Steve Thomas
Dunedin Ring Finder lostringdunedin.com
“It’s only lost until I find it!”
Lost a ring or other metal valuable at the beach or in a grassy or sandy area? Jewelry slip off of you while working outside, playing with the dog or swimming? Please contact me ASAP at (843) 995-4719 or @dunedinringfinder. I offer a FREE metal detecting service, reward optional but appreciated upon recovery!
Recently I noticed a post on a local Facebook page called Honeymoon Island Lost and Found that said someone named Olivia had lost her two wedding rings at Honeymoon Island State Park. I messaged Olivia and offered my metal detecting services to her and she responded to say that she would very much appreciate my help. Olivia told me that she was at the beach with some of her husband Anthony’s family the evening before and while in the water at about 6pm she felt her beautiful platinum diamond wedding ring and engraved titanium wedding band slip off of her finger. Apparently she had some lotion on her hands before she went into the water and the effect is to make your ring a size larger than what fits snugly fits your finger. Olivia and Anthony were married in May so she only had the rings a few months before they were lost and she feared that they were lost forever. I told Olivia that I had previously had some success recovering rings from the water and not to give up hope. Olivia sent me a photo of the rings and details regarding the loss area including the approximate location pinned on a Google map. I told her that I wanted to begin the search the next morning but Olivia said she could not meet me on location until after work that day. I said that I would begin about 11am using her map and other details because I did not want another metal detectorist to possibly search that area before I had a chance.
I arrived at the loss location about 11am and marked the pinned spot on the beach with my equipment bag. Olivia had told me the she was in knee to waist deep water only about 50 to 100 feet from the shore when the rings slid off. I began the water search with my detector by walking out a little deeper than I thought Olivia might have been and gridding parallel to the beach about 50 yards on either side of where I had laid my bag. Over the course of the next hour or so I moved gradually closer to shore, only targeting a couple of pull tabs and pennies. At that point, my detector moved over a promising target and as I was pinpointing the area to dig with my scoop, I detected another promising target a foot or two away. I scooped the first target from the bottom and when I shook the sand out, I saw the diamond ring at the bottom of the scoop! Of course at that point I had a pretty good idea what the second target was going to be and after a couple of scoop attempts I was also able to recover Olivia’s wedding band from the sandy bottom! Olivia certainly had provided great directions and it only took about an hour to recover both rings. I messaged Olivia when I got back to my car and told her that she had received the miracle she had asked for! About thirty minutes later Olivia messaged me and then called me and was obviously elated that she was getting her rings back. We arranged a time and place for a joyful return later that day.
Olivia and Anthony, thank you for trusting the Dunedin Ring Finder to find and return your precious rings. And thank you for the beautiful thank you note that included a generous recovery reward. God bless and Godspeed to you both. I love my calling!