A Timely Rescue: Recovering Rigo’s Lost Wedding Ring in Ventura
Atlantic Beach, NC
I was practicing my detector skills and settings at “The Circle”. As I pulled another bottlecap from it’s sandy depths (glass bottles are prohibited here), a couple asked if I had found an ear ring. Kate informed me she had lost the ear ring in the same general area 2 days prior. My recovery mode went into action as I started to grid the area. To her surprise and after a few more pieces of junk metal, I received a solid 1 signal on my Minelab Equinox 800. It took 1 scoop to unbury her missing ear ring.
Kate was thrilled I found it and explained although it didn’t have monetary value, her Aunt had made the ear rings for her and the sentimental value connection made her very happy to have the set back in her possession.
June 9, 2021; while I was out returning a watch that had been left at a swimming pool I had a call from Fernando about a lost Promissory Ring. It had been left on a beach chair while applying sun screen protection. It was the second time the ring had been removed and Fernanda had become very enthusiastic to be back at the beach in the sun and sand. The excitement was just enough to take her mind away from returning her ring to her finger before it fell from the chair into the soft warm sand. All the searching did not find the ring.
A metal detector was the answer, but not the one that was rented and used for quite some time. Only nip bottles, a tent peg and some aluminum pieces were found. The ring had been lost since Sunday, it was now Wednesday when I received the call. I knew there was one detectorist that frequents Old Silver Beach just about every morning. It worried me on my hour drive to the beach that he may have already found the ring.
At the beach; a review of where, when and how the ring was lost. Looking down at the area there was a new group of beach goers spreading their blankets, towels, chairs and cooler in the exact spot were the ring had been lost. While I got my gear ready, Fernanda politely asked the group if they could move about 15 feet down the beach. The group was glad to do it and cheered me on as I arrived at the area to search. The pile of found targets was in the sand marking a area that had been searched and a few broken search boundary lines were still visible.
I set myself to start my search close to the blanket that had been move and started westward away from the water. BANG! Second swing a solid indication from my detector that there was a target that needed to be removed from the sand. A shallow scoop and the ring was the only object in the scoop. I moved the scoop toward Fernanda so she could remove it and place it back on her finger. I could not believe it, less than 15 seconds had passed since I started to search. This was indeed the fastest search and return I have ever made. The following cheers, congratulations, Thank Yous lasted much, much longer. There was even talk about the Promissory Ring being replaced by a bigger diamond. Everyone wished Fernando the best and promised to remember The Ring Finders should they ever have a need for help in locating a “lost” metal object.
Jay was working at cutting down a tree in his back yard. The tree in question is in the back corner of his yard, where he shares a fence with neighbors. In the process of chain sawing, trimming, and raking, wood chips, branches, and debris ended up on both sides of the fence. Jay gathered the debris in his neighbor’s yard and tossed everything back over a short chain link fence to his own yard for removal. Well, you guessed it, one of his tosses included his wedding band. After discovering his ring was missing, he searched both yards to no avail. Some of the debris was already loaded onto a truck, so, he (and I) hoped that it didn’t end up there. In searching his options, including renting a metal detector, Jay came across TheRingFinders. com website and my contact info. He called me yesterday evening and we arranged to meet at his house early this morning for the search. Jay showed me the search area and re-enacted his actions that most likely caused his ring to come off. With a good idea of location, I started my grid search. Quite a few targets to sift through, but I knew approximately what I should be hearing and seeing on my detector display. Found a sprinkler head blasting my ears and knew that wasn’t going to be it. The next good signal was a solid 18 on my Equinox….hmmm, a bit of a high reading, but, still in the “possible” range. It read shallow, so, I just pushed some surface material to the side with my shoe. The signal moved, so, I moved the small pile just a little more and could see the outline of a ring. Sure enough, we had a match! As you can see in the photo, the ring color blends in perfectly with the ground cover, so, even sitting on top of the ground, it wasn’t easy to spot. A happy Jay went inside to give his wife the good news. A pleasure to meet you and thank you for the reward.
Glynis was visiting San Diego with her boyfriend and while spending a day at Pacific Beach she lost her ring in the ocean. Out in the water, her hands got wet and cold causing her finger with the ring to shrink a bit and make it fit rather loose. She decided to change her ring to another finger so it would fit tighter. A simple fumble of the ring, and it was in the surf and gone from view. They both searched for the ring in the 2 foot deep water to no avail. They also returned the next morning at low tide hoping to spot it, but, as we all know, that just doesn’t happen. The ring is a family heirloom passed down from her grandmother (recently deceased) to her mother and then to her, so, Glynis was totally heartbroken thinking it was lost forever. She decided to run a lost ring ad on Craigslist where I spotted it and contacted her with the option of having a Ring Finder search for it. She agreed and was cautiously hopeful. She and her boyfriend had already gone home to Washington state, so, we had to do this by descriptions and directions. I arrived before low tide and scoped out the search area. Not terribly large, but, when you’re talking about a water search on a gently sloping beach at low tide, it gets big in a hurry. With a photo of the ring, and a search area defined, I started on the south end of it and worked my way north in a wet sand to waist deep surf grid pattern. It was an hour before I got my first signal of any kind. Rats, just a scrap piece of copper. Another half hour later and I got my second signal…..a brass grommet…..double rats, or words to that effect! Another half hour later, I was approaching the north end of the search area and was getting cold, tired, and discouraged by the lack of targets. There were lots of holes, troughs, and sand bars forming and disappearing in the mounting surf, so, there was a lot of sand shifting. I was hoping that in the 4 days the ring was there that it didn’t get buried too deep, or, I started thinking that maybe someone else had found it in the interim. At that moment, I got a weak, but, solid 9 on my Equinox in about a foot of water. 2 scoops down and I pulled out her ring! Glad to get out of the water, I gave Glynis a text with a photo of her ring. She was overjoyed to see it was recovered and that she will be able to wear it again. We made arrangements later that day to ship the ring to her, so, the story continues…….I’m glad I was able to find it and thank you Glynis for your generous reward.
I received an email about a lost women’s white gold engagement band lost in a park, while she was playing with her son.
I was able to setup a search the same day before the park was full with people for their baseball games.
After a few laps of searching, there was the ring hiding in the grass. She was very happy to have the ring return to her. (her smile is not pictured)
Lost White Gold Diamond Woman’s Ring in Pataskala, OH. “FOUND”
Lost White Gold Diamond Woman’s Ring in Pataskala, OH. “FOUND”
Lost White Gold Diamond Woman’s Ring in Pataskala, OH. “FOUND”
Brendan and his family were visiting here in San Diego. On their last night here, they had a bonfire on the beach. While opening a plastic bag, it popped loose suddenly, and Brendan’s wedding ring went flying into the dry sand and disappeared. Not knowing exactly where, or, even which direction it went, it was impossible to find without a metal detector. An online search for help resulted, and I got a call the next morning. As luck would have it, I was only a couple of blocks away presiding over our local detecting club monthly
meeting. Brendan explained the situation and that they were leaving town in the early afternoon, so, time was fairly important in getting his ring back before they headed to the airport. The meeting soon ended and I headed over to conduct the search. We met at the site and Brendan gave me a good idea as to where ground zero was. I started a spiral pattern out from that point. First “good” sounding target ended up being a pull tab. Second good sounding target read the same, and was Brendan’s ring. A relieved Brendan can now head home with his wedding band on his finger. A pleasure to meet you Brendan, and thank you for the reward.
My wife and I were just home from a mini getaway. When I received a call from Leighton, another Ring Finder asking me if I could help in a ring search as he was unable to do a search the next day. Definitely I can. Besides, it would be another day away from home with my wife, going places we had never been before.
I called Neil and was told the specifics and that he had also contacted Kent, another Ring Finder and friend of mine. A time for the search was set for the next morning. As a courtesy I called Kent, who also had work commitments on Saturday and would not be able to meet up for the morning search. It was on me with moral support from my wife on this search.
After a walk over the area and explanation that Neil also did some lake weed cutting to clear a launch area for his kayaks. By this time my wife had made friends with Ruby, Neil’s race track rescue Dalmatian. I put on my water gear, did a quick scan over the track between the house and dock area, Nothing, it was then into the water and just a few minutes later I heard a perfect signal, took a shallow scoop and there it was. Neil’s ring was in my scoop. I walked a few steps back to Neil so he could remove the ring from the scoop and put it back on his finger while repeatedly expressing his gratitude. Picture time followed.
I always try to put interest into the “ring shot” and this time was no different. Ruby showed interest in my gear and held still while posing with the ring on her forehead for a perfect photo.
Neil insisted in buying breakfast for my wife and me. We had watched the Phantom Gourmet the day before and had planned to stop at the pick of the show, which was Ronnie Waffles, on our way home. That was a sweet, happy ending to an anguishing day Neil had experienced. A perfect ending to an outstanding week.