Buried wallet in sand, New Smyrna Beach, Florida…….found!!

Brandon was enjoying a beautiful day at NSB with his family and as he thought about going out into the water he wondered where he could put his wallet for safe keeping. Not wanting to leave it somewhere exposed, he decided to bury it in the sand under the corner of his towel. And as the afternoon wore on Brandon sort of forgot about his wallet and picked up his towel a couple of times to dry off. It wasn’t until later that he remembered his wallet.
So he went back to where he thought would have been the corner of his towel area in the sand and started digging. All the sand looked the same and the more he dug the more frustrated he became. His family started giving him a hard time and after an hour or so of digging—he realized it would take more than sheer luck to find his buried wallet. Thankfully Brandon had a single car key inside his wallet and thought about a metal detector. So on his phone he typed in « Metal Detecting Service »! This led to theringfinders.com web site and my first conversation with Brandon.
After making arrangements to meet on the beach, Brandon called me one last time to make sure I had a shovel or something to dig with, and I reassured him I had my metal detector and a couple of things to dig with! An hour later I met Brandon and we walked onto the beach to where his family was set up for the day and you could see the 6 foot square area where it was all dug up! I reassured Brandon and within seconds I got a signal on the edge of where he had been digging. And sure enough, as I pushed the sand back, there was the corner of Brandon’s lost wallet peeking out at me. Brandon was so happy to have his wallet back and I could see the relief on his face. Thanks Brandon for calling me and it was a pleasure to meet you and help you get your wallet back!
Buried something valuable and cannot seem to find it? Maybe I can help! Call or e-mail me—ASAP!
Mike McInroe, honored to be a member of theringfinders.com

Last Friday I received an e-mail from Iain asking if I could help him look for his lost ring. Apparently Iain was playing goalie for his young son who was kicking his soccer ball in an area with very soft sand that the Disney Caribbean Resort provides near all of their pool locations. Iain found himself diving to the left and to the right, blocking the ball with his hands. And having put on sun screen beforehand, added to the soft sand and sweat…well, that usually adds up to « Lost Ring! »
The other day my good friend Chris texted me about a lost ring in a small lake in the Heathrow area. In casual conversation a neighbor mentioned to Chris that she had lost her precious silver ring while feeding bread to the fish. It happened just after Christmas and Tina could not get her mind off of loosing the very ring her brother had given her just a few years ago. After hearing her story Chris told her « I know just the guy to help you get your ring back! » So the following day—Valentines Day–I made arrangements to meet Tina and have her show me where she lost her ring. The original information I received was that the ring was lost only a few days ago so when I arrived and got set up–I concentrated my search efforts in the water from the shore out to about three feet deep. After a thorough search in the water and coming up empty handed I called Tina to come out and explain to me again what all happened the day she lost her ring. Come to find out she actually lost it a few days after Christmas, so that turned out to be 6 weeks ago and we have had very little rain and the water level had dropped a good two feet or so since then. I realized just where she would have been standing and the drop zone area would be up the bank further. And sure enough after a few sweeps of my coil over the dry ground–there was Tina’s lost ring just under a thin layer of dirt and mud! Tina could not believe I had found her lost ring and was thrilled to get it back on her finger!
Amy was visiting the grave site where her precious little one–Jean Francis Butterfly Butler– was laid to rest. It was a rather warm January day and the rings on Amy’s ring finger were feeling tight so she removed them and slid them into her pocket-along with the keys to her van. It was a quiet and peaceful time, sitting there by her little one’s grave site, as Amy reflected on the many things she had to be thankful for. Soon it was time to pick up her 7 year old daughter from school, so she folded up her lawn chair and headed to the van, pulling out the keys from her pocket as made her way across the short grassy area. As she slid into the drivers seat she remembered her rings and reached into her pocket and discovered–NO RINGS! Frantically she retraced her steps to where she was sitting and after a thorough search she was able to find her wedding band, but no diamond engagement ring. She walked back and for over the small area–but could not find her precious ring.
Can you imagine it’s your wedding day and everything is ready?! The chairs are all set up, the guests have arrived and the ceremony begins. It’s the perfect day to be outdoors, in the gazebo, on the lake. And partway through the ceremony the bride’s sister-in-law is holding the rings in a small box and just to make sure they are ready, she opens the box and somehow the brides ring drops to the deck and bounces off into the 9 foot deep water! Stunned and in shock, she cannot believe what just happened. After the ceremony the sister-in-law actually jumped into the cold water hoping to be able to retrieve the ring, but with all the weeds and soft muddy bottom, plus being 9 feet deep—it was hopeless!
David was playing a lively game of « keep away » on his driveway with his two children and never even realized his wedding ring had come off! During the action of throwing the ball and jumping around, his gold wedding ring came off of his finger and landed on the concrete. At that exact instant his son, Jonathan, actually inadvertently kicked it and what they heard was the « clink » of his ring hitting the driveway and then the clink, clink as it bounced off into the grass. No one realized what it actually was–thinking maybe Jonathan had kicked a nail or screw or some other metal object. They finished up their game and went inside for the evening.
Jason called Thursday morning to see if I could help him find his wife’s lost engagement ring in some bushes at their apartment complex in Orlando! I asked a few pertinent questions to help determine where the rings might be hiding and if there was a good chance they could be found. Jason briefly explained what happened and mentioned that Amber, his wife, had actually lost both her wedding and engagement rings. And after a frantic search they were able to find the wedding ring but not the lost engagement ring! He went on to say that they contemplated renting a metal detector but then found theringfinders.com web site and decided to give me a call.
Bill was taking his little nephew for a ride on a small four wheeler and as he stood up to get off he noticed his heavy gold chain was unlatched and his special « Road Runner » pendant was gone. This pendant was given to him by his late father 30 some years ago as a very special gift. Bill immediately started looking for it and spent hours searching thru the long grass and sandy areas where they had unloaded and ridden the four wheeler. A few days later they used a metal detector and tried and still were not able to find Bill’s lost pendant.
Last November 3rd I wrote a short story about Shawn loosing a ring at New Smyrna Beach and how I was able to find it for him. Come to find out that his good friend Zack, lost his wedding ring that very same day, at the very same beach! Shawn, Zack and another close friend had taken a day off to relax and as they finished their lunch at the Breakers Restaurant they decided to throw the football around in the shallow part of the surf. (Does this story sound familiar?) The third friend decided to remove his wedding ring and leave it in the car, despite the lighthearted objections of Shawn and Zack. And guess who ends up loosing their rings?
Trev was playing a lively game of volleyball with a couple of friends when he lost his ring. As he swung at the ball—barely hitting it—he felt his ring slip off his finger. He immediately stopped and yelled « I lost my ring! » He and his friends spent the next two hours running their fingers through the sand hoping to find his lost Tungsten wedding ring.