metal detecting Orange County Calif. Tag | The Ring Finders

Buried Wallet and Celphone.. Santa Monica, CA. .. Found with Metal Detector

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

Richard was visiting from New Mexico. He has to catch a return flight at 8am in the morning. All his identification, credit cards and money is in his wallet. He placed his wallet and his cell phone in a zip lock bag then buried them in the sand, placing his backpack on top of his secret hiding place.
.. Richard didn’t want to leave his wallet and cellphone in his backpack in case somebody stole his backpack. It was a good idea if he remembered to retrieve his buried valuables before picking up his backpack. He was a half mile away from the location when he realized that forgot dig up his plastic bag. and to top it off it was dark out on the beach.
Returning to his motel room he was able to use the internet to contact me. I started to recommend another detectorist but after hearing how important it was to him. I told him I would meet him at 9:45pm. He didn’t have a phone so connecting with him had might be difficult. Sometimes people find wallets and keys before we get to the location, but that’s not going stop me from trying to meet up with Richard.
Another concern was the general location was one block south of the Santa Monica pier. Hit hard by other detectorists, especially on a Sunday evening. The larger size of the item also makes it possible that somebody found it playing in the sand.
After arriving, I walked out to the lifeguard tower where Richard said it was buried. He was there to meet me. First thing he told me that he was actually at the next tower. It made it easy to get close to the area he buried the wallet because it was in front of the tower. Also it was only lost for 3 hours. Fifteen minutes of grid searching with my CTX 3030 gave me good signal most likely from the Celphone, it is possible to get a decent signal from the magnetic strip on the credit cards.
This find saved the day the day for Richard. It would have been a mess to try to catch his flight in the morning without identification, credit cards, money or a celphone. Richard was elated not knowing what to do, so he gave me a big man hug.. Not the first time for me, just another way to say thanks. Check out the real smile on Richard’s photo.
I’m glad I did not say, I was too busy to take the call. From the time I left the house till the time I returned home was 2 1/2 hours. It took longer to take the photos than it did to find his buried treasure.

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Metal Detector Finds Gold Wedding Band .. Anahiem, CA.

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

Joel was thinking about buying or renting a metal detector when he found my contact number on TheRingFinders.com.

 

Joel called me telling me his story. He had put his wedding band in his pocket while doing yard work. Before returning to the house he reached in his pocket and the ring was missing. That information help me after I arrived at his house. Many times the story gets vague as to where the ring may have fallen.
It was a large thick lawn, that was a golden brown color because of our drought here in California, a perfect hiding place for a yellow gold ring. In the corner there was a 15 x 25ft area of soft unplanted dirt. That was the easiest place to start. Joel and his three kids watched as I explained what I was doing. First find was a pull tab, second find was Joel’s ring. They didn’t believe me when I said, I found it. When I handed to him he responded with a big smile. Sometimes these searches are easy, other times they can drive you crazy, the other day I spent two hours walking more than a mile in a sandy river bed with no success. Lots of fresh air and exercise.

Another thought, I often have is:   How many lost valuables are hiding in backyards because people don’t know how to get an experienced metal detectorist to help?

Tuesday … September 1, 2015

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Diamond Wedding Band Lost .. Newport Beach, CA. .. Found and Returned

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

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Saturday .. 8-22-15

Alex and his family are from Hesperia, CA. where it has been very hot all week. They were spending their day off at Newport Beach. This beach will be busy as it has been very hot inland. He set up his set up his beach awning early, in front of lifeguard tower #24. When the lifeguard came on duty, Alex was asked to move his awning so the lifeguard emergency vehicles could have access to the beach. Half way through the day his wife, Mireya realized her wedding ring was not on her finger.. She believed it may have come off while applying sunscreen, but she had been in the water also.
Alex emailed me at 7:10pm. I replied with an email at 8:00pm.
He called me at 9:30pm. I went straight to the beach to begin my grid search at 10pm.. Starting the grid search from the lifeguard tower towards the beach. It took about an hour to do the dry sand about 200 ft to the north. Then I went to the low tide zone hoping that the ring had been lost in the water, No success.
About to give up, I returned to the dry sand heading for my car. Seeing my starting point. Maybe I should try a couple more grids lines to the south… Late in the night and tired, I tried one more time … Yes !!! There it was 3ft over from where I started, two hours before. It always helps to have the person that lost the ring present, but Alex and Mireya live 90 miles away. It also helps that the person who lost the item is present to tell you what they remember. All my directions came from Alex on the phone. I should have ask to talk to Mireya.
They picked up the ring Sunday. Every ring has a story, this will always be part of this rings story. You can see the smiles on their faces, a happy reunion with a symbol of their wedding day. It was a pleasure to meet them.

 

 

 

Wedding Band Found in Sand .. Huntington Beach, CA.

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

Tuesday .. 8-18-15
Ben and his family were vacationing in Huntington Beach, CA. They’re from Las Vegas, NV. where it is hot this time of year. His wife and his two young daughters went out to the beach while Ben was surfing. Ben had forgot to remove his wedding band before venturing out into the water. He took it off his finger to slip it inside the sleeve of his wetsuit.
Returning to the beach blanket with his family, he removed his wetsuit. It wasn’t until some time had passed that he remembered his ring. Now he was sure if it was lost in the sand or the ocean.
They spent two hours sifting through the sand with their fingers. He then found me on TheRingFinders.com .. He said he google searched ” lost ring ” if I remember right. I was 8 miles away so it was easy to meet him and the family within a half hours’ time.
I told Ben to keep an eye on the location as there could be a chance that another detectorist could come across his ring before I got there. All worked out well because the White Gold wedding band was right there in the dry sand. It had not been lost in the ocean which can be found but the process can be more of a challenge.
Everyone was happy, especially Ben’s wife. I like to joke around claiming, I save marriages. I know it does calm things down. It was a great day with an awesome sunset.

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BMW Key Lost in Sand .. Newport Beach, CA. .. Found

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

Thursday .. 6-18-15

I was just leaving my home to search for a ring lost near the Balboa Pier, when Tim called. He said that he was at The Wedge searching for his BMW car key. The Wedge is a popular body surfing beach about a mile south of the Balboa Pier. I told him that I would be right there, figuring it would be a simple recovery.
When I got there, Tim was shuffling his feet through the sand as he had been doing for 4 or 5 hours including the night before. He told me that he had placed his key that had a metal fob under his shoes when he went into to the water last night.
After an hour, I had cross gridded the area with no luck. I had set my detector in what I thought was all metal, but could not get a signal. I gave up till I could get my PI detector. Returning the next day with my Whites PI Surfmaster, I found the Key with a huge triangle shaped metallic bottle opener.
My other machine has a factory set Relic and Beach settings. I could not get a signal in open screen mode. The large metallic fob was masking the signal. I’ve had time to check this again and I did get a null which I may have missed, it’s a lesson to be learned with my CTX 3030. I will remember this in the future.
I called Tim and he was surprised that I went back to give it a second try.. We will meet up in a few days to return his key.

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