lost ring Hawaii Tag | Page 14 of 34 | The Ring Finders

This Ring Find began when I woke up from surgery. While I was in another world my wife got a call from Chris from Dallas, Texas. After enjoying the day swimming at Waikiki Beach two days earlier, upon exiting the water Chris’ wife Sharon was having her Gold Texas A&M ring begin to slip off her finger. She removed the ring and held it tightly in her fist. When all of a sudden a powerful wave crashed into her back and knocked her down into the shore break sand. To brace her fall her fist naturally opened and the ring fell into the surf and disappeared. She was devastated! This area near the Kapahulu Pier is a favorite of the body boarders as it’s pretty much a surf pound year around. I checked for low tide and Chris agreed to meet me at the beach at 12:30 this afternoon. The surf was still pounding but Chris drew a small enough grid in the sand I thought it would be a cinch. 45 minutes later and after a dozen pull tabs and 7 bottle caps I was very frustrated. Each target was a challenge to retrieve in the surf. Who decided to pollute the beach and party here? The ring had to be here because those targets would never have been left behind by another detectorist. I expanded the grid out in both directions but no luck. I had one last option head into the rocky coral area and see what is scoop able. This was out of the grid but near enough to come into play. Sure enough a screaming 19-20 on the Nox which I thought would be a Zincoln Cent…but nope it was Sharon’s awesome ring mixed in with a scoop of coral chunks. What a relief! I yelled over to Chris, « Got it! » He came running down to retrieve the ring from the scoop before the next wave crashed into me. Chris was so surprised and grateful he gave me a bear hug and said, « Thank you so much Joe. » Hopefully Sharon & Chris can get back to enjoying their vacation. Aloha to Sharon & Chris!

This Sentimental Silver Necklace hunt began when I got a call Friday night from Andrew who was on vacation from Murrieta, California. Before taking a swim he took his necklace off and wrapped it in his shirt and placed it on a beach towel. Upon return he put his shirt back on and then realized he forgot his necklace. He and some young lady friends searched but the soft sand must have consumed the necklace in its entirety as it was nowhere to be found. He saw two gentlemen on the beach with metal detectors but they were committed to a dinner reservation so they said, « Call Joe ». I wish I knew who they were. Since the loss was earlier that afternoon and it was now dark I was thinking someone may have found the necklace already but I told Andrew I’d be there in a few minutes and give it a shot. Being late I was able to get parking right at Queen’s Beach which never happens. Andrew and the two young ladies were waiting for me and I had Andrew draw a box in the sand where he thought the necklace would be. First target was a piece of foil and then I got a screaming 17-18 on the Nox and in one scoop there was Andrew’s silver necklace dangling from my scoop. One of the young ladies pull the necklace gently from the scoop and handed it to Andrew. He immediately put it over his head and around his neck once again. They all were in disbelief that the necklace was found. Honestly I was very surprised myself. Thankfully this vacation has a forever happy moment. Aloha to Andrew!

This ring find began when I got a text from fellow ring finder Dave Sheldon on Maui. Dave said a couple just lost the husband’s yellow gold wedding band in shallow water at Hilton Hawaiian Village beach and he referred them to me. A moment later I got a call from George who was on vacation from California. While tossing a football to his son in the water he realized his wedding band had come off. They had been playing awhile and he wasn’t sure when it had come off. I told George I’d grab my gear and be there in about 15 minutes. When I arrived George had me search around their lounge chairs as he wasn’t sure exactly when the ring came off. No luck there! I had George create an East & West line in the sand to create the grid. Thankfully the tide was coming down and they hadn’t gotten deeper than his chest. I started my grid search on the West end and worked East. Thankfully their weren’t many targets so I was able to cover the grid rather quickly. When I was a little bit past half way I got a nice tone on the Nox right at the waters edge and in one scoop their was George’s huge Gold Wedding band in my scoop. George ran down to retrieve his ring and he had a look of disbelief since the ring was right on the shoreline in inches of water when he thought it probably came off while throwing the football. Ring finders know the location of the ring is only known when it is found. George and his family were so thankful and that’s what makes this hobby so fun. Aloha to George!

This ring find began when I got a call from Elijah who hails from Guam and serves in the US Army on Oahu. While Elijah & his lovely wife Bianca were getting ready to snorkel they forgot they had placed their wedding rings in the flippers and as they went to put them on they spilled out into the sandy shoreline and a wave erased them from view. They initially called ring finder Don Bryant up in Kailua but he passed it to me as I live ten minutes from Waikiki. Parking was non existent near Kaimana Beach so I parked at the zoo and walked down. Elijah met me at the entrance and then we proceeded together down to the area the rings were lost. I started the grid search but the rings weren’t in that box so I shifted the search towards the Natatorium wall thinking the minor surf might have pushed the rings that direction. Indeed a few seconds later I got a nice tone on the Nox. In the first scoop up came Bianca’s white gold diamond ring. I asked her to come out into the water to get it as I had another target on the Nox. Three scoops later I had Elijah’s white gold wedding band. Thinking I was done Bianca said there was a tiny gold ring that was also lost. I swung the Nox around and indeed there was a third target. This ring was so tiny it got pushed away from my scoop about four times before I was able to retrieve it. Okay 2021 lets start the year with a trio recovery. Elijah & Bianca were obviously thrilled to get all their rings back and were so thankful it didn’t take but a few minutes. Aloha to Bianca & Elijah!

This ring hunt began when I got an email from Bart who lives in Seattle Washington and was on vacation with his lovely wife Caroline & their son. While throwing a football in waist deep water Caroline noticed her platinum & diamonds engagement & wedding bands had come off. Bart got a mask and snorkel and searched immediately around the area Caroline was in the water. Honu Lagoon is like a washing machine during high surf times and the rings were no where to be found. Caroline found the ring finders by doing a google search for « lost ring Oahu ». I called Bart and told him we could see what the surf would be like the next day at low tide to see if a hunt was feasible. The next morning Bart sent me a pic of the lagoon and said looks pretty calm this morning. I told him I would grab my gear and head down around 11AM at low tide. When I arrived Caroline & Bart drew lines in the wet sand so I could start a grid search. I entered the water and even at low tide I was getting pushed around quite a bit. I decided to hunt parallel to shore so as to follow the sand dunes underwater which I could see clearly. It wasn’t 2 minutes later I got a strong number 6/7 on the Nox and in one scoop their was Caroline’s beautiful engagement ring in my scoop. I yelled to Bart to come out into the water to retrieve it so I could stay on the spot to recover the wedding ring as I heard another target. After Bart took the ring I scooped the second target and there was the wedding ring. Mission accomplished! I was thinking this is going to be a challenge in the high surf. Let’s just call it a New Year’s Eve blessing! Caroline & Bart were so grateful and could now leave the island this evening with all their possessions. Aloha to Caroline & Bart!

This ring find began when I got a call from Daniel who lives in Honolulu. While enjoying the day and playing volleyball on the Hale Koa beach his girlfriend Kiana lost her Gold Cartier Love ring in the water while going after a stray ball. They searched for about an hour but never found the ring. His friend told him to Google search and that’s how he found the ring finders. I told Daniel I could grab my gear and be there in 15 minutes. When I arrived Daniel introduced me to Kiana and she proceeded to show me how she lost the Love ring which was so small she actually wore it as a toe ring and felt it come off as she ran into the water. We set the grid lines and I started the search. Kiana only went five feet into the water which was waist deep. On the second leg of the grid I got a nice tone in the wet sand and in one scoop there was Kiana’s Gold Love ring. I let her reach in and retrieve the ring and then she asked if she could give me a hug. But of course! She said the ring had strong sentimental value to her and she was very thankful for the successful search. Aloha to Kiana & Daniel!

This ring find began when I got an email from Justin from Mililani stating he’d lost his white gold wedding band in Honu Lagoon while enjoying some time with kids in the water. He actually saw the ring fall to the bottom in chest deep water and when he went under to retrieve it the waves pushed the sand and his wedding band disappeared. He spent an hour and a half hunting but the ring never reappeared. We agreed to meet this morning at 9AM during the low tide. When I arrived Justine and his father were using a makeshift sifter to try and recover the ring. Justine helped me draw my grid lines in the sand and I started the search. I walked out to neck deep water and then turned around towards the shore. After a few steps I got a loud #13 on the Equinox and in one scoop there was Justin’s ring. Elapsed time 2 minutes. I shouted over to Justin « Found it! » Luckily I started on that side of the grid otherwise it may have taken much longer. Justine and his father were shocked on how quick a recovery it was especially after searching with the sifter for quite some time. Aloha to Justin!

This ring find began when I got a call Sunday evening from Keith who lives in Hawaii Kai on Oahu. While playing baseball at Koko Head District Park Keith determined that during one of the times he removed his baseball glove his gold wedding band must have come off. We agreed to meet the next afternoon at the ball park so Keith could show me the general area he was playing in right field. Keith was waiting when I arrived and we went up to the ball field in the background of the photo. I gridded out the most probable area and started my search. The Equinox was popping on many targets coins, pull tabs and bottle caps. I had my pinpointer so decided since the ring was probably on top of the soil in the grass I would ignore all targets below two inches on the Equinox. After hunting the grid and still no ring I asked Keith which direction was most probable to expand the grid and he said towards the infield. Low and behold the first target in the new grid was a surface screaming 11-12 on the Equinox. I bent down to run the pinpointer through the grass and there was Keith’s gold wedding band. Hidden under the grass I believe someone must have stepped on it during the previous day’s search. I enjoy these challenging hunts with many targets but Keith said he thought we would never find it after about 30 minutes and seeing me check so many targets. Keep the Faith and we shall succeed! Aloha to Keith!

This necklace hunt started when ring finder Don Bryant referred me to Jen as the Waikiki Metal Detectorist to request services from. Jen who is from Cincinnati Ohio working for a local First Aid & Safety company texted me that she lost her necklace after safely placing the necklace her father gave her into a beach bag. Her guess is that at some point while removing items from her bag the necklace slipped out into the sand and disappeared. She went back the next day to search but the necklace was no where to be seen. We agreed to meet at the beach Tuesday after work and see if the necklace could still be there. Jen walked me down to Queen’s Beach where she lost the necklace and I had her draw a grid in the sand where she thought it could be. I started the search as Jen was talking to a gentleman on the beach. He asked her what we were looking for as I was digging my first target and then exclaimed, « Look he found a necklace as it was dangling from my scoop. » Jen looked over in disbelief and said, « Oh my gosh you found it » Nice grid draw Jen you made this 15 second first target search successful. Wish they could all be this easy. Aloha to Jen!