Lost Ring On Bellingham Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Got a call from a gal who lost her ring while walking on an elevated path over the water at Boulevard Park in Bellingham Washington. It was a simple gold band but it was a family heirloom that had been passed down to her. She was messing with it as they were walking and off it went, ping onto the concrete path, then a second sound as it went down the side and into the water. We scheduled a meet at low tide, which aren’t very low this time of year. Brought all my water gear prepared to get wet. When I arrived she was on the beach in her rubber boots. After introductions we talked about what had happened and how it went down. The water below the bridge was approximately 6′ feet deep still so I was looking at a very difficult situation as the bottom was rocky with medium size stones. The conditions were not great and there was some chop and small swells. I was debating whether to even attempt it.
But first I wanted to go up on the pathway and get a view from there. The water was crystal clear and I thought coming at night with calm water with a flashlight might spot a glint and get an exact location to make the dive a bit easier. She had marked where it went off and I wanted to recreate the scene. So you were walking in this direction about here, it fell off and you heard it, and saw it hit the concrete, then go through the railing and heard a second sound that came from the side of the bridge. It went through right next to one of the railing posts. The posts were about six feet apart so based on where she had marked it we narrowed it down to two posts. Again the water was very clear, so I began looking for any type of reflection, then BAM I spotted it. Caught on the side of the bridge on a small ledge behind the post in a small space. It was standing on edge leaning against an I-beam ready to fall off. A gust of wind could have easily knocked it off into he water. The space was so small I could not fit my hand into it and you could only see it by looking over the railing but to reach it you had to reach through the bottom of the railing. Well I became the eyes and she the grabber, as she reached her small hand down, I guided her vocally, to where she could insert her finger into the ring to keep it from dropping. She pulled it up and held it in her fist in a sort of state of shock.
It was an amazing find! I was looking at one of the most difficult hunts that quickly turned into the easiest. Never even got a detector out 🙁 Always, ALWAYS, recreate the moment and rule out all possibilities before taking a plunge into troubled waters!
Amy was visiting the grave site where her precious little one–Jean Francis Butterfly Butler– was laid to rest. It was a rather warm January day and the rings on Amy’s ring finger were feeling tight so she removed them and slid them into her pocket-along with the keys to her van. It was a quiet and peaceful time, sitting there by her little one’s grave site, as Amy reflected on the many things she had to be thankful for. Soon it was time to pick up her 7 year old daughter from school, so she folded up her lawn chair and headed to the van, pulling out the keys from her pocket as made her way across the short grassy area. As she slid into the drivers seat she remembered her rings and reached into her pocket and discovered–NO RINGS! Frantically she retraced her steps to where she was sitting and after a thorough search she was able to find her wedding band, but no diamond engagement ring. She walked back and for over the small area–but could not find her precious ring.
Can you imagine it’s your wedding day and everything is ready?! The chairs are all set up, the guests have arrived and the ceremony begins. It’s the perfect day to be outdoors, in the gazebo, on the lake. And partway through the ceremony the bride’s sister-in-law is holding the rings in a small box and just to make sure they are ready, she opens the box and somehow the brides ring drops to the deck and bounces off into the 9 foot deep water! Stunned and in shock, she cannot believe what just happened. After the ceremony the sister-in-law actually jumped into the cold water hoping to be able to retrieve the ring, but with all the weeds and soft muddy bottom, plus being 9 feet deep—it was hopeless!
Jason called Thursday morning to see if I could help him find his wife’s lost engagement ring in some bushes at their apartment complex in Orlando! I asked a few pertinent questions to help determine where the rings might be hiding and if there was a good chance they could be found. Jason briefly explained what happened and mentioned that Amber, his wife, had actually lost both her wedding and engagement rings. And after a frantic search they were able to find the wedding ring but not the lost engagement ring! He went on to say that they contemplated renting a metal detector but then found theringfinders.com web site and decided to give me a call.
Bill was taking his little nephew for a ride on a small four wheeler and as he stood up to get off he noticed his heavy gold chain was unlatched and his special “Road Runner” pendant was gone. This pendant was given to him by his late father 30 some years ago as a very special gift. Bill immediately started looking for it and spent hours searching thru the long grass and sandy areas where they had unloaded and ridden the four wheeler. A few days later they used a metal detector and tried and still were not able to find Bill’s lost pendant.
Last November 3rd I wrote a short story about Shawn loosing a ring at New Smyrna Beach and how I was able to find it for him. Come to find out that his good friend Zack, lost his wedding ring that very same day, at the very same beach! Shawn, Zack and another close friend had taken a day off to relax and as they finished their lunch at the Breakers Restaurant they decided to throw the football around in the shallow part of the surf. (Does this story sound familiar?) The third friend decided to remove his wedding ring and leave it in the car, despite the lighthearted objections of Shawn and Zack. And guess who ends up loosing their rings?
