Lost Grandfather’s Ring -FOUND!!!
Last weekend, I got a text late in the evening from Samuel’s Mom asking about whether or not I could help her son. He was out in the water at that very second searching frantically for his Grandfather’s ring that he had accidentally slung into the Gulf while skipping sand dollar pieces with his friends. I realized that this was an important one so I gave her a call and she patched in Samuel so I could ask him some questions. I went over some info and asked him some questions about water depth and how the ring had come off. Most importantly, I had him drop a Google Maps pin where he was on the beach and then where he thought it might have landed. I told him that I would reach out the next day when I got to the beach. We got our signals a bit crossed and when I called, he was still about 45 mins away. I told him that with his permission, I would go ahead and start searching. I thoroughly did the area where I thought it might be and even found another ring. Unfortunately, I knew that it wasn’t Samuel’s so I prepared to keep looking. About that time, one of Samuel’s friends walked up and said that she thought it was a bit farther west. I promptly relocated and began doing my grid search there. I spent a lot of time in that area and found all kind of things that were not what I was looking for. I spoke to Samuel’s friend again and she mentioned a sign that was a little back towards where I had been earlier. Samuel had also mentioned the sign. I decided to go out deeper and make that my center point. I started heading towards the beach and about the time I did, I saw what had to be Samuel jogging across the dune trail heading my way. Samuel’s friend told him that we hadn’t found it as he waded out. As he was walking out to me I got another good tone. I scooped it up and looked inside the scoop and told him that maybe he was good luck and held it out to him. He looked in the scoop and couldn’t see because of all the shells. He said, “is there something in here?” I told him to take another look and watched as he saw it. I love watching people go from concerned to absolutely thrilled in a split second. 😃. Congratulations Samuel! I’m so honored that you and your Mom trusted me to go find your Grandfather’s ring for you. 👍
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!