A Tearful Call and a Joyful Reunion at St. Paul Beach
On a busy Friday evening, I was just pulling into work when fellow Ring Finder Darrin Gray called. A young woman in St. Paul was in tears—she’d lost her ring at a local beach and needed urgent help. I was only 6-8 minutes away, so I agreed to meet her, despite not having my usual gear with me.When I arrived, I remembered a small handheld detector tucked behind my truck’s seat. With traffic heading out of town at a standstill, driving home for my full setup would’ve taken 2-3 hours—time we didn’t have. The handheld unit hadn’t been used in two years, and I had zero expectations the battery would even work. To my surprise, it powered on!I waded into the water in my jeans, armed with the little detector and its 6-inch coil. The search area was about 60×60 feet, and covering it with such a small coil was slow going, sweeping a path just 6-7 feet wide. Back and forth I went, determined to give it my all. After two and a half hours of meticulous searching, I finally got a solid signal—and there it was, her ring!The woman had left to take her toddler home, just three blocks away. I called her with the good news, and she was overcome with joy, to say the least. She rushed back to the beach, tears streaming down her face again—this time from happiness. The look of relief and gratitude as she was reunited with the ring she thought was gone forever made every minute of that search worthwhile
One Reply to “A Tearful Call and a Surprise Recovery at St. Paul Beach”
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Hey Paul – Great work on this one!! I was unable to search for this one as I had a prior engagement. I knew this was urgent as other metal detectorists hit this beach daily. Using that small detector in a pretty good size area is truly hard work, your determination inspires me.
Thanks so much for helping this young lady out.
Take Care and I hope to see you out and about detecting!!!
Darrin (Minneapolis Ring Finder)