Gold Pendent Lost in Nashville-Found!
Brooke contacted me even though she was in Nashville and I was in Chattanooga. There are two ring finders in the Nashville area, but neither of them were available. I agreed to go, even though it was about a two-and-a-half-hour drive for me. She had lost a gold pendant while she was competing in a charity event at a local golf course. The pendent was from her late grandfather, so it had a lot of sentimental value. I left early enough from the Chattanooga area to get there by 6:00AM so we could get started before the course opened. That event was a sack race. They were not on the fairways, but in the grass off to the side. I’m not familiar with the course layout, but I think it was off to the side of tee box #10 where they had the sack race. Brooke had previously gotten permission from the course manager. The first thing I did was scan the edges of the cart paths, and it was not there, except for a square pull-tab. Yep, those are everywhere we go. Fortunately, someone had taken a video clip of the sack race, and I could clearly see she had the pendent on during the race. But more importantly, I could use that to hone in on where the race took place. From the viewpoint of the video there were several small trees on the left background. In the left foreground there was a grassy hill that had been scalped on the top by the mowers. On the right very edge of the screen I saw a homeowner’s metal fence that was bordering his back yard. So, using those landmarks I was able to pinpoint exactly where the sack race took place. Most of the grass there was short enough to see the pendent if you walked close to it. Some of the grass was tall enough to hide an object that small, so that’s where I focused my detecting first. While I was scanning the taller grass, Brooke asked if there was anything she could do. I said most of this grass is short enough that you could most likely see it if you walked right over it. So, knowing exactly where the race had taken place, I had started scanning around halfway to the finish line where the taller grass was, and Brooke started walking ahead of me near the finish line where the shorter grass was. After around twenty minutes or so, I saw Brooke lean over and pick something up, she said, “I found it!” It was visible if you walked right over it, so someone else could have seen it before we got there. Fortunately, it was still there.
Hal called me about 4 in the afternoon to see if I could find his wife’s lost wedding ring. He and his family were staying near the Alabama beaches and decided to take their boat out to a secluded beach in Florida called Johnson Beach. Johnson Beach is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and the ring was lost on the intercostal side of the beach. Hal sent me a location and there wasn’t a way for me get to them by car without a 3 or 4 mile walk through the National Seashore which doesn’t allow metal detecting for archeology reasons. I tried calling the Park service for a permit but I think everyone was off work and I got a recording. I discussed this with Hal and he said he would come get me from a marina several miles away. By the time I got to where the ring was lost the sun was getting pretty low in the sky! his wife was afraid she would never see her ring again. the area to search wasn’t that big but the water was dark from recent rain. I ask lots of questions about what they were doing to try and pinpoint the location to start the search. His wife and daughter described at one point they were in the water doing cheers routines and animated with their arms the activity. It was the clue I was hoping for and asked about where they were. They identified and areas about 10 foot wide and I started the search. Within 10 minutes I got the unmistakable tone of a gold ring. Ring recovered, everyone happy and I didn’t get arrested by the Park police, a good day all around! 
