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Huntington State Beach Peace Officer’s Badge .. Recovered

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

Huntington State Beach.. Peace Officer Badge

 

I received a call from a Huntington State Beach Peace Officer. He found me on TheRingFinders website. These officers are permanent year round employees that patrol the state beach, usually in a vehicle. They are also certified lifeguards sometimes having to perform rescues.
Two days before,  one of their officers had to leave his vehicle removing his uniform to go into the surf for a rescue. In the process, he believes his badge fell into the sand. After searching his vehicle, not finding it he called me.
We met an hour after the call and he walked me out to the general location. Our hope was to find the badge. If we couldn’t find it, we could eliminate this area. It was a 40 x 40ft. location and the badge showed up after about 20minutes. I was careful while using the scoop. I didn’t want to damage the nice looking badge. It was another special day and I was glad to help the patrol officers as they have always been friendly and helpful to me. I know that in the future they can recommend our group.

Sunday  August 8,2015

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Lost Diamond Ring in Daytona Beach surf….FOUND!

  • from Sanford (Florida, United States)
Contact:

DSCF236720150807_120724Friday morning I received a phone call from Marilyn asking if I would help her find a very special ring.  As I listened to her story I could not help but hear the pain and disappointment in her voice as she explained the details.   Earlier in the week the family was down at the beach, swimming and enjoying the beautiful Daytona Beach sand and surf, when Chante noticed that her anniversary ring was missing from her finger.  They tried searching for the ring but soon realized the futility of such a search and then one of the family members thought to purchase a metal detector.  They tried the detector but were unable to get it to work properly.  They had been taking pictures all day and soon figured out that Chante had her ring on when she went into the water but no longer had the ring when she came out of the water carrying her surf board.   The next step was the web and during her search she came across the ring finders.  She told me that after reading some of the recovery stories under my blog she knew right away that I was the one to call.  (That sure made me feel good!!)   So during our phone conversation I realized that « Time was of the essence » and the sooner I got out there and started searching the better.

On our central Florida east coast so much depends on the tides and how large the waves are on that particular day.  And thankfully it was only one to two foot waves with a rising tide and another 3 hours till high tide.   So off I went anxious and thrilled to be helping hurting hearts with the hope of bringing joy and happiness once again to their lives.  And of course hoping to put those smiles back on their faces!

After a 40 minute drive to the Sand Castle Motel in Daytona Beach, I got my gear together and followed the ladies down onto the sand.  Many times my first thoughts are « Man, look at all that sand and water!  I sure hope they have it marked off well enough for me to be successful! »  And sure enough the ladies were able to show me an area approximately one half the size of a football field and I began the tedious task of grid searching from the wet sand and then out to about 4 feet deep.  Marilyn and Chante were sitting watching me for the next hour as I steadily paced back and forth- stopping every now and then to dig a target.  Bobby pins, pull tabs and a few coins could not stay hidden from my trusty Whits DF!  Then the magic moment came when that perfect , clean signal sounded in my headphones and there it was glistening in the sunlight in the bottom of my scoop.  I immediately turned towards the beach and raised my detector above my head and waved it to the ladies.  Chante was the first to notice and came running towards me stopping momentarily to verify it truly was her ring in the scoop and then proceeded to give me a long, awesome bear hug which we were soon to be joined by Marilyn!  Thru tears of joy the ring was put back where it belonged–on Chante’s finger–and we headed back to the Motel.

The thrill and sheer pleasure of reuniting a ring like this to it’s rightful owner is a truly awesome experience!  Thank you so much dear ladies for your generous reward.  It was my honor to help you.

Maybe you’ve lost something precious recently–or even a long time ago– and want to try and find it.  Give me a call or send me an e-mail.

Mike McInroe …thankful member of theringfinders.com

Eagle Scout returns Girl Scout Leader’s lost wedding band

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Jill Smiles

A daily task somehow went wrong. The rings were taken off and were put on a Cape Cod Bracelet as they have been so many times. We will never know just what went wrong, except that a wedding band missed its place of safety and ended up in the sand. Hours of searching did not bring the ring out of hiding. Enter Rick Browne an Eagle Scout from TheRingFinders.com and his friend Jim.

The two detectorist came close to calling it quits as thoughts of the area that the ring was lost in may have greatly enlarged from a small beach area to the path back to the office and within the office building itself.

Tenacity paid off. After griding the search area Rick made one more pass on the way out. This pass, at a different angle to the beach, his detector gave off a faint signal, and two scoops of sand later the glitter of diamonds was seen. A short walk with Jill’s husband let him ready his camera so a picture could be taken when Jill removed the ring from my scoop that was now holding the ring captive. The pictures tell the rest of the story!

Jill ring cr

And of course how else would a Girl Scout thank one for their help? WELL:

GS TU

What is the best tool to find a lost ring? – TheRingFinders Richard Browne

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Toby rs

Toby ring rs

Toby was out for a fun day at the beach, just yards from his vacation hide-away.
A bit of catch was in order when it happened…the ball came in at just the right angle to whisk his wedding band off of his finger. The last glimpse he had of it was it flying out of sight. Game over.
Hours of searching with a rake, shovel, rented metal detector, many friends and family including his father-in-law crawling in the sand. Nothing seemed to work in the daylight…neither did flashlights in the dark of night.

His friendly neighbor started searching the world wide web and came across a site called TheRingFinders.com. Minutes later Toby was convinced to give Rick Browne a call. And so he did.

Within an hour the call was returned, tide time and weather check was made along with a meeting time for a search for the ring to begin. The next day after an introduction, bit of information gathering, the entourage was off, down the wooden stairs, the aluminum stairs (more like a swinging bridge) to the edge of the wet sand. After a quick demo of how and where the ring was lost and I began the search.

Forty-five minutes later, after covering the area I was shown plus a bit more, I was going to enlarge the area even more. One pass, one turn and three steps later my detector gave me the best signal I had had all day. A shallow scoop of sand and there it was, in my scoop, Toby’s ring. A quick rinse and it was presentable enough to let Toby retrieve his ring from the scoop. He did it in grandeur with yelps and praises. Of course with a smile a mile wide.

Lost wedding band found and returned in Chatham, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Alex a rs

Alex had made a wedding band for his bride and she had made his. A beautiful pair of rings and a couple with many wonderful memories between them. And now they have one more memory. How Alex lost his ring while taking an evening beach stroll to watch a sunset. The next morning was spent raking and sifting through the sand. Only one quarter was found and that was by their son. They did have the presence of mind to inform the lifeguards who told Alex of TheRingFinders.com.

That were I came into the scenario.

After I received an E-mail I called Alex, asked a few pertinent questions and headed for the beach at 5:30am the next morning. I was lucky, Alex had remembered the precise area of loss and described it perfectly. However the previous night’s high tide was very high and washed all the way to the dunes. The sand was now pristine and very easy to grid. Though Alex had said the ring was most likely lost above the high tide line, the tide was coming in and I had to make a few passes at the water’s edge, just in case the ring was washed down the beach’s slope. Only an old pocket knife was retrieved from its sandy resting place. Back to the now dry sand I made another two passes and then bingo…the ring was in my scoop. Beautiful, the sun was rising over the dune, the ring had risen from its sandy spot and I was on my way to return the ring. I first called at a bit after 7am, no answer, had a cup of Dunkin’s Coffee, called again, still no answer, so I headed home. Just a few minutes later Alex returned my call. He gave me directions to his vacation home. I made the U-turn and Alex was wearing his ring about 45 minutes after I had found it.

One of the pictures below show the pair of hand made wedding bands, where they belong. The one above is for The Book of Smiles.

Ring rs

rings rs

Wedding Ring Lost At El Porto (North Manhattan) Beach, CA…Found.

  • from Redondo Beach (California, United States)

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I was at home enjoying an In-N-Out hamburger watching the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals duke it out on the gridiron when I received a call from Ulises explaining that his wife lost her wedding ring, and asked if I would be able to come and help them. I said as soon as I finished my meal, I would be on my way. I know it is so important to get on these searches right away, because the beach is mechanically cleaned by the County every day, and it would more than likely be picked up by their machines, yet I wanted to find the ring for them. They were at a local beach, in fact the one I had surfed at the day before, so I knew it well.

When I met them at the beach, I could see that they had been searching the area. I asked them what had happened, and I am sure it seemed like the beginning of a nightmare for his wife Maria. What happened was that they were at the beach earlier and Maria had taken her ring off to put on sunscreen. She put it in a cup so as not to forget where it was, but when it was time to go, in the busyness of getting ready she forgot she had put it there. She then wanted to remove some sand from where the cup was, and that is when they thought the loss happened.

What happened between that time and the time they called me was that they had driven home (about a 40 mile drive), and it wasn’t until they were ready to leave for another appointment that Maria noticed her ring missing. They then got back in the car and made the trek back, and began their search. It must have been most disheartening to arrive there, and knowing the approximate area you had been in, but not being able to find the ring. Their search was arduous yet with no results. The problem was that they showed me about 30 feet of beach, and that is a lot of sand to search, even with a metal detector. I put on my extra large coil, and began my search, Maria then directed me the other way, and in about 10 minutes total, I had her ring in my scoop.

Maria got very emotional at the sight of her ring, the ring her husband had given her 13 years earlier. I was so happy to make her day, and you can see by their picture that they were going to sleep well tonight. More joy, more smiles, and I will also sleep well tonight.

If you lose your ring or other metal item of value, call as soon as possible. I will work hard to help you find what you thought might never be found again. I search,  Beverly Hills, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice Beach, and all parks, yards, gardens, and ponds (to 5 foot depths) in all of Orange County, all of Los Angeles County, and Ventura County.

Lost Platinum Wedding Band at Manhattan Beach, CA…Found.

  • from Redondo Beach (California, United States)

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I received a call this afternoon from Elizabeth asking if I would be able to come and look for her husband’s wedding ring. I told her I was available and could be there in approximately 30 minutes. When I got there I began my questions for Elizabeth and her husband Ken to narrow down the search, and focus my time in the right area.

They told me that Ken had just exited the water, so it could have been lost there, also that he had taken and shaken out his towel and thought he felt something hit his hand in the process, thinking the ring might have come off then. The second scenario sounded like the easiest to begin with, so I decided to start where Ken shook his towel. I wanted to get this area out of the way before I headed for the water. Elizabeth told me that Ken had been right where she was standing, so I asked her to move so I could begin at that spot.

Let’s see, after three swings of the detector, and two scoops of sand, I was able to hand Elizabeth her husband’s wedding band, about 45 seconds later. They did so many things right, which enabled me to help them in such a short time. They stayed in the area of the loss. They marked the area. They called someone right away, not waiting until the next day or the next week, in which time the county beach cleaning machines or other metal detectorists could have picked up the ring and taken it for good. Then the two told me that they had only been married since June 2015 (that’s just two months!), how awesome, that ring meant so much to these two, that was THE ring. Could it be replaced, sure, but it wouldn’t be that one. I was so glad to be able to continue the ring’s story for these newlyweds, and to assemble more smiles for this directory; what a great day!

If you lose your ring or other metal item of value, call as soon as possible. I will work hard to help you find what you thought might never be found again. I search,  Beverly Hills, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice Beach, and all parks, yards, gardens, and ponds (to 5 foot depths) in all of Orange County, all of Los Angeles County, and Ventura County.

Lost Ring Vancouver, BC…Found!

  • from Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada)

I got a call from a young man who asked if I could help him find a lost ring that he’d been looking for and couldn’t find. We agreed to meet and take a look, when I got to the location the young man showed me the area, he told me that he had a few drinks with friends to celebrate his birthday and on the way home just goofing around he threw his skateboard in the garden in front of this apartment building and when he threw it his ring got caught and went with the board…It was night and he and his friends with their cell phone lights searched but couldn’t find the ring.  He came back the next day and searched and the day after but no luck. He was going to rent a metal detector and found me on TheRingFinders directory and called. 

I though to myself this should be a quick search & recovery…(Not) After 40+ minutes in a small area and no ring he was giving up and saying we did our best and that he didn’t want to waste my time anymore…He obviously doesn’t know me! I thought for a while and decided to search the less obvious places like behind where he was standing when he threw the skateboard. Bingo! 5 minutes later I got a strong consistent 50 reading on my Garrett AT Gold…I sat down and moved the grass with my pin pointer and saw nothing but after I moved some dirt there it was looking back at me!

 

 

 

 

 

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You ask any member from TheRingFinders directory and they will all tell you that there’s no better feeling then finding someones Lost Smile!

I love my job!!

If you lost your ring call me ASAP!

Watch the Video Quickie of the Search…

Wedding Ring Thrown off Balcony .. Mission Viejo, CA. .. Found

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

 

Monday .. August 24, 2015

Yvonne called me asking if it was possible to find a wedding ring lost in ivy outside her condo in the landscaping. I explained that I would have to see the location, but assured her that I could at least give it a try. Arriving at her home I could see that the ivy covering the ground was very low which should not be a problem. She told me that her husband borrowed a metal detector and had a lot of problems using it.
I then asked how the ring was lost. She hesitated, so I interrupted her, saying, was it thrown, it happens all the time. She then explained that it was thrown in the heat of the moment.
Showing me the direction towards the pool area. I searched the planted ground cover first, but could see some thick larger bushes that could probably hold a ring in the foliage. Also, if the ring made it to the cement deck of the pool, someone may have found it in the 4 days since the loss.
Keeping my head thinking about only making sure it wasn’t in hidden in the landscaping. I searched the whole slope and all the plants in the pool area.
Spending more than three hours with my detector and a pinpointer, sometimes on my hands and knees, I was running out of places to search. I went up to give Yvonne the bad news. As we looked out off the balcony, I explained exactly where I had searched. Telling her that if it wasn’t picked up by somebody that it may be hung up in those thick bushes. I had searched much more area than she had laid out, but I should take a few minutes to show her where else she could look. Then, I decided to finish that last bit of ivy, 50ft to the left from the original search zone.
As Yvonne walked around to meet me at the bottom of the slope she spotted the ring on clear ground. (the ring had green and black paint on on side and was camouflaged as pictured)
It doesn’t matter who finds it. We eliminated those other areas first then went to the most unlikely location. I could not believe the angle or the distance that this ring traveled. For me it was a « believe or not moment ». What a happy lady, she told me she did a lot of praying also. It works.
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Two Lost Diamond Rings Recovered in Hawi on the Big Island of Hawaii

Avesta and Hamid with Brent and Sylvie Madison after finding their lost diamond rings in Hawi on Hawaii's Big Island.

Avesta and Hamid with Brent and Sylvie Madison after finding their lost diamond rings in Hawi on Hawaii’s Big Island.

The beautiful lost and recovered rings of Avesta from the State Park in Hawi, Hawaii (Big Island).

The beautiful lost and recovered rings of Avesta from the State Park in Hawi, Hawaii (Big Island).

 

We got an urgent call from a family on vacation who had lost two diamond rings in the water near Hawi, Hawaii (Big Island), while swimming with their children in the ocean.

We drove about 1 hour and 45 minutes to the small State Park of Keokea to recover the rings and met them in the parking lot.

It turns out that Avesta had lost both of her precious rings – one a diamond ring with a whooping 2.75 carats in platinum. The disappointment of both Avesta and her husband, Hamid, was visible at loosing their valuable rings but they were both optimistic at our chances of finding them.

I put my mask on and hit the shallow water with my Excalibur II metal detector. After a 30 minute search we had found a pocket full of coins but no rings. Swinging back into a sandy area, suddenly I heard the low growl of platinum in my metal detector’s headphones. « I don’t want to give you false hope but think I’ve found a ring, » I said.

Sure enough, the basket held a gleaming ring with nine diamonds in a row. Hamid picked it out of the basket, happy, and eager to see if the second ring was also nearby. As I put the detector back in the water, a second signal was instantly in the headphones!  And right there, we recovered both rings, one after the other, where they had been lost and sunken into the sand. The second ring we recovered was a whooping 2.75 carat diamond ring – you can see the joy and surprise on their faces on the video – when getting back their lost – and now found – treasure!

« Lucky me that I found you guys. Thank GOD!!!!! » Avesta wrote in an email the next day.  « Phewwww so lucky I am!! FYI it was our 8 year anniversary the day you found the ring, makes it even more special. »