Richard Browne, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 19 of 24

Dennis, Cape Cod, MA – Colby a 14 year old detectorist did the right thing!

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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The plaque sent to Colby for his honesty and « doing the right thing ».

This is what my idea of metal detecting is all about: Doing the right thing, obeying the rules and comradeship. Here is a story of a return that took many turns to a fabulous end. In chronological order this is what transpired, to the best of my recollection. Sunday afternoon Bennet was enjoying the thrills on a Cape Cod beach and took his necklace and wedding band off an put them into a beach chair’s pocket for safe keeping. Sometime later while packing up to leave the beach the chair was folded and carried to the parking lot. During the movement the jewelry fell from the pocket and was buried in the soft sand. The missing items were not noticed until Bennet went to retrieve them from the pocket. They were not there, gone!

Bennet knew about metal detectors, found J&E Enterprise of South Yarmouth, and rented a detector. To no avail Bennet searched the beach area and returned the rental. At this point he was told about TheRingFinders.com and was suggested he contact a Ring Finder that could help. The first to respond was Leighton who made arrangements to meet up with Bennet and search early on Tuesday morning. Leighton also had no luck in locating the missing items.

Leighton called me and explained the situation. I then called Bennet and set up a search time of 5pm. I left my cell phone and Bennet’s phone number at home, a big mistake. Oh, well…I started to search, found a very good large target area and knew immediately that the detector I was using was too sensitive for the iron in the dry sand. I returned to the car, changed detectors and headed back to find a 5 coin spill which I retrieved. As I moved on I was asked if I had found some coins, yes I had, but I was looking for a gold chain and wedding band. A few more words were passed when Anya piped up with “I saw them Sunday evening, a boy had found them with his detector” AND…the boy is right over there…

I knew what I had to do and hoped what I was going to do did not backfire and cause a problem. I went to the group of people around the boy who was pointed out to me. I introduced myself and said I heard that some jewelry was found Sunday. I was so pleased with what came next. Complete agreement that the right thing to do was to return the items to the rightful owner. And this was from a 14 year old boy named Colby! I know how hard it was for him to give up his Best Find EVER in his two years of detecting. I have been there as others I know have been in the same situation.

Now to get Bennet to the beach…I called my wife from Colby’s father’s cell phone. My wife then call Bennet and he showed up about 20 minutes later, alone. Colby’s prize find was returned to its owner who left and promised to return with a gift for Colby and he did along with many family members. What a sight, all the people mingling, thanking Colby and congratulating Bennet…unbelievable to say the least. Even Anya and her family were in on the act.

This has to be one of my favorite returns. No I did not physically find the lost jewelry, but I did coordinate its return by “finding” the means to get things right. I really do admire Colby and wish him the best with his future detecting adventures.

Colby: May the ring of gold be in your ears and its glitter in your scoop! – Rick (WaterWalker)

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Orleans, Cape Cod: A ring lost in the sand was found and returned by a Ring Finder

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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Trying to teach children how to do a hand stand in a lake lead to a lost ring. That is just what happened to Justin. Unlike Little Tom Thumb, Justin stuck his hand into the sand and pulled it out without his wedding band. Unable to find it by himself, Justin’s mother contacted J&E Enterprise to rent a detector and ended up with a better alternative – contacting a Ring Finder, in this case, me. I left home within an hour of being contacted, in the water 45 minutes later and within another 5 minuets Justin was wearing his ring again. As for me…I did not get my swimming trunks wet.

The beach was filled with family members who all gathered around to make a grand picture of smiles.

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Falmouth, Cape Cod, MA: Memory Recall is Key to Finding Lost Ring!

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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As many questions that were asked it was not until James was in the water with me and remembered a small splash which he thought to be a gull’s dropping. But where was the little splash? Close to the big splash from a rock that was being tossed. But where is the rock…Here it is and the little splash was about 20 feet away.

After a two hour search this little splash was right on…but it was not make by a bird, rather it was made by Erin’s engagement ring. Another 3 minutes of searching and the ring was in my scoop. As Erin was not at the beach James had the honor of removing the ring from my scoop. It was now up to James to place the ring back on his wife’s finger.

Many on the beach had heard of the ring’s loss and were amazed that it was found in such a vast area. Had it not been for James’ keen memory, I might still be looking for the jewel that means so much to the wonderful couple.

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Cape Cod: Davy Jones held David Yurman hostage for 9 hours.

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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A mother’s warning went unheeded – “Don’t take your wedding band to the beach.” Well a bit later Alex’s dive into the salty water provided the action that precipitated the need for a Ring Finder. Yes, his ring of only a year had slipped from his finger into the the depths of Davy Jones’ locker. Withing three hours I received a call for help. It seems all the searching by Alex and the Life Guards could not bring the ring out of the deep waters of Nantucket Sound. The tide was now some 2 feet higher than when the ring was lost and the sun was slipping closer to the horizon. It would be another 5 hours before a search could begin without scuba gear.

The sun set, the moon rose and the Big Dipper was now bright in the sky and Jim (my summer detecting comrade) and I were headed south into the darkness and shoulder deep water. As we began swinging our detectors caused flashes of blue light appeared underwater. The bio-luminescence was being given off when we touched small jellyfish. We also kept an eye to the northern sky, hoping to see the very unusual occurrence of the appearance of the Northern Lights as far south as Cape Cod.

Unfortunately we did not sees the Northern Lights, but Jim did rescue David Yurman from the grip that Davy Jones had on him. Jim’s bright LED light caused the diamonds to sparkle brighter than the stars and the circle of gold to shine heavenly against a bed of sea shells in his steel bucket. Now there was nothing more to do except notify Sandy (Alex’s mother) that the recovery had been made and a meeting for the return set.

The return was delayed due to Cape Cod traffic, but the wait was well worth it for everyone. Jim and I had a chance to pass on information about metal detecting, a few stories, and return the ring. As a Thank You gift, Sandy had brought some very special and delicious cookies, which were shared with Eleanor as she was the one that gave Sandy my contact information. Sandy will pass the ring onto Alex on their next meeting. Until then pictures are of the ring and three smiles will fill the void held for Alex’s smile which I am sure matches that of his wife’s because of The Ring Finders.

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Cape Cod: Lost Ring Found, with a little help from a friend.

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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It is great to have a helpful and concerned friend in time of need. That is just what Greg was for Sam. Greg posted signs around the beach. At home he reached out to TheRingFinders for help in finding Sam’s wedding band; that is where I came in. Just hours after Sam’s wedding band had slipped from his finger into the crystal clear water and under the soft white sand Greg and I were exchanging pictures of the area of loss were exchanged and set a time to meet the next day.

Sam met Jim (my summer time detecting comrade) and myself just after sunrise, lead us down a one-way dirt road to a 3 car public parking area were we geared up and took a hike to the lake. After Sam answered a few questions about the loss, Jim and I headed out to the area believed to be where the ring had slipped from Sam’s finger.

I had dug three coins and then a ring. It was not as I had envisioned it and called back to Sam…“is it a square ring?” To which Sam asked “what do you mean?” “Well, not round” I called back. The resounding YES was probably be heard all over the lake. Jim looked puzzled and on my way back to shore I let Jim have a peek at the ring in my scoop. When I got back to shore Sam had the enjoyment of retrieving his ring from my scoop and placing it back where it belonged, on his finger. Time elapse…three minutes. The pictures tell it all!

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Cold Storage Beach holds diamond engagement ring overnight – found and returned – Cape Cod

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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A call for help came via a referral. E-mails followed; one with annotations on a beach photo nailed down the lost ring’s location. After I completed a few to-dos at home I headed off to the beach where I had to use a bit of compassion to have the parking fee waived. I parked, donned my gear and I was off, all set to search the beach. After an unsuccessful first round of searching, I changed detectors and headed back to the sand. I then spoke with a few beach sitters, who were waiting for the sun to set, as to just what I was doing so close to them. To my surprise I was told that they had been present the day before when the ring was lost. I was directed to an area just a few feet away that I had already searched, and Bingo, there was the platinum ring. I thanked the beach sitters as I showed them what I had been looking for and wished them a beautiful sunset and then I left to call Valerie.

A very excited Valerie made arrangements to meet the following day for the ring’s return. She showed up with a spectacular and very fragrant hyacinth and a lovely hand written Thank You card. Photos were taken and a few stories passed. A comment was made about my Japanese Red Maple tree and as it just so happened I had been growing a few and would not let Valerie leave without one for her yard.

A day of Smiles all around!

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Third ring found and returned in Harwich, Cape Cod, MA this week!

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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The difference in the meaning of « DEEP » water is relative to one’s height.

Mike’s loss was not noticed at once so my search area was within 3 areas and the path between them. A Google photo with the marked area and the fact he was playing with his kids my search plan was set. I started at low tide, and worked up the beach’s slope. The water was heavy with seaweed and I could search that area when the tide came in. After 2½ hours I was searching in the water but had little hope as I would be underwater at high tide and Mike was not when he lost his ring. Little did I know Mike stands well over 6’ tall and his head would still be above water long after I would have needed a long snorkel to stand next to him. I have dreamed of being that tall while detecting in deep water. Back to the search…I found the ring a half hour after entering the water within 10 feet of the center of the most likely area as identified by Mike on his area photo. If I only knew and there was not the floating seaweed, I may have found the ring in less time. Mike came to my home to pick up his ring of almost 13 years. What a personality, I knew I was in for an exciting talk form a very energetic man after only a few minutes on the phone with Mike. It was a memorable pleasure meeting Mike, his enthusiastic smile and returning his ring.

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Lost Ring while tossing ball with kids. Ring found in 5′ of water. Returned in 2 minutes.

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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A re-occurring scenario playing ball in the water, Patrick’s Platinum wedding band was knocked off his finger on 8/22. He and several friends, and children search with no result. Patrick reached out to me for help. I had one search that had to be done in the morning’s low tide. I showed up at 11:30am and was given the needed information to start the search. In setting up my gear, a dime signal was heard, but I was too eager to get into the area so I left the signal and headed out into deeper water. A penny was the next target and I did retrieve it. Than the big bang, one shallow scoop and there it was a nice round piece of Platinum. Two minutes at most…but it will be a wait for a picture of Patrick and his ring as he was in California. His wife’s smile will be shown in the Book of Smiles until Patrick’s photo can be obtained.

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Blessed by the Pope, Lost, Found and Returned Ring goes on, Harwichport, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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One ring that could never be replaced slipped from Christopher’s finger just less a few days of of 3 months of being placed there. The ring had quite a history. It had traveled to Ireland and Italy on a honeymoon, had a personal blessing by Pope Franciscus, and lost just yards away from where it origin had started. Chris had the presence of mind to take note of the location the ring slipped from his finger and then his wife contacted me via TheRingFinders.

I arrived and was told the ring was gold with a silver band of Celtic knots and it would be found 15-20 feet into the water when I aligned myself so I could see into the drain pipe protruding from the break-wall. Two pull tabs, three bottle caps and then a crazy signal…the detector had a difficult time distinguishing between the two metals. I thought I had trash and was very surprised to see the ring in my scoop. Smiles, hugs, and thank yous ended the emotional trauma of a very special ring’s short history and the beginning of a very long one.

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With a little help from friends, Lost Ring at First Encounter Beach Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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I did not find the ring, BUT my detecting partner, Jim DID.
A Google area photo helped, it lead Jim to the ring.
It is great to have help! Jim was heading off Cape and left the ring’s return up to me.
What a team, I can not wait until Jim returns next summer!

A NOTE FROM MATT:
Hi Rick, in addition to the thank you parcel headed for you and Jim. A donation has been made in your name to the Cape and Islands retired K9 relief fund. As an added bonus, my firm has matched my donation dollar for dollar. Rick we did a lot of good today. You were the catalyst! Thank you again for everything.

Godspeed, Matt

Matt H

Matt H ringRS

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