yard Tag | The Ring Finders

September 1, 2024

“Chris I Love You Susan” was engraved in a wedding band that took a slip from Chris’s finger as his daughter looked on. Chris visualized were the loss took place and that there were 51 steps to the stairs leading off the beach. During the next few hours Chris made many unsuccessful dives to retrieve the ring from its watery resting place. A visual search also took place. Susan then took charge, acquired my number and called for help.

The next morning at 7AM the search began and lasted about 2 hours before the tide had come in and prevented further searching. I would return for the afternoon tide. Which I did. I paced off the 51 steps, took visual reference points into account and began a search. First I gridded over the sand that was under water in the morning. Nothing to dig, I moved into the water. Low tide, with between 1 and 2 foot waves along with some seaweed made detecting a bit tough. The second signal I had was over the small drop-off at the bottom of the beach’s slope. With everything moving as it was I had to take a third scoop before I caught the object in the scoop. I love to see the glitter of gold among the shells and sand. Without emptying the scoop I left the surf and counted 68 steps to the stairs. On the walk I pulled the ring out, verified the inscription, and dumped the shells.

Next feat was to climb the 98 steps to the top of the dune and my car. I cleaned the scoop, put the ring back into it, changed the boots I was wearing to sandals for safer driving and drove off toward Chris’s vacation home. I turned the last corner and there Chris was, walking back to the beach to see if I was there. I told him the surf was now too rough and it would be worthless to climb down to the beach and back up. But I would appreciate him looking in my scoop. A bit perplexed, he did and could not believe that it was HIS ring from Susan.

At the house, a cappuccino, many friendly licks from his dog, and lots of wonderful stories were related. I just love how I get to know people by just going a bit out of my way to help them. It is also great knowing that there is at least one more reason for having wonderful memories of a vacation on Cape Cod.

August 31, 2024

On my way home from some hobby detecting; not looking for anything specific, just enjoying the afternoon sun and sea swells, and waiting for another call for help in locating a lost object. I was less than a mile from home when my wait was over. A neighbor, Barbara, was calling to request that I respond to a woman in distress over a missing marriage ring set of 36 years this month. Sure, I am on my way was my answer as I pass the road to my home. Next I called home to tell my wife I would be a bit longer, put dinner on hold, I had to go and find 2 rings.

Within twenty minutes I was ready to start the search. While being escorted to the area on the beach where the rings were lost I was told that another detectorist had found the engagement ring but had no success in locating the wedding band. Maura had removed her wedding band and engagement ring at the beach to apply sunscreen. She put the two rings in the cup holder of her chair, but forgot to put them on afterwards. A few hours later she folded up her chair and left the beach. Back at the house she realized she didn’t have her rings and knew instantly what happened. Returning to the beach and sifting through sand with hands. There were also many interested people all wanting to help. Unfortunately the only help to find the wedding band came from the call to my phone. One woman helping – Barbara told Maura about a world wide group TheRingFinders, that she had a connection, and then called Richard 1 of some 600 TheRingFinders.

It took me about a dozen swings of my coil before I located the wedding band. My advantage over the other detectorist was in the quality of the detector being used and some 40 years experience with detectors. I passed a few detecting tips on to the new detectorist, Thank Yous were passed among all the helpers and I left for the waiting dinner.

August 29, 2024

Almost five weeks ago, Caeleigh was enjoying a day on the beach. She was wearing a very sentimental Celtic cross that her parents had bestowed upon her on the day of her first confirmation.

I am not positive on just how the chain with the cross became separated and lost in the fine sand.

Today I was out testing a new detecting scoop grip and found only pull tabs and a screw. About to give up for the day, I got out of the water and headed to my car. Gerry had been watching me and was inquisitive about my detector and could find a hearing aid. Yes it is possible, but unlikely unless the detector is “tuned” to react to the hearing aid’s metallic characteristics. When our conversation was about over and I was about to start searching for the hearing aid, Katie approached and asked the same question ecept her item of interest was a gold Celtic cross. The answer was the same.

The first area I covered was for the hearing aid. The detector I had been using in the water was just too sensitive over the 18 inch sweep to locate the hearing aid, but I tried. I moved over to the area of the cross and chain. I knew the cross could be located, but the fine chain would be very difficult. I was correct, the cross was retrieved from the sand with no problem

My second detector in the car did not have programming capabilities. One of my detectors at home would fit the needs perfectly. So I left the beach to get my best detector for the items I was searching for, a hearing aid and a gold chain in salty beach sand environment. I returned an hour later to complete the search. At the beach I was in luck with the adjustments I made to the third detector, it would react equally well to either object with the same settings.

As good as the detector that I chose for the situation and adjusting it for the objects to find, I did not find either one. There are possibilities that; either object may have been found, the beach cleaning rake buried them beyond my detector’s depth range, or I just missed detecting them. Also, the hearing aid may have been lost elsewhere.

I had talked to all involved and took pictures of Caeleigh and her cross before going home to get the third detector just in case what I feared happened, which it did. The active search for the chain and hearing aid have ended for now, but the information will be retained per chance I do find either one at a later date or hearing of another detectorist finding one of the still missing belongings.

August 29, 2024

Mike and I just did not connect on the game of phone tag last night. This morning we did. Mike was in desperate need of help for a solution of how to find his sister’s wedding ring that was lost in the sand. The loss happened when a towel was forcefully removed from a beach bag bringing the ring out with it and a few other items. All but the ring had been found.

Within an hour I was at the beach getting a run down on where I should be looking for the ring. I could see a gallant effort had taken place before I arrived at the beach. There was a 5X10 area of the sand that had been sifted to a depth of about 2 inches. That is where the ring should be. So, I started a search pattern parallel to the water’s edge and about 20 feet long as marked by two inverted red beach buckets. Ten passes and no ring, time to turn and cover the area perpendicular to the rows I had already made. It was on my third perpendicular pass between the second and third parallel pass that I had a great sounding tone that I was excited about. Yes, a shallow scoop and the signal producing object was in my scoop. It was the golden wedding band.

Time for pictures, hugs, and kind words. Another vacationing couple on Cape Cod would go home with everything they came with. Eliza and Sam, both active serving military members, are a fantastic couple that I enjoyed talking with and hearing of their military service and sharing some of mine with them. Mike stayed in the background but could not leave without my thanks for reaching out to a RingFinder for help doing what we do best, ending a stressful situation with a picture perfect for the Book of Smiles.

Oh, I will not forget what I and my wife left the beach with, a box of Cape Cod Treats of outstanding donuts. How they knew my favorite is the glaze covered cake donut and my wife’s, a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles I will never know. My first such gift. Thank you all.

August 26, 2024

I was home talking with my wife about the day’s happenings and saying how glad I was that it was now time for rest. The sun was going down and the dinner dishes were done and put away. But I should have known better that the rush to find a lost item was not over. I was right. A wedding band was lost on a public beach and could not be found. I could not refuse to help as the original call was to J&E Enterprise and the caller had been suggested to call me. Rick, TheRingFinder.

The beach was less than 5 miles away and I was on my way. I arrived and was greeted, given a brief synopses of how the ring was lost and what had been done to find the ring, and got ready to search. Derek had removed his wedding band and placed it on his T-shirt for safe keeping while he frolicked int the warn evening sands of Cape Cod. Not thinking about his ring he picked up the T-shirt to put it back on. That is all it took and the ring was “gone”.

The area had been marked out, some of the sand was sifted, crawled over, felt and searched by about 10 others. I started searching at the high tide line and then moved toward dryer sand. In less than a minute I “heard a solid tone in my ears and then a jingle of gold in my scoop. The ring was no longer in the sand. It was on the way back to the rightful, waiting ring finger.

Derek was one happy person. Hugs and Thank Yous were going to last for ever. The end of a perfect day was here and I was on my way home, again. I will have a bit of time to relax and reflect on the day, just in time before the next call for help is received…

August 25, 2024

I was sitting at home after an unsuccessful morning’s search for a bracelet, sipping on a well deserved cup of coffee, a text chimed out on my computer. Oh yes, another lost wedding band. This time from a party on a beach about as far out on Cape Cod one can go. Tired and just about out of energy, I read the text and could not do anything but reply with I will be ther within 2 hours. For this search I had my wife accompany me as I had logged over 10 hours of searching in the past 24 hours. I did not want her to feel neglected, besides I enjoy her company on any search I go on. One good part of the 70 mile trip was stopping at a wonderful Farm Stand for fresh tomatoes and zucchini. So much for “me” back to the search.

I arrived at the address and was met by Hannah. A short introduction and onto the search. It seams that Belinha (a beautiful 4 year old) had been given the task of carrying her father’s wedding band in one hand and a piece of (more to her interest) food in the other hand. On the way from the beach to the cottage a little stumble and the food was saved, but the ring had fallen into the sand. A few hours of searching, raking and looking could not bring the ring out of the sand.

AH…the internet is a wonderful thing and it can even find someone like myself that can help locate a misplaced metal object. That is just what Hannah did, then she texted me. Within 3 hours from the time I received the first text Steve was wearing his wedding band again. The was nothing special: lost between A and B well mark by an attempt to find the ring by raking. The second pass on the given area produced a Blue Moon bottle cap and a top off a Smirnoff’s nip just before the prized ring was in my scoop for Steve to remove. Now, that is how a search and return should be accomplished.

This loss ended happily for everyone involved: Steve got his ring back; Norma was had the foresight to search, find, and arrange for help when needed; daughter Belinah did not have to have her parents get married because she was the one that “lost” the wedding band; and finally Grandma Ester was elated that every one was once again joyful with big smiles and a great story to tell friends.