My Sunday started out with my BFF and detecting buddy Cheryl Clark of Gulf Shores and I attending church followed by a lovely fellowship lunch where we indulged in some delicious homemade goodies. Afterward, we set out for one of our favorite detecting honey holes …. Only to arrive there and realize that one of us (I’m not naming names !) had forgotten our detector. Slightly disappointed, we decided to head back home and call it a day.
As we drove to Cheryl’s house, we decided to see what was showing at a nearby movie theater. As luck would have it, something we wanted to see was starting soon so we ran home to change clothes, grab the missing detector since it usually stayed in my car, and head to the movies at The Wharf in Orange Beach. It was interesting that, during that drive, I was thinking out loud and shared with Cheryl that I felt that there was a reason we couldn’t detect that day and that God must have wanted us at the movies instead for some reason.
With the movie almost over, I saw a call on my watch from an unknown number and a voice mail. Sneaking my phone out, I read a message from Jason that he believed his wife Florence had lost a very sentimental ring the day before …… At The Wharf ! I quickly texted him and let him know that we happened to already be right there and that I would call him back in about 20 minutes. The movie ended and we walked out to meet up with Jason and Florence. They relayed to us that they had attended a car show there the day before. Florence remembered that she had taken her family heirloom ring off to put lotion on her hands, and thought maybe she had it still in her lap when she got out of the car. They had searched the car and the parking lot already and had even had someone at their hotel come take the sink apart in case it had fallen in the drain.
Looking over the vast gravel parking lot, Cheryl and I exchanged a knowing glance. This was gonna be a tough one – almost impossible in fact ! The chances of someone else having spotted it on the hard, flat ground and picking it up seemed high. Nevertheless, we set out with our detectors to search. An hour and a couple of pocketfuls of pull tabs, bottle caps and miscellaneous metal bits and pieces later and still no ring, the disappointed couple felt like they really needed to set out on their drive back home to Louisiana. We told them we would stick around and look just a little while longer. Just as I watched them drive off, I heard an excited “whoop whoop” from Cheryl and, against all odds, there in her hand was Florence’s beautiful platinum and diamond ring !! I quickly called Jason’s number and asked if they could turn around and come back. I was trying to sound nonchalant but he could hear Cheryl’s excited voice in the background as we were ooing and aahing over the stunning ring. The look on Florence’s face was priceless as she tearfully slipped “Grandma Florence’s” ring back on her finger. She and Jason agreed that our serendipitously being at the theater that day instead of 30 miles away detecting was truly meant to be !
Although I live in Mobile and Cheryl lives in Gulf Shores, we metal detect together often and frequently tag team or join together to look for lost jewelry for folks. So, no matter which side of Mobile Bay you’re on, Cheryl and I just might be in the right place at the right time !
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.
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.
I got a text one evening from my old boss, he was asking it if still do recoveries. He explained that he was on the beach and a guy was digging around in the sand looking for something. He couldn’t help but ask what he was doing, and he said looking for my wedding ring. With that he told them about my and exchanged my information. Alex called a few minutes later and we went over what happened. He had decided to jump into the ocean for a swim, but prior to doing so, placed his ring and other stuff he was holding into his pants pocket. I had to head right there due to the fact that beach is heavy detected, and the ring might not last overnight. We walked right out to the surf as the tide was coming on rather quickly. Alex had some things marking the area, and i quickly started searching down low on the hill. He was pretty sure his stuff was up higher but I just wanted to make sure before the water got too far up. I completely covered the area we thought the ring would be, without any sign of the ring. Alex and his wife Carlie were on vacation and has to leave, as some friends were up at the restaurant waiting for them. I wasn’t given up just yet, and continued to search the path they had taken back to the dune walkway. With the very deep/soft white powdery sand the Jersey beaches have, it was no to easy seeing right where they had walked. After walking half way back, I turned around and did another sweep back to the water with no luck again. Spreading out even further to the north I located his ring about 150’ from the high tide line. I quickly called him, hoping to catch them before they left the area, which I did. We met on the boardwalk where I handed his ring back, which made the end of his vacation fantastic.
It was a beautiful day at Gulf Shores. The family was visiting from Indiana, it was like a reunion. Their first day at the beach. Everything was going great when Lisa chased a little one before he got in water. She was wearing a top with her rings safely tucked away in a pocket that may not have been closed correctly. As she ran to the child, she took off the top and threw it towards her chair and towel. It was much later that she discovered her rings were missing. They called me for some help. I met them at their condo late that afternoon. Her husband Jason, had a fellow with a detector look for it earlier with no luck. Jason tested the detector on a gold chain and it wasn’t able to find it. So, when I got there the first thing Jason asked was will it find gold. He then tossed his gold chain in the sand for a test. Naturally my detector screamed at the chain. I explained that my detector was a state of the art machine and as far as I’m concerned the best on the market. Jason and Lisa pointed out the area they had been and weren’t sure if it was lost on the sand from the discarded top, the water or maybe some place else. Fortunately the tossed top seemed to be the logical place to start. From that point it didn’t take long to recover Lisa’s rings. Jason and Lisa couldn’t believe I was able to find it, commenting a needle in a hay stack. I could feel the tension unwind with family members now that the emergency was over. Everyone’s happy, vacation’s back on. Seeing the situation whole again is the best part being a Ring Finder. 
