Dave Cartee, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 5 of 12

3 Rings Lost – 3 Rings Found!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I decided to go Pompano fishing after work yesterday afternoon but like always, I threw my detecting gear in my vehicle just in case. It’s a good thing I did because there was only a few hours of daylight left and I had just set my fishing rod down when I got a phone call from George. It seems they were right down the road in Gulf Shores and had been enjoying the day with family. Laurie, George’s daughter had taken off all three of her gold and diamond wedding rings and placed them in her chair’s cup holder to put on sunscreen. It was only at the end of the day when they were loading up their vehicle that Laurie realized what she had done and saw that all three were gone. They quickly did some googling and found me and very intelligently marked the area they had been sitting as a starting point. As George explained things, I was quickly breaking down my fishing setup and I told him that I would be right there. I decided to grid out the whole area since they didn’t know exactly where they were and it wasn’t too many passes until I found all three together in one scoop already buried several inches deep in the sand. Laurie said that this was their first day of vacation. I can only imagine how losing those three beautiful, sentimental rings would have ruined the whole trip. I am so glad y’all called me and I was able to avert a tragedy and help turn this into a great story for years to come. Enjoy your Easter weekend. 😃

Tags:
Category:

Scuba Diving for a Lost Ring – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I have been doing this for awhile now and I realized the other day that I was coming up on my 80th return. I was hoping that number 80 would be a special ring and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The other day I got a call from a Pennsylvania number and I answered to hear Terrie tell me that she needed some help. Her family was down vacationing in Orange Beach and when they were docking the boat in the marina, Josh, her son-in-law dropped his wedding ring in the water next to the dock. To make matters worse, the water depth where he thought it came off was about 8 or 9 feet deep. This was definitely going to take some dive gear to search for it. I agreed to come out and meet them and called my friend Charlie to see if I could use his Hookah dive rig. My gear was in for its annual service so this different setup would be a new experience as well. (Thanks Charlie)  When I got to the dock, the whole family was there to greet me and Josh showed me the general area he thought the ring had come off. He also explained that this was an heirloom ring that his father had given him. That made me even more determined as I jumped into the water. I brought along a 30lb weight belt to try and offset not having a steel tank while wearing my drysuit. I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to be able to stay on the bottom. Imagine wearing a giant life vest and trying to swim to the bottom of a pool.  It’s almost impossible. I wanted to use my drysuit because spending a lot of time searching on the bottom in murky marina water will freeze you to death but I decided the only way I was going to find this ring was to take off my drysuit, strip down to my bathing suit and bite the bullet. Now with the heavy weight belt I plunged to the bottom and oriented my gear. I had to look up occasionally to get my bearings by seeing Josh’s silhouette against the sky. I found a few different junk signals and then I heard a much stronger solid tone. I maneuvered over where I could see the bottom through my mask and waved my hand hard to clear the silt and sand. When it finally settled, there nestled amongst some oyster shells was Josh’s ring, safe and sound.  I surfaced and started handing gear up unable to talk yet with the regulator still in my mouth and the weight belt dragging me down. I handed everything up including the sonar cover for their boat that had gone over during the mishap. When I finally got the weight belt off and was able to take the regulator out I got a huge smile and handed Josh his heirloom ring back. I swam over to the boat to use the ladder to get out and the whole time the family was cheering and celebrating. It’s such a great feeling to be able to help people with this hobby. Terrie said it best when she texted me that evening that Josh was back to happy with a pep in his step and I had put their vacation back on track. I’m so glad I could help!  Terrie and Josh you have a great family. 😃

Tags:
Category:

Lost Wedding Ring at the church!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

Sadie called and said that she and her kids had gone to the church for a Saturday afternoon playground session. When they got there the gate was locked so they decided to have a picnic on a grassy area instead. Sadie had me come out the next day and showed me the area it could have possibly been in and I began my search. Being Palm Sunday you can imagine there were lots of people interested and finally a very nice man named Bob with security came out to make sure everything was ok. As soon as he walked up to me he said, “I know you! You run Pensacola Ring Finders”. 😃. He had some experience with detecting and very kindly walked Sadie and a gentleman that was helping out of the search zone. I finished the area and about the time I was going to tell Sadie that we needed to expand the search, Sadie and Bob started yelling for me to come over. Sadie had looked down 30 yards from the area she thought it was in and saw her precious ring gleaming in the sun. I definitely can’t take detecting credit for this one but sometimes knowing where it’s not makes all the difference. I like to think that a little Palm Sunday divine guidance doesn’t hurt either. 😃👏Congratulations Sadie and thanks for the assist Bob!

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring Pensacola – FOUND 5 months later!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I must admit that I assumed my first return during Spring Break this year would be someone out enjoying this nice weather. In reality, George lost his ring in his backyard 5 months ago. Like a lot of people, George had a pretty good idea where it was so he decided to go buy a metal detector and see if he could find it himself. When he finally gave me a call he remarked about how much iron there was in the ground and how hard it was to operate. George asked me to come out and take a look for him. George was right that it was a tough area but luckily I have some of the best machines in the world and I’ve been using them a long time. George pointed me to the area and I began my search. I did the part George had pointed out with a few coils and realized that the ring wasn’t there. I told George that I was going to expand my search and I didn’t make it too far before I heard a nice gold tone in my headphones and headed over to a thrilled George and his wife Michelle. Thank you both for trusting me to come find your ring. 👍

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring Found…. AGAIN!!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

My first ring recovery of 2023 is also another kind of first. This is the first time I have been called on to find the same ring for a second time. A little over two years ago Brenda and Henry called me to come out and find Henry’s 1968 University of Alabama class ring that had come off while putting out pine straw at their home in Gulf Shores. Henry had saved my number in his Rolodex so when it happened again in the exact same scenario, he knew who to call. Henry and I were talking to each other and he looked on as I set my machine to the area he was pretty sure that it had come off in. The first tone I got I explained was an iron tone and told him that I was pretty sure I remembered his ring was a 12-36 on my machine. Not thirty seconds later I got a strong 12-32. As I reached down and uncovered his ring, I told him that I wasn’t far off on the number and I would take it after 2 years. 😃. Henry was ecstatic as I gave him his ring back. I told him to keep a close eye on his ring this time but if he lost it again just give me a call and I’d be right there for the next time. It was a pleasure seeing you again Henry, give Brenda my best!

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring from the boat – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

Ryan is a patient man!  He called me this morning and explained that he was out on the boat yesterday at a popular place for people to hang out and he was throwing a football back and forth. All of a sudden he caught one that slightly jammed his finger making him flick his hand back and forth. When he did he felt his brand new wedding ring of a few months go flying in the saltwater. He explained that they had looked for hours to no avail and he really needed some help. I told him that I wanted to help but I had to work today but with the storm coming this week he definitely needed to find it sooner rather than later. I told him I would have one of a few people I routinely hunt with call him soon and hopefully they could help him. At lunch Ryan reached out and said he hadn’t heard from anyone so I told him to standby while I made a call. My Father in law had accidentally left his phone and my other buddy was working so I called Ryan back. He asked about renting a detector and I explained why that just wouldn’t work. I finally felt so bad that I told him if he could wait until after work and if I could get a pass from my wife then I would do it myself. Being the patient person he is, he waited for me to finish up the workday and I’m very glad he did. Ryan has a great boat and we headed out to the area. When we got there, he had done a great job marking where it came off and I made my first pass. There was a huge drop off and as I turned back I thought to myself that I hoped it wasn’t any further or I would need a scuba tank. I didn’t need to worry though because as Ryan looked on expectantly from the beach I heard a very clean gold tone. He was already smiling as I very carefully used my scoop to pull out his ring. He said that was exactly where he thought it was and he was amazed I was able to find it. Ryan was all smiles on the way back to the dock and I’m glad I was able to help.

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring in Gulf Shores, AL – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

To show you what a nice guy Matt is, all I need to do is point out that he drove his whole family 18 hrs one way from Wisconsin for his daughter’s 13th birthday and to enjoy our beautiful beaches here in Gulf Shores. He was getting ready to make the return trip soon but still had a few days to snorkel out in the Gulf. That’s when fate struck and he felt his ring come off while swimming. When he called me he explained that he had looked for hours but even though he thought he knew where it was, he just couldn’t find it. He told me that it wasn’t an expensive ring but it was very sentimental to him and I knew that I had to help him. I knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear when I explained that it would be a day and a half before I could come but he trusted me and said he would text me Sunday morning if he still hadn’t found it. He did just that even though he had looked all day Saturday and even bought a fishing magnet that didn’t work. My wife and I finally got there Sunday afternoon and Matt quickly showed us where he thought the ring had come off. Matt told us that he had been to 21 countries with this ring and really wanted it back. I started my grid search and there were older coins everywhere and they were slowing me down. I finally asked Matt to make sure I was where he wanted me and he came out and pointed “just a little bit left”. As I turned back to the left I took one swing and got another target. When I pulled it up I smiled and told Matt that he had great directions. He was shocked when I handed him his ring. I am so glad I could cap off your vacation with a win and you and your family will have an awesome story to take back to Wisconsin.

Tags:
Category:

Lost Wedding Ring in the Gulf, Orange Beach-FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

Doug and Kristen have been married for 27 years. They have raised a family together and been through good times and bad. One of the tough times is watching Doug battle cancer. Thank goodness he is currently stable and they were able to get away to Orange Beach for a vacation. One constant these 27 years has been Doug’s gold wedding band on his hand. That is until this week when he was throwing football with his son in the Gulf of Mexico and it went flying. They tried searching all around for the rest of the day and they even used a mask and snorkel since they knew roughly where it had landed. Unfortunately the ring had already buried deep in the sand and they were unable to find it. The next morning Kristen went online and luckily was able to find me through the Ringfinders and a referral or two from some very thoughtful people. Doug called and after just a few minutes I knew we had to find that ring!  I made plans to come that afternoon since I already had work scheduled for the day but I assured them that the ring would still be there when I got there. When I got to their condo I spoke with the ladies in the front office and they were kind enough to give me a parking pass. I grabbed my gear and headed down to the beach and met Doug and Kristen and their family. Doug immediately walked me out in the water where he thought he had been standing the day before. It was just less than waist deep and he explained how the ring had come off when he went for a football. I asked him if it went deeper or shallower and as he re-enacted the scene I got him to point exactly where he thought it might be. Doug wished me luck as he walked back to his family to sit and watch and I turned on my machine and got the settings tweaked for the saltwater. I started my search and took one swing to the right, one swing to the left and a small step forward. As I was swinging the coil back to the right I immediately heard a beautiful gold tone. I took a really deep scoop since I didn’t want to nick it. They had searched for over a day and it was already about 5” deep. On the first try I looked in the scoop and there was the ring that had been with Doug through so many memories. I indicated that I had it and started walking in. Nobody really reacted and Kristen told me later that they thought I was joking that I had found it so quickly. 😃 When reality hit they all got so excited and justifiably a little shaken up. I’m so glad that I could be part of the continuation of your story. Doug and Kristen, I wish you health and happiness for many, many more years. God Bless!

Tags:
Category:

Lost Ring at Navarre Beach – FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I opened up Facebook two nights ago and saw that Pensacola Ring Finders had been mentioned in a comment. Ellyce told Amanda that if there was any hope, I could find her ring. I thought to myself as I turned in for the night that if Amanda reached out to me, I really hoped that I could live up to Ellyce’s trust in me. Sure enough the next morning I saw I had a text from Amanda and I quickly gave her a call. She told me that their family was staying in Navarre and that her niece Kaylee had lost her engagement ring in the surf while posing for a picture and they were pretty distraught. I told her that I could come out after work in the afternoon and I would be glad to help. When I got there I also got to meet Felix, Kaylee’s other half and you could tell that he was really concerned about losing Kaylee’s ring. The two of them walked me down to the water and told me where they thought the ring was lost and where they thought it might be. I started canvassing the area above the top shelf of sand with no luck and then switched to the deeper area below the shelf. I tried east and west and north and south and even expanded the search area a bit but I got nothing. Everyone had focused on two blue chairs on the beach and when two people who had helped the day before came up and confirmed the same location I thought, “ okay, it’s got to be down there I just can’t hear it”. I decided to use a trick I have learned over the years and I got down where the sand was being curled back into the shelf by the waves. I turned my machine onto a different pinpoint mode and cranked up the sensitivity. I got right in front of the chairs and heard a very faint grunt that was so deep I couldn’t hear it any other way. I started taking out sand with my scoop and after several tries I looked down and there sat Kaylee’s beautiful engagement ring 💍. That one surprised even me a little bit. 😃. I went up and showed Kaylee and as she started to cry and celebrate with her family I looked up the beach and saw Felix coming back from a trip to the room. I saw it dawn on his face that I had found it judging by all the happy smiles and he took off on a dead sprint and picked me up and jumped up and down with me in the air in celebration. This was a great reminder of why I do this and I want to thank everyone for having the trust to recommend me every time they do. I know that Kaylee and Felix are very thankful as well!  Congrats y’all.

Tags:
Category:

Lost Gold Bracelet, Pensacola Beach- FOUND!!!

  • from Orange Beach (Alabama, United States)
Contact:

I was out on the beach yesterday evening when a young man about my son’s age walked up and asked if I could help him. I asked what he needed and looked over and saw his family staring hopefully a few yards away. I said that I’d be glad to help and he explained that he had dropped his 14k gold bracelet as they were packing up to leave and it disappeared into the sand. I could still see the hole where their umbrella had been planted so I began to search around it. I got a little worried because I immediately started finding old bottle caps from a previous group and I thought it might take awhile. I made another pass from a different angle as I could start to see the worry on their faces but sure enough I got a clean gold tone and number. I took extra care with the scoop to make sure I didn’t scratch it and out popped Manuel’s bracelet. 😃  They were thrilled as you can see from the smile on his face. Congrats Manuel!!!

Tags:
Category: