Lost family heirloom diamond ring in Atlantic Ocean, Ormond Beach, Florida….found with metal detector!
Jade and her family’s Labor Day get away to the beach started out great! They arrived at the beach early and got their things all set out and could not wait to get into the warm ocean surf. Everyone was enjoying the water even though the waves were a bit rough…still it was the perfect dat to enjoy the water, sand and sun! As they made their way deeper into the water Jade’s husband noticed that Jade was wearing the precious diamond heirloom ring that his grand mother had passed down to his own mother and then she had passed it on to Jade when they got married! With the hope of one day passing it on to their son, Everetts, when he gets married. Jade was sure the ring fit snug enough to not have to worry about loosing it and as she pulled on the ring to show that it was tight…off it came and dropped straight into the churning wave tossed waters!
Shocked beyond belief she let out a scream and immediately everyone came to help her locate the ring! Even when knowing exactly where it fell into the water it turned out to be so much more difficult to locate then they had ever imagined! Hours passed and they drove to a nearby store to purchase a metal detector and tried it but ended up shorting out the headphones as it was not a water proof metal detector!
Meanwhile, Jade’s son Everett found « theringfinders.com website » on his phone and decided to call me for help. As I listened to what had happened and the fact that they were very sure of the exact location where the ring had dropped, I offered to come out right away and do whatever I could to help them. Even though the surf was rough and the waves were fairly big I felt that her ring would be where it fell even through to the next low tide cycle. I asked Jade what the sand felt like under her feet while they were looking for her lost ring…soft or hard packed? She said soft in some places and hard in other places. And with that info I knew I had to search ASAP and I could not afford to wait till the next days low tide. It was around 5:30 pm Monday evening and low tide was coming up at around 11:30pm and I determined to search under an overcast moon and trust that by God’s grace I would be able to find Jade’s lost ring before it sunk too deep!
Under normal daylight hours I am able to use small wire survey flags to mark the sand and then by lining the two rows of flags up I am able to back my way into the surf and use the flags to help me go out and come back in a straight line. Once I get out as far as I can safely go I then take two steps over and walk out keeping myself lined up just about four feet off of where I went into the water. But in the middle of the night on a dark beach there is no way to visually see my flags! So as I was passing the time waiting for the next low tide I walked across the Ocean Shore Blvd. to the Dollar Store and began walking the isles to see what I could use to mark my path and progress. Thankfully they had some Halloween decorations out and I came across some 8 inch long glow sticks! I was able to use the two glow sticks to keep me lined up and began my night time search about 10:00 pm and little by little I backed my way out into the dark waters as far as I could safely go and the two glow sticks worked like a charm!
Earlier in the day as I was waiting for it to get dark I detected on the dry sand just to see if anyone had dropped anything and I used up a couple of hours of battery life!!! Not smart!! Reason being as I only have one battery and it lasts maybe 5 hours total! I water hunt using the Whites TDI Beachhunter and hip mount the box and it works great! Normally that is about all I can handle when working in and out of the surf in the hot sun and fighting against the current and waves!
After an hour and a half of covering the main target area I noticed my low battery light had come on and my detector started making the usual odd sound. I felt I was really close to the actual spot where she said the ring was dropped and now my battery was dying! I prayed and asked my heavenly Father to help my detector last just long enough to be able to find Jade’s lost heirloom ring! God then gave me the idea to go sideways out as far as I could where it was just over my waist and the sandy bottom had areas where it dropped away a foot or so. Fifteen minutes later I got a funny signal that sounded much like sunglasses sound only distorted like. I dug three scoops trying to retrieve the curious item. Actually it was the only signal I had gotten all the while and as I shook out the sand my head lamp lit up the scoop and there to my utter amazement was Jade’s precious lost ring! Words cannot express my joy and the emotion I felt and I let out a loud prayer of thanksgiving to my Father God!
I could not wait to get to the car and dry off and send Jade the good news! We talked and I assured them that we could meet anytime in the next day or two to pick up their precious ring! Early the next morning Jade arrived at our home and I was able to personally hand her the ring she thought was lost forever in the churning waters of the Atlantic Ocean! Google gave them a very, very slim chance of ever seeing their ring again but thankfully God came through and used little ol me to help them out of a desperate situation! And I am so thankful they gave me a call and trusted me to do what I could in their time of need!
Have you lost something and need help trying to find it? Call or text me ASAP…I am only a call away!
Mike McInroe….blessed and honored to be a member of theringfinders.com
Geoff emailed me after searching the web for someone to help find his daughters lost engagement ring in the churning ocean! She had just gotten the ring a few months before and the poor young lady had been crying for the last three days. So many times it happens….folks receive or purchase a nice piece of jewelry and then in a moment….it is gone! In this case they were enjoying the beach, the water and the waves and as they were wading out into the surf all it took was one split second for an unexpected wave to hit them while their backs were turned and BAM!! We all have been hit by these waves and many have lost sunglasses, chains, goggles, hats, ear rings, and in this case…a very beautiful and meaningful diamond engagement ring. 
I received an email from Omar stating, « I just realized this morning that I lost my wedding ring. It probably happened at Toronita Beach yesterday evening. The tide was high and I was boogie boarding. Please call me if you think there is a chance that you can find it. » It was close to midnight when I read Omar’s plea for help and I answered immediately wanting to encourage and instill some hope. I always start by asking some very pertinent questions like…What time of the day were you in the water? Did you feel your ring come off? How large of an area did you swim in and how long were you in the water? How deep was the water where you were boogie boarding and how far out did you go? Thankfully Omar responded early the next morning and gave very descriptive answers to all my questions regarding the how, when and where! And one key piece of information about their boogie boarding was he and his daughters were trying to see how far they could ride the waves all the way to the wet sand. With that knowledge and the fact they were in the water at « high tide » put the target area in a much easier part of the beach to metal detect, especially at low tide!
