A Good Sign in the Sand – Amanda’s Lost Ring Recovery
I love October. It still gets dark late enough that I can get out later in the afternoon without suffering from heat exhaustion. Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve done a recovery, so I was super excited when everything aligned perfectly and Amanda called about her lost ring.
She and her husband were down from near Indianapolis, exploring the area and thinking about moving here. They decided to spend some time on our beautiful beaches. While throwing a football at the water’s edge, Amanda slightly jammed her ring finger. Worried about swelling, she took off her ring and put it on her right hand. It wasn’t the best fit—but it seemed fine for the moment.
When she felt better, she went back down to the water’s edge and started tossing the football again. But when she sat back down in her chair later, she realized the ring was gone—and that sinking feeling of loss and panic hit hard.
She called me, and we went over the details. She wasn’t sure if it had flown into the Gulf or dropped into the sand. I told her it would be a few hours, but I’d bring multiple machines later that afternoon. Like a trooper, she stayed there all day watching and marking the area.
When I arrived, I started at the water’s edge, searching the drop-off zone first. No luck. I worked my way higher into the wet sand—still nothing. I debated whether to head into the water or stay dry a little longer, and I’m glad I chose the latter. After a few more passes, I got an awesome tone and number on my machine. I knew I had it.
I walked over to Amanda’s chair, shaking the sand gently from my scoop and watching her face. You could see the exact moment she realized her ring was back—tears started flowing as she slipped it back onto her finger. She told me she and her husband had the ring custom-made years ago and were afraid it might be a bad sign not to move to Pensacola or Orange Beach.
I told her maybe it was the opposite—a good sign that there are good people here who will help you when you need it. She smiled, wiped another tear, and agreed.
I’m so glad I could help. Welcome to the area, Amanda! If you ever need me again, I’ll be here. 😃
Steve called me asking if I could find a ring. Steve’s wife lost her new anniversary ring while doing some yard work at their home in Navarre. Their backyard has a lush landscape with a thick carpet of grass where a ring could easily fall in and be hard to locate. In addition there property bordered a forested area with fairly thick understory vegetation. They didn’t know where the ring was lost, so Steve and I recreated their activity as best he could remember. First I carefully searched the grass areas with no luck. Next was going into the shrub plantings, also no luck. Then I expanded the search area assuming the backyard was the most likely place to look since that’s where she was working, no luck strike 3. In desperation I decided to look in the forested area bordering their backyard. I started a north/south grid about 5’ wide. There were no targets in the understory, clean ground with no metal in it. So when I got a signal it screamed, the sound was unmistakable, the sound of gold! Somehow the ring had left her finger and traveled about 15’ into the woods. I never met Steve’s wife because she was working that day but Steve called her and she was overjoyed. Ring recovered, everyone smiling, no more worries, made my day!
