lostringdunedin Tag | Page 2 of 2 | The Ring Finders

Lost 18K Gold and Diamond Cross Necklace, Indian Rocks Beach, Fl….Found and Returned A Year Later!!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

 


Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

Connor was riding some waves with friends at Indian Rocks Beach in early June of last year. While out in the rough waters that day, he lost his 18K gold necklace given to him by his father along with a gold cross studded with diamonds that had been added to the necklace. Connor and his mother Cathy found me through social media and asked me if I could help them find the necklace as they had been unable to find someone closer to help. Even though that is outside my normal service area, I agreed to coordinate a search.

I arrived at the scene later that same day and entered the water along with Connor and a friend of his. I searched for several hours in the rough water up to my neck with Connor and his friend assisting in scooping targets but I was unsuccessful. I returned the next day and searched again in the rough water but again no necklace. A few days later, I returned once again along with my metal detecting buddy Jim and we hunted for a few hours, expanding my original search area each time. About 10 days later, still in June of 2022, Jim and I searched again for a few hours to no avail. Over the course of the four searches, Jim and I found plenty of beer caps, pull tabs, a few coins and fishing weights, even some “junk” jewelry but not the big gold target we were looking for. It was always disappointing to update Connor’s mom Cathy with the bad news. In July and August, I tried to set up a search with an excellent water detectorist friend named Shawn who could also scuba search but we were never able to match schedules. Jim and I went back to Indian Rocks Beach for one last search in early October but once again we were unsuccessful. By that time and after five searches, I assumed that we were not looking in the correct area for the necklace or it had moved from the search area. It was also possible that we had just not passed our detectors close enough to the target or even that some other detectorist had found it but I thought that was much less likely because of how much time we had spent in the water.

Fast forward to July of 2023. Out of the blue, Cathy sent me a card telling me once again how much she appreciated what I and my fellow Ring Finders do to help people find their lost jewelry. Then here’s where the story really gets interesting. Two months later, in early September, I was at Honeymoon Island with my wife, daughter and grandson when I noticed someone metal detecting. I went up to him to introduce myself and realized that I was speaking to a fellow detectorist named Scott who I only knew through some texts we had exchanged as he and I and another detectorist named Brenda were trying to help someone find their lost wedding band at Honeymoon Island a number of months back. As Scott and I spoke, he told me that he had only been detecting about a year and a half and his best find had been a gold necklace with a cross at Indian Rock Beach last August (2022). I was stunned! I told him that I was searching for something like that last summer and found the photo on my phone that showed Connor wearing his necklace and said “does it look like this”? Scott said “that’s exactly what I found” and later showed me a photo taken the day he found it. We then confirmed that it was in the same area Jim and I had searched five times last year! Scott told me that he had sold the cross to a friend of his named Shannon who had moved out of the area but still had the necklace. Scott later asked me for Cathy and Connor’s contact info and I knew then that he was going to make every effort to get the cross back from Shannon and return the necklace. About a week and a half later and after Shannon sold the cross back to Scott so the entire necklace could be returned to Connor, the necklace was back on a happy Connor’s neck! He had already purchased a replacement but he promised to wear it as an every day and save the one given to him by his father for special occasions!

Cathy and Connor, thank you for trusting me to search for Connor’s necklace and your show of appreciation. Thanks to Shannon for being willing to make sure the cross was returned to its owner. And Scott, a huge thanks to you for having the heart of a Ring Finder and for being led to do the right thing, returning your best find! I have a feeling you will be rewarded with many great finds in your future! And I’m extremely thankful for the Divine intervention that led Scott and me to meet that day on Honeymoon Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost Wedding Ring Caladesi Island, Dunedin, Fl….Found!!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

Jessica and her husband Javier were enjoying the day riding jet skis around Honeymoon and Caladesi Islands. They beached on the north end of Caladesi and while Javier was opening a compartment at the rear of his jet ski his beautiful 14k hammered gold wedding band slipped off of his finger into the Gulf of Mexico.

Jessica found me through a Google search and texted me the story including a photo of the ring and a general map of the loss area. Fortunately the ring was lost in only waist deep water an hour or two before low tide so I wanted to plan a search for the same tide time the next day. Initially, Jessica and Javier weren’t sure if they could return the next day but it was important that they be there to narrow down the search area so they were able to work it out.

To get to the loss location, I had to ride twenty minutes on a ferry from Honeymoon to Caladesi, walk about ten minutes from the ferry to the beach, and then walk about 1 1/2 miles to the north end of the island with my equipment. Jessica and Javier had arrived on a jet ski before I arrived but left to pick up an anchor at a nearby marina. They texted me to let me know to look for a green tracker boat and a green jet ski as markers for where the ring was lost if I wanted to begin the search before their return so I began my search in the water. After only about fifteen minutes of searching with my Nox 600 detector, I came across a strong signal with a 21 on the VDI. After several scoops into the mud I was able to bring up Javier’s ring! Jessica and Javier arrived about ten minutes later and I walked up to Javier and asked him if he was ready to begin the search. Before he could answer, I held up his ring and said “is this what I’m looking for?” I thought he was going to fall off the jet ski! Jessica said to him “ I told you we ought to try this before you bought a new one!” After talking for a few minutes and taking a few photos with Javier texting family and friends about the ring find, Jessica and Javier sped happily away.

Jessica and Javier, thank you for trusting me to find and return Javier’s wedding ring and thank you for the generous reward!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost White Gold Wedding Band, Honeymoon Island, Dunedin Fl. …Found!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

 

 

              Steve Thomas

         Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

 

David texted me a few days ago to tell me that he had lost his wedding band earlier that day while playing with his dogs on Pet Beach at Honeymoon Island State Park. David said he had only been married four days when this happened! He also told me that he had heard about me on a local Facebook discussion page called Dunedin Chat. We set up a search for the next morning to begin just after the park opened.

The next morning David explained to me that his wife Nicole had fortunately taken a photo of him on the beach where she could still see the ring on his finger but then later filmed a short video of David running with their dogs a little further down the beach where it appeared that the ring was not on his finger. David also admitted that the wedding band was slightly too large for his finger (and Nicole told him he needed to have it resized) so it probably slipped off while he was running. David then directed me to area of wet sand where he thought it most likely he had lost his ring and I began a grid search. After a couple of hours with nothing but beer caps, pull tabs, a few coins and some fishing weights to show for my efforts, I expanded the search area closer to the water but again, no luck. I then expanded the search area closer to the dune line but found nothing but coins and beach trash. After over four hours of searching, we decided we needed to take a break so I told David I would do a second sweep of the first area I detected as we headed towards the beach access. A few minutes later, I detected a target that not only I thought was a lower number than I was looking for on my Equinox 600 but also was the same number for the numerous pull tabs I had already dug. On a search like this, you dig everything and sure enough after one scoop I had recovered a ring! At first I did not think that it looked like the picture of the ring that David had sent me but after I cleaned off the wet sand and David overcame his initial shock he said “I can’t believe it, you found my ring!” I was still a little shocked myself even though I had told David that I had recovered another ring after a four hour search and while leaving the beach to take a break! The other people on the beach near our search area were just as happy as we were. David let Nicole know that the ring was safely back on his finger once again.

David and Nicole, thank you for contacting the Dunedin Ring Finder and trusting me to find David’s wedding band. Also, thank you for the generous reward and the kind words in your testimonial. I wish you many years of happy marriage!

 

 

 

 

 

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LOST RING DUNEDIN CAUSEWAY, DUNEDIN, Fl….FOUND!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

STEVE THOMAS  DUNEDIN RING FINDER

LOST A RING OR OTHER METAL VALUABLE IN A GRASSY OR SANDY AREA? JEWELRY SLIP OFF OF YOU WHILE WORKING OUTSIDE OR SWIMMING? PLEASE CALL ME ASAP AT (843)995-4719.
I OFFER A FREE METAL DETECTING SERVICE, REWARD OPTIONAL BUT APPRECIATED.

I was relaxing Saturday morning after a couple of unsuccessful searches the previous two days including a wedding band in a sewer line trench and an old septic tank cap on a wooded lot. My wife showed me a story from the local Dunedin Discussions Facebook group where a member named Debbie posted about her daughter losing a silver ring on the Dunedin Causeway beach the previous day. I also received a pm from another member of the group letting me know about the loss. I immediately posted and sent a pm to Debbie informing her of my services. Because Debbie had given a somewhat detailed description of the loss location on her post, I decided to drive immediately to the location to begin a search before other metal detectorists might scan the area. Not long after I began my search, I received a map pin of the precise location as well as a perspective photo of several family members metal detecting the loss area the previous evening. I worked my way to the given location and searched for a couple of hours. I knew I was searching in the right location as it was confirmed by Donald Murphy (“Murph”, pictured below) as he had seen the family searching the previous evening and he was back at this same spot the next day. I was able to dig a dozen quarters and a half dozen dimes but no silver ring. I went home for a break and returned several hours later at low tide. By that time, the receding tide exposed some tire tracks where Murph said the family was searching the day before. After about an hour, my Equinox registered a strong silver signal (29) at 2 to 4 inches and I dug the silver Gucci ring out of the wet sand with my scoop. I showed it to Murph and he was as excited as the owner was going to be. After I contacted Debbie with the good news, I met her daughter Opal and boyfriend James to make the return. Opal said she lost it while throwing a ball and it was a special ring given to her by her brother. Thanks to all for trusting me to look for your precious ring and thank you for the generous reward! God bless you all!

 

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LOST IPHONE ON HONEYMOON ISLAND…FOUND AND RETURNED!!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
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STEVE THOMAS    DUNEDIN RING FINDER

LOST A RING OR OTHER METAL VALUABLE?
CALL ME ASAP ANYTIME. (843)995-4719    THIS IS A FREE SERVICE, REWARD OPTIONAL BUT APPRECIATED

 

A few days ago I was detecting on Honeymoon Island. I found the usual handful of coins and scrap metal but as I was leaving the beach, I found an iPhone buried under about 2 inches of wet sand. I quickly removed the phone as the tide was about to cover it again and took my recovery photo in dry sand. I could not determine at that time if the phone was operational but it looked new. I stopped by the state park office on the way out to see if anyone had reported the missing phone to the park service but the office was closed. I returned home and cleaned the phone as best I could and attempted to charge it. The phone soon displayed a message which indicated it was lost and provided a phone number to call. Unfortunately, the number provided was the number to that phone but at least I heard a voice message which provided the first name of the owner. After about 30 minutes of online research with the assistance of my wife, we were able to email and Facebook message the owner who lived in our area. There was no immediate response but we also located a  friend of the owner in our research, contacted her, and she in turn contacted the owner’s fiancée. It wasn’t long before we received a call from the grateful owner. She said that she had lost the phone the day before. As it was fairly late in the evening by the time we made contact, we made the exchange through the local sheriff’s department.

Carolyn, I hope your phone is fully operational and I am glad I could return it to you so quickly after you lost it!

 

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