Lost Ring from the Boat – FOUND!!!
Bryan is a Police Officer from Tennessee and brought his whole family down to Perdido Key to enjoy a well deserved vacation. They decided to rent a boat and headed down the waterway to the East and finally settled at a place where a lot of boats pull up close to the shore and enjoy the water and sun and sand. Bryan’s wife took her ring off to apply sunscreen and put it down on the boat and quickly forgot that it was there. It was only later in the day after they had moved the boat a couple of times and started to head back to the boat rental place that she had the panicked realization that she didn’t have her ring on and it was nowhere to be found. Thankfully, when they got back, a kind soul saw them distressed and suggested that they reach out to me. Bryan wasn’t completely sure of the name of the place and as he described it, I got a knot in my stomach. All National Parks, National Seashores and Florida State Parks have made it illegal to metal detect. To make matters worse, this was very close to a National Historic area and that makes it crazy illegal. I explained to Bryan that I couldn’t go there and of course he understood. Over the years, I have had this happen a few times and I’ve learned that the best way to approach it is to have the person who lost the ring reach out to the Park services. We spent the next few hours googling and ultimately finding some contact info. It wasn’t long until a contact that Bryan spoke to in Ohio of all places was able to put him in touch with the Chief Ranger here in FL and before you knew it, we had written permission to go on an adventure. Bryan lamented that they no longer had the boat and were leaving for home on Saturday. I was so vested in this ring now that I told him I would not only take vacation from work on Friday but I would also take him out there in my own personal boat. We made plans to meet Friday morning and I called my Father-in-law, Tom and asked him if he wanted to go on a big search. As always, Tom was ready to go. The three of us headed out this morning in my boat and enjoyed the calm water and the dolphins rolling. We even had a big spinner shark put on a show in the air off the starboard bow. We were on a mission though and as soon as we dropped anchor we all piled off into the water. Bryan had a pretty good idea where they started the day but as I mentioned before, they had moved the boat a few times and weren’t sure where it had fallen off. I told Tom that I would start on the right and he took off to the left. We both started our grid searches and it wasn’t long until we realized just how big this area was. I learned more about Bryan though as we walked along and determined that regardless of how things went, I would consider him a friend. After about an hour, I sent Bryan over to check on Tom. I saw from a distance that Tom had a signal and I stopped to watch since targets had been few and far between out here. Tom gently scooped a couple of times so I knew it was deep. He held out the scoop to Bryan and pulled something out that I couldn’t see from that distance. I yelled “Did you find it” but I needn’t have bothered. Even at that distance I could see Bryan’s expression change to one of shock and disbelief and gratitude all rolled into one. Bryan had his wife’s ring back! It was an awesome ride back with more dolphins and a huge group of jet skiers but the best part was facetimeing with Bryan’s happy bride. Bryan, you are a good man and I thank you for all you do for your community. I’m glad we could make that drive back to Tennessee a little bit easier tomorrow. Nice Job to you Tom! I’m glad you are on my team.
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!
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! 
