It was a hot July summer day in Seattle and Mike has applied sun screen all over his hands and arms. Then he decides to take a dip in Lake Washington to cool off when a little wave came by from some passing boats. As he moved his arms through the water off goes his white gold wedding ring! He knows the location tries to search for it but just can’t get to it.
Some internet searching and he finds the SeattleRingHunter and the search is ON!
Rachel’s High School Class Ring Recovered from the Depths of the Atlantic Ocean!
Rachel Happily Reunited with Her Special Class Ring!
BRIAN RUDOLPH, LOST ITEM RECOVERY SPECIALIST (LAND, WATER, SAND, HOUSES & VEHICLES) WILL FIND YOUR LOST KEEPSAKE! CALL ASAP (301) 466-8644!
CLICK THE LINK AND WATCH THE SEARCH VIDEO BELOW!
As I was already driving two hours inland from completing a couple of searches in Ocean City, Maryland, I received a call from a young lady who was soon to graduate from an elite private high school in Baltimore Maryland. Rachel was with her senior class, celebrating Beach Week in Ocean City just three days earlier when she lost her ring in the Atlantic Ocean. When we talked, she was already back from the trip in her hometown of Northern Baltimore. The student found me listed in The Ring Finders Directory for the Ocean City, Maryland area hoping that it was not too late for someone to help her retrieve her class ring from the water where she had to let it go and return home.
Rachel explained that she was in the ocean with her boyfriend just playfully having fun when her 18 karat gold senior class ring slipped off of her finger and disappeared into the waves of the Atlantic. She was terribly down about the whole thing and she was scared to tell her parents about it. She wanted to do everything she could to get it back.
By the time that I would be able to return to Ocean City and get back into the water for the search, 4 days would already pass by since the ring came off her finger and landed in the water. I wanted to get out there as fast as I could. I checked when low tide would occur the next evening which would be Sunday night around 9:30 p.m.. I told Rachel that I would do everything I could to get her ring back and she was grateful but wavering as to whether or not this was possible for me to recover it.
The one positive thing that was going heavily in Rachel’s favor in regards to the probability that I can retrieve this ring from the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night, was that she could clearly remember her exact position as to where she was when the ring fell off her finger. After receiving answers to all of the questions that I had for her regarding where she was located on the beach and where the ring fell off in the water, I was very confident Rachel was clear about her positioning and I felt good about where to go in the water to look for her ring.
She knew where she was in relationship to the lifeguard chair and how many feet over and back she was from it to where her beach towel was. Rachel knew how many feet over from where her beach stuff was from where she walked towards the shore where the ring slipped off her finger. I even asked her about where her beach stuff rested in relationship to a trash can that was out there on the sand and she could tell me almost exactly where her things were without hesitation. This was a huge bonus for me when it was time to hit the surf!
On Sunday, June 2nd at 7pm, my son Danny and I drove a 3 hour trip to Ocean City, Maryland. I dropped Danny off at First Street so he could walk the boardwalk while I drove to 33rd Street to start the search. Unfortunately, there’s no telling what the weather will bring at the time that you want to get out into the water. This was one of those times! Two vicious storm systems rolled through the beach city with heavy downpours along with lightning and roars of angry thunder. I had put my wetsuit on and brought all of my gear out to the sand and within several minutes I saw lightning behind me, and thunder ensued. I returned to the car and took cover.
I had to wait for the first storm to finish which took about 2 and 1/2 hours to clear the beach and move far off into the Atlantic. I then got my things out of the car again and headed into the darkness onto the beach to try for the second time and then the second storm approached from inland on the Chesapeake Bay side. I couldn’t believe that yet another storm approached! The lightning and thunder made its appearance once again and I quickly got off the sand and back into my vehicle, where I headed off towards the main highway to take cover once again. I never will forget the amount of rainfall that took place within that two-hour period. I thought the world was coming to an end because there was so much rain! I just sat in my car and waited and waited and waited. Finally at around two in the morning, I drove back to the beach and got my equipment out of the car for the third time and went on to the sand to test whether or not the second storm was far enough away for me to make my entrance once again. You could see all of the sky electricity brightly shining in flashes over the ocean, but far enough away that I felt safe to make my entrance into the Atlantic. It was getting close to 2:45 in the morning in complete darkness when I approached the water. If you wonder what kind of feeling it is to start a search at such an hour in total darkness except for the headlamp that you’re wearing, it’s a pretty empty feeling which you have to just get over and raise the bar of confidence within yourself to believe that somehow, some way I can find this missing keepsake. You’re just blindly going about it, hoping that the coordinates are correct based on someone’s memory. If not, one could take hours upon hours to find the target and that is with the assumption that the ring is still in the ocean and not picked up by another detectorist. I made sure that my position lined up exactly where Rachel told me she was in the water when the ring slipped off her finger.
The ring search began and I moved around in the dark waters, starting the grid, hoping to get the signal that I was after as I walked in straight lines back and forth in the hotspot area that I hoped the ring would turn up in. If you don’t have the approximate weight of the ring, and you don’t have information from the owner as to how much gold is on the ring, the detectorist just hopes to get a reading that is in the approximate range of what type of ring might give off that particular signal on the metal detector.
I believe my search in the water took about 20 minutes or so before I heard the signal that I was searching for! The numbers that came up on my detector screen were the solid numbers in the range that a class ring for a young lady might give off. The numbers were similar but slightly variant but close together in similarity and that is very consistent with class rings that I have studied with my detector! I may have found exactly what I was looking for! I got very excited!
I started working on scooping up the ring, one attempt after another. The waves were rushing in and out, making my middle-of-the-night adventure a bit more complicated. But I was not going to give in or give up this precious target signal. Every time I made an attempt in bringing up the scoop and checking what was in it, I had the anticipation of hoping that the ring would show its shiny gold face. But each time I came
up empty-handed. Just pebbles, sand and rocks showed up in the scoop. I kept working on it over and over again and finally the ocean gave up the target that was approximately 6 inches deep in the sand in about 4 feet of water at semi low tide. My eyes went right for the deepest part of the scoop and there mixed in with all of the elements of the ocean, between the sand and stones my eye became fixed on the loveliest class ring that perfectly matched the photos of the ring that Rachel had previously sent me! I was beyond thrilled! I caught the little guy!
There was such a feeling of triumph! With all of the details leading up to the find, it really excited me that I overcame many obstacles: Rachel’s ring had been in the Atlantic Ocean now for 4 days, I had spent an hour on the phone going over details with Rachel regarding the ring and the location of where she possibly lost it, Rachel would not be able to be present with me at the search site and I would have to orient myself only based on Rachel’s recollection and information that she gave me, I studied multiple facts including the photos of the ring that she sent me, studied and compared multiple tide charts for the region, traveled nearly 175 miles, taking 3 hours to reach the beach, waited 5.5 hours for 2 storm systems to clear the area, having to abandon the search site twice before hitting the water, then entered the roaring waves of the Atlantic in total darkness other than the use of my headlamp at nearly 3am in the morning in 4 feet of water – AND THEN, AFTER ALL OF THAT WHICH I MENTIONED ABOVE, I SUCCESSFULLY PULLED OUT OF THE SEA, THE VERY PIECE OF GOLD THAT I WAS AFTER, MEASURING ONLY LESS THAN AN INCH IN HEIGHT FROM THE RESTLESS WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC! THERE IS NO GREATER FEELING THAN TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE FIND THEIR MISSING TREASURE WITH SO MANY FACTORS INVOLVED IN HAVING TO ATTEMPT A SUCCESSFUL SEARCH IN RETURNING SUCH A SPECIAL OBJECT TO ITS OWNER!
I could not be any happier for Rachel! Especially the moment I surprised her with the ring!
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If you lose a valuable at the beach or a public area call as soon as possible .. 949-500-2136
**** Christopher came up to me while I was detecting at Newport Beach. He wanted to know if I could help him find his car keys lost in the sand.
He showed me an area where he and his friends had been messing around and he believed the keys could have fallen out of his pocket in that location. We had two positive things working in our favor. First, the keys had been lost within the last 30 minutes. Second, he had a good idea of the place on the beach where he was.
Now, all we had to do was fire up my metal detector and find out where the keys were hiding under the sand. Ten minutes later I had the keys in my scoop. Christopher was so relieved that he didn’t have to go to the trouble of getting another set of keys and he was able to enjoy the rest of his day.
2 diamond and gold wedding Rings lost South Beach ,Miami Beach Florida… found..
I got a call from a very distressed husband that his wife had lost her two wedding bands . He requested that I come to find it for her .I met her on the beach and she explained what happened . I searched for about 5 hours until dark and no luck . I came back the next day and expanded the search area. I started further south and took 5 passes until I ran into the rings and luckily they were both right next to each other. I was very happy that I could resolve the loss so quickly.
Not knowing how a splendid Nantucket Island vacation was to come to a memorable end Dave and his wife boarded the Hi-speed ferry headed to Hyannis. It seems the weather was bad and many of the passengers were not sea worthy or had not taken their Dramamine to combat motion sickness, heck it is only a short hour ride how bad could it be? It turned out to be one of the longest hours of the vacation. More long hours were still ahead of them that they had not imagined.
Check-in and the accommodations at one of the Cape’s renowned B&Bs promised better times were on the horizon. But that is where they stayed, on the horizon for the next 20 hours, beyond the murky water in the seaweed filled swimming area. Trying their darnedest to make the best of the rough waters and accompanying seaweed, into the high surf they went. Unfortunately that is where Dave’s wedding band decided to spend the night under the watchful eyes of King Neptune and Davey Jones.
A late night E-mail was answered at 2am with a promises I would be ready to search the area at 10:30am or before. Time flies fast when you are having fun and I showed up two hours early. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the dark expanse of seaweed. It looked like it was covering the area that Dave’s wife had marked on a map for the area to search. The best I could do was search the edges of the mass as it was moved by the tide, it was just too thick to swing my detector through. What to do…search outside of the seaweed – for three hours while the tide moved the seaweed away is just what I did.
It was time for Dave and his wife to head home trying to beat the mass exodus from the Cape that happens during the summer months. Three times I was told they were leaving. But, so I was told later, my searching was just too mesmerizing for them to leave. On the third notification I told Dave, not to worry, I would mail the ring to him. However, should I find it within another 15-30 minutes I would call him so he could turn around, come back and pick the ring up before leaving the Cape. He left and in five minutes the ring was in my scoop. I ran to get my cell phone while sunbathers cheered me on. Well, to cut this short, Dave and his wife were still watching from inside the breakfast room. Pictures, hugs and thanks took some time, hopefully not so much as to slow the return trip home caused by heavy vacation traffic. I am sure they would not mind a travel delay after what they had been through and the outcome of my search and the return of Dave’s ring.
The second day of a heat wave drove Karen and her family to the edge of cool waters and onshore breeze coming off the bay. There was no interest reading or heeding the posted sign about wearing shinny jewelry into the waters. On the beach, a protective layer of sunscreen was in order, but had no place in Karen’s shinny jewelry setting. Rings off, suntan lotion on and the day’s enjoyment began. The incoming tide necessitated moving the chairs to dryer ground. However the arms of the beach chair were not strong enough to hold onto Karen’s ring. The folding arms let the ring slip into the sharks realm.
An evening of searching by lanterns and hands could not coach the ring form its sandy resting place. A voice mail on my Ring Finder’s phone was answered and a 7am meeting to use a metal detector to locate the ring was set. As usual everyone had their idea of were the ring was. Here; No over there; Look for the stone! OK now we were narrowing in on “the” location. Wouldn’t you know, but four visitors looking to secure a prime piece of beach for the day had already claimed the area where the search should progress to. With out our asking, the four picked up and mover well beyond our area of search – Thank you guys. Well as things were going you have probably guessed it, no ring was to be found in that search area.
Moving outside the original box by only two feet up popped the shinny jewel encrusted awesome ring. The engagement and wedding band still bonded together. One that had no place in with the sand with its glittering jewels calling the sharks.
NOTE: Only unconfirmed shark sightings have been recorded in the area searched. But it sure made the blog a bit more than just: Ring Lost, Ring Found, Ring Returned posting.
Chantal and her younger sister were enjoying a hot summer day by the cool dark waters of the Wekiva River. Wekiva Island is a unique place to swim and relax and spend time getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Earlier Chantal had laid out her towel at the waters edge and now as she was getting ready to gather up her belongings, she completely forgot that she had placed her Apple Watch on the edge of her towel and as she lifted her towel….the watch did a nose dive into the dark water and disappeared! Stunned she could not believe what had just happened! It was only 6 feet deep with a sort of sandy bottom mixed with leaves and other decaying debris, so how hard could it be to find it, right? For over an hour she dove and tried her very best to feel around with her feet, hoping to find her lost watch…but all to no avail!
On her phone she informed her friends of her dilemma and then someone sent her a link to theringfinders.com and told her to check it out. After a brief conversation I decided not to wait but to try and help her that very day. Upon arriving at the spot there were three young men sitting in the very location and after hearing Chantal’s story they were more than happy to move, plus they wanted to see the search and recovery themselves.
I decided to practice my diving and holding my breath skills instead of using my scuba gear, thinking that the sandy bottom and maybe four feet of visibility would be sufficient for me to recover her lost watch. Chantal had described her watch as having a metal wrist band and that is what I focused on during my search. The search area was roughly an eight foot square area and right away I could see the usual objects like pull tabs and other man made objects but no shiny metal wrist band. I dove four times thinking surely I would spot it just sitting on the bottom waiting for me to spot and pick up. And then I realized Chantal had been feeling around with her feet and maybe she had pushed it out into deeper water or possibly covered it over with silt and sand and that’s when I spotted something square looking and as I lifted it off the bottom I realized the « mesh » metal band had folded under the face of the watch and it was quite hidden. Chantal was thrilled to have her watch back and I was relieved to not be holding my breath any longer! And Chantal’s beautiful smile warmed my heart and I was truly thankful to have been a part of making her day a pleasant one!
I was approached by Adriana’s father and he asked if could help find his daughters lost silver claddagh ring. She had taken the ring off and placed it in her backpack and then went to get something out of the bag and the ring fell out. The ring is now back on the finger.
I got a call from Daniel early this morning, July 21st, saying his wife Ashley had lost a Diamond stud earring, and asked if I could help find it. He said that they had been walking from their rental across a wooden boardwalk leading, over the dunes, out to the beach. I haven’t had much luck finding small stud earrings, so I told him I didn’t think I’d be able to find it. After thinking about it for 30 minutes, I called him back and told him I’d give it a try but it wouldn’t be until about 10 pm that evening. I also told him to bring his wife’s matching earring so I could test it with my machines to see if one of them could detect it.
Shortly after 9 pm, and after having dinner with family members here for a family reunion, I grabbed my Gold Bug II, and my Equinox 800 and headed out. I called him en route and got his address. Shortly after arriving, we met up on the street and he led me to his rental house, where I met Ashley. She had the other earring so I laid it in the sand next to the driveway and turned on the Gold Bug, wham, I had a strong signal. Ashley lead the way out on the boardwalk stopping at the spot she said that she felt something hit her chest, then she heard it hit the wooden boardwalk. She reached up to her ear and didn’t feel the earring. The spot we were standing at was about 8 feet high above the sand dunes. I made my way out to the beach and came up on the other side of a neighbor’s access. It was a small search area and I was very careful not to damage or destroy any of the undergrowth in the search area. I got a good signal and started sifting the sand through my hand as I continued to check the area. When I hit hard ground I knew it wasn’t the earring. I took a few more steps and got a strong signal and again sifted the sand through my hand. At one point I saw the earring move as I grabbed some sand. I reached down through the sand until I felt the earring, I picked it up, blew the sand off, and held it up for Ashley to see and reach down for. After making my way back up to the boardwalk, I got a big smile and hug. She told me her mother had gotten those earrings for her, and later Daniel had bought her a matching necklace. She was very upset that she had a beautiful necklace and only one earring. Now she has both earrings back and both Ashley and Daniel are an extremely happy couple again, which is why I do this.
Ashley/Daniel – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back home.
If you lose a valuable at the beach or a public area please call as soon as possible.. 949-500-2136
****
Annie had lost her platinum diamond wedding band while pushing her son one of the playground rides at a local park. She called me from her home in Santa Monica,CA. Which was only two blocks from the park.That would be an advantage because she could meet me at the location.
When I arrived Annie showed me the area where she felt the platinum ring slip from her finger. There was plenty of sand that could hide a ring. It shouldn’t have gone further than 15 feet but you never know.
I began the search using a detector set on a higher frequency because thosesmaller rings with stones can be elusive. After about twenty minutes I found the ring probably 15 or 20 feet out from where she felt it leave her finger. She was actually standing on it while watching me grid search the location.
Again I got the reward of seeing a big smile and seeing how happy Annie was to get her precious symbol of her marriage. Her husband was responsible for finding TheRingFinders website and giving Annie my number to call.
I gave Annie some temporary plastic ring sizing spiral deals to help her to remember to get the ring sized.