Received a call from Kathy who advised her husband had lost his wedding ring in the backyard of their residence. Kathy said her husband was shooting some hoops when the ring had come off his finger and disappeared in the grass. Kathy said they were unsuccessful at finding the ring and later found www.theringfinders.com on an internet search..
The photograph tells the rest of the story.
Equipment used on this search CTX3030
John
Joyce was dead heading her flowers on her second floor deck and was tossing them over the deck railing, you get the picture, the Ring went with it. Joyce enquired about renting a metal detector and was told they are not easy to use, they take much practice.
Joyce Kopan Emailed after her sister saw the article in the Saanich News about my metal detecting. I called her and arranged a meeting after the rains stopped, it had been three weeks so a few more days would not change too much.
Well today the Sun came out and I headed over to Joyce’s house. After a quick demonstration on how and where Joyce lost her ring I got to work.
There was far too much junk in the ground to use my detector so I got on hands and knees and used my pin-pointer. After about twenty minutes I moved to the neighbors yard , Bingo I found it.
Joyce was so happy she had to hug me, thanks Joyce, I enjoyed this hunt!
Sunday, Sept. 13, 2013
I checked my emails about 9:30 pm Sunday night. Jordin had emailed me about 6 pm. Inquiring about how « The RingfFinders » service works. I wrote a reply with a short explanation, asking her to call me at any hour. She called me about 7am. Giving me directions to where she lost her rings two days before. Again I raced to the beach trying to beat the beach cleaning machine or possible another hobby detectorist that doesn’t know how to return a sentimental piece of jewelry.
Jordin is from Bakersfield, CA.,visiting her father in Newport Beach and will be returning tomorrow. Saturday, she took her children to the beach and had put her rings in her backpack with the kids toys. When she got to the beach she dumped the toys on the sand. She did not realize till Sunday morning that her rings were lost.. She spent several hours Sunday sifting through the sand and went that night with a flashlight hoping to see a reflection from the diamonds. Her search was not successful and she did not want to tell her father. The larger of the two rings was her mother’s wedding ring and her mother had past away when she was 3 years old. The ring was given to her when she turned 18 years old. How could that ring ever be replaced ?
After following the directions that Jordin gave me over the phone. I was at the beach within 30 minutes and both the rings were in my scoop after grid searching about 20 square feet. I took a photo and sent it to Jordin with a message. Just after I sent the message she came walking towards me from across the beach. When she got to me I asked her if she got my message. She said she had not recieved it. Then I held up her two rings.. That turned on her tears of joy..
The next day, I came to the same beach area and I could see where the beach sifting machine had passed over the same area on the beach where I had recovered the rings. It feels so good to be able to use my years of using a metal detector to help Jordin and others..
I’m happy to say that the 100% success rate is still going strong!!!!! With that said, I was fairly confident on this occasion that we would find the lost wedding band simply because of the conviction the owner had. As you have probably seen mentioned many times here at the Ring Finders, being able to describe in detail how, where and when you lost your valuable is the biggest factor when it comes to a successful recovery. Jeff had two of those three things going for him. He was able to describe in great detail exactly where and what he was doing when his wedding band slipped off his finger. Unfortunately Jeff did not hear of The Ring Finders until recently and despite losing the ring almost a YEAR ago, I was able to get it back where it belongs! Jeff was fortunate that this happened in a secluded, wooded area and not a community park, playground or ball field as the result could have been quite different. With that said, if you are reading this and think too much time has passed since you lost your valuable, keep in mind that might not be the case! Here is how things went down in Jeff’s own words…..
It was around a year or so ago when I went hunting near Wye Mills, MD (across the bay bridge). It was getting late in the day when I shot a deer, then had to field dress the deer in the dark. I walked into the woods and threw away the insides of the deer, and then wiped my hands with some old hickory tree leaves. After getting the deer back to my Jeep and driving for a while I noticed my wedding ring was missing! I sadly had to tell my wife that I lost my ring. We both were pretty disappointed, but I had hope because I was going to go back the next day to search for it….on my hands and knees for hundreds of yards. No luck finding the ring, but I still would not lose hope. I knew in my heart it was there in the woods, or somewhere in the field where I was hunting. Every time I would go hunting in that spot, I would always look in the direction of where I thought the ring was.
A year goes by, always thinking what if? I was reading an article on Yahoo about a woman who lost her ring, and how she used « TheRingFinders.com » to find her ring. I immediately thought to myself, this is my chance….no way! I contacted several members and Jim Wagner (who had a 100% success rate) was the first to call. I gave Jim my story, and I said I know it’s there or that’s what my heart tells me. Jim said, « If it’s there, I will find it »!! Wow, was he right! Lance and Jim started their search, and BAM… Jim says to me, your search is over! He found the ring!! I was in tears and so thankful that I never lost hope. I was also very happy that their 100% success streak is alive and well!
Both me and my wife are so thankful for Jim and Lance! We will always be thankful to both of them for returning the ring in style. I have been telling everyone about these guys. What a awesome end to a search that was going on in my heart! They are simply the BEST, and two of the kindest people I have met. Jim and Lance, you guys are definitely classified as « Lord of the Rings »! Wow……
Sincerely,
Jeff and Senayit
It’s always a great feeling to return a lost item to anyone, but it was a little extra special with Jeff because you could see how much his marriage and the symbol of the marriage really means to him!
Sunday September 29th @ 12:27 P.M. I received a call from a Frantic Kyle Cameron. Can you help me find my Platinum Wedding Ring?
I gathered up my equipment and drove to Esquimalt Lagoon and met up with Kyle and Christine and the little dog. Kyle explained that while playing with his dog on the beach he got his hands covered in sand and while cleaning them he lost his ring.
I searched for 1 1/2 hours on the beach and in the surf and Bingo the detector rang out crisp and loud, found it. Talk about excited, Kyle said he could kiss me, I declined that but shook his hand and returned the ring.
We got a call about 5:30pm from a customer that we had help several months ago, her daughter had lost daddy’s very special knife in the high grass. We were able to find it and created a happy customer.
This same lady’s neighbor’s daughter grabbed her mom’s car keys and ran through the yards of about 5 homes chasing a dog and then ran back to her house. Now you need to understand these are hugh yards, 100-200 ft across per yard. All the neighbors and family had been looking for 1 key and key fob that had fallen off.
Our previous client came home and heard about the keys and immediately said « I know who to call, lets call « The Ring Finders », she gave us a call and explained what happened and we said let a us grab a quick dinner and we would head that way.
We arrived and chatted with the owner of the keys, the little girls dad, the little girl was in bed being punished for losing mom’s keys. He explained where she had run and told us we had permission to scan all 5 of his neighbors yards. Ellen & I got our Garrett ATPro’s and began to search, some areas were very thick grass. About 5 minutes after we started my son and his girlfriend arrived to assist. Sometimes just more eyes in a situation helps, it was starting to get dark.
We all spread out and it 5 minutes I hear my son say « Found It » we all ran to him, including the owner and all his neighbors, my son was not even using a detector, just walking and looking. As I told him, son we do not care how it gets found only that it gets found.
Everyone was happy the father said it would have cost him $300-$400 per replace the key fob for his wife’s car.
So from a referral comes another successful hunt for « The Dallas Ring Finders »
Don & Ellen with assistance from Tripp & Shannon
We received an email from Crystal after she did a exhaustive google search to find someone to help her husband find his wedding ring. Her husband Aaron had been tube fishing on Lake Lavon in Texas all day long. He had no idea where he lost the ring and I think really did not expect us to find it.
Trying to coordinate schedules for us to make the hour drive out to the lake took several days, so today when we all arrived at the lake the ring had been lost for 9 days. We arrived about 9am and met Aaron & Crystal, remember he was very unsure where he lost the ring, in fact he thought it was probably out in 20-25 ft deep water where he had been tube fishing.
Aaron showed us the area where he and his buddy cleaned the fish in a picnic area. Ellen & I got out both of our Garrett ATPro’s and began the search. Aaron and Crystal took a walk down the beach while we were detecting. We had only been there 20 minutes when we spotted the Silver Carbonite Wedding Band. We could not believe we found it, this was one of those searches you go on almost knowing its going to be a long shot at best.
BUT, it turned into a awesome day. Ellen & I walked down the beach and Aaron & his wife spotted us and began walking back our way. As we got close to them I said « Boy the lake is really low » instantly you could see their faces get a little sad thinking we had not found the ring and already given up.
THEN, I said, « Aaron let me ask you a question, would you like to have this back » and I held up his ring. As you can see in the pictures, they were ecstatic and could not thank us enough.
What a wonderful hobby we have and the joy we get to bring to people when we find their lost item.
Another successful hunt for « The Dallas Ring Finders »
Don & Ellen
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Don Marshall wades near Hamsterly beach at Elk Lake last Friday searching for lost rings and jewellery with his underwater metal detector. At right is his scoop and floating sifter. The retired Saanich resident helps people find lost jewellery through TheRingFinders.com, a directory website for metal detector detectives from around the world.
By Edward Hill – Victoria News
Published: September 22, 2013 08:00 AM Updated: September 22, 2013 08:528 AM
In a surfing wetsuit, headphones on, electronic gear strapped to his body, wading slowly through the water, Don Marshall doesn’t look like other park goers at Elk Lake. He is in the zone sweeping the shallow murky water with his underwater metal detector, focused on hitting a telltale chirp of treasure buried in silt below. Chances are that of the thousands of people who flocked to Hamsterly Beach over the many hot days of summer, at least a few lost prized jewelery in the water. « I listen for the tones. You can tell from the crispness of the sound when it’s pure metal. The tone is very sharp. Rusted nails sound corroded, sound gravelly or growly, » Marshall says. « When you hit a good tone you get excited, but it could be a bottle cap that’s not rusted, or a pull tab. You get all excited and it’s a damn pull tab. » The retired Saanich resident has been ring and jewelery hunting around Greater Victoria for about three years and has been the mild-mannered saviour for five people this year alone. He’s Victoria’s sole listing on The Ring Finders website, a worldwide directory of metal detectors for hire. This year Marshall is batting 100 per cent – five calls for help, five located rings, both on land and in water. At East Sooke Park in July, he spent five hours over two days to zero in on a wedding ring lost in shallow water by a woman playing with her kids. A few weeks later at the University of Victoria, he located a platinum engagement ring lost amid grass and trees behind the Student Union Building. « It is so exciting, really exciting on how excited people are when you find their rings, » Marshall said. « The last one at UVic was a heirloom ring, passed down they told me three or four generations. They were so upset it was lost, and it was a hard one to find. » Marshall charges $25 for a call out fee to cover gas and takes a reward based on what a client can afford. He’s pulled three valuable rings out of the water at Elk Lake the past couple of years, and advertised the finds on classified ad websites, but nobody came forward. « It depends on how new (the jewelery) is and the level of tarnish, » he said. « If they are new enough, I’ll advertise them in UsedVictoria and Craigslist to try and get it back to the owner. It’s hard to find the owner of an old wedding ring. » Last Friday, Marshall was wading in Elk Lake as part of his regular post-summer exploration of popular beach spots. His underwater gear is good to a depth of 200 feet, although Marshall will wade in neck high following the tones. He carries a scoop and a floating sieve to separate the junk from the occasional treasure. It’s a pastime that requires patience – popular spots can be littered with bottle caps, nails and even bullet casings, all which can twig the device. He’s part of a loose community of about half a dozen people who regularly explore Greater Victoria parks and beaches with metal detectors. The Saanich fairground manager even allowed Marshall to explore the grounds and target-rich areas under rides. « There’s plenty to find along the towel line in the sand at Willows (beach), » he adds. Marshall purchased his metal detecting equipment as a way to keep busy after retiring from Telus. The draw, he says, is the mix of being immersed in Victoria’s natural spaces and the quiet solitude of the hunt. « It was a situation of finding something to do to stay out of the bar, » he said laughing. « And it’s the only hobby that pays for itself. » Check out theringfinders.com. editor@saanichnews.com
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| Find this article at: http://www.vicnews.com/news/224464181.html |
I received a call this morning from Warren. Yesterday, he had lost his month old wedding ring in a farmer’s wheat field while working on a combine. When he was finished he removed his glove and noticed that his ring was gone. He and his coworkers looked around for it without success. When he returned to his hotel room he decided to do a Google search for a metal detector to rent and he came across The Ring Finders and found me. I agreed to meet Warren in Westlock and we drove to the location that he had lost his ring. After one and a half hours of searching we found the ring in amongst the wheat stubble, as you can see in the picture Warren was one happy guy to have his ring back on his finger. Thanks Warren for intrusting me to find your lost ring.
Wow, talk about the old saying “Like trying to find a needle in a hay stack”. That’s the task I had today!
On the evening of 08/30/13, I received a phone call from a gentleman regarding his wife’s lost wedding band. The story was that they had spent the day at Herring Point Beach located at the south end of Cape Henlopen State Park Beach in Lewes, Delaware. The gentleman’s wife had taken her two rings off and placed them in a small bag while at the beach. The smaller bag was then placed in a larger bag. Upon arriving back home it was discovered that both rings had fallen out of the smaller bag. The engagement ring was found inside of the larger bag and the wedding band was missing completely. It was thought that the wedding band may have fallen out into the front yard when the towels that were in the larger bag had been shaken out to remove the sand from them. I responded to the home where I check front yard and was unable to locate the wedding band. It was then decided to search the beach were the couple had been earlier in the day. I agreed to meet the gentleman at Herring Point Beach at 6:30 am on 08/31/13. Upon arriving at the beach the next morning I was shown the area where the couple had spent their time the day before. The sand was still smooth from where they had set up a large tent. I started the search using the smooth sand as a guide for the search. I made one pass and turned around to begin another. I got about halfway through my second pass when I heard that tone through my headphones that signaled « Gold ». I recovered the ring and presented it to the gentleman. I learned that the ring was an antique, it belonged to his wife’s mother and it had the names of her mother and father engraved inside of it. Another successful search in the books!
