lost ring stories Tag | Page 2 of 2 | The Ring Finders

Lost Wedding Ring in Sand at Newport Beach, CA. – Found

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eddie called me this morning asking for my help to find his Tungsten wedding ring possibly lost in the sand at the Newport Dunes RV Resort. I got excited because I was close enough to walk to his location within 10 minutes.

Eddie and I met at a the children’s play area on the sand. That is where he told me, he realized his ring was missing. Before that he had been several different places on the beach. One place was where he had crashed his bike on the sand and the other place was where he had been throwing a frisbee.

I started to eliminate the Totlot (play area) first. It is hard to stay positive when you hear about so many possibilities where he had been. I had a little electrical interferences to begin with and there was a lot of metal posts in the play area that could cover up a signal of the ring.

After a couple hours of searching, I went back to get a larger scoop to move the sand away from the metal posts. I also changed out  my detector to one with a higher frequency coil. Returning to the play area where there was masking possibilities. Within the first 15 minutes I had Eddie’s wedding band in my scoop. He had already given up, returning to his RV. So it doubled his surprise when I showed up to return his ring. He had an big smile and his wife told me how I had made his day.. Helping people find their precious sentimental keepsakes makes my life special. It is awesome to use my time, experience and equipment in such a worthwhile endeavor.

If you need help finding your metallic valuable. Call me anytime 24/7 .. I Will Try Anywhere ..

 

Gold Heirloom Ring Lost in Sand at Santa Monica, CA. Recovered

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Martha called me I could see that she was calling from an international phone number. Martha is from the UK and will be returning the next day. She had just dropped an heirloom gold ring in the sand while watching people working out on the athletic rings near the Santa Monica Pier. This ring was very sentimental to her as it was passed down from her mother. She was devastated.

Some local people told her how to contact me. When I talked to Martha she was concerned how long it would take me to get to the location.
It was late afternoon with Los Angeles traffic I couldn’t give her an accurate arrival time. After hearing how she lost the ring, I did assure her that if she stayed at the location I could find her ring.

I was able to get there without any traffic delays and found parking only a block away. The search was quick, finding her ring right against the wall separating the walkway from the sand. I could only get a decent signal by swinging my coil with the tip of the coil facing the wall.

Martha’s face lit up with a big smile which made my day. She was a little late for a family dinner but she would not be going back to England without her ring. It was a pleasure to meet her and help make her trip to California a good memory.

 

Lost Diamond Engagement Ring at Horse Stables in Chino, CA. .. Found

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maureen’s daughter Lauren had come down to Chino, Ca. from Sacramento to visit her mother and to move her horse from the boarding stables. After a whole day of cleaning the stall and moving the tack box Lauren realized her white gold and diamond engagement ring was missing from her finger.

They spent the weekend searching around the stall with no success. Lauren had to return to Sacramento, CA. Maureen went to a sporting goods store purchasing a metal detector. Several people helping to search for the ring attempted to use the detector unsuccessfully.

Maureen was given my information from somebody that found TheRingFinders website.
I drove 40 miles to Chino to meet Maureen at 2 pm. When I arrived we discussed what happened the day of the loss. There was a 10 ft. sq. area where they removed the tack box, then she had 3 trash bags full of loose alpha hay and the last place would be where they had hauled the horse manure. It made sense to start in the area where the tack box was as I was going to save the manure pile for last. (I’ve searched worst locations)

Turned on my XP Deus and set it up to deal with nails and other non ferrous metals. Two passes into my grid, a nice signal and a beautiful diamond engagement ring underneath an inch of dirt and hay particles. I was as surprised as Maureen. She looked at me saying they had searched that location many many times by hand, rake and a metal detector. A big smile and hugs of gratitude, then we called her daughter telling her the good news.

Another special ring recovery and a reminder to me that “I Will Try Anywhere”, that’s what helps to make miracles happen.

Lost Palladium Ring at Roadside Turnout near Bakersfield, CA.

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

 

 

Shelley contacted me early Wednesday the day before thanksgiving, one of the busiest
travel days of the year. Her husband, Andrew had lost his ring the night before as they were on a road trip for the holiday weekend.

They believed that he may have lost it when they stopped at a roadside turn out. Andrew didn’t feel the ring slip off but he did notice his ring missing a half hour later when they stopped at a fast food place near Coalinga, CA.

I asked a few questions about the location. Shelly said it was just a small turnout that had 4 or 5″ of soft dirt. It was dark, making it hard to remember any landmarks. Also, they didn’t know the name of the exit off the I-5 north.

We both went to google earth app to see if the exit could be located. We found one exit 105 miles from my place. I was able to get there by 1pm and after sending them photos we though this was the place. A thorough grid search was unsuccessful. I could only suggest they recheck their car.

Fast forward 3 days later, Shelly texted me saying on their return trip,  they located the exact turnout where they believe Andrew lost his Palladium wedding band. It was 25 miles north of where I searched Wednesday before thanksgiving.

Sunday I drove 130 miles to the turn off with the very exact landmarks and photos that Shelly gave me. Immediately after parking my car I could see finger drag marks in the soft silty dirt. It looked like an easy find, if the ring was there. You never know if it’s there, when the person doesn’t feel the ring come off.

After 2 hours and just looking at the last few minutes before calling it quits. Boom!!! Andrew’s ring ..
It was a long drive home with the holiday traffic and I was able to drop the ring off at Shelly and Andrews place on the way. It was a another great experience meeting them and returning the ring.

Lost Ring In Surf at Laguna Beach .. Found

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

Paul actually saw his ring come off his finger while searching for lost keys in waist deep surf. He was at Picnic Cove which is one of many small beaches in Laguna Beach, CA. When I talked to Paul he said it happened 3 hours before calling me. Checking the tide table, determining that it happened just about high tide. It was a good sign that we had a chance to find it at low tide. The only problem is all the beaches have different characteristics. They also change with the currents and wave action.

We made arrangements to meet that night just before low tide. Going by his verbal directions I arrived earlier to start the search from the upper sand slope as the tide receded. Paul and his wife Sonia showed up just before I reached he waters edge. He directed me out onto the bedrock reef, where I gridded in knee deep surf. It was dark and there were many crevasses that could hide a ring.

When I came back to the sandy part of the beach, Sonia told me she thought it was lost closer to the sand. I took a few minutes to finish where I had left off my original grid. Boom! Paul’s platinum rose gold with diamonds wedding ring, there in a couple inches of water right where the sand met the rock reef. Paul and Sonia were standing up further on the beach with that look of doubt on their faces, but that changed to smiles of joy when I held up the ring for them to see.

It was a beautiful custom made ring that Sonia had designed. She had custom made for Paul while she was on vacation in India. Paul was embarrassed that this happen after they had only been married four months. Finding the ring was a special moment for all of us. I love helping people.

Lost Celphone at Long Beach, CA. Found and Returned

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

Friday night Katie was with friends on the beach at Belmont Shores when she lost her cellphone in the dry sand. The next morning she was able determine that her phone was still at the beach using the “find my friend app” on her roommates phone. After several hours searching the sand with three of her friends, one of them searched the internet and found TheRingFinders site.

I got the call and met Katie on the beach soon after verifying that she could be there. It took about a half hour till I got the exact signal that matched my cellphone. Katie was close by, so I called her over to hear what I heard in my headphones. Then I let her retrieve the phone by feeling through the sand.
It made it a special recovery for her and it’s always safer not to damage the phone with a sand scoop.

These days of smartphones it’s not only the cost and trouble to purchase a new phone. These phones have photos and information that can’t be replaced. I love helping people find things that mean so much to them. It’s very difficult to rent or use a metal detector if you have never used a metal detector. Call member of TheRingFinders.

 

Lost iPhone .. Venice Beach, CA. .. Found in Sand

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

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.
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Wedding Rings found on Oceanside Beach, Calif.

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

I got home the other night about 5:30pm. I sat down at the computer to write a post for my RingFinder blog. Before starting my post I checked my emails. There was an email from Katie that had been sent about 8:30 am. She was desperate and had asked if I could help her find her lost rings, the most important thing that she owns. I was upset that I had not checked my mails in the morning. She had been at the public beach in Oceanside, Calif. watching a surfing event. Even though it was starting to get dark and it was a 45 mile drive I wrote her quick email telling her I could meet her tonight if she had not found anyone to help her. Within 10 minutes she called me and I jumped in my little Mini Cooper ” Calif. RING FDR ” and headed down Pacific Coast Hwy.. My favorite drive.

At 7:00 pm,  I pulled up in front of the vacation rentals where Katie and her husband Brian were staying. They walked over to the area where Katie said she had walked out to the water the day before. She rinsed the sand off her ring and walked back up to the dry sand playing with their small dog. In that 20 or 30 minutes she realized that her ring was not on her finger. I am always competing with the sand sifting machines on these popular public beaches, but we were fortunate that after summer has past they don’t sift everyday. It was dark and I was trying to be careful to grid overlapping my swings. I did have the advantage that there was two rings, so if I missed one there was a chance to get one of the two. Then I could hone in on the other ring.  I covered about 7 or 8 passes about 60 feet in each direction before the larger of the ring gave me 12-03 reading on my CTX3030 .  I called Katie and Brian over to show them. It was an exciting time for all, even Brian who had mostly given up that the rings could be found. A couple more swings and the smaller ring gave me a 12-02 reading on my detector screen.  Another happy couple and a special beginning to their marriage of 45 days. Brian is a Marine and will be leaving the county next month. Look at those smiles.
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