Rob Ellis, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 6 of 6

Grasonville MD Lost ring

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)
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Grasonville MD. Salt water, SCUBA 3 mil wetsuit, Excalibur detector, Garrett Pro and Vibra-quatic probes. Time 1:45 hours depth 4 to 7 feet.

I think it is important to also post the unrecovered calls. I suggest that even the rare “misses” are successful, in that the client knows he or she did all they could to find the item. I detail these events so you can learn and apply to your own experience.

After calling two other searchers, a very nice lady called about her lost her engagement ring. Two weeks before, while at Harris Crab House (a great restaurant) the diamond ring went missing. She was pretty sure that when the ring slipped off, it dropped in-between two boards, and went into 8 to 10 feet deep water below the dock. She immediately got a local diver (without a detector) to search, but he couldn’t find the ring. She then had a wading metal detectorist look, but he didn’t have SCUBA.

I called the manager and got permission to dive on the next Sunday morning. When I arrived, managers Bob and Mike were very accommodating. Bob told me the previous detectorist had been there twice. He also told me that he had experienced two other lost rings which were eventually found in the trash.

The entry depth was about 7 feet, but under the dock it was 4 feet deep. I asked the client to re-enact what happened. I then dropped a weighted line between the boards to where the ring fell. Before submerging, I checked the boards under the dock in case the ring landed on a cross beam.

The target area was small and had visibility of about six inches, so I initially used a 3’x 3’ PVC grid with the probes. I then searched the area again with the Excalibur detector. In the event the ring rolled off the dock or was moved, I extended my search area by several yards, but I only found trash.

I suppose it’s possible the ring didn’t actually make it into the water, or one or the other searchers accidently moved it. Being on SCUBA allowed me to get within inches of the bottom and have visual conformation on all targets. No matter what, I feel really bad I couldn’t find this nice lady’s ring.

If I can be of service, the fastest way to get me is by text at 703-598-1435. I will contact you back ASAP.

 

 

 

 

 

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Trip to Wintergreen VA

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)
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We took a mini-vacation with our friends G. & D. This time to the mountains of Wintergreen VA. It was kind of a long drive (3+ hours), but a beautiful place. Again, since I didn’t expect to SCUBA dive, I took my amphibious AT Pro instead of any one of my underwater detectors. I got to detect a couple of local lakes and found the usual trash and clad coins. Incredibly, the detector is so sensitive, I even found the back of an earring! In retrospect, I should have brought my SCUBA gear. While I was on a beach, a woman asked me to look for her GoPro camera. She had the spot, but it was too murky at about ten feet to find while snorkeling. The day before we left, I tried detecting a couple of hours on a ski slope. It was August, and pretty steep terrain. I felt a little like an anthropologist as I found clusters of items at certain areas. For instance, near the lift, there were many beer bottle caps and broken coat snaps. I can see in my mind the skiers settling down & enjoying a beer on the ride up. At the bottom of the actual slope, there were a few coins and broken pieces of ski boots. I’d love to go back in the spring, but I think I would need to be part billy goat because it was so steep. The photo is what I found at the lift and the slope. Afterwards, we had a fantastic dinner with G&D at Devils Backbone Basecamp Brewpub.

If I can be of service, the fastest way to get me is by text at 703-598-1435. I will contact you back ASAP.

Stuff from the ski slope.

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Vacation time

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)
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Grand Falls, MO

We went out to Missouri to visit family. Of course, any vacation should have a metal detector available. I took my AT Pro. It does a nice job for land/shallow water. My son and I checked out Grand Falls. It’s a beautiful place with some interesting history. We also spent a couple of hours at a beach near Branson, and I checked out a park in Galina. We found the usual stuff like fishing weights, pull tabs, bottle caps, bits of jewelry, and clad coins. Another interesting thing we did was detect near an old stump next to my son’s house. Before air conditioning and hundreds of channels on TV, people spent more time outside, under & around shade trees. We ended up finding old keys, coins, and other fun artifacts from the past. I would like to try some old trees on property which has a longer history.

If I can be of service, the fastest way to get me is by text at 703-598-1435. I will contact you back ASAP.

Rob & Son in Shoal creek, MO

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Cleaning up roofing nails

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)
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Found in the yard

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Jane & Ellen

Land/stock AT Pro. Land search, items recovered. 2 hours.

My lovely neighbors Jane & Ellen, (and their four footed owners Agi and Riley),had their roof replaced. Although the crew did a careful clean-up, my friends were concerned about missed roofing nails which could hurt the always active, Agi & Riley. I swept through the yard, trying my best to ignore any deeper signals. I spent a couple of hours and found about 40 nails and staples, bits of wire, a drill bit, and some trash. Although I tried to ignore the deeper targets, I couldn’t help it, and I dug a couple of clad coins from 5 or 6 inches down. As you can see in the photo, one of the nails has a square cap. I found that one in the back yard by a swinging bench. Not only was it pretty far from the roof, it was sticking straight up on packed mulch. Anyone (human or dog) who stepped on that would have noticed! I am so happy Jane and Ellen asked me to do this for them. Before, it hadn’t occurred to me that this would be a useful service. Everyone was very appreciative. I even got a thank you card from Agi & Riley!

If I can be of service, the fastest way to get me is by text at 703-598-1435. I will contact you back ASAP.

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Time to catch Up

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)
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After finding the rings in the James river, I had some interesting calls. For example, one call was a woman who wanted me to help her find an expensive ring she lost somewhere on her property. It could be “anywhere on the grounds, or even flushed down the toilet”. She couldn’t remember what she did with it, because she was “pretty drunk and angry”. If the school year hadn’t started, I might have tried to help her, but I declined and suggested she call some other Ringfinders in the area. Other calls were either out of the area or during a critical time at work and I couldn’t get there fast enough.

If I can be of service, the fastest way to get me is by text at 703-598-1435. I will contact you back ASAP.

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In the James River for over a year

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)
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9/24/16 Recovered: Engagement and Wedding rings set, lost last year in the James River.
SCUBA, 8’ to 10’ deep, 1:31 minutes, Garrett ATpro w/Gray Ghosts

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Equipment & river access.

In August, I got an email from Lindsay after she saw my listing in the Ring Finder’s directory. She lost the rings last year when a friend accidentally pulled them off her fingers. She had another detectorist do a search that summer, but he could not complete the recovery.

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The access to the river is on private property. With all the variables of work, family, and the schedules of the owners, it was difficult to schedule a day. We finally got to the river on a beautiful Saturday morning. My wife who is a certified divemaster, acted as my safety diver. Lindsay’s husband Brett, met us in a nearby town and we followed him to the property. A pleasant gentleman who is one of the landowners met us at the river.

Brett paddled out from the small dock to where he thought the rings dropped. He gave me every detail he could remember and placed me within 15 feet of where I found the rings. Brett’s memory and ability to find the location was invaluable. Lindsay was tenacious and never gave up hope. I am so glad I could help them recover the rings.

I have been metal detecting above and below the water for many years. This is my first recovery through Ring Finders. Thank you to Chris Turner for creating the directory and getting us together!

Rob

 

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The rings after more than a year in the silt.

Update:

Here are some photos Lindsay just shared. She also added a comment at the end of this post. I love this hobby:)

Rings after a cleaning.

Rings after a cleaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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