San Diego Tag | Page 6 of 9 | The Ring Finders

Lost ring in Coronado found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Chris called me to see if I could help find his wife’s ring lost in the dry sand in front of the Hotel Del Coronado. I said I would go home and get my gear and head over. When I arrived and met up with them, I got the story of how it was lost. His wife Kristina (I know, that’s probably illegal in some states to have virtually the same name!) was dusting sand off her hands against her pant legs and the ring went flying. Running their fingers through the sand trying to filter out the lost ring proved fruitless, so, they went into the hotel and asked the Concierge for help with a metal detector. The hotel doesn’t have one, but, they have my contact info on file and called me on their behalf with the follow-up call from Chris. In less than 2 minutes of searching, I handed Kristina her beautiful ring. Their trip back home in AZ will be much happier now. Thank you for the reward.

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Lost earring at Coronado Found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Nellie called for help on a lost earring that her husband had given her for Mother’s Day. She had been busy all day and wasn’t sure exactly when and where it was lost, but, the beach seemed to be the most likely. My wife and I finished our dinner and headed over to Coronado to meet Nellie and conduct a search in the dry sand. When we arrived, it was after sunset, but, enough light to find ground zero on the beach. Nellie had the other earring with her, so, it was helpful in seeing what it would read on my new Equinox 800. A solid 8 signal….great. I started a spiral search from the supposed middle of the search area. After making a circle over 50 feet in diameter with still no earring (or much of any signals for that matter), I started a straight line grid over to the stairs and back thinking she might have lost it on her trip to her car. It was getting a bit chilly, so, I sent my wife back to the truck to get my windbreaker, and Nellie headed up the stairs to visually check there and the parking lot. I continued another pass, and got that sweet “8” sound in my headphones. Ran my pin pointer over the sand and pulled out what we were searching for, even though it was a bit out of the perceived search area. I walked back toward the parking lot where my wife and Nellie were talking. My wife had my windbreaker under her arm and while I was putting it on, I asked Nellie if this earring looked familiar? Hugs all around and a happy Nellie. The sodium lights didn’t help the photo of the earrings, but, they are beautiful! Thank you for the reward Nellie.

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Lost ring at Ocean Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Marcio was at Ocean Beach with his wife and child having a nice day in the sun when the outlook changed. He had been building sand castles, washed the sand off the toys in the surf, and went in for a short dip. After all this fun, he realized his wedding ring was missing. He does an online search and contacted me for help. Even though the tide was coming in and approaching the evening high, I agreed to meet them and get an idea of where the ring may have been lost, do a preliminary search, and maybe get lucky with a quick recovery. Oh well, that wasn’t to be. I searched all the dry sand around where they were camped out for the day and also hit the slope heading down to the water. The tide and surf was up on this steep section of beach and had a nasty shore break, so, a water search at this time would have been pointless. I told Marcio that I would return in the early morning hours to take advantage of the minus low tide at that time. Fast forward to 12:30am when I arrived at the beach. I started a grid from dry sand to knee deep water, and at 1:10am got the signal I was waiting for. I texted Marcio with the good news and connected with him later that day for the return. Great to meet you folks and thank you for the reward.

 

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Ring found and returned at Carlsbad State Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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If the sun lotion scenario is the #1 reason for losing a ring at the beach, this is probably #2. It’s the “I took the ring off and put into the chair pocket, forgot it was there, folded chair and packed everything up when we were ready to leave, drove away and then remembered the ring scenario”. Marcus didn’t get far….just out of the parking lot when he realized what he had done. He returned and searched to no avail. Out came the phone and a Google search. He found my ad on Craig’s list and gave me a call. I told him I would be there within the hour and met him at the location. We walked over the the spot where they had the chairs laid out (the most likely spot of the loss) and I started my grid. Maybe 30 seconds later, I get the sound I wanted to hear on my E-trac and scooped out his ring. A happy Marcus gets to go home, tell the wife, and not have to share the accommodations with the dog. A pleasure meeting you Marcus and thank you for the reward.

 

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Rings found at Mission Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Maureen and her two friends were visiting Mission Beach from much hotter Las Vegas, when her engagement and wedding rings ended up in the dry sand. You’ve heard the tail of woe many times before…..blanket, rings removed, sunscreen, forgot, stood up…..rings disappeared from sight. The hardest part about this search was just getting there, finding parking, and hiking to the spot on this Saturday afternoon during the summer. That took an hour for me and I’m only 12 miles away from the beach! Had to park about a mile away and hoof it to where they were waiting. I got the lowdown on how they were lost and the small search area was cleared of their belongings. Two passes and that area was clean of targets…..hmm….ok, please move your belongings again and I’ll search under them. Sure enough, got a nice 12-14 signal right under their bags with my trusty E-trac. I asked Maureen’s friend Crystal if she would like to do the honors of reaching into the sand right in front of my coil and pull the ring out. She dove into the sand and sifted sand through her fingers and no ring. What? I has to be there! She tried again and came up with a zipper pull. Wonderful…..make me look like a goof why don’t you! Another swing or two and another great 12-14 sound. Ok, this has to be it this time. Sure enough Crystal was able to sift the wayward engagement ring into her hand. One more swing with the coil and a repeat of the first ring. A happy Maureen and her friends will have a much more pleasant drive back to Nevada. A pleasure meeting you three and thank you for the reward.

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Keys and phone recovered at Torrey Pines State Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Elisebeth was enjoying a day at the beach and buried her keys and phone in the sand under her blanket for safe keeping. When the tide started to come in and getting close to her blanket, someone moved it to higher ground, but, didn’t know about the keys and phone. Later when she was ready to leave, she realized her blanket wasn’t in it’s original location. The water had washed over the old area and she couldn’t locate the exact spot to retrieve her belongings. After a Google search and finding me on TheRingFinders.com website, we agreed to meet and conduct a search. Before we started, I mentioned that the phone and maybe her car fob may have been ruined by the salt water, but, she wanted them anyway. After showing me the search area, I started a grid right in the middle of it. After expanding out a couple of passes in each direction, I got a big signal that just had to be it. Sure enough, with just one scoop, up comes her keys and phone. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to (previously unknown to me) put her items in a sealed plastic bag. Inside, everything was still nice and dry and working. A happy Elisebeth headed home with a smile on her face and not confronted with the ordeal of having to replace everything. A pleasure to meet you and thank you for the reward.

 

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Ring recovered at Wind and Sea beach La Jolla

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Justin was photographing another couple on the beach for some wedding album shots, when a rogue wave blasted through and knocked him off his feet and pushed him onto some rocks. In trying to keep his feet and save his expensive camera gear, his wedding ring came off. Finding it in that soft sand they have at that beach was impossible without a metal detector. When I received the call, I was skeptical it could even be found, but, was more than willing to try. That is one of the worst beaches in our area to make a water recovery. It has a heavy surge, large shore break waves, steep drop off, and sand so soft and loose, that it’s almost like quicksand. He sent me a photo of the site of the loss. I arrived the next morning at 4:30am to take advantage of the minus tide. I had the photo on my phone to use so I could match up the area. Unfortunately, it was real foggy that morning and hard to tell the exact area in the dark and fog. I saw a couple of features that looked like a match and began my search. After over an hour of gridding, no ring. In fact, no good targets of any kind. Not surprising at that beach. Once it started to get light from the approaching dawn, I looked again at the photo and then realized that I wasn’t in the right area. I finally determined the correct spot and started a 2nd grid. Still no luck. a few pieces of scrap aluminum and that was it. Nothing more to do but give him the bad news. It was still pretty early, so, I decided to move down the beach to an area where I had good luck in the past. I headed about 200 feet south and started hunting for fun. I liked to hunt the cracks up on the rocks and cliff. stuff falls into them all the time. While up on a ledge checking some cracks I got a good signal in some loose sand. It was only a couple of inches deep, so, easy to make a recovery. What do you know, it was a ring that matched Justin’s description! His was a fairly common tungsten carbide, so, I wasn’t positive that it was his, but, I was hopeful. I got to looking and it was a long way from where he took this photo. After contacting him later, he told me that he was using a telescopic lens and that he was a lot further back from what it looked like in the photo! He wanted to come and look at it to be sure, but, I was pretty certain at that point. Sure enough it was a perfect fit. Glad I could help Justin.

 

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Ring found and returned at Mission Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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I was running errands all day, so, I didn’t get the e-mail cry for help right away. When I finally realized it, I e-mailed back to say that I was available. After an exchange of information, I met Charles at the beach location that evening. He had been out playing football two days prior with other family members when…….well, we know the results of that! His wedding ring of 40 years came off somewhere during their romp in the dry sand. Initially, the search area was fairly good size, but, not ridiculous. Maybe half the size of a standard football field or a little less. After hitting some “hot spots” where Charles remembered being tackled in the sand and having no luck, I started a complete grid of the area. After 15-20 minutes I had found virtually no targets except a few minor pieces of foil and other junk targets. Not even one coin.  Hmmm…..maybe the area had been detected by someone else in the last two days and had already been found? I soldiered on and finally did find a couple of coins, and then, wow, a ring. Oops, not HIS ring. Oh well, not a bad looking ring, and not a bad sign either. At least that area hadn’t been detected extensively. I completed the whole designated search area and nothing more but a few coins. Darn, well, time to expend the search area. I made a few more passes at the north end with no luck.  Charles told me he hadn’t gone that far north, was resigned to the fact that it wasn’t going to be found, thanked me, and left for the night. I told him I’d hunt a bit longer and crossgrid the same area to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I then went to the southern end of the search area and extended that a ways too. Still nothing. I then started my crossgrid and found absolutely no additional targets…..until……on one of my passes at the southern end, I was looping around to come back north, when I hit THE signal. Finally! It was getting dark and the search area was now about the size of a whole football field! A call to Charles resulted in voice mail, so, I left a message, sent an e-mail, and cooled my heels a while until he contacted me. I detected back south toward my truck, the bathrooms, and showers when Charles returned my call. He and his son then walked down to meet me and pick up his ring. A pleasure meeting you both and thank you for the generous reward. It helps keep the service going. Have a safe trip home today.

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Lost family heirloom recovered at Coronado Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Trip’s Mother came to town for Thanksgiving and presented Trip with her Father’s signet ring. Trip went to Coronado’s dog beach on Thanksgiving Day to give his dog some exercise, and while throwing a ball out into the water, the priceless heirloom flew off with one of his throws. I got the call later that day, but, the tide was already coming in, so, not a good time to hunt for it. We made arrangements to meet on Saturday afternoon to take advantage of a nice low tide. I met trip there at the beach where he showed me the search area…..about the size of two football fields. He was to take his Mom back to the airport that afternoon, so, he took off and left me to my task. I started gridding parallel to the water’s edge from mid-slope heading toward the water as I chased the tide out. After about an hour, I covered all the wet sand down to the water and decided to start gridding the other direction 90 degrees from the previous grid. This way, I could see my grid marks better and not leave any gaps from the surf washing away my marks. After a dozen or so passes from mid-slope to knee deep water, I get a great hit in ankle deep water…..reading 12-29 on my E-trac. Sure enough, I pull up a big gold ring matching Trip’s description. I make the fun call and find Trip and Mother are heading toward the airport. Both are very happy to hear the good news and Trip said he would return to the beach in 20 minutes or so. I cooled my heels while I waited by doing some more detecting until he got there. Right on time, I looked up and saw the happiest person on the beach! Trip came walking down with the biggest smile you could imagine. We took some photos and made it out in time to miss the coming rain storm. A pleasure to meet you Trip and thank you for the reward!

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Lost ring at Pacific Beach Found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Thursday evening, Paolo decided to go into the ocean, so, he removed his wedding ring and gave it to his wife Celine for safekeeping. Celine placed it on one of her fingers and waited on a berm in the dry sand for his return. As the sun was setting, they got up and left the beach. Once they reached their car, it was discovered the wedding ring was missing from Celine’s finger. They returned to the area where they had been, but, in the failing light and acres of sand, the search was fruitless. Fast forward to Tuesday when I received an e-mail from Celine who relayed the sad story and asked if I could help find it. We made arrangements to meet the next morning at 10am. Being several days later, I explained that many different fates for the ring could have occurred. It’s a popular beach for other detectorist to search, so, it could have already been found, the beach grooming machines usually go through the area early Monday morning, the high surf could have washed over the area and buried it, etc. I met Celine up on the boardwalk and we hiked down to the search area. She was a little uncertain of the exact area where she was sitting, so, I searched many spots one by one, eliminating them all. I then started running a grid from where she was sitting to the stairs where they exited the beach. After 4 passes and about an hour and a half, I finally got a likely sound and reading on my E-trac. One scoop and I pulled up Paolo’s ring. Celine was amazed that it was found, as, she figured it was a long shot. It was just a matter of time on this one. I was finding other good targets in the area, so, I knew nobody else had detected there. I just had to keep expanding the search area until I ran across it. They had been married for just a month, so, I was happy to get this ring back to them, so it can add another chapter in it’s story. Celine decided not to tell Paolo right away, but, instead to surprise him at dinner! I bet he will be!20161116_113327 20161116_113352

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