he was happy to get his wedding band back where it belongs.
Liz – Thank you for trusting me to help you find Bobby’s ring. Enjoy the rest of your vacation with your family and have a safe trip home.
