NZ Ring Finder Tag | The Ring Finders

Ring Lost at Whale Bay, Matapouri – Found in the Sea.

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Natalie and her partner were enjoying the summer at one of Northland’s secrets — Whale Bay, near Matapouri. Waist-deep in the water, they were playing volleyball when she saw her treasured ring fly off her finger as she hit the ball.

The first ring her partner gave her, gold and aquamarine, it was irreplaceable due to the significance it carried.

They spent some time with masks and snorkels looking for it, but by then, it had already been covered by the light and mobile, broken-shell sand.

She posted a plea in the local Facebook groups, and my reputation for success led people to recommend me.

We met in the car park and followed the track down through the bush to the bay. As we passed each window in the trees, the beach came into view, and you could see why it was one of the most popular local spots.

On reaching the sand, we went over the backstory of the what’s and where’s, and I began the search pattern.

Once the intertidal sand was cleared, I moved into the water. The sand was deep and soft where it was being actively pulled down from the beach, but after a few more minutes, I was wading ashore with a smile.

Natalie started walking toward me, her expression uncertain — and I wondered if she thought I had given up. Then I held out the sand scoop to her, and there it was.
Her precious ring, safely sitting at the bottom.

Her prompt call to a ring finder with 37 years of experience and a solid success rate gave her the best possible chance of recovering her ring.
And all for less than the cost and uncertainty of hiring a DIY metal detector.

 

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Gold and Diamond Ring Lost at Coopers Beach – Found

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Jess and family were up in Doubtless Bay yesterday, and went for a swim at Little Cable Bay.
As her husband waded into the water, he got caught by a wave and his brand new gold and diamond wedding ring was swept from his finger.
Jess’ mum posted on the local Facebook group pleading for help, and I threw the kit into the car and started the 70km journey north.
Low tide was approaching so I focused first on the waters edge, before switching to the submersible kit to clear out a bit wider before that area was lost to the incoming tide.

Another metal detectorist turned up to search a little later on, and I was grateful he didn’t interfere too much with my search pattern.
Unsure of his intentions (a lot of detectorists are what I refer to as ‘ring collectors’), I was keeping half an eye on him which was a distraction.
He didn’t last long though and headed away again after about an hour, this is where my success rate comes from – I don’t give up.

As the sun set, the family had to head away to put their young child to bed, so we shook hands and I carried on.
Night fell as the search continued, eventually overlapping the other detectorists grid, when I got a signal that could only be it – located under the other guys footprint in the sand!
The scoop went in, and about 4″ down I saw the edge of a ring in the sand
Lifting it out it was definitely the one. Job done.
As it was late, I wasn’t able to catch up with them that night, so  this morning, I met up with them for the handover as they headed south for home.

Their Christmas is now much brighter than it had been 12Hrs ago.

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Lost Ring on Lawn at Whangaruru, Found!

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Three weeks ago, Howard threw some kitchen scraps out into the garden – but the bowl, and his sovereign ring, went with them.
After spending some time looking for it, he was considered hiring a metal detector and happened to mention it to a relation who works a gold claim overseas.
“Get someone who knows what they’re doing” was the advice given, and shortly afterwards, Howard phoned me.

I headed over to Whangaruru the next morning, Howard waving to me from the deck as I missed his driveway…

There were several potential locations which could have held the ring and made for a difficult search, including a series of deep postholes drilled for a deck extension, partially filled with water.
Then there was the tangled patch of Honeysuckle vines at the edge of some regenerating scrub and further over, the garden dropped away down a steep, overgrown bank.

I quickly cleared the easiest area of lawn (and the postholes), before setting up to search the undergrowth.
Experience told me where the likely arc and distance of the ring would be as I started to move into the scrub.

Within a few minutes, I had located Howard’s ring tucked out of sight under some weeds at the base of a tree, at the edge of the dropoff.
Howard was mowing, and I held up the ring as he glanced over – Both arms went up and he gave a celebratory yell!

Just thirty minutes from getting out of the car, I was on my way home with Howard now having a much better day.

For less than the cost of hiring a metal detector, Howard’s decision to engage an experienced Ring Finder gave him the very best chance of having his ring quickly located.

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Lost Ring Found in Plantings – Russell, Bay of Islands.

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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I have a couple of people for whom I have found lost rings, not once but twice…
Paul is one of them.

I got a call from him saying he’d done it again!

I had previously found his ring almost exactly two years ago on the Russell beach, this time he’d lost it while working on planting some shrubs and it could have been in one of two locations.

The first was where he’d been trimming and clearing a well established patch of succulents – lots of potential nooks and crannies for a ring to drop down into, or hang up. I gave it a quick search without getting ‘down and dirty’ with the pinpointer before checking out what the second location looked like.

This alternative spot was a much larger area, but relatively open and I could close this off quickly with a very high probability of detection. If it wasn’t here I could then return to the original and devote the rest of the time going through it inch by inch.

This garden bed was raised up about 5′ from the road, and Paul had been planting, weeding, spreading bark and throwing garden waste across and down onto the truck deck, there was a possibility the ring may have come off and traveled across the road, in the direction of a steep bank.
I’d worry about that option later!

Starting at one end, I systematically made my way along the plantings until, under a small tussock, I saw the edge of a partially buried ring as the coil passed over it and triggered.

A quick TXT to Paul to let him know his lost ring was safe, again – and some relief on my part that I didn’t have to spend a fair few hours grubbing around up to my armpits in succulents at the first location.

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Ring Lost in Whangarei Paddock Six Months Ago, Found in 20min

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Simon had been laying out a course in some paddocks near Kamo, outside Whangarei on a hot January day.
Afterwards, he headed to a water trough, removed his gloves and plunged his hands into the cool water.
As he walked away shaking his hands to dry them off, he noticed his wedding ring was missing.

The sludge in the bottom of the trough was searched several times for the lost ring and his wife hired a metal detector, but without experience their efforts were in vain.

Fast forward six months, and I was on the road to meet Simon at the paddock to see what I could do.

He had been held up, so I got started.

Twenty minutes later I sent Simon a photo of a muddy ring, found some distance from the trough likely having been flung as he shook his hands.
He arrived just a few minutes later – not quite believing I had already found it.

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Special Ring Lost in Sea at Rangiputa, Doubtless Bay – Found after 2 days

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Rangiputa on the Karikari Peninsula bordering Doubtless Bay is a pristine white sand beach with crystal clear ocean waters, a popular spot for holidaymakers year round.
And Justine was no exception.

Two nights ago, as the water was so calm, she went for a midnight swim out into the bay…  It wasn’t until the following day that she realised with horror that her bespoke handcrafted garnet ring was missing.

Made to mark her 50th by a local jeweler, she was understandably distraught and as with most rings, it was the sentimental value rather than the monetary.

She got hold of my number and gave me a call about midday today – the tide was already rising, and they were due to head home in the afternoon.
I gave my apologies to my long-suffering wife, left my lunch and loaded the car.

A little over an hour later I was pulling up at Reef Lodge where she was staying. We are well on the way to winter here in New Zealand and even in the Far North the water temperature was already cool enough to warrant the light wetsuit, especially as I could be in the water for 4-5Hrs.

Rangiputa has an almost flat contour along the inner coast, a plus as there is minimal sand movement to bury the ring although the major downside is that the potential area becomes huge.
I started out wide and began working my way ashore, systematically covering every square inch with the coil. Just one less than diligent swing might see the ring missed.
This is where the discipline and methodology of an experienced Ringfinder comes into play and what gives me my exceptional hit rate…Even if it takes many, many hours.

A strong signal came through, the scoop went into the sand and…a fishing weight. The search continued. A short time later another likely target turned out to be a piece of foil, likely from some beach cooking many years ago – the heart rate subsided and I continued on.

About forty five minutes later a good double tone came through the headset and the scoop went in once again, the white sand drained out through the holes leaving a layer of small shells, and a ring.

I held it up to Justine sitting on the shore, and started to make my way in.

The wonderful reactions people have when I hand them their ‘Lost Forever’ items is the core of what really drives me as a Ringfinder.

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Gold and Greenstone Ring Lost at Coopers Beach, Quickly Recovered

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Jamie posted on the local Facebook page that he’d lost his treasured gold ring, passed down from his uncle, while on holiday at Coopers Beach the previous day.
Unfortunately he had posted very detailed information as to the location.
Knowing this beach was regularly worked by casual metal detectorists, time was of the essence.
I got hold of him directly and was quickly on the road, making the 80km drive to the beach.

Arriving at Coopers Beach, it was heartening to see that there were no tell-tale scoop marks or gridlines in the sand and I got started.
Just under an hour after seeing his Facebook post, I was sending a photo of the ring to Jamie – It was now safely secured.

A couple of weeks later, I was working further down country and Jamie made the drive to meet me so I could hand over his lost ring.

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Valuable Heirloom Gold Ring Lost for 6 Weeks, Found in Compost Pile

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Maureen habitually took off her heirloom ring in the kitchen, a beautiful gold, diamond and emerald ring handed down from her Grandmother.
One day, she caught up the ring as she swept the peelings off the benchtop into the bin.

She didn’t realise until later when she went to collect the ring and noticed it was no longer in its place.

A frantic search yielded no sign of it, and with subsequent searches over the next few weeks she narrowed it down to either having been thrown out with the rubbish, or buried in the compost.

She gave me a call, obviously there was nothing I could do in the worst case scenario of it going out in the rubbish collection, however I could search the compost (I’ve searched through far worse than domestic compost in the past!).

A quick scan with the high powered machine gave a target deep in the bin, could be a ring, or could be foil.
Only one way to find out, roll up the sleeves and on with the nitrile gloves.

I had a rough idea of where it sat inside the compost and it was well down after six weeks of additional food scraps and lawn clippings.
A dense cloud of fruit flies instantly erupted out of the compost as I scooped most of the recent material away and investigated deeper with the handheld probe.

Wasn’t long before I had pinpointed the location and I dug further into the slimy mass, checking each handful until I caught a glimpse of gold in the ooze.

I lifted it out and showed a tearful Maureen.
A quick rinse under the garden tap and it shone brightly once again, no worse off for it’s little adventure and another story added to its hundred-plus history.

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Two Rings Lost at Taipa Beach, Recovered and Returned Within Minutes

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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A very quick recovery a little while ago…

Kaiah gave me a call asking if I was able to locate her two sentimental rings she had lost at Taipa, she was about to head out of the district and was very anxious to recover them before she left.
Having put them in her cap for safe keeping while she went for a swim, she subsequently forgot about them on her return and grabbed the hat with the rings still inside and headed back to the car.
She met me on site and showed me where she thought they might be and I started the search, retracing her route back towards the car.

As I expanded the search area I quickly located one ring, then the other a few metres away.

 

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Ring lost in Surf at Woolleys Bay, Recovered at 4am

  • from Paihia (New Zealand)
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Joanne posted on Facebook that she had lost her special silver ring in the surf at Woolleys bay, and asked if anyone had found it.

Knowing the beach well, I knew the ring would already be well under the surface, and likely quite deep with a few tides having passed since.
I very rarely solicit recoveries, however there was a very small window to be able to have any chance of recovering this ring, so I made contact.

Leaving at 1am that night, I made the two hour drive to Woolleys Bay. There was still enough moonlight to see without artificial lights, it’s very meditative searching a remote surf beach at night.
I got started in the cool morning air.

Joanne had given me a rough location, the time it was lost and a photo taken at the time showing the group in the water.

Recent rough seas had changed the contour of the beach and I calculated the delicate silver ring would likely have moved further seawards down the steep slope so biased the first grid to account for this.

As the tide started to turn and the sweeping waves started to absorb my grid lines, I heard a small fluctuation in the background tone.
I re-scanned it with different settings and decided it was definitely a viable target

The shingle was below tide water level and collapsed as quickly as I could dig with the scoop. After about four or five rapid scoops, whatever it was now lay in the small mound on the beach.
It didn’t take long before a silver ring matching the description was laying in my hand.

4am was a bit too early to call Joanne with the good news(!),  so I headed off to kill some time until a more civilised hour.

Later that day, Joanne met up with me a little way down the coast at Whangaumu Bay for the handover.

It wasn’t a valuable ring, but was treasured by Joanne as it had been purchased on a holiday and encapsulated those special memories.
You couldn’t replace that.

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