lost Tag | The Ring Finders

Lost Gold Wedding Band in the Flower Bed-Found

  • from Chattanooga (Tennessee, United States)

I was contacted by Addison and she said her Grandfather had lost his wedding band in the yard while pulling weeds. It was a two and a half hour trip to Nashville from here, but well worth the trip. Peter said he was pulling weeds in the front flower bed for most of the afternoon and it was after dark, around ten oclock before he noticed his white gold band was gone. He went back out and looked for it but didn’t see it.  After pulling the weeds and putting them in a wheelbarrow he rolled it to the back end of the lot to dump it out, so I had several places to search. I started in the lawn area bordering the bed and frankly, that is where I expected to find it. Not finding it there I went into the bed and did find numerous peices of scrap aluminum and metal that was close to the surface.  About 3/4 of the way through the bed my Manticore locked onto a solid 15 in all directions and it was also close to the surface. The soil was soft so I just rubbed the surface area of the ground from over the signal and I saw the glint of white gold shining at me. That’s what I saw in the attached photo with my finger pointing at it. It was totally buried so he would not have seen it. The search time was around 30-40 minutes.

Wedding Ring lost on the Beach, Lavallette NJ, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder

  • from Lavallette (New Jersey, United States)

  Wolfie contacted me about locating his brand new wedding ring. He explained that after spending the day at the beach, he notice his ring went missing after they returned home for the day. Unfortunately, this happens quite often with newlyweds, as they are not used to having the ring on their hand, so it hasn’t become habit to notice it missing.  I wasn’t able to head right out as I usually do, but assured him I would be out later closer to low tide. I had him do all the essentials in the mean time, pin location in google maps, take pictures of the location, secure the area if possible, and make some kind of identifying mark of the spot just encase all other measures failed. It was very dark that night which limited my visibility, even with the bright headlamp. As I was still maneuvering to the pinned location, Wolfie showed up and put me right on the spot they were set up that day. Within about 5 minutes  my metal detector sounded off a sweet low tone, which was consistent with the ring he had described. Sure enough, Wolfe’s ring was now safely in my sand scoop, soon to be back on his finger, just after a few quick pics for my recovery story.

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Lost Wedding Ring, Ortley Beach NJ, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder

  • from Lavallette (New Jersey, United States)

Metal detector rental

It was a beautiful day at the Jersey Shore, the perfect opportunity for Lisa and her friends to enjoy some time at the beach. What they didn’t plan for, however, was losing her rings in the soft, sugar-like sand so typical of these beaches. After searching for a while with no luck, someone in the group suggested calling NJ Ring Finder for help. Having heard about many successful recoveries on Long Beach Island and nearby areas, they were hopeful it wouldn’t be a wasted call.
Once I got the call, we arranged to meet shortly after. As I walked down the dune path towards the beach, I saw the group gathered in a large circle around their chairs, securing the area where the rings were lost. After a quick conversation to get the details, I got to work, carefully moving my metal detector’s coil back and forth across the sand.
Within just a few passes, the detector gave off a low, steady tone. I had a strong feeling this was it, and sure enough, BINGO—it was her ring! Everyone was amazed at how quickly the recovery happened.
Another successful search in the books. I love this job—saving vacations and creating lasting memories!
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Necklace lost in lake, Metal Detector near me, Egg Harbor City NJ, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder

  • from Lavallette (New Jersey, United States)

Karla sent me an email asking if I could help find her necklace, which had been lost in the lake a few days earlier. After gathering the details, she seemed confident I could assist. We arranged to meet after dinner on a day that worked for both of us.
I arrived early and waded into the cold lake water to begin my search. Starting in knee-deep water, I planned to work my way deeper if needed. When Karla arrived a short while later, we confirmed that the area I was searching was a good spot. She was certain the necklace had fallen off somewhere within a 50-foot section. So, path by path, I combed through the water, moving deeper each time—eventually up to my chest—without detecting much.
I started to wonder if someone else with a metal detector had already been there. Then, suddenly, my detector gave off a signal. This time, I was almost certain it was Karla’s necklace. Moments later, I scooped it up.
I made my way back to shore slowly, keeping my head down, not wanting to give anything away just yet. Karla and her friend were waiting, and from the look on her face, she seemed to think I was about to give up. But when I held up the scoop and told her to take a look, her eyes lit up instantly. Tears of joy rolled down her face as she realized her necklace was found.
We talked for a while, and she shared some of the history behind the necklace. It was clear how much it meant to her. Another recovery in the books for the 2024 season.

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Engagement Ring lost on the beach, Ship Bottom NJ, LBI, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder

  • from Lavallette (New Jersey, United States)

It was a beautiful day when Shari and her friends decided to spend some time at the beach. Not long into their day, Shari had a little mishap that would lead to me recovering her beautiful ring. It had disappeared into the soft, white sand of the Jersey Shore. After searching for quite some time, Shari realized it was time to call a professional.
I had just received another call for a ring recovery, but it was in the dry sand, with no danger of being lost to the rising tide. Shari’s ring, however, was right near the high-tide line, and she was worried it would be swept away. I assured her I would get there as soon as possible and decided to prioritize her recovery to beat the tide. I sent her my ETA, and just before I arrived, she informed me that both calls were actually for the same ring. I hadn’t even looked at the other pin location—I just knew both were in Beach Haven, LBI.
Well, all’s well that ends well. Shari’s ring was in my scoop within a minute or so. You may be wondering about the conflicting stories. Both were true: the ring was in the dry sand, with no real danger of the tide taking it. But in Shari’s eyes, since it was so close to the high-tide line, she believed it was at risk of being washed away. Two different perspectives, but both valid.
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Barnstable, Cape Cod, MA Pearl Earring Lost and Found with RingFinder’s Help

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

September 15, 2024

A wonderful day at a nature center turned into a stressful night for Carolyn. While helping her children through the Nature Trail and before leaving the center one of her cherished pearl earrings came dislodged from her ear, however the earring back did not. Thinking of how to find the earring, Carolyn went to a hardware store that rents a metal detector. Luckily the store person knew a bit about the detector they rent and would not rent it to Carolyn. The reason was it just was not sophisticated enough to detect such a small piece of metal especially in an environment that would have many metal objects in the area i.e. pull tabs, nails, pieces of fencing etc. An effort was put forth and proved the rental cost would not be justified by the known detector’s results.

Another suggestion by the employee was to contact “TheRingFinder”, in this case. me. The sun would have set by the time I could have been on site. So an 8AM meeting was set. Carolyn and a few others returned to the event area before the sun set and frantic looking all over the parking lot and areas that could be seen before the sun set, but did not find the pearl.

In the morning I, along with Carolyn, started by first looking through the car’s seats, floor, voids between the center console and seats, cup holders to mention the obvious. Nothing was found and a quick walk over the parking area and on down to the kids nature trail. This was straight forward from the place the loss was discovered going back along the path of the previous day’s activities. Even with my adjustments made to my detector of choice for this search, the search was hampered by the many bits and pieces of metal in the area I had to search over. I stopped to do a bit of control tweaking because I was now on wood chips and not gravel and I wanted to have the best setup to find the earring.

Up to this point I was following Carolyn pretty closely, and she got about 10 feet ahead, looking down and at her foot was the earring. The was the end of my searching the area. Carolyn said if it had not been for the store emplyee’s honesty as to the rental detector’s capabilities, my logical thinking and implementation of a methodical search “we” would not have found the earring. We both agreed it was “Meant To Be”.

With a happy Book of Smiles photo, pair of earrings, need to get back to her children, the hugs, Thanks, Best Wishes, and a weekend to remember ended is short order as we parted to go on with each of our own day’s agenda.

 

Dennis Port, MA Heirloom Ring Lost, Found and Saved the Vacation

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

September 10, 2024

Vacation time on Cape Cod has almost come to an end. Now it was time for a local to leave far a vacation thru Spain with a 15 mile a day hike itinerary. That is Chris’ plan but first she had to find a family heirloom ring. She had looked “everywhere” with no luck in finding the ring and new it was time to reach out for help. One town official gave her the name of the local dealer of metal detectors, J&E Enterprise. Due to the urgency of finding the ring before the air flight to Spain left, my number was given to Chris. One call for help, a few minutes to determine if I could help and I was on my way to start a search.

I arrived even before Chris showed up. After I had my gear ready Chris pointed out the area where the ring might have been lost, and we reviewed the previous day’s activities. While I started my search Chris, with a few suggestions from me, went inside to do a search of her own.

I started in the outdoor shower with a pin-pointer and a detector that could “see” through the floor boards. Nothing rang out, I moved to the path to and the bird feeding area. Again, nothing. That is when Chris came out to show me the ring I had been searching for. It had come off of her finger the previous night as she packed for the trip. At this point we both were thrilled, Chris because she had the ring back on her finger and myself because I would not have to tell her that the ring is not in the areas you have told me about. There is nothing worse that having to tell a person “I did not find the object”.

This type of search has happened more than once. It is related to the fact that one feels that the “missing” object is right “here” when in reality it is over “there”. The “here” is where the object was noticed that it was missing, not where it was really lost. That is why I ask a series of questions before a search begins, just to determine the entire area that may be involved with the loss. An average metal detector is useless inside a house due to the amount of metal, electronic appliances, house wiring, and plumbing also creates a problem. A pin-pointer or a detector with notch filtering may be helpful in certain areas such as an attic.

Another terrific outcome for the day. I am sure the trip will be very special and more enjoyable that Chris will not have been wondering about the ring, at least until she had unpacked.

Truro, MA Gold Wedding Band Lost, Found, and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

September 1, 2024

“Chris I Love You Susan” was engraved in a wedding band that took a slip from Chris’s finger as his daughter looked on. Chris visualized were the loss took place and that there were 51 steps to the stairs leading off the beach. During the next few hours Chris made many unsuccessful dives to retrieve the ring from its watery resting place. A visual search also took place. Susan then took charge, acquired my number and called for help.

The next morning at 7AM the search began and lasted about 2 hours before the tide had come in and prevented further searching. I would return for the afternoon tide. Which I did. I paced off the 51 steps, took visual reference points into account and began a search. First I gridded over the sand that was under water in the morning. Nothing to dig, I moved into the water. Low tide, with between 1 and 2 foot waves along with some seaweed made detecting a bit tough. The second signal I had was over the small drop-off at the bottom of the beach’s slope. With everything moving as it was I had to take a third scoop before I caught the object in the scoop. I love to see the glitter of gold among the shells and sand. Without emptying the scoop I left the surf and counted 68 steps to the stairs. On the walk I pulled the ring out, verified the inscription, and dumped the shells.

Next feat was to climb the 98 steps to the top of the dune and my car. I cleaned the scoop, put the ring back into it, changed the boots I was wearing to sandals for safer driving and drove off toward Chris’s vacation home. I turned the last corner and there Chris was, walking back to the beach to see if I was there. I told him the surf was now too rough and it would be worthless to climb down to the beach and back up. But I would appreciate him looking in my scoop. A bit perplexed, he did and could not believe that it was HIS ring from Susan.

At the house, a cappuccino, many friendly licks from his dog, and lots of wonderful stories were related. I just love how I get to know people by just going a bit out of my way to help them. It is also great knowing that there is at least one more reason for having wonderful memories of a vacation on Cape Cod.

 

Dennis, MA Wedding Set Lost, Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 31, 2024

On my way home from some hobby detecting; not looking for anything specific, just enjoying the afternoon sun and sea swells, and waiting for another call for help in locating a lost object. I was less than a mile from home when my wait was over. A neighbor, Barbara, was calling to request that I respond to a woman in distress over a missing marriage ring set of 36 years this month. Sure, I am on my way was my answer as I pass the road to my home. Next I called home to tell my wife I would be a bit longer, put dinner on hold, I had to go and find 2 rings.

Within twenty minutes I was ready to start the search. While being escorted to the area on the beach where the rings were lost I was told that another detectorist had found the engagement ring but had no success in locating the wedding band. Maura had removed her wedding band and engagement ring at the beach to apply sunscreen. She put the two rings in the cup holder of her chair, but forgot to put them on afterwards. A few hours later she folded up her chair and left the beach. Back at the house she realized she didn’t have her rings and knew instantly what happened. Returning to the beach and sifting through sand with hands. There were also many interested people all wanting to help. Unfortunately the only help to find the wedding band came from the call to my phone. One woman helping – Barbara told Maura about a world wide group TheRingFinders, that she had a connection, and then called Richard 1 of some 600 TheRingFinders.

It took me about a dozen swings of my coil before I located the wedding band. My advantage over the other detectorist was in the quality of the detector being used and some 40 years experience with detectors. I passed a few detecting tips on to the new detectorist, Thank Yous were passed among all the helpers and I left for the waiting dinner.

Yarmouth, MA. Gold Celtic Cross Lost, Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 29, 2024

Almost five weeks ago, Caeleigh was enjoying a day on the beach. She was wearing a very sentimental Celtic cross that her parents had bestowed upon her on the day of her first confirmation.

I am not positive on just how the chain with the cross became separated and lost in the fine sand.

Today I was out testing a new detecting scoop grip and found only pull tabs and a screw. About to give up for the day, I got out of the water and headed to my car. Gerry had been watching me and was inquisitive about my detector and could find a hearing aid. Yes it is possible, but unlikely unless the detector is “tuned” to react to the hearing aid’s metallic characteristics. When our conversation was about over and I was about to start searching for the hearing aid, Katie approached and asked the same question ecept her item of interest was a gold Celtic cross. The answer was the same.

The first area I covered was for the hearing aid. The detector I had been using in the water was just too sensitive over the 18 inch sweep to locate the hearing aid, but I tried. I moved over to the area of the cross and chain. I knew the cross could be located, but the fine chain would be very difficult. I was correct, the cross was retrieved from the sand with no problem

My second detector in the car did not have programming capabilities. One of my detectors at home would fit the needs perfectly. So I left the beach to get my best detector for the items I was searching for, a hearing aid and a gold chain in salty beach sand environment. I returned an hour later to complete the search. At the beach I was in luck with the adjustments I made to the third detector, it would react equally well to either object with the same settings.

As good as the detector that I chose for the situation and adjusting it for the objects to find, I did not find either one. There are possibilities that; either object may have been found, the beach cleaning rake buried them beyond my detector’s depth range, or I just missed detecting them. Also, the hearing aid may have been lost elsewhere.

I had talked to all involved and took pictures of Caeleigh and her cross before going home to get the third detector just in case what I feared happened, which it did. The active search for the chain and hearing aid have ended for now, but the information will be retained per chance I do find either one at a later date or hearing of another detectorist finding one of the still missing belongings.