how to find a lost ring Tag | Page 118 of 127 | The Ring Finders

Ring Lost in the Ocean – Found in the Wet Sand at North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a call on September 6th from Amy asking if I could help find her daughter Adrianne’s engagement ring that was lost in the ocean during the incoming tide. After finding out the resort location I was on my way and arrived in about 15 minutes.

I got there about 6:30 pm and found out Adrianne was on her way back home for work the next day so I met Adrianne’s younger sister Samantha (Sam). Sam gave me a general location and explanation on where and how the ring was lost. She also told me the ring was “silver” with a diamond on it. The story was that Adrianne was playing catch in about knee deep water an hour or so before high tide. Adrianne attempted to catch the ball which she miscalculated just a little jamming her ring finger when she felt her ring slip off.

It turned out to be a long night, a couple of heavy storms with wicked lightening moved through and I wasn’t having any luck finding the ring. After 4 hours of grid searching (north/south, east/west and circular) I called Amy and let her know I’d be back around 7am the next morning. Thinking I was going to have to expand my search area quite a bit and that it probably wouldn’t hurt to get some help. I e-mailed TRF member Matt Fry (Myrtle Beach) and friend Jim Brouwer, author of the book “Gold Beneath the Waves, Treasure Hunting the Surf and Sand” asking if either of them would be available the next morning.

I got back the next morning at 6:45am and started another north/south grid. Around 9:30, after getting rained on again, I looked up to see Jim walking down the beach. At this point I could have literally kissed him for showing up but refrained because the condo patios and the beach were getting pretty crowded with people. Anyway, I gave Jim the lowdown on where and what. Suggested he start looking in the area going north and I’d go south. Two hours went by and I see Jim walking towards me again, wasn’t sure if he was calling it a day (which I doubted knowing him) or he found it. When he got to me he asked if I was sure it was a “silver” ring that we were looking for and that he got a 12.04 hit on his CTX 3030. Owning a White’s PI I had no idea what a 12.04 was, but Jim informed me it wasn’t “silver”. Ok, so I asked if he found it at which time he dropped this beautiful 14K White Gold w/approximately a 3/4 Karat Diamond on it. Wow, my instant hero!! I asked where he found it and I’m almost positive I had gone over that area at least 4 times between last night and this morning. I did a quick test with my PI and I got a very faint signal with the ring on top of the sand so I very likely could have missed it buried the inch Jim found it at which I’m not sure why. My PI should have easily picked it up.

After thanking Jim at least 10 times for his help, I slipped the ring over my little finger and dropped my gear off at the car. I found my way up to Amy and her husband Brian’s condo room and knocked on the door. Amy came to the door and I started giving her a song and dance about how we’ve been searching for so long and that it was raining again and then I paused to let it sink in. Then I stuck out my hand with the ring and said “And we found it”!! I can’t describe her excitement other than to say it was awesome. Sam quickly texted Adrianne who was busy at work. Another fantastic outcome thanks to a friend’s help. Thank you Jim Brouwer!

I got a text from Amy a little later saying Adrianne was speechless, she breathed the biggest sigh of relief. That’s what this is all about!!

Brian and Amy thank you so much from both Jim and me for the very generous reward.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Jim Wren

Ring lost at Ocean Beach found!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Troy and Sara were enjoying a day at Ocean Beach. Troy decided to take a swim. He did so with his wedding ring on. Not one of his better decisions that weekend, but, as it turns out, not his worst one either! (He drowned his phone the next day!) Troy wasn’t exactly sure where the ring came off and didn’t really know who to call at that point. They decided to post a lost ring ad on Craig’s list and saw my ad there. They called me with the details, but, since they live in the L.A. area and were back home.  they couldn’t meet me at the beach at 2:45 am (low tide)……not that they would have wanted to meet at that hour if they lived here! Troy gave me his description of the area, and knowing that beach pretty well, I felt I could conduct a search without him. Braving the elements, alright, it was  a nice, warm, calm, moonlit morning, I started my grid pattern with my trusty Excalibur 15″ WOT combo. Surf was rather rough but since he lost the ring at high tide, and I’m hunting when the tide is 6 feet lower, it should be in the wet sand. After searching for a couple of hours, and having my grid lines wiped out continuously by rogue waves, I’d come up empty. I returned to my starting point and headed the other direction, but, that took me out of the designated search area. I made 3-4 more passes and was about to call it a night (morning?) when I got a nice signal half way from my glow stick marker and the surf. Bingo! Yahtzee! Uno! Troy’s ring is in the scoop! I emailed Troy (his phone was drowned remember) and told him the good news and that I would contact him when I woke up at noon. They made the trip down to San Diego that night and were reunited with the ring. A pleasure to meet you both and thank you for the reward.

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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

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 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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Nantucket Sound, Cape Cod takes Ring, TheRingFinders found lost ring and returned it!

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Mary rs

Ring rs

High seas and strong waves stripped Mary’s engagement ring off her finger as she waded with her young child in her arms. A day of frantic searching by several family members and other beach goers did not yield a successful find. Not wanting to give up Mary did a search for help on the internet. She found my profile on TheRingFinders.com, gave me a call and E-mailed me with a request for help.

Less than a hour later I was at the beach, asked pertinent questions such as type of metal, time of day the ring left her finger, how deep she was, and where she was. With that information I was about to start my search pattern when a beach goer offered more information as he remembered the loss. OK, I modified the area I was going to search and began. I started high on the wet sand and worked toward the water. On the turn to make the third pass a lower than expected tone was buzzing in my ears. I did not think it was the object of search until I saw one third of the ring’s white gold band shining in the sand – the alloying metal in white gold will cause a lower tone than yellow gold on the detector I was using. But, when on a search I dig all targets! A good practice. I took the scoop, sand and ring to Mary for her to retrieve the ring.

Many onlookers passed congratulations and hugs around. Pictures of smiles and the ring were taken and stories were exchanged. I was even asked if I had found a UMASS ring…lost 12 years ago at the same beach. No, not me. But I will ask around if anyone might have found it. That would be great, to locate and have it returned after so many years.

It is always wonderful when a search ends in success. I really enjoy helping those that can use a bit of luck with the expertise I possess.
Smiles on.

Soccer Dad’s Platinum wedding band found Highland Park, IL

  • from Las Vegas (Nevada, United States)
Contact:

FullSizeRenderReceived a call from a dad who lost a platinum wedding band while practicing soccer with his son in Highland Park, IL.

He knew about where  he lost it so it was a quick hunt.

He considered renting a metal detector, but found me through the ring finders. He was very happy

Palladium Ring Found in Grass .. Encino, CA. .. Returned

  • from Newport Beach (California, United States)

 

Friday .. 8-14-15

I was just finishing an unsuccessful water search in Santa Monica beach. Started at 4am low tide walked back to my car at 7am. Just as I got to the car Brad called telling me he had lost his palladium wedding band on a soccer field in Encino, CA. I left right away for the park that was only about 10 miles away. Traffic co-operated making it possible meet Brad on the soccer field.
It was a large field but Brad had left a marker in the location where he had placed his backpack the night before. He believed that when he put his ring into the backpack, he missed the pocket and that the ring may be in the grass. He searched on his hands and knees till 11pm that night. He returned at 6am to continue searching. Brad got online finding TheRingFinders. He first called Steve Smith a fellow member of TheRingFinders, who recommended that he call me because Steve was out of town on a short vacation.

When I arrived, I started to grid the 40×40 ft area. Brad left me to search. Then I saw Brad searching way across the field. I got a little uneasy because it looked like he wasn’t sure where he lost the ring. I tried to ignore that thought concentrating on this location.. There was a lot of trash giving me 12-13 to 12-15 readings witch could be gold. I didn’t have an idea of what reading the palladium ring would give. Then I received a 12-23 ID reading at 2 inches. Going down with the pinpointer, I found the ring hiding deep in the grass, completely out of sight.
He looked over towards me and I held up the ring, yelling « I found it. » It was great to see the smile on Brad’s face. He also told me that his wife would be happy it was found. His last comment was,  » I  knew you could find it. » It was nice to get the job done, so Brad had time to get to work.

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Wedding ring lost at Coronado Found!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Chase called me asking for help recovering his wedding ring lost in the surf at Coronado. He was out boogie boarding the day before when a wave stripped the ring off his finger in knee deep water. He saw someone on the beach with a detector and asked for help, but, the guy didn’t have a water machine, so, couldn’t help Chase. The guy (Chase didn’t get his name) recommended that Chase give me a call. Thank you, whoever you are! Low tide was just 1  1/2 hours away, so, we made arrangements to meet there ASAP. I met Chase and his wife on the beach at the location of the loss. Oh, did I mention that they had only been married a few days and that they were here on their honeymoon?! This ring just had to be found! I started a grid at ground zero and expanded out from there in all directions. After an hour and only 5 pennies to show, I started at one end of the probable search zone and headed back over the area I already searched doing a slightly different grid pattern. Another half hour into it, I got a real weak target sound in my Excalibur’s headphones on the slope in the wet sand. I figured it was just another penny but didn’t want to leave anything in doubt since I was searching in all metal. I dug down 14″ and the target was still in the hole! Using my Vibraprobe 580 pin pointer, I located the target right in the bottom and grabbed a handful of sand. Well, out popped his gold ring! It really surprised me that it had sunk that deep in less than 18 hours. A very happy couple to have that ring back in time for their flight back home today. A pleasure to meet you both, congratulations on your marriage, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost in the surf at Imperial Beach FOUND!

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

While scanning the local Craig’s List lost and found, I see an ad asking if anyone had found this particular ring in Imperial Beach, and if so, to contact Cat. I emailed back that if she would like someone to search for it, to give TheRingFinders.com a try. I offered my services and agreed to meet her father Bob down at the location early the next morning to take advantage of the low tide, as Cat lived in Las Vegas and had already returned home. It had been lost a few days earlier, at low tide, and in 4 feet of water. (figures huh?) I had my doubts that it could be found this particular morning because the tide was actually a bit higher than when she lost it, but, I wanted to see the search area and give it a try anyway. The sooner you search, the better the odds of a successful recovery. I figured I would probably have to plan a return trip at a huge minus tide to get out far enough to be in the search area but that wasn’t going to happen in the near future. This was going to be the lowest tide until the end of the month, so, it was now or wait.

Bob gave me directions to where he thought Cat lost the ring and I started a grid with my Excalibur just north of that point and worked my way south to where the rest of the family had camped in the dry sand. I made about six 100 foot passes from slope to chest deep in the surf when I got a strong signal at my deepest point before heading back toward shore. The 3-4 foot surf was roughing me up a bit and making it hard to scoop, but, after my 3rd try, the target was in my scoop. After sifting out the sand, A unique looking ring, that matched their description, was in my hand. I couldn’t believe it! I guess it was either lost in shallower water than she thought, or, the surf may have moved it in a bit before being buried. A call back to Bob, who lived close by, and he was there in a flash. We texted and called Cat with photos which made her day. Another satisfying recovery in less than ideal conditions. Great to meet you Bob and to talk to you Cat. May your ring have more stories to tell!

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