Lost Engagement Ring in The South Hill ….FOUND!!!!
« Maya,Maya,Maya, » Maya scolded herself as she looked down at her engagement ring that was missing off of her ring finger. See, Maya had made a very well thought out decision. She had removed her engagement ring off of her finger right before she began gardening. The ring was placed in the top pocket of her shirt. Then Maya began the task of filling up a raised garden bed with rich black potting soil. The task was tedious but after the work was completed Maya was pleased with herself. This feeling however, withdrew itself and morphed into dread. The pocket holding the ring, was empty. Searching that day and at night and then the next morning, did not uncover her ring. Maya asked Reddit for some advice and found The Ring Finders. So that morning she sent me a text. I called and discussed the details with Maya and made plans to come by after work. Arriving at Maya’s house, I could see her upset face coming down the stairs. We made our way to her backyard and I set my detector up. Hearing a bunch of signals under the ground, I looked around and her yard seemed to grow larger. Upon hearing that the ring was in the top pocket of her shirt, I knew all the signals were not her ring. Maya showed me a picture of the ring as I headed to the garden bed. The little puck coil on my Equinox 800 made a nice digging tool as I plunged it into the fresh soil. I made a few dozen stabs at the dirt. With a void of signals to be heard I was very optimistic when the detector sounded off and showed a 5-6 on the screen. « Let’s see if this is it » I said and turned on my pinpointer. The signal was a few inches down and I grabbed it quite easily. Sifting the dirt through my hand the ring slipped through my grasp. Using the pinpointer again to confirm I hadn’t made the ring disappear, the rim peaked out. I had found it finally. Maya was fully relieved and overwhelmed with the whole ordeal. She gave me a nice smile as I took my photos. The best intentions lead to some unforseen outcomes sometimes. But the best advice, is still, to leave your rings in a safe place where you can find them easily and not take a chance and take them along with you.
Kerry called during the day and left a message wondering if I would be able to help find his lost wedding ring on the beach in Wildwood NJ. I called him right back to go over some of the details about how he lost his ring. Kerry explained he was on the beach with his family, playing with the dogs, and when he looked at his hand he noticed his wedding ring missing. He was very detail oriented, recalling every move leading up to the beach episode. After going over every detail of the day, he distinctly remembered having it on at dinner, and was almost positive it came off while playing with the dogs on the beach. Well, then he mentioned that he had searched the entire area with a metal detector and had no luck. They had also walked back and fourth the entire distance many times. If you know this beach it’s quite a vast area, kinda like walking to another zip code or two. I hope that brought things into perspective a bit. It was getting dark so they threw in the towel for the day, and returned the next morning with rakes to rake the entire area with hopes the ring would pop up. With no luck, it was time for them to pack up and head back home. I asked him to mark the exact location on his cell phone, with the GPS feature on Google Maps, and send it to me with a picture of his ring, and I would head right there after work. I parked right by the boardwalk, grabbed my gear and headed out to the beach. I opened the location he sent and somehow it was right where I was standing on the beach just beyond the boardwalk. I figured I would follow the dog tracks, but with the wind blowing about 30 knots they were getting covered by the drifting sand. Kerry had mentioned that he was straight out, and roughly 50′ from the high tide line, which was a good thing. Once I got close to the water I was able to see the area they had been raking earlier that morning, without that mark I highly doubt I would have been able to find the spot. Another huge thing in their favor was that the area was flat wet sand from from the prior high tide, and even though it had been raked quite a bit, didn’t blow flat, with the screaming south east wind. I turned on my machine, made one path around the perimeter, and on my return path Bingo!!! My machine gave off the sweet sound of success. A nice solid low tone, which I knew immediately was Kerry’s ring. Once back at my truck, I called his relatives phone hoping they were in town, but they were not. Then I called Kerry with the good news, and arranged to meet him at a later date to return his ring. another great recovery in the books.
