Chris sent me an email asking if I could help him. He lost his wedding band the night before while at rugby practice. I did a quick Google map search of the field, and it looked pretty barren. So I decided to walk the field before work. When I get there, the field was a solid grass carpet about 5 inches tall. It’s not going to be found by a quick walk.

There was a guy on the field with a human-powered push mower. I asked if his name was Chris. He looked at me with a concerned look, as I was in my work uniform, which makes me look like a police officer. He said yes, and I told him that he sent me a message that he lost a ring. There was relief on his face. He showed me the areas that he was in during practice, pretty much the whole field.

I told him that I wouldn’t get there until the weekend because of work and another recovery that I have today after work. He told me that his wife didn’t know he was at the practice, and he didn’t tell her that his ring was lost. They just celebrated their 4^th anniversary a few days earlier.

I went to the beach that night to search for the other ring; I need to get into the water at low tide. There was a thunderstorm when I arrived and when the storm passed the ocean was angry. Large, powerful waves were kicking my butt. I couldn’t complete the search, so I will have to return.

I called Chris and told him that I would be at the field in an hour and 15 minutes if he wanted to meet me there. He said he couldn’t, that his inlaws were over, and he didn’t tell anyone that his ring was lost. He left the room when he saw that I was calling to answer the phone. I told him that I would spend about an hour there tonight, but it could be a several-day search because it is such a large field.

I knew where he placed his bag & drink. So I started there. No luck. So I started at 1 corner of the field and decided to search length-wise. I figured 1 down and back would take about an hour. There are a lot of targets. A lot of “can slaw”,  cans that have been cut up by a lawnmower, leaving many aluminum pieces.

I got about ¾ of the way down my 1^st path, and I got a good tone. I located the ring with my pinpointer. I was amazed I found it in about 30 minutes. My mom must have helped. I took a picture and sent it to Chris. He called me back about 10 minutes later, just as I was getting in my car as the skies opened up. He was in total shock. He said after he got the picture, he told his wife what happened. He said he was going to be in the dog house if I didn’t find the ring.

We met the next day to return the ring. Chris said he was allowed to go back to rugby practice.

I love my hobby!!

Ernie sent me an email requesting my services. Sometime this morning while doing yard work he lost his tungsten wedding ring. I had some time this evening to search.

I met Ernie at his house and he showed me what he was doing earlier. He spread a lot of mulch and rinsed his hands a few times with a hose. The yard has a lot of thick zoysia grass. 

I started my search and found a few small pieces of aluminum siding. After about 10 minutes Erie went into the house. 5 minutes later his wife pulled up as I was getting a signal. It was Ernie’s ring. I put my finger over my mouth to give the signal to be quiet. I went over to the front door and asked Ernie to come out because I had some more questions. 

I pointed to behind some bushes asking if he was back there, his ring was on my finger. It took a while for him to realize that it was there. Another awesome look on his face. We took a few pictures and he said he would chat up my services on social media. 

2nd successful recovery of the day!

I LOVE my hobby!

Miranda was referred to me after posting on Facebook that she lost her rings. She contacted me 2 days ago and our calendars synced up for an early Saturday morning search. Miranda explained that she had placed her engagement ring & wedding band in her back pocket. She forgot that they were there, and started playing with her 3-year-old son in the backyard. 

The yard is a good size. She was in many spots, around the shed, sitting on the deck, and around the fort. The fort was the last stop on our tour, so that is where I began my search. 

Miranda went to move her car as I got started because she was also around her SUV in the driveway. I started to search and 3 swings in, I found both rings. They were buried deep in the grass. Less than 1 minute of searching. They couldn’t be seen without separating the blades of grass. I really thought this was going to be a very long search. I took a few pictures before she returned. 

When she came back like 3 minutes later I asked a few more questions. She was looking around the yard, as I was holding up her rings. It took a minute for her to notice them. The look on her face was priceless! She went from being depressed to being ecstatic. She couldn’t believe I had found them so fast!

I love my hobby!

Dave Milsted The Metal Detecting Man

Charlotte called me yesterday asking if I could find her ring. She was on the beach playing a tossing game. When she tossed she lost her ring. I had plans today but told her I could be there this morning, bright & early. She agreed.

I got to the beach at 7:30 am. It was empty & I got an excellent free parking spot! She told me she was to the right of the trash cans, so I texted her saying I was there and started to search before she got there. Within 5 minutes I had an awesome shallow tone on the detector. I scooped up the sand and had a big silver ring in my hands. 

I was very surprised that I found it before she arrived. As I was taking pictures of the ring, Charlotte arrived. I asked her what her ring looked like, as I was going to surprise her when she described it to me. She said it was a yellow gold ring with a pearl in the center. Oh, that is not the ring I found, bonus!

She showed me the area she was in when she lost her ring. The ring was her grandmother’s ring, which has a lot of sentimental value attached to it. She said she spent several hours sifting through the sand with family looking for it. She is in the area for a family reunion. She explained to me that just last week she lost another ring on a beach in Virginia, that a family friend found with a metal detector. She didn’t learn a lesson with that loss. 

I started to grid the area she sent me to. Within 5 minutes I had that special gold tone on my detector, scooped and there was her ring. She was so happy & relieved. I asked her if she learned any lessons. She said YES, I’m never wearing rings to the beach again. She had to go back & pack as they are returning home today, to Virginia. 

I stuck around to search a little more and found another silver ring. Not bad, it was a beautiful morning on the beach!!

I Love My Hobby!!

Karen emailed me earlier in the week to see if I would be able to search for a lost tungsten ring. Her fiance lost it while doing yard work a few weeks ago. I asked the usual questions, where? When? How? Any buried items? And so on…

We made arrangements for me to search Thursday after work. Of course, Mother Nature would play games and threaten with a Severe Weather Warning that afternoon. John was waiting for me. He showed me the 2 main areas of concern. He was working on removing a railing from the porch and then he was washing cars. My heart sank a little when he said while working on the porch he was throwing items into a large metal dumpster. It was pretty full with a lot of hazards. If John has my luck his ring is in the bottom of the dumpster. John also told me that the yard was cut at least once. 

I started my search around the porch. John asked if he could watch. He wanted to know about my detector, a Minelab Equinox, and I showed him how my pinpointer also worked. There were a lot of signals, most of them 2+ inches deep. I didn’t bother looking at those, as I was trying to beat the storms. 

After about 15 minutes I got a good tone, started to spread the zoysia grass apart and there was a nice looking black & gold ring. I pulled out my phone to take a picture & John was right there. He called me a “lifesaver” no pun intended. He was very happy! As we are both fully COVID vaccinated he gave me a big handshake. He said he would spread the word about my service. 

I love my hobby!