Maderia Tag | The Ring Finders

Sand Key Platinum Wedding Ring Returned

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We took a trip to Clearwater in September, and one of the highlights was getting to take our 18-month-old son to the ocean for the first time. His experience was great, but after an hour of wading in the surf and walking up and down the beach I noticed that my wedding ring was gone. We did some halfhearted searching, but really didn’t expect much luck finding one small item in the ocean. That night we posted on Craigslist. That also seemed like a long shot, but we figured that the ring has a specific inscription, and if someone else found it and wanted to contact us Craigslist might give them a way. In the morning we had two responses — one from Stan at Ring Finders saying he’d be happy to meet us and search together, and a second from someone else saying “you should take down your ad and contact Ring Finders”.

 

Timing was tough for us. This was the last day of the vacation, and we had to navigate the toddler’s sleep schedule and make it to church before we left town. Still, Stan said he had a 95% success rate if we came and helped narrow the search area, and while that sounded impossibly high it gave us enough hope to give it a try. So we met Stan back at the beach, explained where we had been the day before, and let him start searching. He suggested that we stick around for an hour in case any other memories came to us, and after that he’d spend another hour before bringing others down to help search. We discussed the location a little more, and decided, based on landmarks like “this hole here, and that sign over there”, that he was in about the right spot. We were just explaining that to Stan when he said, “hold on, I’ve got something right here.” He scooped up some sand, drained it, and handed my ring back to me with a smile. We couldn’t believe it. The total search was maybe 15 minutes, which turned out to be especially important that day. We’re adopting a second child, and that same afternoon we got word that the mother had gone into labor early so we took the next flight out. Without Stan’s quick response, his availability to meet us right away, and the short search time, our window would have closed and we would have left town without ever finding the ring. He was exactly the right person at the right time. Thanks Stan!

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Another Smile on St Pete Beach

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Dustin and friends were down from Georgia to attend a wedding. After the ceremony they all had a great time relaxing at the beach. In the evening they got a couple of Volleyball games going and when Dustin went to clean up for dinner he noticed in the shower that his wedding ring was missing. The whole group searched for hours in the sand around the volleyball court but with no luck. The next morning, Dustin was searching the internet for places to rent metal detectors when he stumbled on The Ring Finders site and found SRARC. He contacted Mike Miller and Mike organized a quick hunt as they were preparing to leave for the trip back to Georgia. Chris Duerden was able to join Mike and the each took one side of the volleyball court. In about 5 minutes Chris yelled “Here it is”. Dusting was as happy as could be, Way to Go Chris!!!!!

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Family Heirloom Returned at St Pete Beach, Florida

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Who would have thought that a wedding band lost in the Gulf of Mexico would ever have been found again. This is a story with a wonderful ending thanks to the wonderful guys at SRARC.com. My husband an I were just married in April of 2014. My husband is very close to his family and especially a grandfather who has since passed away. He had his grandfather’s wedding band that had WM to BW 1946. They got married right after he got back from WWII. They were married for 46 wonderful years. We took the gold wedding ring and “soddered” it in the middle of two white gold bands from me. So there was an heirloom from his grandfather and a piece of me, we then added our own inscription to the existing inscription. CB to WS 4/2014. We had our own special love story. We dated for two years in NY and then I moved to Florida for work – Long story short, Bill stayed in NY, he was a teacher and wrestling coach and had a great teaching job in NY. We spent every holiday and vacation back and forth between Florida and New York. Bill showed up one day unbeknownst to me when I was visiting my father in Orlando to say he was here to stay, he was teaching in Tampa. We were married ocean-side in a beautiful ceremony just a few months later. I was so happy to put that ring on his finger.

So, on labor day, we spent a beautiful Monday at my favorite place, St. Pete Beach. We were in the water and all of a sudden I heard Bill say words that put my heart in my throat. “My ring just fell off in the water”. I knew too many people who have lost their rings in the water forever. We looked for hours and could not find it. Leaving the beach that night was heartbreaking. It felt like that was it, we will never see it again. We went home and got on the computer and after only one search I found the SRARC group. Stan contacted me really quickly and we made arrangements to meet in the eve. So I could show him where we were. After they asked me a whole bunch of questions which would help them ascertain where we were, they started looking even before I got there. Chris was already looking when he ran into Stan. I got a phone call later that day from Chris – he found the ring. If I could have kissed Chris on the spot I would have! I was elated!

When I went to pick the ring up, I met Chris and his wife. Two very lovely, sweet people. I did actually hug Chris. I was so happy, I was actually shaking. My husband had just started a new job and couldn’t be there to pick it up, but believe me he was more than ecstatic.

Who would have thought a ring in an ocean would ever be found and found the very next day. I am forever indebted. Not only did they find my ring, but the club does it for free. I did donate to the club itself, but nobody would take money individually. What angels you guys are!

I said a Novena to St. Anthony that day that it was lost – and he sent me you guys! Thank you

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Ft Desoto, Florida Double the Fun Recovery

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Marcus was enjoying Labor Day weekend with friends and family at Ft Desoto Park and he and a friend decided to toss the football around in the water. After a couple of throws Marcus noticed that his wedding ring was missing. He had stayed pretty much in the same place so he had one of his friends bring him some swim goggles and he started to look on the bottom for his ring. Keeping his wits about him, he had his friend stand in place so they would keep a good reference point. After a few minutes Marcus had a brilliant idea. He borrowed his friend’s wedding ring and proceeded to dive under water and set the ring on the bottom so he could see what it would look like when he searched for his own ring. You guessed it!!!!!!!  The second ring instantly disappeared and he could not find it either. So now we have two wedding rings, one gold, the other platinum lost in very close proximity. After a short while they decided that they had better establish some good landmarks and then find someone with a metal detector. Marcus contacted Ringfinders and we met him at the location the next morning. Four ringfinders, Tom Jones, Paul Hill, Mark Prue, and Mike Miller started the hunt at 9:00 am and by 9:15 am the rings had been recovered. Great work Team!!!!!!!!!. The smile on Marcus’s face says it all.

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Vows Renewed after rings recovered St Pete Beach, Florida

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The weekend before my vow renewal, a few of my friends and I decided to go out.  We ended up at Jimmy B’s on St Pete Beach and after a few drinks and several hours of dancing; we decided a quick dip in the gulf would be wonderful.  We were only in for a few minutes but when we came out and posed for a photo, I noticed that my wedding rings were gone.  I cannot describe how surreal that moment was or how quickly the panic set in.  We searched for an hour before they finally convinced me to turn in for the night.  I lay in my hotel bed, unable to sleep, feeling absolutely naked without the ring that my husband had given me when he proposed.  That ring stood for so much.  He worked so hard, handpicked every stone, designed the setting, not like at Jared where you pick a pre-fabricated design, he drew it on paper and had someone make it.  That ring symbolized eight years of love and friendship, five years of marriage , two children, hard times and amazing happiness.  I couldn’t just lay there while it drifted in the ocean, so at 3:30 in the morning, I headed back out and spent the next several hours combing the beach with a flashlight (two days later my neck still hurts from looking down).  I finally called my husband to share the terrible news at 6:45.  Not only was he sweet to me and sad for me, he immediately took action.  He sent out a text to everyone he knew asking for a metal detector.  By 8:30 he had gotten into contact with someone who was going to meet us at the beach.  I was fairly exhausted from both the festivities and several hours of searching the night before but perked at the possibility of a happy ending.  I met Stan and my husband around 9:30 and Stan immediately set to work.  He was methodical and friendly.  He gave me hope.  I wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly where I was, I mean the beach is the beach right? Especially at 2 am.  Still, Stan was optimistic.  By 10:30 though, we were all feeling a little discouraged.  I had to go check out of the hotel and as I was heading away from the water, I noticed my friend’s leftover drink from the night before. I flagged Stan down to show him that this was where we went in.  I left the beach feeling terrible, so sure that ever finding my ring again was a lost cause.  What would I wear at our vow renewal?  I didn’t have a ring for my husband to place on my finger.  How would we ever replace the ring that my husband had put so much effort and love into making? I could barely keep from crying.  Twenty minutes later, while packing the last few things in my bag, I got a message from my husband. It was a photo of my rings! Stan had found them… both! I couldn’t believe my luck. I felt like a weight had been lifted (even though my neck still hurt).  I raced back to the beach and cried happy tears when my husband placed my ring on my finger all over again.  It was wonderful.  I hugged Stan.  I couldn’t be more thankful for his hard work and tireless effort to help a total stranger.  His focus and compassion have given me a happy ending against truly unbelievable odds.  Thank you Stan Flack!

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Dog-gone Ring Recovered

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Gina was on her back patio with her six month old puppy when she decided to do some yard work. She took her two rings off and laid them on the lounge chair to make sure she did not lose them.
She proceeded to work in the yard for a while. She then returned to the chair to get her rings but only one was there. After looking around she realized that the puppy must have pick up the ring and carried it off.
After a day of searching she found SRARC and called Tom Jones who happened to be about ten minutes away.
Tom arrived at the home and asked Gina to bring the puppy outside then proceeded to scan the coil of his detector around the dog to see if it possibly swallowed the ring. He got no signal from the dog then started to hunt the yard. The whole yard was hunted right up to the last 10 square feet where Tom hit on a platinum signal. He then looked down to see a shiny circle lying in the grass.
It turned out to be the platinum and diamond heirloom ring. The ring had been passed down from Gina’s late mother to her and she had hoped to pass it on to her own daughter one day.

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Redington Beach Wedding Band Recovered

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On Sunday, July 27, 2014, Keven (that’s how he spell’s it) and his wife Jessica Jones were at Redington Beach with some friends when he tried to catch a football with his ring hand and watched in slow motion as it flew off.  Thought gone forever, Keven told his friends about his mishap.  Lucky for Keven, It turned out Keven’s friends happen to be my neighbors daughter who immediately called my wife looking for me.  Oddly enough i was already at that beach.  I tried in very rough water that evening to find his ring, family heirloom passed down in his family, but no luck.  Tried again on Thursday but too rough.   We then got our crew of ring finders organized for one last try on Saturday morning in flat seas.  Mike Miller, Howard Metz and Stan Flack gave it a go for about 45 minutes when Stan managed to get the ring under his coil and Keven was pulled from the dog house.  High fives all the way around.

 

 

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Baptism Cross recovered at Indian Rocks Beach, Florida

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On Saturday we went to Indian Rocks beach, FL. We were in the water a lot, and my girlfriend was jumping off of my shoulders into the water. After a few hours, we walked back onto the beach and left. After getting back to the hotel, I noticed that I lost my baptism cross that I always wear around my neck. We knew it had to be lost in the water. Disappointed, I assumed it was lost for good. After some conversation, we decided to do a Google search for underwater metal detecting and came across a website that eventually linked us to Stan. We contacted Stan and met with him the next day. He was persistent and patient while searching the general area of water we were in. He then asked us to recall our path out of the water the previous day. We walked the path and searched the beach, but still didn’t find it. It was then that Stan followed the same path back into the water, and after a few minutes of searching, he found the cross!

We were shocked and very thankful!  Thank you for providing us with such a great service!

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Tiffany’s Engagement Ring Recovered at Redington Beach

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My mother from Ohio was down visiting us in Tallahassee so we decided to enjoy a weekend at the DoubleTree resort in North Redington Beach, FLorida

We were playing with a little rubber ball in the water and I reached out to grab it and my rings flew off. The rings that were lost were my engagement ring and wedding band, a set that was one of the last few pieces remaining when our family closed our jewelry store after many many years in business in downtown Niles, Ohio. A community fixture, the store had provided thousands of women with the jewelry that made them happiest and meant the most. My set was nowhere near the biggest or most expensive to be given in a Leon Doubet Jewelers’ box, but it was my favorite.

My husband, mother, and tons of wonderful hotel guests tried to help find them, but a combination of the waves, kicked up sand, and sun made it impossible. My husband tried to rent a metal detector but instead was advised to contact The Ringfinders. He found Suncoast Research and Recovery Club at the site and called the number.  Stan and Mike soon arrived to save the day with their detectors and investigative skills. They pinpointed the most likely location and depth despite our less than perfect account. We could not believe it when they found it. What an awesome team!

 

 

 

 

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Lost Wedding Ring Set at Indian Shores, Florida

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Late Saturday, April 19th, SRARC received a call from Sara Urda who had lost her wedding and engagement rings in waist deep water at Indian Shores Beach on Friday.

Considering the wind and water conditions, the decision was made to do a search later in the week when the tide and wind would allow a better search of the area. Sara was a little concerned that we could not get in there sooner. None the less she agreed.

On Tuesday the wind and waves died down and a search was scheduled. Sara and her husband Jake met Mike Miller and Tom Jones at the beach. In the meantime Jake had purchased a water detector and joined in the hunt. After 15 minutes in the water Mike Miller gave everyone a thumb’s up signal indicating that the rings which had been soldered together had been found.

Upon meeting Sara at the water’s edge she broke out in tears of happiness. She said that she would not let her hopes get too high just in case we could not find it.

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