Dennis Port, MA Heirloom Ring Lost, Found and Saved the Vacation
September 10, 2024
Vacation time on Cape Cod has almost come to an end. Now it was time for a local to leave far a vacation thru Spain with a 15 mile a day hike itinerary. That is Chris’ plan but first she had to find a family heirloom ring. She had looked “everywhere” with no luck in finding the ring and new it was time to reach out for help. One town official gave her the name of the local dealer of metal detectors, J&E Enterprise. Due to the urgency of finding the ring before the air flight to Spain left, my number was given to Chris. One call for help, a few minutes to determine if I could help and I was on my way to start a search.
I arrived even before Chris showed up. After I had my gear ready Chris pointed out the area where the ring might have been lost, and we reviewed the previous day’s activities. While I started my search Chris, with a few suggestions from me, went inside to do a search of her own.
I started in the outdoor shower with a pin-pointer and a detector that could “see” through the floor boards. Nothing rang out, I moved to the path to and the bird feeding area. Again, nothing. That is when Chris came out to show me the ring I had been searching for. It had come off of her finger the previous night as she packed for the trip. At this point we both were thrilled, Chris because she had the ring back on her finger and myself because I would not have to tell her that the ring is not in the areas you have told me about. There is nothing worse that having to tell a person “I did not find the object”.
This type of search has happened more than once. It is related to the fact that one feels that the “missing” object is right “here” when in reality it is over “there”. The “here” is where the object was noticed that it was missing, not where it was really lost. That is why I ask a series of questions before a search begins, just to determine the entire area that may be involved with the loss. An average metal detector is useless inside a house due to the amount of metal, electronic appliances, house wiring, and plumbing also creates a problem. A pin-pointer or a detector with notch filtering may be helpful in certain areas such as an attic.
Another terrific outcome for the day. I am sure the trip will be very special and more enjoyable that Chris will not have been wondering about the ring, at least until she had unpacked.
I was on the road heading home from a recovery, when I saw a message come across from Alan. He lost a very sentimental gold charm, on the volleyball court the day before and was very interested to see if I would be able to locate it with my metal detector. He told me it was a private location, and with that I knew I had some time before I had to get to his recovery. I asked him to give me a call later on in the evening and I would see what other calls I had in that area and try to schedule them together. As it turns out, I was heading up to that area the next morning and told Alan I would do his recovery right after I finished the first one I had already scheduled . I got all the details I needed, as he was 95% sure the Charm was on the volleyball court. Once I got there I made a couple of paths along the one side of the court, when I got a sweet tone from my metal detector, and sure enough, it turned out to be his charm. I sent Alan a picture, which he could not believe that I was able to locate it. He was not in the area anymore, so he requested that I leave the charm with the homeowner. Alan requested to withhold his picture, and I fully understand , some people just don’t want to be on Facebook. Another recovery in the books .
I notice a text from Christopher requesting some help in locating Sandra’s David Yurman bracelet she had somehow lost on the beach in LBI the day before. They were not exactly positive that it was lost on the beach, but figured it was the most likely place it could be. The day before Sandra and some friends were doing some whale watching from the beach, and getting some excellent drone footage of the whales at the same time. That made me just a little nervous, as the whales move rather quickly up and down the beach, and it was very possible Sandra did the same. We arranged to meet at the house and walked up to the beach, while we discussed exactly what area they had spent most of the day prior. I asked Christopher to walk in front of me to box out the spot, as I followed behind, dragging my sand scoop around the perimeter. It was just a short while later, right in front of a group of people, that actually follow NJ Ring Finder on Facebook, where my metal detector got a loud signal, consistent with the bangle bracelet. Sure enough, It was Sandra’s bracelet, safe in my sand scoop, after spending two days buried in the Jersey Shore sand. Another near tragedy turned into memories !!!!
It was a beautiful day at the Jersey Shore, so why not take your dog to the beach??? After all, they love the water just as much as humans. And thats exactly what Lucy did that morning after she woke up. It was quite a few hours later that Lucy had a horrible mishap that you would wish on nobody !!!! She was throwing her dogs toy straight out into the water, when he beautiful Carter Trinity Rings flew off he finger. At that point she went into panic mode as many do, and began franticly searching without any luck. After about an hour she reached out to me. After getting all the details we had to act quickly, as the tide was coming in fast, do to the full moon. Once I arrived, she showed me the spot she believed the rings flew off, and I quickly got to work. I went out deep to start, knowing it would be over my head shortly. Having no luck, I worked 50′ paths back in to about knee deep water. Knowing time was running out, I went back out to about waist deep water. The greenhead fly’s were really having their feast on my upper body, so patients were growing very short. Making short sweeps, from waist to knee deep water, to expand my search area, to see if possibly they flew off to the side a bit. After about 25′ more feet to the south, BINGO !!!!! I got a fantastic hit, which I prayed was not a sinker or military debris, as this particular is littered with. After shaking out all the fine particles from my scoop, there, in the corner under a few shells, were Lucy’s rings. With a sigh of relief, I slowly walked out of the water, telling Lucy I was getting eaten alive. She looked very disappointed, figuring I was giving up, I told her to take a look into my scoop. Its at that very moment that makes doing this so so rewarding ! The emotions really tell a story of their own.
I received a text from Robyn in reference to a St Michaels pendant that was lost the prior day on a softball field. She had said it had extreme sentimental value, and it had been given to her nephew by his grandmother quite a while back. After getting all the details, we agreed on a time to meet at the ball field. If you know about softball, prior to the game, there is quite a bit of workouts that take place. That said, I started my search on first base, one of the locations it may have come off. Then searched the dugouts with no luck. Checked around home plate where batting practice took place, and still nothing. Then down the 3rd base line where lots of throwing and stretching take place prior to the game, yep you guessed it nothing. So, I walked back to the bleachers where Robyn was sitting, and talking with Michael, her nephew, who lost the pendent. After talking with him he mentioned that after playing first base, he went into the dugout, then out to coach 3rd base, the only spot left to search. Guess what, thats right, nothing again. Something is not right, he positively lost it on the field, but one KEY detail we missed. While heading out to coach 3rd base, he noticed the end of the chain hanging way down by his belt, with the cross stuck on the lobster claw clasp. But, everything was already searched. I stood back deep on the grass/clay line where he might have been playing, mumbling to myself, that I covered from the pitchers mound, all the way to the dugout, and even back on the grass a bit. It was then I realized I hadn’t covered right behind the mound where a first baseman would charge hard to make the cutoff on a line drive to second base. It was just a few moments later the pendant was recovered, right where I just mentioned. This is a perfect example of why we ask so many questions when doing a recovery, that one clue of the chain hanging low, could have eliminated all the extra searching. Regardless, another very happy ending.
