Metal Detecting Adventures Inc Tag | The Ring Finders

Brian Rudolph, Lost Item Recovery Specialist (also known as THE RING HERO) searches Land, Water, Sand, Snow, Leaves, Cliffs, Houses and Vehicles. He Will Find Your Lost Item! Call ASAP (301) 466-8644!

By Brian Rudolph – Professional Ring Finder & Metal Detectorist
Owner, METAL DETECTING ADVENTURES INC (Clarksburg, Maryland)

Saybria was enjoying a wonderful weekend getaway with her girlfriends at a private beach house right on the water in Milford, Delaware. They had a blast making campfires on the beach, swimming in the Delaware Bay, relaxing on the sand, kayaking and paddle boarding out on the water.

Everything was going fantastic until Saybria made her way back toward the beach house after a fun time on the water and suddenly realized that her 18-karat yellow gold bracelet, weighing a hefty 47 grams (approximately 1.5 ounces), was missing from her wrist!

She immediately panicked. The realization that something so sentimentally important—and extremely valuable—was gone and presumably lost forever was almost beyond comprehension.

Saybria immediately searched the sand and all of the areas where she had been walking along the beach, but there was nothing to be found on shore. She became fairly certain that the bracelet must have been lost somewhere in the Delaware Bay.

As Saybria retraced her time on the water, she remembered having difficulty getting onto the paddleboard at a couple of locations. She couldn’t be certain, but she wondered whether one of those struggles might have caused the thick gold bracelet to come off her wrist. It was certainly a theory worth considering.

Searching the water herself was essentially impossible. Without professional metal detecting equipment—and the experience necessary to conduct an underwater recovery—there was little chance of locating such a small object somewhere across that enormous stretch of bay.

The thought of losing something so special that her boyfriend, Tommy, had given her absolutely broke Saybria’s heart. She was in tears for the next couple of days.

Eventually, Saybria searched Google and AI for information about how someone might recover a lost item such as her gold bracelet. She got in touch with a metal detectorist in the South Jersey area named John Favano. Because Saybria’s location was too far south for him to make the trip, John referred her to me, Brian Rudolph of METAL DETECTING ADVENTURES INC and a proud member of THE RING FINDERS.

I spent a great deal of time asking Saybria questions about exactly what had happened while she was out on the water.

She remembered taking the kayak and paddleboard from near the beach house, following a path that led directly onto the sand. She went straight out into the bay and then toward the right. At one location, she struggled to get onto the paddleboard. There was another place approximately 100 yards south of where she entered the water where she had another struggle getting onto the board.

Her theory was that the bracelet might have come off at one of those key locations.

The problem was that we were dealing with an enormous search area.

Saybria initially thought she had been approximately 30 feet offshore—about 10 yards—but at other times she had ventured much farther into deeper water where she couldn’t even stand. Determining precisely where that bracelet might have come off was extremely difficult. If I accepted this challenge, I knew I could potentially be searching a tremendous amount of territory.

After reviewing everything, I told Saybria there was also a possibility that she hadn’t lost the bracelet in the water at all. Perhaps it had fallen somewhere on the dry sand. However, she was fairly convinced that wasn’t the case. She remembered when she had it on, and by the time she returned to the beach house, it was gone.

She had already checked the deck where she had spent some time, but nothing was found there. And because of the thickness of the bracelet’s links, it wasn’t likely that it could have fallen between the deck boards.

We finished our conversation after I gave Saybria a quote for what it would cost for me to travel approximately three hours to the Delaware shore and attempt an underwater recovery in the Delaware Bay. She told me she would think about it and get back to me.

“Let’s Do This Thing!”

The next day, Saybria decided to give me a shot.

She checked out my profile, recovery articles and testimonials on THE RING FINDERS, read the Google reviews for my business, METAL DETECTING ADVENTURES INC, and watched several videos on my YouTube channel, THE RING HERO. After reviewing everything, she felt confident enough to hire me for the search.

I then spoke with Saybria and her boyfriend, Tommy—the man who had given her that beautiful gold bracelet some time before. I explained again just how difficult this recovery might be and the odds we were facing.

Tommy confidently responded over the phone: “Let’s do this thing!”

And that’s exactly what we did!

Later that day, at around 3 p.m., I headed toward Milford, Delaware. It was a long journey, but when I finally arrived at the beautiful bayside property, I couldn’t believe the house I was looking at. It was absolutely amazing! In fact, there were huge, beautiful homes stretching all along that section of beach.

I immediately walked onto the sand behind the house, called Saybria and sent her pictures to verify that I was indeed at the correct location.

She helped orient me toward the places where she thought the bracelet might possibly have been lost.

The potential search area stretched more than the length of a football field!

For a moment, the size of the territory was overwhelming. Then I reminded myself of all the previous recoveries where the odds had seemed small, yet somehow I had been blessed with success.

A Stormy Night Before the Search

Once Saybria and I finished our conversation, I headed back to my vehicle for shelter because a fairly large storm was moving through the area.

I had anticipated the storm, and it certainly delivered! There were plenty of sound effects, an impressive lightning show and quite a downpour.

Once the rain began to subside, I drove into Milton, Delaware, to grab a bite to eat. While waiting for my pizza, I organized my vehicle so everything would be ready for some cozy car camping when I returned to the beach house.

After finishing my meal in the car and making a stop at Food Lion, I headed back to the search site. I turned off the ignition and settled into my sleeping quarters for the night.

As I lay in the back of my CR-V, I spent some time in prayer and reading the Scriptures. Before long, I rolled over and fell asleep.

What a peaceful night it was. There were virtually no sounds at all—just total quiet.

Into the Delaware Bay

The next morning, I woke up, packed away my sleeping gear and began preparing for the search.

I put on my dive suit and unloaded all of the metal detecting equipment I would need for the recovery. I pulled out my Wonder Wheeler, loaded it with the necessary gear and headed toward the water.

I contacted Saybria one more time, and we reviewed all of the possible locations where the bracelet might have been lost.

Then I led us in a word of prayer, asking the Lord to help me find this beloved bracelet. I prayed that the God of love would help us recover this beautiful expression of love that Tommy had given to his girlfriend of 17 years. They had known each other since they were both 15 years old!

With my metal detector in one hand and scoop in the other, I entered the Delaware Bay and began searching from north to south and then south to north.

Because the search territory was so enormous, I wasn’t using grid poles. I simply tried to keep my lines as straight and consistent as possible.

I recovered several small pieces of aluminum and other miscellaneous metal, along with a fishing weight and tackle. I even found two house keys buried together in the same underwater hole.

But there was no bracelet.

I continued moving from one end of the search area to the other, turning around and doing it again and again.

As the tide remained relatively low, I searched approximately 60 feet offshore. At my farthest point, I was still able to stand, although the water was just below my neck.

Even though I hadn’t found the bracelet, I kept moving forward, believing that all things are possible with God while relying on the training and experience I had gained through countless previous searches.

After completing a fairly large section of water, I returned to shore and called Saybria. I wanted to see whether she could remember anything else that might help narrow down the search area.

Of course, it was also entirely possible that I could have passed the bracelet by just an inch. Without grid poles, maintaining perfectly parallel search lines underwater is extremely difficult.

Our conversation provided some additional clarity and helped me decide which section of the bay I should prioritize next.

Just before we got off the phone, poor Saybria began crying. She was desperately hoping that somehow her bracelet could still be recovered.

I encouraged her to keep the faith. She told me she was trying to keep hope alive. And I told her to keep doing exactly that.

The Signal That Changed Everything

I went back into the water.

For approximately the next hour, I continued scanning the bottom of the Delaware Bay, doing my best to keep my search lines straight as I moved parallel to the shoreline—down the coast and then back up again.

Eventually, I picked up a very good signal.

My heart jumped for a moment, but when I recovered the target, it turned out to be another miscellaneous piece of aluminum.

I continued toward the end of that search line, turned around and began scanning back south.

Then I heard another similar signal.

Because it was farther down from where I had recovered the previous piece of metal, I initially wondered whether that same lightweight piece of aluminum might somehow have moved in the water.

But I wasn’t about to take the chance of assuming anything.

The signal was far enough away that I decided I absolutely had to investigate it.

It took me several attempts to get my scoop positioned correctly over the target. Eventually, I swept my detector over the bottom again.

The signal was gone.

That meant the object was now inside my scoop.

I lifted the scoop out of the water and looked down.

And to my absolute amazement…

THERE IT WAS!

THE BRACELET!

Gold was glistening inside the scoop among the sand and shells!

That beautiful yellow gold was popping everywhere, and the image that appeared before my eyes at that moment is something I don’t think I will ever forget!

I FOUND IT! I FOUND IT!

It was almost unbelievable even to me.

Somewhere within a search area stretching more than the length of a football field, in the waters of the Delaware Bay, my detector had passed over Saybria’s precious 47-gram, 18-karat yellow gold bracelet!

The excitement in my heart was overwhelming.

This wasn’t simply an expensive piece of jewelry. It was priceless to Saybria because of what it represented—the love between her and Tommy and the years they had shared together.

From Tears of Heartbreak to Tears of Joy

I couldn’t wait to get back to shore, pack up my equipment and surprise my client.

When I called Saybria, she initially had no idea that I had found the bracelet. She was already pouring out tears because she was so upset over the loss that she could barely contain herself.

Then I shared the news.

Her beloved 18-karat yellow gold bracelet had been recovered from the depths of the Delaware Bay!

Saybria began bawling even more—but this time they were tears of joy!

Later that evening, I drove another two hours to meet Saybria and her wonderful boyfriend, Tommy, and personally return the amazing bracelet that had disappeared into the water approximately three and a half days earlier.

We hugged, joined hands together and thanked the Lord for what He had done for Saybria.

We all agreed that this recovery was a perfect example of why sometimes we have to believe the unbelievable, have faith in God for what appears impossible, refuse to give up, and do everything we can to put feet to our prayers.

As the Bible teaches in James 2:14–26:

“Faith without works is dead.”

We have to demonstrate through our actions that we truly believe in His power and His ability to make a way even when the odds appear to be stacked against us.
And that morning, in the waters of the Delaware Bay in Milford, Delaware, God certainly delivered!

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