how to find lost keys in Alameda County Tag | The Ring Finders

A botanist lost her keys at Tilden Park and we helped to recover them!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

I have fallen victim to misplacing my car keys just at my home, panic set’s in quickly once you realize…. I can’t imagine how hopeless it would feel to loose them out in nature while on a hike.

Meet Cody, a botanist who spends a lot of time working outdoors. Recently, while working at one of our local regional parks, she did just that.  Her vehicle parked merely feet away from her task, locked out from access and unable to move off of the trail.  Her work had her bushwhacking amongst the park flora investigating if rare species existed around a 100′ circumference of a work point.  Think tall grass, twisting berry vines and poison oak, thick brush and tree’s.  To make matters worse thick duff and leaves and remnants of old building materials litter the ground.  At some point her keys slipped from her possession lost to the wild.

Lucky for Cody, a spare set of keys could be driven from her home not to far from the site and she would not be forced to abandon her vehicle at the location.  She spent a healthy amount of time searching the area before deciding she might need additional help in order to recover the lost keys.

I was away on a camping trip with the local cub scout pack when I received her request for help, but she graciously waited a full week for our schedule to align.  We met early the following Saturday and headed out on the trail to the location.  I might have been a little overwhelmed when I saw the search zone, but we quickly got to work bushwhacking our way through the overgrowth.  We did find some oddities along the way and trash definitely made the metal detector chatty.  I found a neatly made bird nest nestled on the ground with four little eggs.  It was not the item we were looking for, but it was a treasure non-the-less.

We were under a grove of tree’s searching and as we moved off, there on the ground were the keys we were looking for…We made the recovery!

Cody and I celebrated that we had located them and that we would not be trudging along the overgrown hillside any longer.  All that remained were a few quick photos and a short walk back to the trailhead.

Thank you Cody for taking me on an early morning adventure in the hills.  I won’t soon forget our time on that search.

 

 

 

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

Tags:
Category:

Lost Subaru Key Fob… Recovered from Steep Slope in Oakland, CA

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

It’s not too often I get calls about lost keys or key fobs, let alone from a 10 year old, but on Monday May 6th that all changed.  The young boy requested that I come look for a set of keys that found their way off of a deck and onto a slope covered with ivy, blackberry, and other organic debris.  Of course I asked if the young boy would be assisting me and that I had an extra metal detector that I’d be glad to share.  Excitedly, we scheduled the search the following afternoon after school had gotten out.

It took 30 minutes or so to make my way to Oakland, CA were the key fob made it’s way into the wilds.  Upon arrival, I met the family including mom, dad, and several siblings.  They showed me to the scene of the mishap and explained that while swinging a rope the boy accidentally struck the keys sending them into the void below.  A search ensued but produced no results.  My first thoughts were that I asked a young 10 year old boy to assist me and now was looking at a very steep and hazardous looking slope entangled in ivy and blackberry vines.  But after producing my back-up machine to the boy and a garret pin-pointer to another sibling, there was no turning back.

The four of us, myself, the two boys, and dad (who was assisting by removing thorny blackberry vines from the slope) started a hasty search of the steep hillside.  The boys were excited every time the metal detectors sounded off and they quickly set out to discover what had made the machine scream out.  The hillside was riddled with targets like bottle caps, pull tabs, aluminum cans, and a large number of other interesting items. After about 20 minutes of looking, dad said that he may have saw something on the slope while pulling out vines and the two boys rushed to confirm the presence of the object.  First the young boy with the metal detector confirmed something metallic, then the sibling with the pin-pointer narrowed the search.  Moments later, with a bit of careful probing, WE MADE THE RECOVERY!

After a short celebration our little crew, and now mom and other siblings, collected on flatter ground for a little exploration and metal detecting.  For another 30 minutes or so we located and dug a plethora of targets, mostly do-dads and trash, but everyone was having a fun and educational experience.  Overall, the search for the wayward key fob and mini-hunt that followed was hugely successful.  Thank you kindly for allowing me to provide this service, I always love to get those willing and able involved into the search and having an interactive experience.

This was our target today!

A substitute picture of myself for the book of smiles!

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

Now offering Metal Detecting, Video Endoscope, and Magnet Fishing services!

Tags:
Category:

Set of Keys Lost in Oakland Hills…Found

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

Now offering Metal Detecting, Video Endoscope, and Magnet Fishing services!

Harry had lost an important set of keys on a hillside covered in ivy directly below the stair to his beautiful Montclair Hills home.  He and his wife searched the area and even removed much of the ivy in the location.  The keys were seemingly gone!  The couple found my information from the TRF website and had sent a request for help at 11am on the 9th of March.  We would schedule the search for once Harry returned home from work around 5pm, and I would maneuver to that side of the hills early to successfully perform a search for a lost ring near by.

My boys and I would meet Harry and his wife at their home and get a quick run down of how and where the keys went missing.  An initial hasty search of the small hillside only revealed some conduit pipes and very little else.  We then moved to search the « green waste » bin where much of the stripped away ivy went.  This proved unsuccessful also.  Next, I began to search with my pin-pointer around a metal post that did not allow the metal detector to get close.  It was at that time I discovered the set of keys nestled under debris close to the post…We had made the recovery!!!

Thank you Harry for contacting me, trusting me with the search, and your generosity!  I’m very happy to have been able to return your set of keys in a timely manner.

Harry, the hillside, and the returned keys!

Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

Tags:
Category:

Key and Key Fob lost in San Ramon, CA…Found!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

When Bethany awoke early Saturday morning to check in at work, it is doubtful she could imagine the absurdly frustrating events that would play out once she arrived.  The parking lot was near empty. She backed into a nice space close to the building, collected her things and got out of the vehicle.  Upon closing the door the preposterous action occurred.  The keys she held in her hand while shutting the car door were flung from her hands and directly into a bush.

Bethany, a very sweet and sensible young woman, had no doubt she would recover these items quickly and be on her way.  Four hours later, after combing and climbing through the large bush, she still had not located her keys. That is when a quick google search connected her to theringfinders.com page.  She found that I was the closest individual that might be able to assist her using metal detecting equipment to search for the wayward keys.

I would not make it there for about an hour, but once I arrived I met young Bethany and the giant bush next to her vehicle.  After a brief description of the events that took place and her previous actions, I provided her with a pin pointer and I, myself, started scanning the top and sides of the vegetation with the Equinox.  After 10 minutes or so, I caught a signal very near to the door she closed.  It was at about chest height and a visual inspection revealed her set of keys within the bush.  We had made the recovery!!!

Thanks for the call Bethany!  I’m so glad we put an end to your little nightmare, and I can only hope your day got way better moving forward!

 

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590 

Tags:
Category: