The Tale of a Found Wedding Ring: A Bell Canyon Recovery Story




Trevor was throwing a football around at Mission Beach with a group of friends when his wedding ring flew off during one of his throws. Nobody saw it land in the dry sand, so, trying to find it was hopeless without the proper equipment and knowledge to use it. Trevor’s friend Matt found my contact information and gave me a call. I gathered my gear and hit the road with my wife so she could circle with the car in case we couldn’t find parking. I contacted Matt when I arrived and soon Trevor and some of his friends met me on the beach. I got the low down on how the ring was lost, the search area, and it’s approximate landing spot. This beach stays pretty clean with all the detectorists these days, so, targets were few and far between. After just a few pieces of foil, a couple of bottle caps and a half dozen passes later, I finally got a solid signal in the range I would expect Trevor’s ring to be in. A night in the dog house averted, and a happy Trevor has his precious back again. Thanks for the reward.





Bogue Inlet Pier – Emerald Isle, NC
Lauren visited Bogue Inlet Pier on September 7th with her son as was wading in the surf when a larger wave knocked her over. She told me her hands went into the sand and she felt her chocolate diamond ring slide off of her finger. She was very upset but noticed a man out with his detector and went to him for help. Bogue Inlet Pier (BIP) gets a lot of beach traffic and also many detectorist come there to search for « treasures ». After being unable to find her ring, the gentleman suggested she contact Crystal Coast Ring Finders. I made plans to hunt the very next low tide early in the morning and only a few hours after the loss of the ring. The surf was still very strong and I too was unsuccessful. Lauren was very upset when I talked with her and I felt terrible I could not make the recovery that morning. I live near BIP and each time I went there to hunt the beach, I made it a point to search the area of Lauren’s lost ring. Recently, we had some sand movement that allowed the replenished beach sand to move. This created a low spot near the water’s edge. To my surprise, after so many days lost and I’m sure, many other metal detectors hunting the same area, her ring was rescued on the evening of October 7th. It was about 50 yards further West on the beach. I had not met Lauren yet and messaged her to tell her I needed her to fill out my standard search contract. We agreed to meet at her father’s business. After we met and she completed the search contract without knowing I had her lost ring,.. I gave her one of my business cards. When she turned the card over, her lost ring was taped to the back of the card. She burst into tears. I was very happy that something very good happened to Lauren this year as she explained it hadn’t been going well.
If You Put In The Effort, There Is Always A Chance For Success!
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Danny was playing volleyball at South Mission Beach Friday afternoon, took his wedding ring off before the game started, and put the ring in his shoe on the sideline for safe keeping. During the day, His gear was moved to a different court for another game. After all the games ended, he headed to his car where he proceeded to grab his ring and put his shoes on. Oh oh, no ring! He retraced his steps and searched both areas, but, no luck. He got online and found TheRingFinders.com and my contact info. He called me Saturday afternoon and we made arrangements to meet the next morning at 7am to do the search. We met early Sunday morning and I searched both areas thoroughly, but, no ring. In fact, I only found one cent and a junk charm in the whole area. It was likely someone had already detected that area sometime between when he lost the ring Friday afternoon, and when I searched Sunday morning. I told Danny that I would keep his lost ring on file and contact fellow club members and other I know who detect that beach and let him know if I get any response. Sure enough, I emailed out his lost ring story to my local detecting club and our vice president Rick answered that he think he found it! Rick sent me a photo of the ring he found at that location on Friday night and it was a dead-on match. Rick and I met Danny Monday morning for the return. Sometimes it takes some teamwork for a successful recovery, but, the results are what counts. Thanks for your help Rick. Danny (on the left in the photo) appreciated that.

Emerald Isle, NC
JoEllen was spending time with her parents sitting on the Emerald Isle beach along the shoreline. They were sitting down by the water so they could put their feet in the waves. She had explained to me she had taken off her very special ring and placed it in her glasses case prior to going to the beach. While on the beach, she decided to put on her glasses and forgot the ring was also in the case. It wasn’t until the next morning she had realized the ring was missing and she called Crystal Coast Ring Finders. The beach sand was very soft and very little items were found during the search. Her ring was eventually found under about 12 inches of sand. This was a very challenging search but when you can successfully return an important item to the owner, it makes it worth the effort!
Donna was visiting here from AZ, and while enjoying a day at the beach in Coronado yesterday, lost her family heirloom gold and platinum wedding ring in the sand. She had removed her ring to apply lotion, and placed it in her chair pocket. The Chair later got folded…….and well you’ve already have heard that story before! She and friends searched to no avail. She even went out and bought an inexpensive metal detector to conduct her own search, but, after an afternoon/evening thunderstorm that blew through the area making the previously dry sand wet again, the detector just didn’t do the job under those conditions. When my wife and I arrived, we met Donna, got the story, and I was shown the search area they had marked off. That always helps to have a known spot verified by photos taken the previous day. First pass, got a foil signal and that’s exactly what it was. Return pass, same story. Just starting the third pass, and I get a nice strong 16 on my Equinox. I said that this sounds like a winner, and sure enough, after locating it with my pin pointer, I pulled this beautiful ring out of it’s hiding place. Donna was super happy to get this historic ring back before having to leave town on Monday. A pleasure to meet you Donna, and thank you for the generous reward.
On 08/20/21, I received a call from Hollon regarding the loss of a Moonstone Silver Ring on the Beach at Bethany Beach, Delaware. Hollon told me that the ring belonged to her 11 year old daughter who had the ring for 5 years and that the ring had been given to her daughter by her grandmother. I arrived at the location of the lost ring and had Hollon show me the area that was believed to contain the lost ring. I drove back home to get my equipment and then returned to the location of the lost ring. I then began a grid search of the area and on the first pass I was able to locate the missing ring in the dry sand. The ring was then returned to Hollon who then gave it back to her daughter.

On 06/20/2021, I received a call from Sharis girlfriend regarding the loss of her white gold wedding ring at the beach at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes Delaware. I agreed to meet Sharis husband, Joseph at the beach so that I could attempt to locate her ring. Upon making contact with Joseph at the beach he told me that his wife had first thought that she had lost her ring in the trash at the hotel where they had been staying on vacation but that they were unable to find the ring in the trash so they felt that the ring had been lost somewhere on the beach. Joseph said that his wife had been out in the water and that she had also been sitting in a beach chair at the edge of the water. I decided to first search the area at the edge of the water where Shari had been sitting, I started a grid search and upon making a second pass I was able to locate the lost ring sitting in the wet sand at the edge of the water. The ring was recovered and returned to Joseph so that he could give it back to Shari. Joseph told me that the ring was very special because it was their original engagement ring that had two other rings soldered to it. Joseph said that the two rings that were soldered to the engagement ring had been given to his wife Shari by her mother six years ago and that Sharis mother had passed away in January of 2021.
