malibu Tag | The Ring Finders

Mike Hall called me on a Saturday night. He was pretty frantic; the previous evening he was eating at a restaurant in north Malibu by Zuma Beach and playing with his son after dinner in the sand, and his wedding band came flying off. It was dark out, so they did a quick search, but came up empty handed. I moved some plans around and met him out there the next day, Sunday evening, after traffic died down. It still took about two & a half hours to make the 80 mile drive. I got there, and Mike and his family were nice enough to save a parking spot for me right next to the sand. I asked him to try his best to remember exactly where he was in the sand when he was playing with his son, in relation to the parking lot, trash cans, and surrounding in general. I took out my Whites Duo Field Pulse machine and started to grid the area. I was finding many trash targets like small nails and bottle caps, but after more guidance from Mike and his son, I was able to narrow down the search pattern to a strip at the back of the beach just parallel to the cars. It wasn’t long before I heard a loud repeatable signal that sounded promising. One scoop, and there was Mike’s ring. He was elated and the whole family was jumping for joy. He then shared the story of the significance of the ring’s history. The ring had been passed down for generations, from his great-grandfather, down to him. What really touched my heart, was that his young son who was there, asked his dad, « How can I get married someday, dad, if the ring isn’t there to be passed down to me? »