Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to try and find a wedding/engagement ring lost on Thanksgiving weekend on the beach at Oxnard shores, just south of the Channel Islands Harbor. This is a beautiful location known for it’s quiet streets, multi-million dollar homes and simply just an awesome stretch of beach. Cathie, my client relayed to me how she had lost the ring, she was relaxing on her beach towel, took her ring off for a minute and forgot it was on the towel. She got up to leave, shook out her towel and launched the ring. This began her series of unfortunate events. She realized when she got home the ring was gone so she and a friend went back using a colander to try and find it. That didn’t work so she got a friends metal detector and she and her friend tried to use it to no avail. Since this was now the end of fall the county begins the process of beach replenishment and right in her rings flight path was a giant 5 foot tube used to transport sand from the dredge. All of this and the most rain and storms we’ve had in 6 years of drought had made the ring virtually disappear.
6 months later Cathie posted an ad on craigslist and we met up to try and find the ring. I spent 4 hours gridding with my CTX 3030 an ever larger area around the lifeguard tower but couldn’t find the ring. Since I hate to quit anything I promised I’d come back with my Pulse Induction machine as it reaches deeper and retry the area. Again I came back and re-gridded the same area with my pulse and found some items buried 24+ inches but none were her wedding ring. As with any hunt it’s never over until it’s over and I promised Cathie as I’m in the area I’d watch for erosion and if I see a change in the sand structure I’ll hit it again.
Every new attempt at recovery is a learning experience for my clients. Cathie realized that had she thought of calling myself or any other ringfinder her chances at a positive outcome would have greatly increased. Learning to use a metal detector is the same as learning a new language. She found out that learning what her friends metal detector was saying was a lot like trying to interpret what R2D2 is trying to say if you’re not a Jedi.
If you have lost an important piece of jewelry or a sentimental ring don’t hesitate to call a ringfinder right away. We are experts at using metal detecting equipment and if you put is in the right place you’ll likely get your ring back.
