Restaurant Server So Relieved to Have Her Beloved Pendant Returned!
BRIAN RUDOLPH, LOST ITEM RECOVERY SPECIALIST (LAND, WATER, SAND, HOUSES & VEHICLES) WILL FIND YOUR LOST KEEPSAKE! CALL ASAP (301) 466-8644!
Being a part of THE RING FINDERS is not just a helpful tool to the thousands who contact us via email, text or call, but in addition to the common channels used to find us, sometimes we find the lost items and return the priceless keepsakes to the owners before they even contact THE RING FINDERS member in their local area! Let me explain.
Because those of us who are members of THE RING FINDERSare naturally inclined to keep our eyes wide open and our detectors moving swiftly, we occasionally stumble upon missing items that people lose even before the connection is made with that potential client. We may be metal detecting on the beach or in a park and lo and behold, we find a piece of jewelry that had been recently dropped by someone who was walking their dog or playing a sport on the field. Because we recognize just how much these items mean to those who lose them, we care enough to go to whatever means possible to return the keepsake to the rightful owner.
This very situation happened to me just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While I was dining in a pizza restaurant in Montgomery Village, Maryland, I stopped in the restroom just prior to me leaving the place. I happened to look down and see a lovely gold heart pendant with a CZ diamond in the center. It was resting on the floor next to the right side of the toilet. I thought it was quite odd that a lady’s pendant ended up on the floor in the men’s room. I logically concluded that the owner of the pendant was most likely a female employee at the restaurant because under normal circumstances a woman would not be using the men’s room. I thought, ‘Perhaps a female worker came inside to scour the place and she accidentally broke her chain in the process, causing the pendant to separate and fall to the floor’.
I took a paper towel and carefully picked up the pendant. Then, I took another piece of paper, placed it in the sink and rested the pendant over the paper towel to carefully wash it clean. Finally, I dried it off before eventually placing the heart inside my pocket.
As soon as I came out of the restroom, I made my way towards the front and immediately grabbed the attention of one of the restaurant’s long time servers, a 10-year employee named Yasmina. I asked her if she could check with the management team to see if anybody lost a piece of jewelry sometime that day. The moment that I made that request, her face lit up as if something wonderful had just happened to her! She excitedly responded by asking me, “Did you happen to find a heart pendant with a stone in the middle?!” I surprisingly replied, “Yes, how did you know about the missing pendant?! Did a customer mention that they lost it recently?” Yasmina answered, “No! I’m the one that lost the pendant a couple days back! I don’t believe this! I’ve been looking all over for it and I have been devastated that it fell off of my chain! I thought it was lost forever! I’m certain that this must be the pendant!” As she shared her account, she showed me a chain that was well secured around her neck where the pendant was once fastened to.
I carefully reached into my pocket and pulled out the piece of jewelry and showed it to Yasmina who happened to be one of my favorite servers. Her eyes widened even more as she exclaimed, “You found it! You found it! You found my missing pendant! I can’t thank you enough! This is wonderful!”
Apparently, this yellow 14 karat gold heart with the lovely stone in the center was given as a wedding gift to Yasmina 12 years earlier by her aunt. She was completely horrified that she had lost the pendant because it meant so much to her.
The restaurant server first noticed that the pendant was gone when she had arrived home from work two days prior (Friday night). The chain that held the pendant was broken but had still been dangling around Yasmina’s neck. She frantically looked everywhere around the house and in the car, but to no avail. That’s when she returned to work the next day and looked everywhere in the restaurant but she still couldn’t find it. It was at that point that she realized that it was most likely gone forever. Yasmina felt very depressed knowing how much this gift meant to her (representing her wedding day and how much she loved her aunt who gave the sentimental keepsake).
When I asked the pizza restaurant employee to guess where I found the missing piece of jewelry, Yasmina immediately guessed that it was found in the restroom! Just as my suspicions proved to be correct, she had been cleaning the bathroom that Friday night and somehow the chain broke loose, and as a result, the pendant fell to the floor! Although she went looking everywhere for the lost item, even searching in the bathrooms, her eyes just didn’t zero in on it!
We both couldn’t believe that it had been on the floor for more than 48 hours and nobody had picked it up in all that time! I was so happy to have found the piece of jewelry and the rightful owner! This recovery meant quite a bit to me because the pendant happened to be owned by one of my favorite servers! Yasmina kept thanking me over and over again and I was overjoyed with happiness, knowing that I could return something as precious as this back into her life!
The ironic part of this whole story is that I had been working on a ring search recovery story while I was eating my dinner that night in the restaurant. Yasmina inquired about what I was doing and I shared more about THE RING FINDERS and how special it is to help people find their lost possessions! Little did we know that 30 minutes later, right there in her workplace, I would end up recovering Yasmina’s very own beautiful gold heart pendant that she had earlier concluded that it was gone forever! With much happiness, this ring finder proved her sad conclusions to be wrong!
If you would like to view the video of this pendant story, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and you will be notified when the search video is uploaded onto YouTube.
SUBSCRIBE TO BRIAN’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO VIEW THIS SEARCH VIDEO!
If you would like to watch the VIDEO pertaining to this story, the video will be uploaded soon. To receive a NOTIFICATION letting you know when the video is uploaded to YOUTUBE: go to YOUTUBE by CLICKING THE LINK BELOW or OPEN your YOUTUBE APP on your device. In the SEARCH BAR, type: THE RING RETURNER, click SUBSCRIBEand lastly, CLICK ON THE « BELL » to receive NOTIFICATIONS when this latest search video is available to view!
I connected with a guy named Felipe who lost his wedding ring on a Baltimore, Maryland sports field that is utilized as a kickball field and dog park.
He lost the keepsake while playing an adult game of kickball. He was on a league team that was playing against another league team. He believed that during the game the ring must have slipped off his finger because he had remembered seeing it on his finger prior to the game and even during the game at some point. The question for him was, « Where did it end up? »
When he realized that he had lost the ring, he gathered up his teammates and even acquired the help of the other team’s members to join in the search. There must have been 20 people or more searching for his missing gold wedding band! After everybody finished searching, there still was no recovery of the ring.
Brian Rudolph with The Ring Finder’s Discovers Felipe’s Lost Wedding Band on Sport’s Field in Baltimore, Maryland
The loss of the ring took place a week before I corresponded with Felipe who was desperate at that point to find the wedding band. He texted me and said, « I really appreciate your help. I cannot meet up with you on the field for the next few days, but I sent you a map of the general location of where the ring may have come off. I also tried with a metal detector with no luck. »
I assured him that if someone had not picked up the ring off of the sports field since the time of its disappearance, I would recover it for him with no questions asked. I was that confident. But come to find out, it would not be so easy to find the ring!
I responded by saying, « I can get out there tonight. Let me know what time the park closes…”
Felipe responded, « Sounds great to me….really, I married my wife not a ring…so it’s just sentimental. If you find it.. it would be awesome! »
Felipe sent me a Google Earth photo of the field and he marked two most likely areas where he thought the ring might have fallen off.
He also texted me some additional clues: « I was behind first base receiving a foul ball….5 feet away from the trees. I also dove and threw someone out running home….leaping from pitcher’s mound to home plate direction ». This was some good information for me to process when I got out on the field later that night.
That evening, I drove to downtown Baltimore City to the specified park where the ring was lost. It was still daylight but the sun would be setting quite soon. Once I got to the correct field, I studied the map that he provided for me and I got my bearing straight as to where he might have been in the grass when he lost the ring. I searched everywhere. Along the tree line, within the tree section, all over the field where he was playing kickball, the sidelines, and even in the areas where he walked to go use the bathroom. I searched between trees and all kinds of brush. I thought it was a good sign when I found a handful of keys on an old key ring that must have been lost during a past game. However, there was no sign of the ring anywhere. Soon, I was wearing my headlamp and doing a second grid search after I had finished initially going north to south and east to west already. Still, there was absolutely nothing found. After 4 hours I finally had to call it quits for the night. And because the park was over an hour away from my local area in Maryland, I had resolved that I did all that I could and it would be too difficult for me to return to the search site again since I thought I did what I could in all that time.
If there was any time that I felt self-defeated it was after this search that I conducted. I had promised Felipe that I would find the ring if it was still out there and I just did not know if it was or not after I finished the search. But I gave it four hours and turned up nothing. I thought that maybe somebody may have seen it on the path that was adjacent to the play field and took off with it sometime following the game. But how could anyone know unless it was turned in?
I called Felipe and left a voicemail message requesting for him to call me. In addition to that, I texted him and said, « I am so sorry that I didn’t find your wedding ring. My search was extensive and careful. It’s possible that it might be in the tree line area even though I did check it. But I did not check all of the spots since I had so much of the field to grid, as well. »
Felipe responded, « Thank you so much Brian! We will definitely go back and look more in the area where the trees are. A million thanks man…..and I will absolutely let you know if we magically find it. I, and we appreciate it so much. Thank you ».
I thanked him, as well for giving me the opportunity to try to find the ring, and I just felt terrible that I could not pull the special keepsake from the field. However, something just did not set right with me when I had to call off any future searches because of the factors I mentioned above.
Felipe and Anne Express Their Happiness Upon the Return of Felipe’s Special Gold Wedding Band
Another week had passed since my initial search, and I just could not shake the thoughts about not finding the ring. I wondered if Felipe found it out in the field or if it might have been picked up by someone, or that it may have still been left out there untouched and unfound. I decided to text him and see what the status was regarding the ring.
I said, « Hey there. Just checking to see if you guys found the ring yet. I will be in North Baltimore this evening and if I find the missing ring for this other person, I could shoot out down to the park if you would like me to if you haven’t found it already. Let me know. I can check the woods a bit more thorough. »
He responded, « I still haven’t had any luck….and still working late hours. »
I said, « Would you like me to give it another shot? I can check those woods out much more carefully. »
He replied, « That would be amazing… »
I told him that I decided that I would return one more time to see if I could pull the ring from the field if it was still there. I explained to him that I just did not feel quite right about giving up even though I thought I gave it all I had. He really appreciated my willingness to return and he said that he could meet me out there with his wife to help in the search and perhaps guide me a bit more in terms of where the bases were and where he was in the outfield.
I said, « If you feel pretty sure that that ring is still out there, I will find it, »
We planned to meet that evening around 6:30pm out on the field in Baltimore. Felipe and Anne were already there on the field when I arrived. We greeted one another and then reviewed all of the possibilities once again as to where the ring could have ended up.
I told the two of them that I am a man of prayer and that God does do mysterious things for us when we least expect it. Even regarding things like rings being found when they’ve gone missing. Anne said that after I suggested that they join hands and pray as a couple over the situation with the missing ring, they in fact prayed for the first time together that the ring would be found. She said that that was very new for them to do. I smiled with excitement and encouraged them and then we started searching the field.
I did most of the searching around the wooded areas at first. They took to the kickball field parameters and eventually I ended up searching in places that covered the field where Felipe played. He showed me the approximate locations where the bases were set up. I metal detected a new grid all over the areas then I searched a week prior. But this time I went farther out into sections that extended outside the boundaries of where the game was played. I detected every type of metal in places leading to where Felipe had walked away from the field to use the bathroom and I went into the woods to retrace every step that he took on that day when he lost the ring.
It was inspiring to see husband and wife searching everywhere to claim back Felipe’s wedding band. I will never forget his words that he shared in front of his wife recounting what he said to her back at their house after the ring went missing and they couldn’t find it anywhere. He said something like, « If I can’t get the ring back, I still have the most important part of my life anyways ». That really touched me hearing him say that and his wife Anne gave a huge smile towards her husband and big love embrace!
We looked hard for a couple of hours before it was time for the couple to leave the park. They gave up for the time being because they had to attend to something else. They said their goodbyes to me and thanked me for trying again. I was highly optimistic and motivated to keep searching and expressed much hope to them that it could still be out in the field. I think I may have prayed with them that God would help me find the ring. I explained to them at some point that God loves the covenant of marriage. The wedding band and engagement ring are symbols of that covenant love and commitment. That’s why I ask for divine favor from above when I’m out there looking for rings. Unfortunately, sometimes, circumstances present themselves in such a way that there is no possible way for me to get the ring back, (for instance, if it was picked up and taking away by somebody already), and in the end, I know I did all that I could do.
Felipe and Anne took off and I continued my search. Evening fell to complete darkness outside. The happy yellow lights shining from the fireflies reminded me that I was not alone out on the green grass. Occasionally, someone walking their dog would come by and it was nice to know that there was still activity going on around me.
I pressed on for about another hour and a half and I gridded the entire kickball field once again and searched farther outside the imaginary base lines, hoping that something would turn up. There was nothing at home plate, and nothing around first and second base. My last area to grid out was approximately 10 yards outside of the third base area. Back and forth I went, yet nothing turned up. I was getting all kinds of signals and I was checking everything on the ground that appeared to be close to the surface, if not on top of the surface. But every time, it was a pull tab or a coin left behind by someone playing on the field. Then, I hit a signal that gave a nice loud sound in the detector and I looked at the screen and the target appeared to be on the surface. The numbers that appeared were right in the range of what a man’s gold wedding band would show up as! I started to kneel down with my handheld pinpointer to investigate the target, and there in between pieces of grass, I saw Felipe’s beloved wedding band! The yellow gold was calling out for me to pick him up and bring him home! I was so elated! I found the ring! Yes, I found the ring! I could not have been more happy at that moment! My decision to return back to Baltimore and drive all of that way and spend all those hours out on that field, even into the late hours of the night, completely reaped the results that I was looking for! I was feeling just like a little kid who had just found the buried treasure that was lost in the thicket of the grass and I just fell completely to the ground and rolled around in utter excitement! I couldn’t wait to share with the couple that our prayers were answered!
There were some people walking by who saw how thrilled I was at whatever it was that I found and so I got to share my discovery with them! They too were so happy for what Felipe and his wife and for the good news that they were about to hear and what they were about to receive back!
I packed up my gear after saying goodbye to that group of people and headed for the car. I was smiling from ear-to-ear all of the way back to my parking space about a quarter of a mile away! When you search for so long and nothing becomes of it, and then you determine that you’re going to return after time has passed and you start all over again, wondering if it will lead to anything positive, and then you « hit gold », there are no words to describe the awesome feeling!
I wanted to surprise Felipe with the news so I called him and left a voicemail message when he didn’t pick up. Then, I texted him and shared, « I left a Vmail. Left the field. Bugs eating me alive even with spray. Call to debrief. I did all I could do. »
When I said that I did all that I could, I was not dishonest in the least! I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to connect with them but I was certain that they would get back to me sometime in the next day. Well, I didn’t have to wait that long to break the news because just as I arrived at a Royal Farms convenience store up the street from the park to grab a drink and a snack for my hour and fifteen minute drive home, Felipe called me back!
These are the moments that I love the most when I get to reveal the wonderful news! Sharing that the priceless keepsake had been found and that it will once again be returned to the hand that once wore it, is the most exhilarating experience!
Felipe had read my text and was not thinking in the least that I had found the ring! But after I played with him for a moment or two, he got the best surprise of his life! In less than 30 minutes, Felipe and his wife were pulling into the convenience store parking lot with a bottle of champagne in hand to celebrate the precious moment when Felipe would be reunited with his very handsome wedding band that was presented to him by his wife Anne only a short time ago! I will never forget that evening when we all partied in the parking lot as we celebrated such a fantastic moment for Felipe! Anne shed such special tears of happiness as the reality of the situation sunk through her being! I was so honored to be called upon to help return what was once lost!
If you would like to watch the SEARCH VIDEO and RING REVEAL pertaining to this story, the YOUTUBE link will be provided shortly. To receive the notification letting you know when the video is uploaded to YOUTUBE, feel free to SUBSCRIBE to BRIAN’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL by typing: THE RING RETURNER.
CALL BRIAN RUDOLPH WITH THE RING FINDERS AT (301) 466-8644 AND HE WILL RETURN TO YOU WHAT HAS BEEN LOST!
SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEO YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS WHEN THIS LATEST SEARCH VIDEOIS UPLOADED! BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEOS ARE FOUND ON HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL – THE RING RETURNER.
Sometimes, we conclude the very worst about a situation, when in reality, it may not be as bad as we thought things were after all! In this search account, you will see illustrated exactly what I am talking about!
I was in touch with a woman named Amie who had lost her engagement ring about a week prior to us talking on the phone. She did everything to try to retrieve her ring that had gone missing over the previous weekend. Amie and her husband took all of the right steps to attempt to find or get back her beloved keepsake.
The story goes like this. One Saturday afternoon, Amie left her house in Ashburn, Virginia, to take her daughters out to the soccer game that they would be competing in. As the girls left the house, one of them asked mom about her beautiful diamond engagement ring that she was wearing. It sparkled brilliantly in the light and the daughter to notice of it. She asked, « Mom, why do you wear that ring? » Amie shared the significance of the ring and what it meant to her. I’m sure she even cherished it more as she reflected on the sentimentality of how she received it. They talked all the way to the car and then headed for the game. Ironically, without knowing it, the ring would be the subject of many more discussions in the next few hours and to into the next week
Like a good soccer mom, Amie hung out on the sidelines, cheering on her daughters’ team. Little did she know or imagine that there would come a real trial upon returning home from the match.
After the game, the daughters were driven home by their mother. It was not until Amie arrived back at the house that she realized that her engagement ring was missing! She looked everywhere for it. She knew that she took it with her to the game because Amie remembered talking about the ring as they headed for the car. But what happened to it? It had disappeared! She concluded that it must have fallen off sometime during the soccer game. She checked the car thoroughly but nothing showed up. That’s when the big search began. Amie drove back to the soccer field and checked all of the places where she walked and stood. Still nothing was found. She checked with the other coaches who were playing their teams on the field when she traveled back to the school where the games were played. No ring was turned in. You can only imagine how upset and frustrated she was for having no explanation as to how the ring fell off of her finger.
Amie and her husband Tim continued searching, including acquiring a metal detector to search the field more thoroughly. But still there were no happy findings. They exhausted all of their means for searching and so they let the soccer association and the school building know about the disappearance of the ring, just in case somebody turned it in. Amie also put an ad out in Craigslist, hoping somebody found the ring and would respond to the online appeal.
Amie’s Gorgeous Diamond Engagement Ring Found After A Week Gone Missing!
Well, almost a week would pass, and still the ring did not surface. Amie and Tim were perplexed and saddened, thinking that she may never see the ring again since days had already passed.
Finally, after reviewing my credentials online, Amie reached out to me for help. She shared everything that had happened and everything she did to get word out about the ring’s disappearance. After listening carefully to her story, I asked her a whole list of questions to make sure that I had all of the details down. I also wanted to make sure that she had exhausted all of the search possibilities, including looking in her house more carefully. She and Tim did a careful search and she concluded that there was no way the ring was in the house, especially because she left the house with the ring and when she returned shortly thereafter, she realized that the ring was not on her finger.
I agreed to drive to Ashburn, Virginia and to first search the soccer field and surrounding areas where Amie walked on the day that the engagement ring disappeared. Tim met me out there during the last hour of daylight and he guided me to the places that I needed to detect. It took 3 hours or so to finish my search on all of the grassy areas. Most of the detecting was done in the dark with my headlamp on high beam. The 14 karat gold ring was nowhere to be found. I then resolved to check Tim’s vehicle in the parking lot of the school that we were at, which was the SUV driven on the day that the ring was lost. We talked a little about golf as I thoroughly searched it from top to bottom (Tim is a professional golf instructor! He has met, worked with and / or instructed some notables such as President Obama, Tiger Woods and a young Naomi Watts and more!). I was hoping to have a fun discovery for Tim and Amie by the time I finished looking over the vehicle, but there were no encouraging reports to share.
There were only two more places for me to check after I finished with the field and with the SUV. First, was to search the grass areas along the walkway leading from their resident’s parking lot right up to the front door of their house. Secondly, the other location was to search the inside of the house. I started with the outside areas and worked my way to their front door. I wasn’t shaken or placed in a state of doubt regarding the continued search efforts. I knew that this beautiful piece of jewelry could have fallen off Amie’s finger as she walked back to the house following the soccer match, or that she lost it upon entering her home just prior to her realizing that it had gone missing. In fact, I was so confident that we still had a chance to find the ring and that it may not have disappeared on the field all along, that I specifically requested that Tim return inside the house and begin to search the first floor of the home. He was totally up for the challenge! I told him that in my experience, many times the missing ring ends up being discovered in the house and was never left on the ground outside somewhere. In many situations, it’s waiting for someone to find it inside the house! I also told him that I hoped that he would find the ring because “us husbands” need all of the points that we can earn and this would greatly score him some big numbers if he ended up finding the wedding band! Tim agreed wholeheartedly and he headed inside to conduct a more thorough search based on my encouragement and instructions as to where to carefully look.
Tim and Amie, Happily Ever After Now That Her Lost Ring Was Found!
As I was metal detecting the grass sections, slowly walking closer and closer down the walkway to the front entrance of Tim and Amie’s house, Amie approached me in tears because Tim had just shared that our search efforts at the school came up empty handed. Honestly, she had lost hope at this point. I talked to her and encouraged her by sharing that we still had plenty of areas to check: all of the footage remaining outside for me to detect, and all of the first floor of her home! I expressed my confidence by stating that I sent her husband inside to search and that he could find the ring somewhere in the house and I still had room to discover the ring in the grassy areas along the sides of the walkway. She appreciated my positive stance but she also reminded me that she couldn’t imagine the ring being inside because when she re-entered the house with the girls that afternoon, she wasn’t wearing her ring as she did when she left the house to go to the soccer field earlier in the day. I proposed the idea that perhaps the ring fell off her finger just soon after she arrived back home. It would be improbable but still possible in that small window of time to have lost it on the first floor!
Well, the improbable became possible! Moments after I attempted to infuse some fresh hope into Amie, Tim came strutting out of the house and down the walkway where we were conversing, and he had some terrific news! He got his wife’s attention to look and see what was in his hand! He found the ring! Yes! The diamonds were sparkling everywhere in his palm as I brought the headlamp light near to them! He listened to my instructions to search the floors more carefully and to not leave a spot unchecked! And boy did it pay off! Remember, the engagement ring had gone missing for nearly a week! Well, it was finally found and it was spotted by Tim under the computer table where all of the power cords and power strips were located! At first, I observed that Amie was in such disbelief that Tim had found the ring because she was acting kind of passive and not understanding to what Tim had discovered. I think she thought it was some other ring! So Tim made it a whole lot more clearly by showing her the gorgeous white gold band covered with diamonds on top as he opened his hand some more! Then, it was if the sun had come out in the middle of the night and her countenance started to greatly change! A huge smile overtook the previous dim look of sadness and reality began to set in! The ring was found! She was going to wear it again! It was back in her possession! Amie almost couldn’t believe it, although she began to slowly get convinced that she wasn’t living a dream! She cried many tears of joy and hugged her beloved husband over and over again! It was such an amazing sight to see! I couldn’t be happier for her! Then, I was able to properly gloat a little by reminding her that I did say that the ring could be just feet away from where I was searching, and Tim was the hero to set his eyes on the prize! I high-fived Tim and we all rejoiced with hugs at the discovery!
So, in conclusion, it turned out that the ring did return home from the soccer match. Here is the explanation as to what had happened: When Amie entered the house upon returning from the soccer game with the girls, she took both of their string backpacks and placed them on their designated hooks in the coat closet. Apparently, the ring must have been pulled off her finger by one of the strings of one of the backpacks, it slipped off her finger when she placed the backpacks on the hooks and it hit the hardwood floors and rolled under the computer table where it remained until Tim conducted a more aggressive search! I couldn’t have been happier for the couple! The search was over! The ring was back on Amie’s finger again, and she was one relieved young lady!
That night, the three of us celebrated for a while longer before I packed up my gear and headed back to my car to prepare for the journey home. It was a wonderful search and a very successful ending to my day! Tim and Amie were relieved and overjoyed! The mystery of the lost engagement ring was finally solved once and for all!
CHECK OUT THIS SEARCH VIDEO OF THE RECOVERY OF AMIE’S MISSING RING:
CALL BRIAN RUDOLPH WITH THE RING FINDERS AT (301) 466-8644 AND HE WILL RETURN TO YOU WHAT HAS BEEN LOST!
Hannah’s 14 Karat White Gold, 1 Carat Diamond With Surrounding Diamonds Engagement Ring
Hannah and Her Bridesmaids Excitedly Show Off Her 1 Carat Diamond Engagement Ring After Found in the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City, Maryland!
After a Day in the Atlantic Ocean, Hannah’s Engagement Ring Returns to the Shore With the Help of The Ring Finder, Brian Rudolph!
It was Hannah’s bachelorette party weekend with the girls in Ocean City, Maryland! Her wedding day was two weeks to the day of that unforgettable summer afternoon! With such fun and celebration in the air, also came a time of heartache and despair. While Hannah was out in the Atlantic Ocean with some of her entourage, the bride-to-be was hit by a wave, causing Hannah to fall over into the water. As a result of the wave striking her and with her having to push herself off the sand, the bride’s beautiful fairytale-like engagement ring slid off her finger and landed somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, forty yards away from the shore.
Hannah was in a panic. She called Derek, her fiancé’, and told him everything. He kept it calm, went online to see if he could find a metal detecting service, and that’s when he found THE RING FINDERS and Brian Rudolph. Hannah was given all of the contact information and then she called me. I was just coming into Ocean City to do a search on 101st Street for an iWatch that had gone missing in the Ocean. As I was entering into the city limits, Hannah gave me the story of what happened. I explained to her that she had a great chance of getting the ring back because she was calling me just 45 minutes after the Ring settled to the bottom of the ocean. Rings can be found days later but she had the best chance because of how quickly I received the call and her group’s clear recollection of where the ring came off.
We talked about what she needed to do in order to remember approximately where she was when the ring slipped off her finger. I asked her to count how many feet out into the ocean where she was in relationship to where the lifeguard chair was at the time. I asked her to walk down the beach from the lifeguard chair and count how many feet over and then to count how many feet out into the ocean. Thanks to Hannah, her mother, and the other bachelorette party girls, they all agreed on a particular area for me to do the search.
After I finished the search for the iWatch, I headed over to the beach side of 47th Street, in front of the Gateway Grand condominium building where I met Hannah, her mother and all of the bachelorette crew. She took me through each step of what happened and so did the other girls. Then, Hannah walked me from the lifeguard chair area out into the water where she was accompanied by her friends to show me where they believed the ring may have come off. When the loss happened, her mother had been sitting on the shore watching the ladies out in the ocean when the ring came off and so she gave a very good idea as to the hot zone where I should start my search.
Once I got all of the information down while we were standing in the ocean looking out to the area where Hannah’s ring may have come off, I felt confident as to where I needed to begin and the yardage from left to right where I needed to search. It was looking like it would be a 40 yard area from left to right and 30 to 40 yards out in the Atlantic.
We all came up on shore and that’s when I got my gear and did a two-hour search even though it was during high tide. I thought maybe I would get lucky, but there was no way to get that far out because the waves were just way too aggressive. I would have to wait until the middle of the night when low tide would arrive again.
Everybody on the shore in the bachelorette party, including two guy friends that were in town at the time of the unfortunate incident, all took off to get ready for the evening fun. I knew that Hannah would be extremely preoccupied with the loss of her ring and I tried to comfort her and encourage her to go out and have a good time and that if anybody could find this ring, with the help of God, it would be me that could recover it for her. I told her later, that I never do tell people how difficult this kind of thing is to find a 1-inch piece of jewelry out in the roaring Atlantic Ocean. But, I knew that if I used my skills correctly and if I was divinely-guided, it was a good chance I could get it back for Hannah, just in time for her wedding that was two weeks to the day!
The two hour search that ensued that evening was very difficult and I didn’t even find a single target to scoop up. I resolved to leave the beach and return at 4:15 a.m. at low tide. I left the beach knowing that Hannah’s ring was left behind, buried far out in the water and sand, way out in the dark, needing to be recovered, as I headed to my car.
I think God woke me up in the middle of the night because both of my alarms failed to go off on my phone. I happened to wake up at 3:45 a.m. and I was so glad that I did not oversleep the low tide hour. I quickly got my wet suit on, geared up and headed for the sand in total darkness. I prayed for God’s help and guidance as I did the night before, to take me to the spot where the ring rested below. Throughout my search, I prayed and asked God over and over to bless Hannah with the recovery of the ring. I prayed to Him out of compassion for Hannah and Derek because of the disappointment that this loss weighed upon them. I fully identified with them regarding the feeling of losing something so precious and wondering if it could ever be returned. It’s a helpless feeling and all of the « what ifs » attack you over and over again.
Not a soul was on that beach. It was just me, the ocean, and Hannah’s ring which was somewhere out there. Pardon the pun but looking for a ring in the ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack when doing a search of this magnitude. When you’re out there in the water, with the waves coming at you in the dark and all you have is a headlamp on, it’s a weird lonely feeling. A metal detectorist just has to get over it and focus on what the mission is and not think about the loneliness and the improbability of finding such a small target out in the middle of so much territory.
You are not only battling the darkness, but you are facing so many different factors at one time. You’re dealing with the waves, the current, the noise of the ocean while trying to listen to your detector, the pounding pressure from the water that is constantly going against your coil as you’re trying to swing to the left and to the right. You have to hear and read signals correctly. You’re fighting against the tide and the clock, because you have a small window of time to search farther out in the deep. You constantly deal with doubt and wondering what actually happened to the ring when it fell to the sand below. You are hoping the estimations of where the ring disappeared are somewhat accurate. You’re hoping that the ring stays in one place and that it did not get carried some distance away by chance. You are wondering how much sand may have gotten piled on top of it and if the metal detector will even be able to reach the depth where the ring rests below the sand. You fight your own pressure of knowing that you are the only one that can bring this ring back with the help of God. If I failed, that bride won’t be wearing her engagement ring for the upcoming wedding in 2 weeks. Love and compassion must be your drive to get you past all of the adversity that you face out there in the dark.
So I searched that morning from 4:15 a.m. until 7:45 a.m., detecting the ocean as the sun came up and I only got a few targets to search, and none of them were Hannah’s ring. After all that time I was physically worn out, as well as disappointed that I had not pulled the ring out of the Atlantic…but I didn’t give up. Once again, I resolved to return in the late afternoon during the next low tide to give it my all and see if I could get the ring back.
Once it was later that morning, I would call the bride-to-be and let her know that I was unsuccessful at my second attempt in finding her ring. I could hear her disappointment on the phone. We agreed that I would do another hour and then she would tell me what she wanted me to do next – to keep searching or to let it go.
That afternoon, I got back out onto the beach after resting up for a few hours that late morning and early afternoon. I was mentally strong and ready to attack the water once again. Just seeing all of the people on the beach and in the water made for a completely different scene from the night search. The beach was alive again, teaming with people everywhere. That made me happy.
I got my detector ready, geared up and once again headed for the same water that I got to know quite well in the middle of the night. I was not going to rest easy and allow the water to keep what rightfully belonged to Hannah. I would give it all I had and hoped that I could find her beloved engagement ring.
The tide was helpful to me, as was the tide in the middle of the night. However, the waves really battered me like a rag doll every time I was getting as far out in the deep as I needed to be. There was one thing I didn’t have to deal with which I dealt with in the middle of the night, and that were a few small sand sharks that were bumping into my leg as I metal detected through the night. It’s kind of eerie because you can’t see them but you can feel them every so often pumping and brushing up against your wetsuit.
Each target that I came in touch with ended up being a disappointment, one after the other. I would get hit by a wave, my headphones would go flying off, and my hat would go swinging to the back of me because it was tethered to a cord around my neck. Between the waves being aggressive when I was up where they broke, and the depth of many of the signals, it took quite a while to be able to get to each of the targets that were buried below the sand.
Finally, just before I reached the end of the first hour of searching that afternoon (my sixth hour in total), I got my 7th target signal. This signal was very weak and almost unrecognizable. It was the kind of signal that you could just walk right by if you weren’t listening extremely carefully because you’re dealing with the noises of the waves, and the headphones can only give you so much volume. Also, those low tones that you are looking for to detect white gold, are masked by false signals that sound the same when your detector coil is brushing up against moving sand in the water. So, you almost can’t tell the signals apart unless you stop and test whether or not there is something deep below that is made of metal.
Though I wanted to pass this signal up because it really didn’t sound like it was anything important, I decided not to compromise the search by giving up something that I just didn’t know what it was unless I scooped it up and found out. I attempted to pull the target out several times and it was probably the most difficult time getting to the target because of its depth and the waves were just pounding me. Every time I laid the scoop down into the water, another wave would take me by surprise. I kept going and going, scooping over and over again, until the detector did not read any signal i
n the hole any longer. I didn’t even think that the object was in the scoop because I had been digging so much that I didn’t believe anything was even in there. But once the detector did not sound off any signal any longer, I took a look in the scoop. I brought it down to the water to get some more sand out of it and then brought it up again. I believe it took a couple of times to do this and then when I got my focus back on the scoop and looked down for maybe the second or third time, I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was there! It came into focus! This beautiful princess-like object that was given to Hannah at the proposal by Derek himself was finally caught, cradled by my stainless steel net! It had been raised from the dead and it would be given life again above the waters that concealed it for 24 hours! It appeared from the dark! It was like living a dream because I knew I was looking for the ring but I didn’t know exactly what it looked like. One thing I knew and that was if I found it, I would know it was Hannah’s! After searching so many hours and finding nothing, the reality of finding that which I was searching for, for so long, became very emotional and almost to the point of being overwhelming!
There was victory, at last! I defeated the elements! I know that it was God’s hand and His immense favor that led me to that target and it was my determination to not reject that which was handed to me! I truly believe it was divine intervention. God loves marriage and loves symbols. Like the rainbow, which God told Noah it would always be a reminder of the covenant between man and God. I believe the ring is similar. It’s a representation of the covenant between two people.
And it was there in the Atlantic Ocean, 40 yards out, that I was introduced to the ring and the ring was introduced to me as my eyes laid ahold of it. Soon my fingers would greet the priceless keepsake as I grasped it out of the scoop! I will never forget how the diamonds and gold treated me so warmly as they reflected millions of brilliant colors back at my face!
I couldn’t hold back the excitement after what I finally found from the depths of the ocean! The impossible had happened and now I let it all out for everyone to hear on the beach! I started running to the shore and sharing my overwhelming joy to find that which had been lost 24 hours prior! People started clapping and some gathered over to see what emerged out of the waters of the Atlantic! This was one of the best « show and tells » that I had ever had! It really takes your breath away when something like this can be recovered! Many people on the beach rejoiced with me, knowing that Hannah was going to get her ring back soon enough! There were even people on the beach the day before who witnessed seeing the bride-to-be’s sadness and how all of her friends and mother reacted to the loss. Now, the same people witnessed redemption, a second chance, a new unbelievable fairytale of how the storybook ring would reappear and be carried back to the princess just before the wedding day!
I gave God the glory and credit for what had taken place. I just felt like I was the servant who He sent to the ocean to pluck that ring out and return it to the one who cried out for help! Apparently, on social media, a prayer group was assembled and requests to God were made known. Yes, the power of prayer! I do believe that God is not all about material things but most importantly, that which comes from the heart. But from my personal experience, I see how God gets involved when love and compassion are made the center points, and not idolatry of an object. This was one of those examples where I believe He divinely intervened. I know my skills and I know what I am capable of. But, in this search, I needed something more than what I was knowledgeable about, and more than the detector that I held in my hand 40 yards out in the ocean. I was thanking God the whole time for what He did to guide me to the jewel!
So, what did I do next? I took a survey from everybody on the beach and it was clear that I needed to do a fake out and make this a surprise worth keeping forever! So, I called her up and I told Hannah that I did everything I could to recover the ring and I just asked her if she would like me to continue beyond the one hour search that I had done so far. We had agreed that I would stop after the first hour and she would reevaluate everything with Derek about moving forward or not. Hannah decided to not continue the search. Had I not found the ring during that hour, it would have stayed out there in the Atlantic possibly indefinitely because the couple decided to let it go rather than to continue. I couldn’t wait to do the reveal!
This was an amazing story that I will never forget. Please watch the video for what happened next! It’s worth watching!
As much as it was a fairytale come true for Derek and Hannah to fall in love and to recover the lost engagement ring from the ocean just two weeks prior to their wedding, it was also a fairy tale story for me, as well. Just a few days after I returned the ring to Hannah, my wife and I received an invitation from the couple to join them in their celebration at their wedding! I was beyond honored and touched by their hearts of kindness! I was able to attend this most amazing wedding and celebration! It’s so hard to describe the emotions that were running through me when I saw the bride and groom exchanging vows and wedding bands! Also, to view Hannah, dressed as the fairytale bride, wearing the engagement ring and now accompanying the matching wedding band, it was simply magical! The set was complete, and so was this beautiful love between the newly crowned husband and wife!
This story was a fairytale come true twice over! I will never forget it as long as I live!
If you would like to watch the SEARCH VIDEO and how I surprised Hannah with the return of her ring, click below:
CALL BRIAN RUDOLPH WITH THE RING FINDERS AT (301) 466-8644 AND HE WILL RETURN TO YOU WHAT HAS BEEN LOST!
SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEO YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS WHEN OTHER SEARCH VIDEOS ARE UPLOADED! BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEOS ARE FOUND ON HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL – THE RING RETURNER.
Claudia Couldn’t Be Happier to Wear the Old Gold Ring Again!
I received a phone call coming from a woman named Claudia who found my contact information online by clicking on The Ring Finders link somewhere at the bottom of a web page. Like me, she grew up in Bethesda, Maryland area and she went to the same high school that I went to but just a different time period.
It turned out that Claudia’s childhood Bethesda house would be put up for sale soon because her mother (who still lived in the Bethesda home) would be moving into a retirement community nearby. So, it was Claudia that had to tie together all of the loose ends and make sure that everything was taken care of inside and outside of the house before the house sale would be soon finalized.
One of the To-Do’s on her checklist was to search and dig up her ex-husband’s wedding band that was buried somewhere in the front lawn of the house! Yes, you read it correctly! Her former husband’s wedding band! Initially I was taken back by that, but it wasn’t as strange as it seemed. According to Claudia’s account, even though she had been divorced from the man for over twenty plus years, (and by the way, she was the one that ended the marriage), Claudia liked wearing her ex’s big-old-hunk-of-gold wedding band! She kept wearing it and it just became a part of her hand over time.
Claudia described to me on the phone what happened to the ring a year earlier. She shared that she was parked along side the front of her mother’s house, on the street, and she opened up her minivan to bring out some groceries. At some point she saw the ring fly off her finger and onto the lawn near the street.
She wasted no time in searching for the ring. However, what she thought would be so simple in finding the ring ended up being an unsuccessful recovery. Time marched on and Claudia had always meant to go look for the ring again but other priorities came in the way of this from happening and so it wasn’t until her mother had to move from Claudia’s childhood house that she needed to make the ring reappear from the lawn.
I was so happy to help Claudia when she called me to ask if I could come out sooner than later to help recover her ex-husband’s yellow gold wedding ring from the earth. We set up the appointment for the following day and that’s where the fun began!
When I met up with Claudia and her brother who happened to be at the house at the same time, she took me to the spot that she believed was the general area where the ring went flying to the ground. I got my gear out and began the search. I was looking for a pretty hot signal because the ring was said to be a real « chunker »! In no time, I got a couple of signals that matched up with what I wanted to see on my detector! One of them ended up being a penny. I was almost certain that the next target was worth digging up, and I proceeded to do so. About 4 inches down, after clearing a good amount of dirt with my trowel, it was then that I caught a glimpse of some yellow gold peeping through the earth! I hit gold! I was delighted that nobody had picked up the ring when it was on the surface over a year ago! The grass must have effectively camouflaged the treasure piece and I was delighted to conclude that now that the ring had been exposed for the first time in a year!
I called Claudia over to where I had been working and eventually her brother joined us as well. I got to share the exciting news of my find! Claudia was thrilled to say the least! I went ahead and carefully removed the gold ring from the rest of the surrounding dirt and proudly handed it to its owner. Moments later, the ring was back on the finger of the woman who had accidentally dropped it just over a year earlier!
It was such a satisfying feeling to be able to get this keepsake back to Claudia before the land would become someone else’s property. Both Claudia and her brother were quite pleased by the whole experience and the return of the ring truly made their day and mine completely thrilling!
If you, a friend, or a loved one has lost something special to them, please remember to pass the word around about The Ring Finders directory. Let’s get back to you and to others what has been thought to be lost forever!
If you would like to watch this SEARCH VIDEO feel free to click on:
CALL BRIAN RUDOLPH WITH THE RING FINDERS AT (301) 466-8644 AND HE WILL RETURN TO YOU WHAT HAS BEEN LOST!
SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEO YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS WHEN THE LATEST SEARCH VIDEOIS UPLOADED! BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEOS ARE FOUND ON HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL – THE RING RETURNER.
Anne’s Beautiful Platinum Engagement Ring and Wedding Band Recovered from the Ocean City, Maryland Sand
Anne Proudly Displays Her Recovered Rings Along Side Her Family After the Worry Subsided
BRIAN RUDOLPH, LOST ITEM RECOVERY SPECIALIST (LAND, WATER, SAND, SNOW, LEAVES, HOUSES & VEHICLES) WILL FIND YOUR LOST KEEPSAKE! CALL ASAP (301) 466-8644!
It was Memorial Weekend 2019 in Ocean City, Maryland! People are finally bringing their fun back to the beach! Summer is kicking off with great weather and family celebrations! But with all the good times, there are the occasional trials that come our way! One such adversity happened for Anne and Bill of Baltimore, Maryland.
Anne was hanging out with her lovely family on the beach in Ocean City, enjoying her little daughter Stella playing in the dry sand and adults talking with friends. Bill was settled in his sun chair and quite content with his Bud Lite. Anne reached for her beach cover up and as soon as she finished placing it on, she realized that she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring and wedding band! Apparently, Anne had wrapped the priceless keepsakes in the cover up and forgot to remove them and slip them back on her fingers. The rings ended up in the dry sand somewhere in the midst of where everyone had been hanging out.
Anne began to panic. These rings meant everything to her. The family, including young Stella, along with friends and nearby beach acquaintances, searched relentlessly to find the rings. Unfortunately, none of the beach goers could find even one of the rings in the sand.
This is where Julian comes in. He was really the hero of the day! This young man is a friend of the family. He too searched long and hard. Finally, he decided to look online to see if there was any kind of service that could help people like Anne and Bill. He found THE RING FINDERS! He called me up, explained what happened, and within 10 minutes I was on my way to help! You have to keep in mind that Ocean City, Maryland covers over 150 streets of beach. So, I could have been anywhere at the time of the call, but it just so happened that I was only 20 blocks from where the rings went missing! Perfect timing!
I met up with Julian on the beach, who then guided me to the area where Anne accidentally dropped her beloved bands. The family was so sweet. Stella was precious! She was so eager to help recover the rings. I talked with Anne and she literally fell apart emotionally. She felt so bad for what happened and she couldn’t find any hope within her that the keepsakes would be raised from beneath. So, I loaded her up with comfort, letting her know that everything would be just fine. Anne explained that her engagement ring was a family heirloom passed down the family from her beloved grandmother. She was upset about losing it and her wedding band, as well. When everyone’s attempts had failed to find her rings, she feared that the tide would come up the sand and carry her rings out to sea. The thought of her rings never to return to her was quite devastating to think about.
I got right to work. Everyone on the beach who had been settled near this family all took notice of what was going on and they watched as I started to search for the rings. Anne and Bill gave the approximate area and I handled the rest. Little Stella was my side partner on hand.
It took no more than a minute or maybe less before I got the first signal that I was looking for! Ring Number 1 which was Anne’s wedding band came out of the depths of the sand! The beach goers all let out a resounding applause! It really was a lot of fun how everyone took part in the celebration of seeing the ring return to Anne’s finger! I gave the ring to Stella to then hand it to her mother. Anne started shedding more tears, but this time they were fresh tears of relief and happiness! Yet, she was still not content! Her priceless engagement ring was still buried somewhere and she continued to cry in desperation. The suspense was not over for her just quite yet.
Another minute or two passed after continuing my search and then the next target signal hit my detector screen and sounded off loudly in my headphones! I knew it was the other target that I had been searching for! I gave Stella my pinpointer device to help find the missing ring even faster after the detector gave me the number I was looking for. She helped me bring her mother’s ring to the surface as she used the hand device to find the ring in the sand. She then located the precious metal object and there it was! Ring Number 2 was now revealed! The packed crowd on the beach cheered once again! Everyone was so happy for the family! I let Stella do the honors once more and carry the engagement ring over to her mother. Anne just sobbed tears of happiness to now be reunited with her engagement ring! One of the ladies sunbathing near Anne’s beach chair, wrapped her arms around her and helped Anne to calm down.
I was so happy for the family! Bill hugged me and offered me some beer to take back to the car! Julian also gave me a hug and thanked me. I commended him for helping the family find THE RING FINDERS service! Stella was beaming sunshine smiles and all of the beach neighbors gathered around to check out the rings that were successfully recovered! A priceless moment that I will never forget!
All the best to Anne, Bill, Stella and Julian! Thank you so very much for letting me be a part of the happiness and celebration of seeing the two precious rings return to the finger that was missed so very much!
VIEW THE VIDEO OF THIS SEARCH AND SUBSCRIBE TO BRIAN’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://youtu.be/od1oHk0MBoA
To receive a NOTIFICATIONS letting you know when other the videos are uploaded to YOUTUBE: go to YOUTUBE by CLICKING THE LINK BELOW or OPEN your YOUTUBE APP on your device, go to the SEARCH BAR, type: THE RING HERO, click SUBSCRIBEand lastly, CLICK ON THE « BELL » to receive NOTIFICATIONS when this latest search video is available to view!
Rachel’s High School Class Ring Recovered from the Depths of the Atlantic Ocean!
Rachel Happily Reunited with Her Special Class Ring!
BRIAN RUDOLPH, LOST ITEM RECOVERY SPECIALIST (LAND, WATER, SAND, HOUSES & VEHICLES) WILL FIND YOUR LOST KEEPSAKE! CALL ASAP (301) 466-8644!
CLICK THE LINK AND WATCH THE SEARCH VIDEO BELOW!
As I was already driving two hours inland from completing a couple of searches in Ocean City, Maryland, I received a call from a young lady who was soon to graduate from an elite private high school in Baltimore Maryland. Rachel was with her senior class, celebrating Beach Week in Ocean City just three days earlier when she lost her ring in the Atlantic Ocean. When we talked, she was already back from the trip in her hometown of Northern Baltimore. The student found me listed in The Ring Finders Directory for the Ocean City, Maryland area hoping that it was not too late for someone to help her retrieve her class ring from the water where she had to let it go and return home.
Rachel explained that she was in the ocean with her boyfriend just playfully having fun when her 18 karat gold senior class ring slipped off of her finger and disappeared into the waves of the Atlantic. She was terribly down about the whole thing and she was scared to tell her parents about it. She wanted to do everything she could to get it back.
By the time that I would be able to return to Ocean City and get back into the water for the search, 4 days would already pass by since the ring came off her finger and landed in the water. I wanted to get out there as fast as I could. I checked when low tide would occur the next evening which would be Sunday night around 9:30 p.m.. I told Rachel that I would do everything I could to get her ring back and she was grateful but wavering as to whether or not this was possible for me to recover it.
The one positive thing that was going heavily in Rachel’s favor in regards to the probability that I can retrieve this ring from the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night, was that she could clearly remember her exact position as to where she was when the ring fell off her finger. After receiving answers to all of the questions that I had for her regarding where she was located on the beach and where the ring fell off in the water, I was very confident Rachel was clear about her positioning and I felt good about where to go in the water to look for her ring.
She knew where she was in relationship to the lifeguard chair and how many feet over and back she was from it to where her beach towel was. Rachel knew how many feet over from where her beach stuff was from where she walked towards the shore where the ring slipped off her finger. I even asked her about where her beach stuff rested in relationship to a trash can that was out there on the sand and she could tell me almost exactly where her things were without hesitation. This was a huge bonus for me when it was time to hit the surf!
On Sunday, June 2nd at 7pm, my son Danny and I drove a 3 hour trip to Ocean City, Maryland. I dropped Danny off at First Street so he could walk the boardwalk while I drove to 33rd Street to start the search. Unfortunately, there’s no telling what the weather will bring at the time that you want to get out into the water. This was one of those times! Two vicious storm systems rolled through the beach city with heavy downpours along with lightning and roars of angry thunder. I had put my wetsuit on and brought all of my gear out to the sand and within several minutes I saw lightning behind me, and thunder ensued. I returned to the car and took cover.
I had to wait for the first storm to finish which took about 2 and 1/2 hours to clear the beach and move far off into the Atlantic. I then got my things out of the car again and headed into the darkness onto the beach to try for the second time and then the second storm approached from inland on the Chesapeake Bay side. I couldn’t believe that yet another storm approached! The lightning and thunder made its appearance once again and I quickly got off the sand and back into my vehicle, where I headed off towards the main highway to take cover once again. I never will forget the amount of rainfall that took place within that two-hour period. I thought the world was coming to an end because there was so much rain! I just sat in my car and waited and waited and waited. Finally at around two in the morning, I drove back to the beach and got my equipment out of the car for the third time and went on to the sand to test whether or not the second storm was far enough away for me to make my entrance once again. You could see all of the sky electricity brightly shining in flashes over the ocean, but far enough away that I felt safe to make my entrance into the Atlantic. It was getting close to 2:45 in the morning in complete darkness when I approached the water. If you wonder what kind of feeling it is to start a search at such an hour in total darkness except for the headlamp that you’re wearing, it’s a pretty empty feeling which you have to just get over and raise the bar of confidence within yourself to believe that somehow, some way I can find this missing keepsake. You’re just blindly going about it, hoping that the coordinates are correct based on someone’s memory. If not, one could take hours upon hours to find the target and that is with the assumption that the ring is still in the ocean and not picked up by another detectorist. I made sure that my position lined up exactly where Rachel told me she was in the water when the ring slipped off her finger.
The ring search began and I moved around in the dark waters, starting the grid, hoping to get the signal that I was after as I walked in straight lines back and forth in the hotspot area that I hoped the ring would turn up in. If you don’t have the approximate weight of the ring, and you don’t have information from the owner as to how much gold is on the ring, the detectorist just hopes to get a reading that is in the approximate range of what type of ring might give off that particular signal on the metal detector.
I believe my search in the water took about 20 minutes or so before I heard the signal that I was searching for! The numbers that came up on my detector screen were the solid numbers in the range that a class ring for a young lady might give off. The numbers were similar but slightly variant but close together in similarity and that is very consistent with class rings that I have studied with my detector! I may have found exactly what I was looking for! I got very excited!
I started working on scooping up the ring, one attempt after another. The waves were rushing in and out, making my middle-of-the-night adventure a bit more complicated. But I was not going to give in or give up this precious target signal. Every time I made an attempt in bringing up the scoop and checking what was in it, I had the anticipation of hoping that the ring would show its shiny gold face. But each time I came
up empty-handed. Just pebbles, sand and rocks showed up in the scoop. I kept working on it over and over again and finally the ocean gave up the target that was approximately 6 inches deep in the sand in about 4 feet of water at semi low tide. My eyes went right for the deepest part of the scoop and there mixed in with all of the elements of the ocean, between the sand and stones my eye became fixed on the loveliest class ring that perfectly matched the photos of the ring that Rachel had previously sent me! I was beyond thrilled! I caught the little guy!
There was such a feeling of triumph! With all of the details leading up to the find, it really excited me that I overcame many obstacles: Rachel’s ring had been in the Atlantic Ocean now for 4 days, I had spent an hour on the phone going over details with Rachel regarding the ring and the location of where she possibly lost it, Rachel would not be able to be present with me at the search site and I would have to orient myself only based on Rachel’s recollection and information that she gave me, I studied multiple facts including the photos of the ring that she sent me, studied and compared multiple tide charts for the region, traveled nearly 175 miles, taking 3 hours to reach the beach, waited 5.5 hours for 2 storm systems to clear the area, having to abandon the search site twice before hitting the water, then entered the roaring waves of the Atlantic in total darkness other than the use of my headlamp at nearly 3am in the morning in 4 feet of water – AND THEN, AFTER ALL OF THAT WHICH I MENTIONED ABOVE, I SUCCESSFULLY PULLED OUT OF THE SEA, THE VERY PIECE OF GOLD THAT I WAS AFTER, MEASURING ONLY LESS THAN AN INCH IN HEIGHT FROM THE RESTLESS WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC! THERE IS NO GREATER FEELING THAN TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE FIND THEIR MISSING TREASURE WITH SO MANY FACTORS INVOLVED IN HAVING TO ATTEMPT A SUCCESSFUL SEARCH IN RETURNING SUCH A SPECIAL OBJECT TO ITS OWNER!
I could not be any happier for Rachel! Especially the moment I surprised her with the ring!
CLICK HERE to WATCH the SEARCH VIDEO and RING REVEAL pertaining to this story:
To receive notifications letting you know when other videos are uploaded to YOUTUBE, feel free to SUBSCRIBE to BRIAN’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL by typing: THE RING RETURNER.
CALL BRIAN RUDOLPH WITH THE RING FINDERS AT (301) 466-8644 AND HE WILL RETURN TO YOU WHAT HAS BEEN LOST!
SUBSCRIBE TO BRIAN’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO VIEW THIS SEARCH VIDEO!
If you would like to watch the SEARCH VIDEO and the RING REVEAL pertaining to this story, the video will be uploaded soon. To receive a NOTIFICATION letting you know when the video is uploaded to YOUTUBE: go to YOUTUBE by CLICKING THE LINK BELOW or OPEN your YOUTUBE APP on your device. In the SEARCH BAR, type: THE RING RETURNER, click SUBSCRIBEand lastly, CLICK ON THE « BELL » to receive NOTIFICATIONS when this latest search video is available to view!
I received a phone call from a gentleman who was very upset that his ring was lost in a pond while he was fishing by the shore. He cast out his line and while he manuevered the rod forward, his beloved wedding band went flying off of his finger and landed at the bottom of the neighborhood pond where he was hoping to catch the big one. Unfortunately, he let the most important one get away!
Lazar was so upset. His wife had consoled him and told him to let the ring go and that he could buy an identical replacement wedding band. This did not sit well with him at all. It was not the same ring that was put on his finger by his beloved bride a couple of years earlier. They had been a loving couple for fourteen years and got married just under two years ago. Their anniversary would arrive just weeks after the ring was lost, which was another sad thought for Stephanie’s husband.
Lazar was determined to get this ring back on his finger even if he had to get in that pond and fish it out himself! And that’s exactly what he attempted to do. Before having to go to work on the first day that it was lost, Lazar got in the pond and used a rake to attempt to push the ring over to the shore. Sadly, after hours in the pond, his efforts failed. When he searched the large piles of mud from the bottom of the pond that he pushed closer to shore, there was no ring to be found. He had to go to work in wet clothes and messed up boots because he didn’t have the time to go home and change before commuting to work. When he got there, his boss allowed him to leave and return back to the pond where he was completely obsessed with resuming his search to get this priceless possession back on his finger. For the rest of the day, Lazar continued to try to retrieve the ring from the water, but round two of all of his attempts led to no recovery.
The next day, the determined warrior went back to the pond and continued his efforts until he realized that nothing was working and he needed to try something else. That’s when the frustrated ring owner searched online for a new approach and he located The Ring Finder’s Directory and contacted me in the early afternoon. My impression of this gentleman was that he was tired, worn out and distraught about losing his ring and he was worried that he would never wear that sentimental symbol of his love for his wife ever again. I felt so bad for Lazar and I could hear the passion for his wife coming through the airwaves. To be completely honest, I have never heard of anyone quite like this man’s love for a woman the way he expressed himself to me that afternoon. This ring represented his eternal love, commitment and obsession for his bride of almost two years and best friend for the past 14 years.
I said to Lazar, « Lazar, listen to me. » There was silence on the other end of the phone as he waited for me to share what I could do to help him. I pronounced the hope that his heart needed to hear. I said, « Your ring will be back on your finger tonight. » What happened next was completely unexpected and I have never experienced before what transpired on the phone after I made that declaration to him. Lazar broke down crying and wept uncontrollably, sobbing with tears on the other end of the line. I was on the verge of crying myself because the entire moment was so touching. This man found relief knowing that he would not have to replace his original wedding band with something that had never witnessed the vows made two years earlier. I was just blown away by the love he displayed for his wife.
He must have cried those tears of joy for a good five minutes before we finalized all of the details and worked out the time frame that I would be arriving at the neighborhood park where the pond was located. I was beyond moved by all of Lazar’s emotions.
It would be a good hour and a half drive from where I was coming from but I couldn’t wait to do this search and recovery!
Now, what you are going to read next is also something so special that I may never encounter anything like this ever again. Lazar decided to take off work for the rest of this second day of missing the ring and guard the pond from any trespassers. He would stay at the pond area and spend his time watching over the area where he lost the ring. And while waiting for me to arrive, he would contribute to the cleanliness of the park by picking up garbage while he expected me nearly five and a half hours later that night! I couldn’t believe it! He did not want any Intruders to take the space where his belongings were by the water, near to where he lost the ring in the pond! And, he also did not want anyone to possibly obtain his prized possession if there was any logical reason for someone to be able to get a hold of it from the water, let alone have knowledge that the ring was accessible in the pond! But when it came to his love for his wife and how special this ring had meant to him, he wasn’t thinking about any of the particular logistics described above, but only what mattered and that was to guard what was rightfully his like a lion over his own territory. I’ve never met or heard of anyone so passionate about a special personal item even as important as a wedding band. But we are not talking about any average person. We are talking about a man who was completely driven by love and only love for his newlywed bride, Stephanie!
In addition to what I described above, Lazar did something else that was so touching and so far outside the box of the norm! He asked me sometime early evening if I would like for him to provide any food or drink for me by the time I arrived at the park that night. I told him that a bottle of water would be great if he had it. He obliged and not only did he provide a bottle of water, but he kept his car running with the air conditioning on high blast for all five and a half hours while he waited for me and placed a bottle of water up against the vent inside his car so that it would stay as cold as possible until my arrival! I almost did not believe that he did this but his wife volunteered to tell me that this is what her husband actually did for me as she saw me drink some of the cold water from the bottle that he handed to me later that night! She said that he wanted the bottle of water to be as cold as possible for me just to make me happy, refreshed and blessed, and so he came up with the idea of cooling it inside his car in the manner described. Have you ever heard of anything like this? Talk about appreciation and kindness as a response to his gratitude for what I was about to do for him! I was so beyond touched by this!
As I drove closer and closer to the area which was somewhere north of Baltimore (pretty far out there!), I texted Stephanie (Lazar’s wife) my location and approximately the time when I was going to arrive at the park.
When I first got to my destination, I was on the other side of the pond and I could see the family (husband, wife and child) all hanging out by the water’s edge anticipating my arrival. I came around the other side and got out of the car and immediately Lazar and I greeted each other with a man-hug as if we were long-time buddies from years past! It meant a lot to me that he thought of me as someone close to him already with what I was about ready to help him with. I met his wife and child and soon after all of the greetings, I got all of my equipment out of the car and prepared for the water search that was about to ensue.
By the time I got in the water and positioned myself close to where Lazar recalled the ring entering the water, it was dark outside. I had my wetsuit on, headlamp on my head, my sand scoop in one hand and the metal detector in the other. I could not have had a better group of fans cheering me on! After just a few false targets that I pulled up out of the water, I finally nailed the signal that I was looking for! Instead of using the scoop to remove the object from the water, I decided to reach down with my hand and grab the target with my fingers under the metal detector coil. I was confident that I found what I was looking for because the object felt round and hollow in the middle! I pulled it out of the water and yes, it was the handsome diamond filled tungsten carbide wedding band that I was looking for! This thing was one heavy piece! For a minute there I actually thought it was something else besides a ring because of the extreme weight that it possessed. But just like the degree of love that Lazar had for Stephanie, so was the heaviness of this love story represented here coming out of the water!
I remember raising the ring with my hand facing Lazar who was at the water’s edge, and once again I will never forget that particular scene. The man broke down crying with tears of joy as he could see the wedding band facing him and it was just too much for him to take. He moved over to the grassy area away from the shoreline and he got down on all fours and wept with such an intense emotion of happiness! Immediately, his family came alongside him and touched his shoulder and embraced him so very lovingly.
I came out of the water and moved over to where everybody had congregated and filmed this moment of man and metal being reunited once again! At some point I really didn’t know what to express anymore because it was just too moving to say the right words just watching this man unload his heart of love and feelings of relief and gratitude. I embraced Lazar and we celebrated the return of the wedding band to his finger was placed back on his hand moments later.
I also had the privilege of returning to the water to search for their son’s fishing lure which got stuck somewhere in the pond while the boy was fishing earlier that day waiting with his father for me to arrive. It could have been a long drawn-out recovery because of all of the potential targets that were beeping on my detector screen, but the young man had a pretty good idea as to where the lure ended up and within a couple of minutes, I was able to bring his lure back to surface and into his hands it went! He was so happy!
That night searching for the wedding band and the lure was really something special for me which I will never forget. Lazar, his family and I bonded in a very deep way and I think we will always be friends because of the happiness that we all took part in receiving through the celebration of the return of Lazar’s ring. I will never be able to completely describe it with words because of how special everything was that night by the pond.
After taking some pictures together, we all packed up our things in order to prepare to leave the park. I smiled as I looked over and saw the family work as a team to pack up all of the camping chairs, and fishing equipment that was out by the pond for the entire day and evening.
We said our goodbyes with hugs and with the assurance that we would stay in touch with one another. I look forward to getting together with this family at some point to have a meal together and reflect on that memorable evening when we all celebrated the successful return of Lazar’s wedding band! What a special time it was for me to be a part of such happiness!
Lazar’s Testimonial:
« As any young married man would do, I made a mistake. I went fishing and during a botched fishing rod cast, my wedding ring came off my finger. I jumped in the pond to try and save it but it was a failed attempt. After numerous hours of searching, I had the idea of searching for people that could maybe help me find my precious ring. I googled « ring finders ». It led me to THE RING FINDERS and Mr. Brian Rudolph. I sent a text not thinking that I would get a reply and no more than 20 minutes later, I received a phone call. I stated my name and told him what happened and before I could finish, he said these words which I will never forget! “Your ring will be back on your finger tonight. » I immediately broke down into tears on the phone. I never thought I was ever going to see my wedding band again. A few hours later and after a couple of phone calls back and forth, I met the man that I spoked to on the phone. An angel. He got set up as my small family watched. He got right to work and 10 minutes later he found my ring! It was unbelievable! This man saved my soul! There’s so many more things that I could say about Brian but there wouldn’t be enough lines on the paper. How can you describe someone that does what he does for others? He’s an angel, inspirational, positive and a life saver! There’s not enough words to best describe Brian! I could never ever thank him enough! »
– Lazar W Cooper
Taneytown, Maryland
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO OF THIS FANTASTIC SEARCH STORY:
CALL BRIAN RUDOLPH WITH THE RING FINDERS AT (301) 466-8644 AND HE WILL RETURN TO YOU WHAT HAS BEEN LOST!
SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEO YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS WHEN THIS LATEST SEARCH VIDEOIS UPLOADED! BRIAN’S SEARCH VIDEOS ARE FOUND ON HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL – THE RING RETURNER.
VISIT BRIAN’S LOCAL WEBSITE FOR ADDITIONAL STORIES AND INFORMATION AT: www.theringreturner.com
To receive a NOTIFICATIONS letting you know when other the videos are uploaded to YOUTUBE: go to YOUTUBE by 
