Lost Ring from the boat – FOUND!!!
Ryan is a patient man! He called me this morning and explained that he was out on the boat yesterday at a popular place for people to hang out and he was throwing a football back and forth. All of a sudden he caught one that slightly jammed his finger making him flick his hand back and forth. When he did he felt his brand new wedding ring of a few months go flying in the saltwater. He explained that they had looked for hours to no avail and he really needed some help. I told him that I wanted to help but I had to work today but with the storm coming this week he definitely needed to find it sooner rather than later. I told him I would have one of a few people I routinely hunt with call him soon and hopefully they could help him. At lunch Ryan reached out and said he hadn’t heard from anyone so I told him to standby while I made a call. My Father in law had accidentally left his phone and my other buddy was working so I called Ryan back. He asked about renting a detector and I explained why that just wouldn’t work. I finally felt so bad that I told him if he could wait until after work and if I could get a pass from my wife then I would do it myself. Being the patient person he is, he waited for me to finish up the workday and I’m very glad he did. Ryan has a great boat and we headed out to the area. When we got there, he had done a great job marking where it came off and I made my first pass. There was a huge drop off and as I turned back I thought to myself that I hoped it wasn’t any further or I would need a scuba tank. I didn’t need to worry though because as Ryan looked on expectantly from the beach I heard a very clean gold tone. He was already smiling as I very carefully used my scoop to pull out his ring. He said that was exactly where he thought it was and he was amazed I was able to find it. Ryan was all smiles on the way back to the dock and I’m glad I was able to help.
Hal called me about 4 in the afternoon to see if I could find his wife’s lost wedding ring. He and his family were staying near the Alabama beaches and decided to take their boat out to a secluded beach in Florida called Johnson Beach. Johnson Beach is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and the ring was lost on the intercostal side of the beach. Hal sent me a location and there wasn’t a way for me get to them by car without a 3 or 4 mile walk through the National Seashore which doesn’t allow metal detecting for archeology reasons. I tried calling the Park service for a permit but I think everyone was off work and I got a recording. I discussed this with Hal and he said he would come get me from a marina several miles away. By the time I got to where the ring was lost the sun was getting pretty low in the sky! his wife was afraid she would never see her ring again. the area to search wasn’t that big but the water was dark from recent rain. I ask lots of questions about what they were doing to try and pinpoint the location to start the search. His wife and daughter described at one point they were in the water doing cheers routines and animated with their arms the activity. It was the clue I was hoping for and asked about where they were. They identified and areas about 10 foot wide and I started the search. Within 10 minutes I got the unmistakable tone of a gold ring. Ring recovered, everyone happy and I didn’t get arrested by the Park police, a good day all around! 
Tess lost her absolutely beautiful wedding and engagement rings while vacationing at the beach. She and friends searched the beach for hours, sifting the sand with no success and it was getting dark. She called me at 9:30 that evening asking if I could help. After discussing details of when and where, it was the best guess than it was lost either on the sandy beach or in the water. I said I would help and I would be there at daylight. Tess met me just as the sun was up enough to see and reviewed the area to search. It was a fairly large area. I decided to search the beach first before lots of people showed up and before the umbrellas went up. The search took about 2 hours. When looking for a gold ring, depending on the metallurgy it could mimic just about any other commonly found metals. Because of that fact I had to dig every signal. I did lots of digging on that beach and did not find her ring. Next step was to search in the water. Fortunately there was not that many signals in the water. I think I dug about 10 targets before coming upon a weird signal, the target data kept jumping around suggesting a soda can but the signals could have been a gold too, so I started digging. Digging has to be done with care to avoid and damage to precious property. It took me three gentle scoops before the target was in my scoop. The entire time I was saying to myself this is a soda can, I know it’s a soda can, but knew I had to dig everything. To my amazement Tess’s cherished ring was there safe and sound. I learn something new just about every time I do a ring recovery, her ring was really three rings probably with different metallurgy!
it was a beautiful day at Pensacola Beach but the Shorebreak was really pounding. Chris was on the edge of the water putting on his fins and mask to do some diving. The Shorebreak hit him, he tumbled a bit and lost his ring. His wife called me to see if I could help and I said I would try. They showed me about where the ring was lost and I was able to find it in an hour hour and a half. We got to talking, he was from Pensacola and so am I. It turned out that we’re distant cousins! They departed all smiles. I was glad I could help and now have another family link. I guess it’s truly a small world!
