Received a call from a dad who lost a platinum wedding band while practicing soccer with his son in Highland Park, IL.
He knew about where he lost it so it was a quick hunt.
He considered renting a metal detector, but found me through the ring finders. He was very happy
Saturday .. 8-22-15
Alex and his family are from Hesperia, CA. where it has been very hot all week. They were spending their day off at Newport Beach. This beach will be busy as it has been very hot inland. He set up his set up his beach awning early, in front of lifeguard tower #24. When the lifeguard came on duty, Alex was asked to move his awning so the lifeguard emergency vehicles could have access to the beach. Half way through the day his wife, Mireya realized her wedding ring was not on her finger.. She believed it may have come off while applying sunscreen, but she had been in the water also.
Alex emailed me at 7:10pm. I replied with an email at 8:00pm.
He called me at 9:30pm. I went straight to the beach to begin my grid search at 10pm.. Starting the grid search from the lifeguard tower towards the beach. It took about an hour to do the dry sand about 200 ft to the north. Then I went to the low tide zone hoping that the ring had been lost in the water, No success.
About to give up, I returned to the dry sand heading for my car. Seeing my starting point. Maybe I should try a couple more grids lines to the south… Late in the night and tired, I tried one more time … Yes !!! There it was 3ft over from where I started, two hours before. It always helps to have the person that lost the ring present, but Alex and Mireya live 90 miles away. It also helps that the person who lost the item is present to tell you what they remember. All my directions came from Alex on the phone. I should have ask to talk to Mireya.
They picked up the ring Sunday. Every ring has a story, this will always be part of this rings story. You can see the smiles on their faces, a happy reunion with a symbol of their wedding day. It was a pleasure to meet them.
Saturday 8-8-15
I was checking my emails early Saturday morning when I found that Louis had sent me an email at 11:30pm Friday night. He had lost a ring at the beach and wanted to know if I could help him find it.
I immediately sent him a reply asking him to call me as soon as possible, it was going to be a big day for beach goers. I still had no idea of what beach or when and how it was lost. I waited for his call curious about which beach the lost ring could be. If I could get on the road before 9am., I could get to most the beaches before people started laying out their beach towels and umbrellas.
Just about 8am Louis called giving me the information I needed to get on the road. He had been at San Clemente beach pier surfing with some friends Friday about 7pm. He had wrapped his wedding band in his shirt leaving it on the beach with his towel.. When they came in his friend picked up the shirt and the ring disappeared in the sand. Louis verbally gave me the location so I took off to claim the search area.
Louis was across town on the west side of Los Angeles. He said he would be driving to meet me but it was maybe an hour and a half drive. I arrived San Clemente Pier and started gridding in front of the landmarks that Louis gave me. It wasn’t long before the ring showed up in my sand scoop. I took a picture of it sending it to Louis in a text message.
When Louis showed up he praised me telling me that I may have save his marriage. I know he was joking but I’m sure it makes life better not to have to tell your spouse that your ring is lost forever. It was another good day for all. “TheRingFinders Rule”.
Monday 7-27-15 morning I had an email from Brandon inquiring about the cost of my service. He mentioned that he had lost a platinum wedding band ten days ago in the sand. The family had spent the evening at the beach enjoying a fire on the beach. When they packed up to leave he noticed his ring was missing. The beach closes at 10pm. Figuring it was lost forever in the sand they went home.
After ten days Brandon thought that there might be a chance to find it with a metal detector. His search online brought up TheRingFinders.com
After exchanging a couple emails Brandon said he had to work , but Isaac could meet me at Doheny State Beach. It was near noon when I arrived. Isaac was there to show me the general location telling me that they had stayed most the night in the small area. Fire rings are usually littered with small metal trash which may have been a factor that kept the ring from being found by other detectorists. I set up to dig all metal trash and it wasn’t long till the ring was in my scoop along with a pull tab and a few rocks.
After returning the ring to Isaac I spent a couple hours detecting. I realized how lucky we were on this recovery. There were signs of a recent metal detectorist working these tables and fire rings. The lifeguard told me this beach has several guys working the fire pits every couple days. They missed this one for 10 days. Reminding me not to give up. I’ll try Anywhere.
Saturday 7-25-15
Today, four of our ringfinders met at Venice Beach to attend a skateboard competition for disabled kids “Life Rolls On” .. John Hughes, Curtis Cox, Steve Smith and myself met early for breakfast and a few hours of detecting before the event. After the event they headed home and I stayed a little longer to check out the Santa Monica pier using my Segway.
I was within a few blocks of returning to my car when Sofia called asking me if I could help her find a ring lost in the sand. When I asked her location she said Venice Bch. lifeguard tower #18. My detector was in my car parked in front of LG tower #19.
It was only 15 or 20 minutes till I met her and she told me that the ring had fallen out of her back pack. She marked an area she thought it might be. It only took a few minutes because she had not left the area. Thank goodness for cellphones and the Internet. It was located a few feet outside the location she marked, but that’s normal. Also, itwas a coincidence that I was so close because I live an hour away, when the traffic is good. It was a good day for all.
Thursday 6-25-15
Paul works as a instructor for Hurley Surf Camp. His office is on the sand in Newport Beach, CA. Every week day they set up a large beach awnings in the dry sand, mostly in the same general location.
Wednesday after returning home Paul could not find his wedding band in his backpack. He keeps it in the back pack for safekeeping while teaching clients to surf. He was not sure but he thought it could have fallen out during the day when he got things from his backpack.
I was able to get to his location within 30 minutes. Paul was in the water but another instructor was able to show me the general area. After covering most of the location, I received a signal that was broken. TheTDI reading on my detector was close to a penny reading. I dug the signal figuring it may be two separate pieces of metal. No, just Paul’s nice 14k gold wedding band. It’s always good to remember the 14k gold is 60% pure and 40% alloy making the TDI readings different depending on the alloy and the size of the ring.
Paul was surprised and grateful. As I left the beach, I heard him telling other people on the beach about TheRingFinders.
Thursday .. June 18, 2015
Jenifer and her children were visiting her mother. They all went to Balboa Beach for the day. She took her wedding ring off putting it into the cup holder of her beach chair to put sunscreen on the kids. Later that afternoon they picked up their beach things to eat at a nearby restaurant. That’s when she realized that her ring was lost, most likely back where they were on the beach. They returned spending several hours searching by hand. Everybody was upset even the kids. They gave up the search believing the the ring was lost foreveer.
Returning home in the San Diego area, three days after the loss Jenifer’s mother called her, telling her that a police officer friend told her about TheRingFinders.com. Jenifer found me in the directory calling me to ask if I could help her. She was 60 miles away so it would be difficult for her to meet me at the location. She was able to tell me where she was sitting. I know that part of the beach well and exactly where she had been. She sent me 4 photos that had been taken that day which really helped me zero in. Everything was good except they beach was full of people laid out with all their beach gear. I spent a couple hours searching the open areas. Then I went back to the car waiting two hours for people to leave.
It was close to 6 pm and people were not leaving where I needed to search. Then I saw another detectorist working a grid towards this spot. I grabbed my detector, heading towards the location I needed to work. One of the places that was now clear, earlier had a tent, a plastic kids swim pool and all sorts toys spread over a 20ft x 20ft area. Fifteen feet in a straight line and the sweet sound of gold in my earphones. Jenifer’s beautiful wedding ring ended up I my scoop.
I sent her a surprise text picture of her ring. Jenifer returned a call to me and I told her about how I found the ring. She told me that she had given up hope. Also, yesterday was their wedding anniversary she was felt terrible about not having her ring. Now, she can’t believe that it has been found.
We talked about how to get it back to her. Her mother could meet me as she lived closer to me. That would have to take place Sunday. I wanted return it directly to Jenifer as soon possible. We met Friday at a location half way between where we live. My bonus was to be able to return the ring to its owner. Jenifer was truly grateful. It was a pleasure to meet her. This is one of the ring search and returns that I will always remember.
Wednesday June 17,2015
Olga and Hector are visiting Santa Monica, Beach from New York. Hector wanted to do a little work out on the gymnastics bars and rings on the beach. He gave Olga his small gold ring to hold for him. She slipped it on her finger for safe keeping. After a half hour she realized the ring was gone. It had to be somewhere in the sand where she had been watching Hector.
Olga found TheRingFinders.com after a Google search on her iPhone. I was an hour away and after hearing her story, told her this would probably be an easy search. It was important that she stayed in the location. This will help make it a quick recovery. I was able to get to her location with the cooperation of Los Angeles freeway traffic.
I called Olga as I walked to the beach recreation equipment. She came walking out of the crowd saying she recognized me carrying my metal detector equipment. She pointed out where it might be. With less than 10 swings of my detector coil I got that sweet gold tone. Hector’s ring in the sand scoop. They gave me big Hi Fives and thanked me with a real sincerity. They even had enough time to take the walk on the Santa Monica Pier which they had planned to do before losing the ring. This never gets boring. Every search is special.
Sunday .. May 31, 2015 .. 10:30pm
Karl called me from the airport where he was waiting for his fight back to his home in Phoenix, AZ. He told me he had lost his wedding band while watching his daughter participate in a volleyball tournament. He texted me the location. It was one of 28 volleyball courts. I drove 5 miles, found his ring and was able to text him a photo of his ring just as he was shutting down his smart phone for the departure of his flight. The next morning I returned the ring to his wife, Kristen who will be returning to Phoenix later. Below is Karl’s side of the story.
Stan,
Thanks again for finding my ring. I was attending my daughter’s beach volleyball tournament at Huntington Beach. During the game, an errant volleyball headed into the crowd towards me. I instinctively shot my left hand up into the air in an attempt to deflect the ball, and as I did, I felt my wedding ring fly off my finger. My wife and I looked around for it frantically, knowing that with each person walking by and kicking up sand, our chances of finding it were dwindling. After searching for about a half an hour, and seeing person after person kicking up sand and surely burying my ring, we resigned ourselves to having lost it for good.
Later that day, upon returning to our hotel and preparing to leave Los Angeles, I got on the internet and conducted a Google search for folks with metal detectors in the Huntington Beach area. I found Stan Ross on www.TheRingFinders.com and I called him from the airport as I was awaiting my flight. Stan was on the case in no time, and he kept me apprised of his status as he scanned the beach and I got ready to get on my flight. Then, just before departing, Stan texted me with a triumphant pic of my ring. He had found it! My wife and I were ecstatic! Luckily, my wife and kids had already planned to stay an extra day at the beach, so they were able to meet Stan and get my ring back. We’re very grateful for Stan’s services, and we give him our absolute highest recommendations. Thanks again Stan.
Tuesday April 28, 2015 .. 8am
Maria called me Tuesday morning asking for help to find her iphone that she lost in the sand Monday evening. She is from the Ukraine studying at Santa Monica college. Her phone contains a lot of information that is not backed up. She had been playing with her 2 sons very close to the Venice pier when the phone was lost. It is a high pedestrian traffic area making it possible that somebody had found it.
When I met Maria she told me that the phone had been found and turned into to main lifeguard headquarters. She was on her way to pick it up. I was glad that she would soon have it and all the important information it contained. She thanked me for coming. It is a beautiful day so I decided to do some detecting on this tourist beach before the sunbathers came out on the beach.
After about 30 minutes, Maria came walking up to me with a disappointing look on her face. The iphone at the lost and found was not her’s. We looked at the location that she thought it was lost. She pointed out an area about the size of basketball court. Part of it had been leveled out with a small beach tractor. I started at the lower end of where the tractor moved the sand. After two 30 foot passes with my CTX 3030 .. I got a signal that didn’t sound like anything very large, but that is normal for the CTX. I put my scoop into the dry sand gently as not to damage it. The first signal was Maria’s phone. You can see she was happy to have it back.
A bonus for the day was about two hours later when a older lady came up to me on the beach. She could not speak very good english, but I realized that she was Maria’s mother when she thanked me for finding her daughter’s iphone. Every search is different with different challenges. I love it.
