Lost Diamonds & Gold Engagement Ring at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki…FOUND!!!


This ring find began when I got a frantic call from Rebecca who was visiting from Happy Valley, Oregon on her 20th Anniversary celebration in Waikiki at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. While her husband Levi was reproposing to her in waist deep water her original Diamonds & Gold Engagement Ring dropped into the water. With Rebecca running ashore Levi stood on the spot where the ring fell. He looked with goggles but the ring disappeared in the soft sand. Levi continued to stay on the spot when Rebecca went to the Concierge Desk for help. After a short Google search they found « The Ring Finders » and gave me a call. I had just returned home when my daughter Jodi handed me the phone and said Hilton Hawaiian Village is on the call. I spoke briefly to Rebecca and told her I’d load my detecting gear and be there in about 15 minutes. When I arrived Rebecca met me on the beach and Levi was still standing on the spot in the water. I immediately entered the water and talked to Levi for some details. He admitted that he may have moved a bit over time but was in the general area. This beach is heavily detected and Levi had been standing in the water for over an hour so I was sure the ring was still there. I had a great sounding target but it fell through my scoop twice so I moved on knowing it couldn’t be the ring. Searching around Levi didn’t pan out so I decided to do a grid search. I started at the furtherest point to the East and worked West. Levi was a real trooper and stayed in the water with me as my seaward marker. I looked toward shore and saw Rebecca with the saddest expression ever on her face. I thought to myself I really need to hurry up and find this ring. BOOM!!! A few seconds later I had great tone and in one gentle scoop there was Rebecca’s ring. Levi is a big dude and he gave me a crushing hug and a « thank you so much ». « You are most welcome » I said. Several tourists on the beach were stunned and made many of the standard remarks. « Cool, Awesome, Way to go detector man » When Levi presented Rebecca with her original Engagement Ring tears of joy ran down her face. These are the best moments of this hobby. Another Anniversary vacation in Hawaii has a sweet ending. Aloha to Rebecca & Levi!


Mr. Rod wrote, « My name is Rod. I, after bathing my dog in the yard, discovered that my wedding band was missing. Having been married for 43 years, I was very disappointed to lose it and I searched frantically with the help of about 10 friends for 6 days without success.



I received a call from Mr. Robin inquiring information about « Underwater Metal Detecting ». You see, he runs a unique day camp for kids during the summer months and has a number of young adults that help work with the little ones doing all sorts of outdoor activities. In January of 2018, one of the young adult men, named Frankie, was on the dock, horsing around with some of his friends, when he decided to dive into the chilly water. And yes, the lakes are fairly cold during the winter months here in Central Florida, at least to us thin blooded Floridians! Well, Frankie dove in a couple of times and after his 3rd dive, as he was coming up the ladder he noticed his gold chain and cross were not around his neck! This chain and cross was a gift from his grandmother and he just had to find it and get it back around his neck. He and the others dove numerous times hoping to find it, but each time they came up with only weeds and clam shells. Later on they even had someone with scuba gear try and locate it but soon they realized they needed someone with a metal detector. Thankfully I was able to get my scuba certification and I agreed to try and find Frankie’s lost chain and cross.




Mark and his dear wife were in the middle of packing up their belongings for the big move and he could not stop thinking about the special gold ring he lost in the yard over 20 years ago. This unique ring was a gift to Mark from his late father, who hand crafted the ring from gold he collected as a dental technician. One day while washing his hands off in the yard he realized his ring must have fallen into the thick grass. Mark desperately looked around the spigot and along the short path he had taken from the garage, but could not find his lost gold ring. Years passed and Mark sort of gave up hope of ever getting his ring back and then the day came for him to sell his house and move to another location. As the moving day got closer, Mark toyed with the thought of renting a metal detector to look for his ring and that led him to one of my stories on theringfinders.com web site. Mark was intrigued with all the success stories and decided to give me a call. We made arrangements for Friday and I showed up ready for the challenge. Mark showed me the small area where he thought the ring was lost and I fired up my Garrett ATMax, set it to ZERO mode, ground balanced and put on just a little iron discrimination. (Mark was not real sure of the gold content of the ring and I did not want to miss being able to detect it.) I looked around the water spigot and gradually made my way out into the super thick St. Augustine grass! I dug a couple of pennies down four inches or so and 10 minutes into my search I got a solid signal that showed « 50 » on the display. Mark had watched me carefully dig the pennies with my 10 inch pointed screw driver and on this target he was ready with his shovel, assuring me he could pop out a nice big plug in no time. What could I say, it was his lawn! As I laid the big plug on it’s side I poked my trusty Garrett pro pointer into the dirt and it sounded off a good 8 inches down in the hole. And as I brushed the dirt from the target, a glint of gold showed itself and low and behold there was Mark’s long lost ring!! You talk about one happy camper! He gave me a big hug and then ran into the house to show his wife the ring and then he ran to the neighbors house to show them. What a thrill it was to dig up Mark’s ring and to see the sheer joy and happiness on his face. Maybe you have lost a ring and want me to try and find it for you! I would be honored to help! Call ASAP!
