Steve Thomas
Dunedin Ring Finder
Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!
Connor was riding some waves with friends at Indian Rocks Beach in early June of last year. While out in the rough waters that day, he lost his 18K gold necklace given to him by his father along with a gold cross studded with diamonds that had been added to the necklace. Connor and his mother Cathy found me through social media and asked me if I could help them find the necklace as they had been unable to find someone closer to help. Even though that is outside my normal service area, I agreed to coordinate a search.
I arrived at the scene later that same day and entered the water along with Connor and a friend of his. I searched for several hours in the rough water up to my neck with Connor and his friend assisting in scooping targets but I was unsuccessful. I returned the next day and searched again in the rough water but again no necklace. A few days later, I returned once again along with my metal detecting buddy Jim and we hunted for a few hours, expanding my original search area each time. About 10 days later, still in June of 2022, Jim and I searched again for a few hours to no avail. Over the course of the four searches, Jim and I found plenty of beer caps, pull tabs, a few coins and fishing weights, even some “junk” jewelry but not the big gold target we were looking for. It was always disappointing to update Connor’s mom Cathy with the bad news. In July and August, I tried to set up a search with an excellent water detectorist friend named Shawn who could also scuba search but we were never able to match schedules. Jim and I went back to Indian Rocks Beach for one last search in early October but once again we were unsuccessful. By that time and after five searches, I assumed that we were not looking in the correct area for the necklace or it had moved from the search area. It was also possible that we had just not passed our detectors close enough to the target or even that some other detectorist had found it but I thought that was much less likely because of how much time we had spent in the water.
Fast forward to July of 2023. Out of the blue, Cathy sent me a card telling me once again how much she appreciated what I and my fellow Ring Finders do to help people find their lost jewelry. Then here’s where the story really gets interesting. Two months later, in early September, I was at Honeymoon Island with my wife, daughter and grandson when I noticed someone metal detecting. I went up to him to introduce myself and realized that I was speaking to a fellow detectorist named Scott who I only knew through some texts we had exchanged as he and I and another detectorist named Brenda were trying to help someone find their lost wedding band at Honeymoon Island a number of months back. As Scott and I spoke, he told me that he had only been detecting about a year and a half and his best find had been a gold necklace with a cross at Indian Rock Beach last August (2022). I was stunned! I told him that I was searching for something like that last summer and found the photo on my phone that showed Connor wearing his necklace and said “does it look like this”? Scott said “that’s exactly what I found” and later showed me a photo taken the day he found it. We then confirmed that it was in the same area Jim and I had searched five times last year! Scott told me that he had sold the cross to a friend of his named Shannon who had moved out of the area but still had the necklace. Scott later asked me for Cathy and Connor’s contact info and I knew then that he was going to make every effort to get the cross back from Shannon and return the necklace. About a week and a half later and after Shannon sold the cross back to Scott so the entire necklace could be returned to Connor, the necklace was back on a happy Connor’s neck! He had already purchased a replacement but he promised to wear it as an every day and save the one given to him by his father for special occasions!
Cathy and Connor, thank you for trusting me to search for Connor’s necklace and your show of appreciation. Thanks to Shannon for being willing to make sure the cross was returned to its owner. And Scott, a huge thanks to you for having the heart of a Ring Finder and for being led to do the right thing, returning your best find! I have a feeling you will be rewarded with many great finds in your future! And I’m extremely thankful for the Divine intervention that led Scott and me to meet that day on Honeymoon Island.
Amanda sent me a text later in the evening, asking about my services. Amanda and her husband Dave were at the beach, where she had removed her NJ State Trooper medallion necklace and placed it in the beach bag for safe keeping. She was extremely heartbroken, as she wore this every single day for over 20 plus years. After they returned home it was missing, so they backtracked every step with no luck. They also raked the entire area of the beach where they had set up their chairs and towels for the day. The only possible thing that could have happened was it came out during the day when Dave removed the car keys, and mistakenly fell into the sand. Amanda didn’t want me to come out late at night, but no way would I leave the necklace sit in the sand over night, and possibly disappear with the tide, or risk it being found by an suspecting beach comber. I met Dave at the beach within 30 min. and had Amanda’s necklace in the scoop just a short while later. Dave was in total disbelief I found it so fast, especially after they had done an extensive search prior to my arrival.
Dominick sent me a message asking if I would be able to recover his bracelet that slipped off his wrist into the lagoon. He was concerned because it was already in there for about 2 days, and I told him that is no problem, it could be 2 years, providing the area had not been disturbed. With that he said he had already tried diving down with a snorkel, using a clam rake, and a few other methods, including a net with a mesh bag. The next day I was in his area and decided to swing by, before agreeing to take on the task. All looked good for the recovery, and told him we would try for the next day or so. Once I got started, I searched one area that had many signals, but one in particular that sounded, SWEET, so that’s the one I concentrated on. After about 20 min. the bracelet was in my scoop, working blind, in a deep lagoon, isn’t the an easy task. If you are reading this story, and have a similar situation, items can be recovered many years later, providing the area hasn’t been disturbed, call ASAP and possibly I can reunite you with your lost valuables. njringfinder.com 609-713-3929
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