Uncategorized Category | Page 450 of 497 | The Ring Finders

I was doing some metal detecting for fun in a local lake swimming area last week when I found a big gold ring.  The ring said Oxygen Service on it and there were initials and a date inscribed inside the band.  I was pretty sure that I’d be able to find the owner, but I had no idea that this ring had such a tumultuous past.

I Googled ‘Oxygen Service’ to see what it meant and found that it was a local company that services the welding business.  That’s when I knew that the ring must have been someone’s service ring for working for the company.  So I called up the company, explained the situation and asked if there was anyone there with the same  initials that  engraved on the ring.  The person immediately knew who it was and put me right through to him.  That’s when I learned about how the owner lost the ring.

Steve’s home was burglarized some time in 2006 and several items were taken, including Steve’s gold company service ring.  Steve had long given up on ever getting the ring back because after the burglars were apprehended, they said that they sold the ring and there was no trace as to who had bought it.   But somehow, after 8 years, I found the ring in a roped off swimming area a few miles from Steve’s home.  We will never know how the ring ended up in 4 feet of water, but Steve and I were thrilled to see it back where it belongs.  On Steve’s finger!

Emma Shaw & friends found themselves playing volley ball in one of the many open areas in the sand dunes of Studland Beach. The beach was extensively used in WW2 as a training ground for the forthcoming D-Day landings and a practice bombing range too. Some craters were so large they still exist today as tennis court size ‘bowls’ and it was in one of these bowls Emma & friends found themselves playing.
During the game she accidentally ripped her chain and pendants from around her neck sending them flying in all directions. The chain and two pendants were found immediately but her third disappeared. It was her precious VW Camper she had bought as a teenager with the wish to one day buy a real one of her own.
The first attempt lasted 2 hours but we was unsuccessful. Though the sand looked clean the amount of bomb shrapnel and lead underneath was phenomenal and the scoop was used on nearly every single sweep.
The second attempt lasted another hour and a half- this time a new location but equally the same amount of junk. I was beginning to lose hope when suddenly from the bottom of the scoop, expecting more shrapnel, lay a cute little silver

VW. My patience and perseverance were tested on this recovery as I could not afford to ignore any signal large of small. Emma has promised a donation to the Margaret Green Animal Rescue Centre shortly.
Emma unfortunately had a sad week losing her pendant and other things and Im very pleased to have made her a little happier recovering something so small and yet so massively important to her.

Mr & Mrs David Pocklington from Datchet were enjoying a few days away and staying at friends in Swanage.
Having spent all day on the beach, a little wet, some sand and the fact his ring was always a little loose- laying down he actually felt it slip from his finger and fall close by. The sand this time of year is fine, dry and deep so the ring disappeared instantly.
I received the call from Dave who was only 30 seconds walk from my home and started a search immediately

. Three sweeps, reassuring hum of white gold and there it was.
Very relieved to have it back Dave has promised to make a donation to the Margaret Green Animal Rescue Centre very shortly.

Mr & Mrs Peter Munsie from Bristol were enjoying their holiday by visiting Southbourne Beach with their children. Like many careful people they placed their valuables in items of clothing etc and on this occasion Peters Wedding ring was placed through the watch strap.
Later when the watch was taken from the bag the ring slipped off in the process and dropped somewhere into the soft sand.
I received the call from Peters wife Jo explaining the situation but I was still at work at the airport. It would take a few hours to travel back home, grab my kit and travel all the way back again. Southbourne beach is regularly visited by beach combers so it was important to get there before them. I managed to borrow an old C-Scope from a friend who lived near the airport so as I finished work I got the detector, met the couple and found the ring within a minute or two.
Peter and Jo were very very pleased to get the ring back and have promised to make a generous donation to the Margaret Green Animal Rescue Center.
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Mr & Mrs Roy Lunio from Lancashire were enjoying their holiday on Studland Beach. Like many careful people Roy decided to keep his wedding ring in his jeans pocket for safe keeping whist he enjoyed a swim.
Like many people Ive come across he forgot that he had put it there so when he changed back into his jeans later – it fell out. He searched anxiously for an hour raking the sand with his fingers to no avail.
Three days after losing it we got in contact and he gave me a good location to search. With on lookers I searched the area and whilst still on the phone with Rob up popped the ring.
I returned the ring to him by special post and Roy has made a generous donation to The Margaret Green Animal Rescue Centre

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Mr & Mrs Garry Glover from Binfield, Berkshire were holidaying on Studland Beach on another beautiful summers day.
Building sand castles with his daughter on the wet sand when Garry returned to his towel he noticed with horror that his wedding band had slipped off. He called the Ring Finders & I was lucky enough to be only half an hour away.
Within 5 minutes the CTX gave an almighty yelp indicating something big! After only one scoop laying at the bottom was his ring.
A very happy Garry was chuffed to bits to get it back and will make a donation very soon.

I got a call from Katina G. this morning asking me to find her ring that she had lost. The call was a message on my phone so after playing some phone tag with Tim G., her husband, we finally connected and he gave me the story. I met Tim and Katina tonight with their have 2 small children and a new born baby. Tim works at the site where the ring was lost in the front yard of the building. They had looked for it for a while with no luck so Katina went on to Google and found the ring finders and after reading some of my stories decided to give me a call. I had been moving for a friend all day and told her I would go out after 5PM. I talked to Tim and he gave me an address of the mailbox the ring was near and being familiar with the area I proceeded to the spot. I got out my detector and started to grid a grassy area along the street. It had rained and I saw a sewer along the curb and running water in the gutter. I was afraid that it may have fallen in the street and went down the sewer, just then I got a 52 reading on my Fisher F75 and under a clump of grass about a foot from the curb was her ring.

I called Tim and asked how we could meet and he happened to be going to a meeting with the family and would meet me at the spot where I found it. 20 minutes later I met Katina, Tim and the family giving them my card and taking some pictures we went on our way. What a beautiful couple and family, finding the ring for them and making them happy made me happy. An end to a great day.

My detecting partner Dave B. and I were out today at Holland State Park detecting in both the water and the sand. It was a cloudy day and the rain had just stopped so the beach was empty of bathers. While I was in the water Dave started gridding an area in the sand and came across a Samsung S5 cellphone. The signal on his AT Pro indicated junk and he was not going to dig but dug anyway and about 4 inches down there was the phone. We continued to hunt for another hour or so and went back into Grand Rapids to find the owner. We stopped at a T mobile office as that was the service provider. Because of privacy matters they could not give us a name but told us the subscriber lives in Florida.They took my name and number and said the party would get in touch with me. About 2 hours after I got home I got a call from Anthony M. he ask « do you have my phone » and I told him the story and he said he was at the park Sunday and it fell out of his pocket and couldn’t find it in the sand. We agreed to meet him at his house tonight after he got out of work and exchange the phone.

Dave and myself met Anthony at his house  and he was very happy to get his phone back. He explained that his sister in Florida has the plan and he is on it, that cleared up the mystery of the Florida connection. We thought that maybe the person who lost the phone was vacationing at the State Park.

Here is a picture of Anthony and the phone.

Got a call Sunday from Roger R. telling me his niece, Kim C., lost her white gold diamond ring in the lake while throwing a basketball during a fun filled day  of festivities in the water. When you look at the picture below you will see that Roger and his wife Kathy have a swimming area designed for big, fun parties. My partner Dave B. and myself took the 2 1/2 hour drive to their house and got our wet suits on and entered the water on an overcast Monday and started our search. We got several hits on the way out to the basketball hoop that was set up to play water ball. Roger told us that he had searched with a snorkel for hours around the hoop and other places in the swim area only to give up and call me. Our target area was around the hoop and about 15 minutes into the search Dave B. pulled up the ring with his AT Pro. We continued to search while slowly walking up to the beach and asked Roger if he had some coffee we would like to give it a rest for a bit. In the meantime we gave him what we found. Dave B. handed him one at a time a dime, penny, a nickel, a quarter, another penny and Roger said « wow » there’s a lot of change out there. I then started the same thing with a handful of change and a needle and bottle cap. Roger, looking a little down with nothing to show other than change I said « Oh there is this too » and I put the ring in his hand and he was stunned. He could not believe we found it after all the searching he went through. We took some pictures and he sent them to his niece then we went up for that cup of coffee. After some great conversation with Roger, a retired special ed school teacher, we took a ride around the lake in his pontoon boat and then packed up and went home.

We stopped to eat on the way home and got a text while at the restaurant from Roger saying that Kim got the pictures and was so happy she said « she would do anything 4 you both ». The smiles, coffee, conversation, and a boat ride around the lake was reward enough. This service of theringfinders is the most rewarding job I have ever done in my 40 years of detecting. Thank you Chris Turner for your foresight with theringfinders.

Kim was not available for a picture so when I receive it I will edit this post