Yarmouth, MA. Gold Celtic Cross Lost, Found and Returned
August 29, 2024
Almost five weeks ago, Caeleigh was enjoying a day on the beach. She was wearing a very sentimental Celtic cross that her parents had bestowed upon her on the day of her first confirmation.
I am not positive on just how the chain with the cross became separated and lost in the fine sand.
Today I was out testing a new detecting scoop grip and found only pull tabs and a screw. About to give up for the day, I got out of the water and headed to my car. Gerry had been watching me and was inquisitive about my detector and could find a hearing aid. Yes it is possible, but unlikely unless the detector is “tuned” to react to the hearing aid’s metallic characteristics. When our conversation was about over and I was about to start searching for the hearing aid, Katie approached and asked the same question ecept her item of interest was a gold Celtic cross. The answer was the same.
The first area I covered was for the hearing aid. The detector I had been using in the water was just too sensitive over the 18 inch sweep to locate the hearing aid, but I tried. I moved over to the area of the cross and chain. I knew the cross could be located, but the fine chain would be very difficult. I was correct, the cross was retrieved from the sand with no problem
My second detector in the car did not have programming capabilities. One of my detectors at home would fit the needs perfectly. So I left the beach to get my best detector for the items I was searching for, a hearing aid and a gold chain in salty beach sand environment. I returned an hour later to complete the search. At the beach I was in luck with the adjustments I made to the third detector, it would react equally well to either object with the same settings.
As good as the detector that I chose for the situation and adjusting it for the objects to find, I did not find either one. There are possibilities that; either object may have been found, the beach cleaning rake buried them beyond my detector’s depth range, or I just missed detecting them. Also, the hearing aid may have been lost elsewhere.
I had talked to all involved and took pictures of Caeleigh and her cross before going home to get the third detector just in case what I feared happened, which it did. The active search for the chain and hearing aid have ended for now, but the information will be retained per chance I do find either one at a later date or hearing of another detectorist finding one of the still missing belongings.
On day one of the vacation, what is the number one priority for most at the Jersey Shore ? You guessed it, head to the beach. And thats exactly what Eric and his family did. What almost ended in tragedy, ended up being a memory that will last forever. Eric was playing with his daughter down where the waves push up onto the beach, when things took a turn for the worst. His absolutely stunning wedding ring slipped off his finger and into the water, and within seconds disappeared out of sight. they searched for what seemed like hours, without any luck. Thats when Eric figured he better call for some help, knowing it may be his last chance of ever seeing his wedding ring again. He gave me all the details, and I agreed to be on location ASAP, as the tide was going to turn, and start coming in. Eric also marked the exact location with google maps on his cell phone, which is a huge benefit, especially when he was not able to meet me on the beach. I quickly searched down the slope to about knee deep without any signs of his ring. The water was ice cold, so rather than using my wetsuit, I ran back to the truck and threw on my waders. I knew it wasn’t that deep, as Erik assured me he was holding his daughters hand when the ring slipped off. I made a few more passes going just a bit deeper. Eric showed up just about then, and we confirmed the mark was right on the spot he was sitting all day long. Just a few more passes and the ring was in my scoop. Nothing better than turning tragedy, into memories.
It was another fantastic day in New Jersey so Denise and her family decided to pack up and head to the beach. Denise’s nephew loves the beach, especially flying kites when the wind is just right. Prior to flying the kite, she removed her necklace and engagement ring. Denise slipped the necklace through her ring and secured the clasp, then placed them both in her top pocket for safe keeping. They both had ran all over the soft white sand, almost covering the entire block, well about 2/3 of it anyhow. It was later on when she looked in the pocket and , OH NO, both were missing. Everyone searched the area for quite some time when they decided a metal detector was needed. They headed down to the local store and purchased one, figuring the necklace would soon be located. Well, unfortunately that did not work, so they decided to call in a professional. Once I arrived and got all the details, I covered the entire area where they were flying the kite, figuring that was the most likely area they would have fallen out of her top pocket. With nothing to show for my effort, we decided the next most traveled area was the top of the tide line, and down a bit to the low tide mark. After a few passes, I asked them to move back a little, and sure enough, very close to the chairs, was the spot my metal detector sniffed out the ring and necklace. Everyone was totally amazed, and the best I can figure, either the necklace never made it into her top pocket, or coincidently it fell out right in the area they had set up the chairs and stuff. Regardless another happy ending !!!!
