Lost ring in the sand, Mantoloking NJ, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder
It was late in the evening when I received a text from Connie asking if I would be able to assist in finding a beautiful ring they lost on the beach earlier that day. After texting back and fourth we decided to have her call as it was much easier. Mark and Connie were very anxious to recover the ring, so we decided to meet on the beach in about 30 min. due to the amount of beach traffic, and also the location of the ring possibly being pulled into the ocean, as the tide was coming in. We had one picture they had taken, which would assist in lining up the location, and a few holes their daughter had been digging that day. I arrived first and headed out to begin searching. It was very dark that night, so with the one picture Connie had sent I started to line up a spot with the landscape in the background. After doing a quick search of the first spot I noticed the flagpole I had used was not the correct one, then realized many houses had flagpoles. Moving down the beach a bit. I started another search in a spot that looked promising, by then Mark and Connie had arrived, and the second spot turned up empty. We all got together to examine the picture one more time, and found a spot just a little further which looked very promising. If you have ever been on the beach on a dark night, you will realize that lining up a small location with a picture, while also figuring out the correct angle it was taken from is quite challenging!!! Well, needless to say, after a few short sweeps of the 3rd spot, bingo, I got the signal I was waiting patiently to hear. To Mark and Connie’s amazement, the ring was in my scoop.
I received a message from Larry about his lost wedding ring. He lost it in about 5′ of water the week before in the bay, and was pretty anxious about possibly having it recovered. We arranged to meet on location about 2 hours later that day when some of the traffic cleared. After I arrived we discussed the details, in which he was adamant on the location where it came off his finger. which is always KEY with a successful water recovery that distance from the shore. Larry said the ring had writing on it which he could identify, and into the water I went. Once I was in the spot he gave me the thumbs up, and I started to search. Just a short while later I recovered a ring, which I didn’t think was his. This ring had writing around the outside, but he never mentioned that. After my arrival on shore, and with many swimmers relaxing in their chairs watching the ring return, I asked Larry more details about the ring. The next 5 min. or so were EXTREMELY comical, then Larry proceeded to recite the writing on the ring, which had never been discussed, and was in Hebrew. It read, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” Well, I was in total shock at this point, due to the fact we had never really discussed these identifying features. Larry is prob the most comical person I have ever done a recovery for, as I was in a chop busting mood that day, and poor Larry got his share from me. Larry, It was a real pleasure, thank you again, so glad I was able to help.
Amanda sent me a text later in the evening, asking about my services. Amanda and her husband Dave were at the beach, where she had removed her NJ State Trooper medallion necklace and placed it in the beach bag for safe keeping. She was extremely heartbroken, as she wore this every single day for over 20 plus years. After they returned home it was missing, so they backtracked every step with no luck. They also raked the entire area of the beach where they had set up their chairs and towels for the day. The only possible thing that could have happened was it came out during the day when Dave removed the car keys, and mistakenly fell into the sand. Amanda didn’t want me to come out late at night, but no way would I leave the necklace sit in the sand over night, and possibly disappear with the tide, or risk it being found by an suspecting beach comber. I met Dave at the beach within 30 min. and had Amanda’s necklace in the scoop just a short while later. Dave was in total disbelief I found it so fast, especially after they had done an extensive search prior to my arrival.
