After being lost for more then 18 months, Courtney contacted me to search for her lost ring. She was in a panic because she was moving within a couple of weeks. After meeting at the site, I searched until the rains came. I returned twice more and after 2 1/2 hours I was able to find Courtney’s ring.
This ring find began when Gareth from Auckland, New Zealand called. It was already dark but as always I wanted to get this ring before the band of detectorists go into the water in the protected area of Waikiki. As Gareth was testing the water to see if he could take his baby girl in he didn’t realize that the swim through the wall had a drop off from 3 to 6 feet deep. As he stumbled he put his hand down to break his fall and when he pull his hand out of the coarse sand his ring was gone. The lifeguard told him to watch for a detectorist to come down the beach but after an hour none arrived. That’s when Gareth googled « Lost Ring Waikiki » and found the ring finders. When I arrived there was just enough ambient light from the hotels along the beach I didn’t need my headlamp. I went out to the drop off and immediately got a nice tone but the target kept moving around and away from my scoop. I abandoned that thinking it was a pull tab. About ten feet away I got another nice tone and two scoops down there was Gareth’s awesome gold ring glittering in my scoop. Elapsed time 3 minutes. Gareth thanked me many times over and said the vacation was saved. Aloha to Gareth!
This ring find started when I was called by Frank from Rochester, New York. While celebrating his 20th Anniversary Frank was enjoying the warm waters of Waikiki with his wife. After about two hours in the water Frank started heading into the beach when in about waist deep water his Gold Wedding Ring fell off in a wave. He tried looking with some goggles but the turbulent sand covered the ring out of sight. That evening he found « The Ring Finders » and sent me an email. I never got the email or responded so Frank decided to call. We decided to meet in Waikiki in about 45 minutes at the Burger King across from where he lost the ring. Frank showed me the extreme ends of the grid and in I went. It was high tide and the rollers were coming in fast & furious. It was hard to stay on target let alone scoop into solid reef. After the first grid search I went in to give Frank an update. The only target I could retrieve was an 8 ounce fishing weight. I asked Frank to join me in the water and act as a marker so I could stay on grid. While in the water Frank realized I needed to search more towards Diamond Head. On the fourth leg I got a decent tone and one scraping scoop across the reef low and behold there was Frank’s ring. I was actually shocked as several targets were unobtainable in the reef. I was relieved as it was getting late and the surf wasn’t subsiding. I looked over at Frank and said, « Got it! » He was like, « Really? » In the scoop lets start walking ashore and I’ll show you. I didn’t want to take a chance dropping the ring back on the reef. Frank was so thankful and still had a look of disbelief. Frank texted a pic to his wife and was so thankful his 20th ended on a high note. Aloha to Frank!
I received a call the other day from a young man who asked if I could help him find his lost gold wedding band in the garden. He found TheRingFinders directory on the Internet, while searching to find a way to locate his lost ring.
We talked about the search and it didn’t sound too difficult, sometimes garden searches can take minutes other times they can take hours. I loaded up my car and headed out to find his lost ring the next morning.
I met the young man at 10 AM and he show me his backyard where he believed his ring was lost, I asked him some questions and he told me he planted nine hedges, he felt the ring would be close by as spent most of the day in that area.
I began my search and to my surprise the area was covered in nails and iron. I was using my AT Gold metal detector and knew right away I should’ve brought a different machine that could handle the iron. Even though I knew what signal iron comes in on my detector I also knew it could mask and hide the gold signal, so I dug up every piece of iron I could find in the area as I was doing my search. This way I would not miss his ring.
After a couple hours we discussed removing the hedges and checking the holes, his wedding band could’ve fallen into the hole while he was planting them. But before that we talked a bit more and he saw a pipe in the grass & ivy and said… oh I dug that up and threw it over there…Bingo! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear! A throwing movement is what could cause a ring to come off his finger.
Not long after, I found his ring in the ivy! I was able to surprise the young man…But first I would call him outside to help remove the hedge, one at a time and check the holes…This would have taken a few more hours and some hard work!
We talked a bit about digging up the hedge, then I figured I made him sweat long enough and I showed him his ring!
You can watch the video below of the search…Thanks for watching, I love my job!
I got a call this evening from Linda, and she said she had lost her mother’s wedding ring and found me online on TheRingFinders.com so called. I asked the usual question, where and when did you lose the ring? She said yesterday in her house! I thought, ok, no way this is going to be where I can help, she just needs to keep looking and I offered helpful suggestions like re-trace your steps etc. and she said no, I know where I lost it, I just can’t find it! She said it is in my closet! After more discussion, she was certain she needed my help, so I said I would come help her, and grabbed my AT-Pro, a powerful light, and my niece, Karlie, who was kind enough to hold the light. for me and went along for the ride as an adventure!
The closet was a very small walk-in closet full of clothes hanging on all three sides, and Linda said she had her two rings in her hand when she was searching through the clothes, but then noticed she only had one of them. She searched and searched, tearing everything out of the closet but no luck.
I collapsed my AT-Pro shaft down as far as it would go and went in searching. It was dinging like crazy due to all the other metal in there, and even turning the sensitivity down all the way didn’t help, so I asked her what it was made of and she said white gold, so I knew I was looking for around a 50 VDI and could ignore the others. I started poking and brushing the coil IN MY HAND against all the clothes and got signals for every metal button, but narrowed it down to a 51 reading in a bunch of sweaters, then taking each one by the sleeve, I found it in the cuff of a green sweater!
I popped it onto my finger then stepped out the door and asked her if it had any special shape or anything, and she said it was heart shaped, so I said « kind of like this? » and she screamed and hugged me for what seemed like 5 minutes and jumped for joy. Her husband said I made her very happy.
This was the first time I used my detector to find something in a closet, but chalk it up to a Found and Returned for a very appreciative lady who is now reunited with her mother’s diamond and white gold ring! Karlie and I were thrilled to be a part of it and I even rewarded her for helping me also!
This ring find began on Thursday afternoon when I got a call from Janett who lives at Schoefield Barracks in Wahiawa Hawaii. She had taken her two boys to the resort lagoons to play and while she was applying their suntan lotion she took her rings off and placed them on a blanket. When play time was over she gathered up the beach gear and headed off to the showers to wash off the sand her boys had gotten all over themselves. While there she realized her rings were missing and immediately went back to their spot on the beach to try and find them. The sand swallowed them up so she informed security who gave her my number. I told her it was getting late and I would search first thing Friday morning. Janett texted me a pic of the ring and one of her boy playing on the beach so I would have a general sense of where they were. When I arrived the next morning I was able to use some distance markers in the pic to triangulate a grid. Several coins and metal junk targets later I got a loud concentrated tone and one scoop down I found one of Janett’s rings. This one wasn’t the Solitaire. I continued on but couldn’t find the other half. I noticed the tracks of the sand cleaning tractor nearby and wondered if it had consumed the ring. It appeared to fall short of the grid area but where was that other ring? I finally got through to Janett whose phone was on the charger. I explained to her the other ring wasn’t here. I talked her through the scenario again and told her it was possible the diamond prong may have snagged a thread and was still on the blanket. I told her to go through all her items and that of the boys. She did it once already but said she’d look again. I expanded my grid a bit then gave up. I called Janett to coordinate the return of the ring half that I found and when she answered the phone I could tell she had been crying. When she emptied the boy’s beach bucket the other ring went tink-tink onto the floor. She was so relieved after thinking it was gone forever. We met at Denny’s and put the ring set back together the way it belonged. Great way to end the days hunting. Aloha to Janett.
This ring find began when I got a call Thursday from Arnie and Debbie who live in Skokie, Illinois. They were visiting his Aunt & Uncle and taking in a day at the beach. Then while his lovely wife Debbie was wading in waist deep water off Duke’s in Waikiki her engagement ring fell off. They tried to find the ring with a snorkel and goggles and a detectorist also went in for them but the ring was not to be found. Arnie then googled « lost ring Waikiki » and that’s how he found « the ring finders ». I told Arnie I lived 10 minutes away and I’d meet them in front of the hotel. When I arrived and went down to the beach it was high tide and the rollers were coming in. It was going to be a challenge staying in grid. Arnie directed me from shore and I attempted my best to stay in line. After a penny and a pull tab I got a nice low gold tone but had a rough time in the surge getting the target in the scoop. Finally on the fifth try I looked in the scoop and bingo there was Debbie’s beautiful ring. I looked towards shore and gave them a thumbs up. I let them look into the scoop and the pure look of elation came over Debbie’s face. She really didn’t believe it would be found. Vacation saved. Aloha to Debbie & Arnie!
Long time Metal Detectorist helping to find lost rings and jewelry on beaches, sand, parks, lakes, and wherever you have lost things, in and around Orange County, CA.
Searching for lost items is a hobby of mine and I have found hundreds of rings and other valuables on the Beach in the sand and water, and in parks, lakes, event sites, soccer fields, baseball fields etc.
Please contact me if you have lost something in the areas near these cities, Orange, Villa Park, Buena Park, Anaheim, Tustin, Riverside, Redlands, Santa Ana, San Bernardino, Corona, and Norco or near these areas, and I will assist.
I have several detectors and the skills to use them to help find your item before someone else does!
Please find my information on the “The Ring Finders” site https://theringfinders.com/ or via email: mailto:george.hicks@theringfinders.com
I look forward to helping you find that lost ring or heirloom.
George Hicks
This ring find began when I got a call from Phil who was visiting from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was enjoying a day at the beach with his lovely wife Heather. Heather took her ring off and placed it in a pocket of her sweater which her Mom Allison was wearing later in the day unbeknownst to her that the ring was in the pocket. Long story short the ring ended up missing and they concluded when Mom handed Heather some keys on the beach the ring must have fallen out. They spent some time searching the beach rental home and the beach area where the keys were exchanged but no sign of the ring was found. Phil googled « lost ring Oahu » and that’s where he found the ring finders. Thankfully the kids are on Spring Break otherwise the trip to Kailua would have been painful in rush hour traffic. This was a record for me it only took about 30 minutes. Phil met me on the road and directed me to a parking spot. I grabbed my gear and we headed down to the beach. Heather & Allison were guarding the area and a few people walking on the beach wished us luck. I marked my grid and went to work. After about 15 minutes 51 cents, four Corona bottle caps, some aluminum foil and a small washer I finally got a loud shallow target. One scoop down and there in my scoop was a beautiful blue sapphire ring with diamonds. I told Heather this must be my ring as she came over to look. Oh my gosh…that’s it she exclaimed. Everyone was so appreciative and they invited me over to the beach house for a refreshment. Good old Southern hospitality just like Hawaii’s Aloha! We discovered that Heather’s Mom Allison and I served in the Navy at the same time. Great friends and a ring find I won’t soon forget. Aloha to Heather, Allison & Phil.
In August 2016, while searching for a lost wedding ring in the water, I came across a Boston College ring buried underwater in the sand. Someone had tried to scratch out the owner’s name, but with the help of a magnifying glass, I was able to identify the name, Christopher P. Martin. I searched the internet and social media for months trying to find him. I even called Boston college twice to enlist their help in locating this graduate but that didn’t help. After six months of searching, I decided to contact WJAR Channel 10 to see if they could help me in my quest to find the owner of the ring, and they agreed. After the story aired on Channel 10, I still didn’t hear anything. My wife had an idea. Through the Boston College website, she connected with the Facebook of the Class of 1998. She messaged both Chris Martin and a college friend of his with a link to the Channel 10 story. Her detective work and the Channel 10 story paid off! The friend forwarded the link to Chris Martin, and he contacted me. Chris told me that his apartment was broken into about 15 years ago and his Boston College ring was stolen. He agreed to do a follow-up story about the ring return with Channel 10. With the help of my wife and Channel 10, I was able to reunite the ring with its owner. As you can see from the videos and photo, Chris was very happy to have this ring back! videos…….. Local man finds lost Boston College ring and Missing ring reunited with owner