Lost Ring Pensacola – FOUND 5 months later!

I must admit that I assumed my first return during Spring Break this year would be someone out enjoying this nice weather. In reality, George lost his ring in his backyard 5 months ago. Like a lot of people, George had a pretty good idea where it was so he decided to go buy a metal detector and see if he could find it himself. When he finally gave me a call he remarked about how much iron there was in the ground and how hard it was to operate. George asked me to come out and take a look for him. George was right that it was a tough area but luckily I have some of the best machines in the world and I’ve been using them a long time. George pointed me to the area and I began my search. I did the part George had pointed out with a few coils and realized that the ring wasn’t there. I told George that I was going to expand my search and I didn’t make it too far before I heard a nice gold tone in my headphones and headed over to a thrilled George and his wife Michelle. Thank you both for trusting me to come find your ring. 👍




Hal called me about 4 in the afternoon to see if I could find his wife’s lost wedding ring. He and his family were staying near the Alabama beaches and decided to take their boat out to a secluded beach in Florida called Johnson Beach. Johnson Beach is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and the ring was lost on the intercostal side of the beach. Hal sent me a location and there wasn’t a way for me get to them by car without a 3 or 4 mile walk through the National Seashore which doesn’t allow metal detecting for archeology reasons. I tried calling the Park service for a permit but I think everyone was off work and I got a recording. I discussed this with Hal and he said he would come get me from a marina several miles away. By the time I got to where the ring was lost the sun was getting pretty low in the sky! his wife was afraid she would never see her ring again. the area to search wasn’t that big but the water was dark from recent rain. I ask lots of questions about what they were doing to try and pinpoint the location to start the search. His wife and daughter described at one point they were in the water doing cheers routines and animated with their arms the activity. It was the clue I was hoping for and asked about where they were. They identified and areas about 10 foot wide and I started the search. Within 10 minutes I got the unmistakable tone of a gold ring. Ring recovered, everyone happy and I didn’t get arrested by the Park police, a good day all around! 


Tess lost her absolutely beautiful wedding and engagement rings while vacationing at the beach. She and friends searched the beach for hours, sifting the sand with no success and it was getting dark. She called me at 9:30 that evening asking if I could help. After discussing details of when and where, it was the best guess than it was lost either on the sandy beach or in the water. I said I would help and I would be there at daylight. Tess met me just as the sun was up enough to see and reviewed the area to search. It was a fairly large area. I decided to search the beach first before lots of people showed up and before the umbrellas went up. The search took about 2 hours. When looking for a gold ring, depending on the metallurgy it could mimic just about any other commonly found metals. Because of that fact I had to dig every signal. I did lots of digging on that beach and did not find her ring. Next step was to search in the water. Fortunately there was not that many signals in the water. I think I dug about 10 targets before coming upon a weird signal, the target data kept jumping around suggesting a soda can but the signals could have been a gold too, so I started digging. Digging has to be done with care to avoid and damage to precious property. It took me three gentle scoops before the target was in my scoop. The entire time I was saying to myself this is a soda can, I know it’s a soda can, but knew I had to dig everything. To my amazement Tess’s cherished ring was there safe and sound. I learn something new just about every time I do a ring recovery, her ring was really three rings probably with different metallurgy!
it was a beautiful day at Pensacola Beach but the Shorebreak was really pounding. Chris was on the edge of the water putting on his fins and mask to do some diving. The Shorebreak hit him, he tumbled a bit and lost his ring. His wife called me to see if I could help and I said I would try. They showed me about where the ring was lost and I was able to find it in an hour hour and a half. We got to talking, he was from Pensacola and so am I. It turned out that we’re distant cousins! They departed all smiles. I was glad I could help and now have another family link. I guess it’s truly a small world!

