Lost ring in the sand, Mantoloking NJ, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder
It was late in the evening when I received a text from Connie asking if I would be able to assist in finding a beautiful ring they lost on the beach earlier that day. After texting back and fourth we decided to have her call as it was much easier. Mark and Connie were very anxious to recover the ring, so we decided to meet on the beach in about 30 min. due to the amount of beach traffic, and also the location of the ring possibly being pulled into the ocean, as the tide was coming in. We had one picture they had taken, which would assist in lining up the location, and a few holes their daughter had been digging that day. I arrived first and headed out to begin searching. It was very dark that night, so with the one picture Connie had sent I started to line up a spot with the landscape in the background. After doing a quick search of the first spot I noticed the flagpole I had used was not the correct one, then realized many houses had flagpoles. Moving down the beach a bit. I started another search in a spot that looked promising, by then Mark and Connie had arrived, and the second spot turned up empty. We all got together to examine the picture one more time, and found a spot just a little further which looked very promising. If you have ever been on the beach on a dark night, you will realize that lining up a small location with a picture, while also figuring out the correct angle it was taken from is quite challenging!!! Well, needless to say, after a few short sweeps of the 3rd spot, bingo, I got the signal I was waiting patiently to hear. To Mark and Connie’s amazement, the ring was in my scoop.
Dave, my Son-In-Law got a call Tuesday morning from Gina asking could he please help her find her Father’s ring in the Gulf of Mexico. David had to work that day so he asked me to help Gina. Her Father had since passed away and she was overwrought emotionally and ardently sentimental about the loss of his heirloom. To Gina the ring is a significant and permanent connection spirituality with her Father that was on her finger everyday and just had to be reclaimed. The ring was lost in about waist deep water at low tide but the horizontal plain was quiet large, perhaps 300 to 400 feet. Another factor revolved around the weather forecast. A tropical system was forecast to arrive that evening with large surf and gale force winds. If the ring wasn’t recovered before the weather arrived the probability of recovery would be significantly diminished. The beach she visited is part of the Gulf Islands Seashore and Park Management does not allow metal detection in the Park without a Special Permit. I have performed several recoveries of property for Gulf Islands Guests in the pass and contacted Park Staff for a permit only to learn that everyone was gone this day. The Park had an All-Hands-On-Deck wildfire in progress and I couldn’t get in touch with anyone. After several hours I did get in touch with a staff member who said to send an email requesting a permit and (in not so many words) that should cover my back. Because lots of time had passed in travel and permit issue and with weather issues on the horizon and most importantly, because Gina put her trust in me and I couldn’t fathom disappointing her, I arrived on the beach in early afternoon and Gina was their waiting on me. The search took about 4 hours before I heard the unmistakable vivacious, exuberant, resonance of gold. I immediately broke into a wide grin that got Gina’s attention. I exited the water and returned her ring to her hand and she put it back on the finger where it belongs. Both David and I are more that happy that we were able to made things right for Gina that day!