Lost Ring Honeymoon Island Tag | The Ring Finders

Lost Wedding Ring Recovered at Honeymoon Island

  • from Tampa (Florida, United States)
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Ring recovered on May 21, 2024. This recovery was another that wouldn’t have been possible without the teamwork of ring finder Steve Thomas and another mutual friend, Scott Carlson who helped with my first recovery at Honeymoon Island.

Mitch lost his gold wedding ring while paddle-boarding between the jetties at Honeymoon Island. Mitch had seen it happen in slow motion. He changed hands on the paddle and his ring popped of his finger, dropped to the board and rolled off into the water. He helplessly watched it disappear into the water below.

Mitch had done something amazing – he dropped a pin on Google maps, which had nearly the exact location where he had dropped the ring into the water. He had contacted Steve Thomas, who was out of town at the time and was referred over to me and Scott for assistance.

Scott had spent a few hours looking for the ring in the late afternoon a day or two prior, but didn’t have luck in locating it. I followed up the next day, using that location as my guide. I got there as close to low tide as possible to get out as far as I could detect.

On may way out into the water, a group of children asked what I was doing with my equipment. I told them I was trying to find a ring somewhere in the water and they wished me luck.

I started zig-zagging the area I felt the ring was most likely to be and there were very few targets out that far. When I hit a loud signal, I couldn’t see the display on my detector as it was completely submerged under water, but I had a good feeling. It took 2-3 scoops and the ring appeared in my scoop!

On the way back to the beach, I showed the children the ring and they cheered for me for finding it! It was the first time I had a cheering section for one of my recoveries!

I got back in touch with Steve and Scott to let them know I located the ring. They passed along Mitch’s contact info and he promptly met me at the beach to receive his missing ring.

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Custom Made Wedding Ring Recovered at Honeymoon Island

  • from Tampa (Florida, United States)
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Item recovered on July 4th, 2023

I began metal detecting around the time of the pandemic as a way to get out of the house for some exercise. I wasn’t a ring finder – I didn’t even know there was such a thing!

After getting through the learning curve – finding lots of trash, to identifying coins, then targeting jewelry and really learning my machine, I stumbled upon a post on Craigslist at the beginning of June, 2023. A post that another metal detectorist made on behalf of the gentleman, Jacques, who had lost his ring.

I felt this would be a good challenge – like a scavenger hunt with a metal detector and a chance to test my skill! I reached out to the person who made the post, who shared additional details with me and I was off on the hunt.

Jacques was an older gent who lost his ring in the water at Honeymoon Island on day 1 of his vacation. He spent the rest of his time trying to find his lost custom-made wedding ring, even renting a metal detector himself. He had seen another person metal detecting there the day the ring was lost and others had tried to find it, with no luck. Hope seemed to be running out that the ring was either found by someone or claimed by the sea forever.

I searched for this ring on 3 separate occasions, twice in June and finally found it on July 4th, 2023. It was a perfect day for metal detecting – beautiful weather and calm water. Jacques’ ring was the very first target I hit that day, but I didn’t recognize it as the one due to the photo that was provided and the condition of the ring from being in the water for over a month.

After I got home and cleaned up the ring, I consulted with some local friends – people with much more experience than I had and we determined it indeed was the ring Jacques had lost!

What came next would drastically change my metal detecting « hobby » to one of helping people recover lost items as a ring finder: the phone call to Jacques to let him know his ring had been found.

Words cannot described how happy Jacques was to hear the news after giving up hope his ring was lost forever! I had the ring packaged and overnighted to Jacques and he confirmed receiving it the next day.

I joined the ring finders group a few months later and truly enjoy helping reunite people with their lost items! I hope to be able to continue doing this as long as I am able.

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Lost Gold Wedding Band Honeymoon Island, Florida…Found!!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
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Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder   lostringdunedin.com

“It’s only lost until I find it!”

Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please contact me ASAP at (843) 995-4719 or @dunedinringfinder. I offer a FREE metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

My wife and I recently were in Texas for about six weeks for the birth of our second grandson. I received several messages from individuals who had lost jewelry in the water at Honeymoon Island. Because I knew I would not be returning for several more weeks, I needed to call upon some experienced, trustworthy detectorists to conduct searches for these lost items as soon as possible and before they were found by someone who would not return them.

Jim contacted me to say that he had lost his white and yellow gold wedding band in shallow water at Pet Beach, Honeymoon Island State Park. Jim and his wife BJ were enjoying the day and the water but Jim had slipped on the rocks and shells in calf deep water and had fallen to his hands, losing his ring in the process. Because I was still in Texas, I messaged the Pinellas County Florida Ring Recovery group and over the course of the next few days several detectorists (Scott, Brenda, and Jason) searched for the ring. Jim had met Scott on site and showed him where he thought he lost the ring but the ring could not be found. Because Jim was so certain of where he had lost the ring, we all assumed that the ring had been found by another detectorist.

I returned from Texas a few days later and Jim reached out to me and asked if I could meet him at the beach for one last search. I agreed and arrived at the loss location about twenty minutes before he did. I turned on my Minelab Equinox 900 and began a grid search of the wet sand walking north and after a few minutes hit a target that I thought was in the rusty beer cap range. As I began to dig, some curious beach goers came up to see what I was doing. With my second scoop out popped Jim’s ring! I was shocked that it was still there after several weeks although it was a little further north and a little closer to shore than I thought it would be. The beach goers were very excited after I told them the story and they agreed to sit quietly and watch me surprise Jim when he arrived. Jim walked up to me a few minutes later and after introductions I asked him to point out to me where he thought he had lost his ring. Jim pointed in the general direction of the hole I had just pulled the ring from! I took Jim’s ring out of my pocket and asked him if this is what it looked like. Jim was initially speechless and the beach goers burst into applause.

Thanks to my fellow detectorists from Pinellas County Florida Ring Recovery for assisting with the search. And thanks to Jim for the generous reward and for trusting the Dunedin Ring Finder to find your ring. I was so blessed to have found it!

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Wedding Rings Lost Four Months in Palm Harbor, Fl. Yard…Found!!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:


Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a FREE metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

One day in early November 2023, Michelle realized that both her engagement and wedding rings were missing from her hand. Michelle had recently done some gardening and thought that she must have lost them as she was pulling weeds in the thick liriope or monkey grass. At the same time, Michelle and her husband John had recently returned from a trip to the mountains of North Carolina so there was a possibility she had lost them where they stayed. Michelle also works as a dental hygienist and there was a possibility that she could have lost her rings at the office. Michelle and John thoroughly searched everywhere she thought she may have lost her rings and contacted the rental company of the vacation house in North Carolina but they could not find them. Michelle then reached out for help on social media and I responded to her. As it turns out, Michelle has her hair done at the same place where my wife and I go for hair cuts so several people who work there recommended me. A few days later, I searched Michelle and John’s front yard thoroughly with my Nox 900, especially the area with the tall, thick liriope grass including probing the grass with my hand held pinpointer but I was unable to find the rings. Michelle agreed to contact me again in several months after she cut the grass back which she did in early March. I went back over and searched the grass again but it was still too thick to push my detector coil as far as I needed to so I probed the grass with two pinpointers including my new Nokta AccuPoint pinpointer. After about 30 minutes of searching in several clumps of the thick grass, the Nokta “beeped” a contact signal and I pushed the grass aside to reveal the beautiful engagement ring! Michelle was at work and John had just walked into the house so I shouted for John who quickly came back out. I pushed the grass aside and John stared at the ring with a look of disbelief and we both began to celebrate. Then I remembered I still needed to find the wedding band and I got another signal just a few inches from the first ring, pushed the grass aside and there was the second ring! After I left, John texted photos of the rings to Michelle who was still at work and the entire office was overjoyed with the recovery.

Michelle and John, thank you for trusting the Dunedin Ring Finder to find and return the precious wedding rings and thank you for the generous reward!

 

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Lost Tungsten Carbide Wedding Band Honeymoon Island, Dunedin Fl…Found!!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

 

Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

Erin and her husband Michael were enjoying some beach time with family on the Dog Beach portion of Honeymoon Island State Park. Michael was playing with the children in about knee deep water when he felt his heavy tungsten carbide wedding band slip off of his finger into the water. Despite a frantic effort by all present to find the ring searching in the water by hand, it could not be found.

Unfortunately as they were vacationing in the Tampa area and staying with family, Erin and Michael had to return to their home in Texas several days later without Michael’s wedding band. After Erin returned home, she began seeking help to find her husband’s ring on local social media pages including one called Honeymoon Island Sandbar Chasers where several people recommended me.

After I was able to connect with Erin, I discovered that Michael had lost his ring about fours days before near high tide in knee deep water which means it would just be in wet sand at low tide. I was concerned that the ring might be found by another detectorist under those conditions so I headed to the beach at low tide the following morning. Erin had texted me a pin drop on a Google map as well as a description of the loss location which included several visual landmarks but Erin’s step mom who was with the family at the beach and who lives in the area was not able to assist me that day. I wanted to recover the ring with one search because beginning the next day I was going to be out of town for two weeks.

After I reviewed the map and noted landmarks at the site, I decided to begin my search in knee deep water and grid about 50 yards to the north and south of the beginning point. After working the water up to the wet sand for several hours and finding several bottle caps and pull tabs, I detected a target with a strong signal that I felt like could be just what I was looking for. I dug a few inches down with my scoop and out popped Michael’s wedding ring! I sent some photos to Erin who couldn’t believe how quickly I had recovered the ring especially with no one present to point out the precise location. Later that day I met up with Erin’s step mom to return the ring so she could mail it to Erin. As soon as I receive a photo of Michael with the ring back on his finger, I will edit this post. In the meantime, my smile will have to do!

Erin and Michael, thank you for trusting the Dunedin Ring Finder to find and return Michael’s wedding ring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost Wedding Ring Caladesi Island, Dunedin, Fl….Found!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

Michelle and her husband Justin were visiting beautiful Caladesi Island beach for the day. Michelle took off her beautiful wedding/engagement ring to apply sun screen and then got into the water. After a few minutes in the warm waters of the Gulf, Michelle realized that her ring was no longer on her finger! She quickly began a frantic search, first by looking around in the clear water where she stood and then by searching the area around where they had set up their beach chairs in the sand. Soon the beach chair and umbrella vendor Chris came over to see what was going on and to assist in the search. Michelle could not remember if she had placed the ring back on her finger after applying sunscreen so it could have fallen into the sand off of her chair or have been lost in the water.

I had just recovered another wedding ring on Caladesi Island about a week before and had left my contact info with Chris so he texted me about this ring loss. Chris gave me Michelle and Justin’s contact info as they were staying at Clearwater Beach and told me he had placed cones around the area of sand where their chairs were placed. I took the ferry over to Caladesi the next morning and after arriving at the beach, Chris showed me the area of sand to search and also the area of water where Michelle may have lost the ring about waist deep. The search in the sand revealed only a couple of bottle caps and another ring that was not close to the picture of Michelle’s ring she had sent me. Then I began my water search sweeping my detector back and forth from the dry sand to the wet sand and then to the point where Michelle entered the water. I worked out to a small sand bar where Michelle had told me was her furthest point in the water and then back to shore and then back out in a grid pattern. After being in the water only about 2o minutes,  I hit a target on the side of the sand bar that my detector told me could possibly be the gold and diamond ring I was searching for. After a couple of attempts I managed to scoop Michelle’s precious ring out of the water! This was the second ring I had recovered in about a week’s time without the owner present! I texted a photo to Michelle and said “Is this it”? Obviously she was ecstatic and we then set up a time and location later in the afternoon so I could return the ring and Michelle and Justin could resume their vacation much happier than they were before!

I was very fortunate and very blessed to have found the ring in only about 20 minutes. Some searches like this can last for hours and I may never be able to recover what I’m searching for.

Michelle and Justin, thank you for trusting me to find Michelle’s ring and thank you for the generous reward! And thanks to Chris for the referral and pointing me in the right direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost iPhone Sunset Beach, Tarpon Springs, Fl….Found!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

I was reading posts on a local social media page when I noticed that a person named Diana had posted that her son had lost his iPhone in the water at a local beach earlier in the day. I reached out to Diana who told me she was going to be back at the beach later that same day at low tide to do another search. I told her that I would meet her on site at 6:30pm to assist with the search which would be in knee deep rather than chest deep water at that time. When I arrived at Sunset Beach, I met Diana and several other members of her family including her son Gabriel who had lost the phone after only having it about two weeks! Diana showed me the area where they believed Gabriel may have lost his phone which included several hundred feet of beach out to about knee deep where a layer of sea grass began. I began my search down the shoreline from the starting point given to me by Diana by detecting the wet sand and very shallow water and I would move closer to the sea grass on my return sweep. I had not been searching for much longer that ten minutes when I heard several yells behind me. I turned around and saw Diana holding up Gabriel’s phone which she had found in the sea grass near my search start point! She told me that she had seen the phone in the clear water due to a reflection of sunlight. Diana gave the phone to Gabriel and he was overjoyed to see that it still worked even after soaking in the water all day. Later, Diana posted on social media that the phone had been found and gave me credit for helping with the phone search and a lot of positive publicity for what the Ring Finders do.

Diana, so happy you found Gabriel’s phone and thank you for all of your kind words!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost Wedding Ring Honeymoon Island, Dunedin, FL….Found!!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

Jeff was enjoying a Sunday afternoon with his family at Honeymoon Island State Park as he and his sons were tossing a football around in waist deep water. Jeff reached back on one toss over his head and his 14k white gold wedding ring flew off of his finger into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Even though there is normally good visibility, Jeff was unable to locate his ring in the water.

Jeff called me the following evening as his wife’s sister had recommended. He gave me the details and texted some maps of the loss area but was not going to be able to meet me on site for a few days. I packed up my gear for a search the next afternoon at roughly the same tide time.

Ocean water searches for rings are truly like “looking for a needle in a haystack” even when someone is there to point you in the right direction and you are already very familiar with the entire beach. Even though I had some maps from Jeff and he had highlighted some distances and directions on them, I was not 100% certain I was in the right location. Speaking to a nearby chair and umbrella vendor about the maps made me a little more confident.

The waters were relatively calm and clear so I began my search in waist deep water gridding the best that I could using parallel and perpendicular landmarks. After searching for about two hours I had recovered a tungsten ring and a crusty penny along with several bottle caps and pull tabs but not Jeff’s ring. I had contacted Jeff as I was beginning my search to get confirmation of the correct search area but he was tied up at work. As I was approaching three hours into the search and having detected the same relatively small area both parallel and perpendicular to the shoreline I was beginning to question my location. I told my wife who had accompanied me that I was going to wrap up today’s search in just a few minutes when I hit a promising target. I didn’t have to scoop deep in the sand because there is a rocky bottom in this area of Honeymoon Island and out popped Jeff’s ring! This is not the first time I have recovered a ring as I was just about to leave the beach. I texted Jeff some photos and obviously he was elated! I later met Jeff at a nearby park and returned the ring.

Jeff, thank you for trusting me to search for and return your ring and thank you for the generous reward. God bless!

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost Wedding Ring Holiday, Fl….Found!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

       Steve Thomas

            Dunedin Ring Finder

Lost a ring or other metal valuable in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843) 995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

Over the course of the last several months, I have received calls to search for several pieces of jewelry including a woman’s titanium wedding ring in the water, a gold chain with a diamond cross in the water, a gold ankle bracelet in the sand or water, and a gold wedding ring. The only recovery was the last one which the owner found at her home the next day!

Recently, I received a text from Ymalai and she told me that she had been searching for hours for her white gold diamond wedding ring that she lost in her neighbor’s yard. Her wedding band had slipped off as well but she had found that ring during her search. I arrived and began my search in the thick weeds and grass of the vacant lot owned by the neighbors and in the area where Ymalai had found her wedding band. After a few minutes, Ymalai’s husband Joel arrived and began assisting in the search. Joel walked behind me and further into the neighbor’s yard when he spied the ring on the ground hidden amongst the weeds. Another recovery by the owner! Ymalai and Joel, thank you for contacting me to assist in the search.

 

 

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Lost Gold and Diamond Ring, Palm Harbor, Fl. …Found!!

  • from Dunedin (Florida, United States)
Contact:

 

Steve Thomas

Dunedin Ring Finder 

Lost a ring or other metal valuable in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside or swimming? Please call me ASAP at (843)995-4719. I offer a free metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!

I received a call from Miti who was referred to me through the Ring Finders website by a local metal detector store owner. She explained to me that her mother who was visiting from India was throwing some food to a deer who had approached a fence that separated Miti’s yard from the adjacent woods when her beautiful gold ring flew from her finger into the high weeds and brush. Miti’s husband Rachit met me when I arrived and showed me the area where they believe the ring had landed which was within about five feet of the fence. I crossed over the short wire fence and began to press my detector coil down into the thick weeds because it was very difficult to swing it back and forth. After about ten minutes of searching I rang up a 16-17 on my Equinox 600 which was within the range I was looking for, pushed the tall weeds aside with my gloved hand, and uncovered the beautiful gold ring! I held the ring up for Rachit to see and he had a big smile on his face. After I took several photos of the ring where I found it, I returned the ring to Rachit who in turn gave it to Miti. As Miti’s mother had returned to India the day before without her precious ring, this was a very emotional return so I simply took a photo of the ring on Miti’s hand and respected their right to privacy.

Miti and Rachit, thank you for contacting the Dunedin Ring Finder and trusting me to return this beautiful ring to you. Thank you for the generous reward as well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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