Wedding Ring Lost in Surf .. San Clemente, CA. .. Found Three Days after Loss
On Sunday we had a special winter beach day. The daytime temperature was near 80 degrees at San Clemente, CA. I received a call from Julie just within minutes after her husband, PJ lost his tungsten wedding ring in the surf. She had my contact information because I had found the same ring last summer in the dry sand.
The tide was actually a medium high level when the ring was lost. PJ had retrieved his son’s surfboard when it washed ashore. He walked out to thigh deep water to push the surfboard to his son. That was when he felt the ring come off his finger. It’s always nice to know the person felt the ring come off and they have marked the location.
I was there to meet PJ shortly after the phone call. Even though it wasn’t low tide yet, it was more important to get the location and see the sand conditions. I thought it was worth a quick try knowing that my best chances were waiting for low tide. Starting with my Minelab Excalibur metal detector, I walked out into the surf. Thirty feet out I stepped into a 4 ft. trough that put me in water up to my shoulders. It was smarter to wait 2 hours for a lower tide. I tried again in the dark at 7 pm. Terrible search conditions, a deep trough with moving sand from past experience in the same location, I felt the ring was not findable. So I texted BJ and Julie. They thanked me saying the understand.
Three days after the first search I returned to the beach where the loss occurred. It was a much lower tide so my intention was just to see how much change the beach sand and cobble had made. We have many different type beaches and sand conditions vary.
I took out my Minelab Equinox 800 detector and my “Lucky “ new Xtreme Titaium sand scoop to the location planning to just see if there were any targets. When I saw the beach at a minus low tide, the cobble was still there and the sand had filled in the deep trough. I figured that the ring had to be at the bottom of the 4 ft. trough. I didn’t even want to get wet but just before leaving I walked into ankle deep water to do a couple test swings. It did get a signal that was more like a penny signal. Took my lucky Xtreme Ti scoop and retrieved PJ’s tungsten wedding ring. I couldn’t have been more surprised.
I texted PJ the good news with a picture of the ring. Later that evening I was able to return the ring to Julie. This was a special find for me because it’s my #400 recorded ring recoveries. Many searches and other types of finds like keys, cellphones, and once I located an abandoned bomb shelter. I love doing this, it’s not a job, it’s a passion!!
“I WILL TRY ANYWHERE”
Call now, I can also give ideas on how to conduct your own search.. 949-500-2136