Wedding Ring Lost in Douglas Park, Santa Monica…Found by Looking Out of the Box
Steve’s Emergency Metal Detecting Service For You if you lost a ring or something precious to you. Don’t wait, time will work against you, please CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268
I was at home getting ready to grill up some Johnsonville brats for the family when I got a call from Vamsi. He had been at the park earlier in the day to be with his child. At one point the little one began pulling on his hand. At that time he realized his ring was gone. He wasn’t completely sure that was when the ring was lost, but it seemed the most likely time. I was going to let him know that I was getting ready to cook for the family, and could come when I was done, when my wife who was standing near told me to go and find the ring. She knows how much this service helps people, and would rather wait on dinner to see someone have their joy restored. I took her advice, and told Vamsi I would be there right away.
When I got to the park Vamsi met me and took me over to the playground area where the loss was believed to have happened. There were multiple sand pits with different types of playground equipment, with walkways dividing them. He showed me the sand pit that he believed the loss to have occurred, and I began my search. I got a good signal, and dug a coin. I got another signal, and another coin, and another, and then the area went quiet. I let him know the ring was not there, and asked if he could show me the other area where he thought the ring might have come off. The other pit was on the other side of the playground, about 70 feet away. We started moving in that direction, when I decided to do a search in the sand pit that was behind where he had been originally. I made a few passes when I received another good signal, and dug. I came up empty, and checked again, it was still there so I dug deeper, and came up empty. I checked again, and again it was still there, but deeper than I could have thought the ring might have sunk, and dug deeper. This time I had something in the scoop. I turned on my head light, and in the scoop was Vamsi’s ring. He was very happy, and excited to be able to go home and let his child know that the ring was found. What a fun night!
Vamsi sent the following testimonial:
A cool thing that happened to me today, a bit of an emotional rollercoaster (don’t worry, nothing serious):
For background – my wedding band was purchased from Amazon (prime!) for a variety of reasons. (1) It was $7, at a time that I was spending a lot on other wedding-related expenses, (2) I’m notorious for losing personal items (especially sunglasses) and didn’t want to risk losing something valuable, (3) its cheapness (and replaceability – did I mention Amazon prime?) would cancel any potential emotional attachment, (4) I thought it would make for a funny story.
Well, as things worked out, I’ve held on to the damn thing for almost 5 years. And never lost it outside my house, but the brief times I can’t find it around here I freak out. Emotionally attached indeed.
Today, my kids had the day off for Veteran’s Day, but I was at work. Our new babysitter was helping with the kids, and she took my toddler son to the park a few blocks away. I work nearby so I decided to drop by and say hi. My son was so excited, and grabbed me to follow him to the swing. I chatted nearby with the babysitter, then followed him to another slide. He grasped my hand tightly again to follow him, and I froze – I felt a sudden panic as if I felt my ring fall off. I frantically looked around, sifted through the nearby sand, but couldn’t find anything. Or maybe it didn’t fall off, and it was never there? I’ve definitely left it (or lost it) at home a few times, so that was the more plausible explanation – just a phantom sensation associated with his squeeze and seeing my naked finger. On my walk back to my office, I called my mother-in-law to ask her to check the bathrooms or my nightstand, in case I left it. No dice, but I still knew it could be hiding somewhere.
I went back to the playground about 45 minutes later, did a cursory sweep of the area again and realized the futility of such a task. I spent the afternoon in a bit of a funk. Not certain it was lost on the playground, but very much not certain it wasn’t. This time felt different. I put up an ad on Nextdoor. I started researching metal detectors, and even ordered a basic one on Amazon. I looked for my ring and realized it’s been discontinued, much to my chagrin, but some other company offers an identical one (this time $18! alas!). I contemplated getting a nicer ring this time, but really wanted to keep trying to find it. After all, THIS is the ring that my wife put on my hand on our wedding day. I can’t pretend I’m not invested.
I returned home, futilely searched the few spots it might be, then gave it up to spend time with my kids. My son was sad, but I knew this wasn’t his fault – his only « crime » was being so excited about seeing his father that he may have accidentally pulled off a cheap piece of jewelry? And I can’t even be sure that happened? Perspective!
Meanwhile, someone on Nextdoor recommended a metal detecting network called The Ring Finders, comprised mostly of volunteers and amateur sleuths. On a lark, I contacted the first guy listed in my neighborhood. A man named Steve (https://theringfinders.com/Steve.Smith/) seemed more than willing to come give it a shot, and said our best bet was to get started ASAP. We arranged to meet at 6:30. I felt sort of sheepish as I drove over to the park, as there was still some shot that I had misplaced it at home, and imagined the entire episode. He pulled out a nicer looking metal detector than the beginner one I had ordered, and a scoop to sift the sand. We set out in the darkness to the area I believed the ring might be hiding. Not 30 seconds later, and he gets a ping, almost exactly where it would be in my mind’s eye! Eureka! Instead, his bucket came up with a half dollar coin. Cool, but not the treasure we were after. He methodically swept the area and moved further away from our starting point. He came up with a few dirty pennies, but nothing else. I started to lose hope, but Steve was undaunted, and we started to move towards the only other area I knew my son and I had been.
Just before we left, he decided to check the other side of the path, in case the ring had flung itself a few meters in the wrong direction. My hopes were fading fast, but onwards. He got a faint pinging, one that indicated the source was buried a little deeper. I was sure this was another penny. The scoop came up with some detritus, but the pinging persisted. He scooped again, and then again. Lo and behold, my little ring! Buried about 6 inches deep, no idea how. I was floored, and beyond grateful. This was a pretty great way to redeem a day that was heading south quickly. Steve asked to photograph the ring, and myself, and we both left the park in great spirits. A good day!
Anyway, just thought I’d share. Thanks to Nextdoor and definitely to Steve. That was pretty cool.
Don’t let the County beach cleaning machines take your lost valuable, call as soon as possible! I will work hard, using the most up to date metal detectors, 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, Northridge, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Venice Beach, Zuma 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.
CALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 310-953-5268
