Wedding Ring Lost In The Lagoon, Lavallette NJ, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder
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I received a call from Derek about the possibilities of recovering his ring from a very wide lagoon. He explained exactly what had happened, and he knew right when the ring came off his finger. Water recoveries are extremely challenging to begin with, but add in the fact he and his buddies were racing to the other side and back, and this one becomes almost impossible. Well, as the conversation continues, I discover Derek had quite a bit of pertinent information which is needed to even consider this recovery. I asked him to supply me with everything he had, which included many pictures, and probably the deciding factor to move forward with this recovery, was the video of them racing to the other side. That was the spot where the ring had come off. I asked him to give me a few days to review everything, which he agreed to, as the ring was not going anywhere . After looking at all the information given I called Derek and explained this would be extremely complicated, but as long as he was positive the ring came off right when he stopped swimming , we should definitely give it a try. We cleared it with the homeowner, and set up the date to do the recovery. Once there a bouy was dropped just past precise location, and a guide line was placed on the bottom and secured back at the dock. With near zero visibility, on the 3rd pass back, we got a promising hit just before the bouy. After fanning the target a bit, you could just make out the ring. This all happened in roughly 55 min from start to finish.Had there not been the pictures and video his ring would still be on the bottom of the bay/lagoon. Huge shout out to Buzz, couldn’t have done this one without you.
Gregg called and asked if I would be able to help him find his wedding ring he had lost on the dune walkover in Holgate NJ. We were having some unusual swarming mosquitos, and when he was heading over to the ocean they bombarded him when he was almost at the top. When he tried to swat them away, unfortunately his wedding ring flew off his hand and most likely landed up on the dunes somewhere. We arranged to meet the next afternoon, knowing his ring would be safe in that location. I had read on one of the local Facebook pages how bad they were after days of heavy rain, but never experienced anything quite this like this. I pulled up in the driveway, and no sooner had my door opened, I would venture to say, there were 20 or more in my truck. With that said, out came the sweatshirt and bug spray. I really hate mosquitos. Greg and I went over again exactly what had happened, as we walked quickly to the spot he had marked with some little sticks and stuff. I turned on my machine, put on the headphones, and for whatever reason it would not quiet down. I asked him to stand facing exactly the way he was, and to demonstrate the swatting motion he used when the ring went flying. It looked like it probably could have flown up in the dune grass, but with the motion he showed me, my hunch was it went straight down. So, as these nuisance bugs are like a cloud around us, I moved back to where I turned on the machine, which was also the spot he was when the ring came off. And now I know why the machine was so noisy!!!!! Bingo!!!! It was sitting right on top of his ring. The more detective work one can do the better. The entire hunt only lasted about 10 minutes at best. Making memories again on LBI.
I was over on LBI checking out the beach when I received a call from Stephen. He had been doing yard work earlier in the day and noticed his wedding ring was not on his finger when he was wrapping it up for the day. Stephen had stated that between raking leaves, trimming some bushes, and a few other odds and ends around the yard, somehow his wedding ring went missing. I asked him if anything was brought to the recycling center, and his response was no, which was a big relief. I told him I could swing by in about 30 min. which worked perfect for the both of us. Once I arrived we went over in detail exactly what he was doing, and then we narrowed it down to the most likely place his ring could have been lost. After a short discussion, we headed over to the area he had been bagging some leaves, and in the same spot he had been loading brush into cans. I made a half dozen passes with my machine, when I received a really nice signal, and BINGO, there was Stephens wedding ring just a few inches under some yard debris. The look on his face was priceless as I handed his lost ring back.
Amanda sent me a text later in the evening, asking about my services. Amanda and her husband Dave were at the beach, where she had removed her NJ State Trooper medallion necklace and placed it in the beach bag for safe keeping. She was extremely heartbroken, as she wore this every single day for over 20 plus years. After they returned home it was missing, so they backtracked every step with no luck. They also raked the entire area of the beach where they had set up their chairs and towels for the day. The only possible thing that could have happened was it came out during the day when Dave removed the car keys, and mistakenly fell into the sand. Amanda didn’t want me to come out late at night, but no way would I leave the necklace sit in the sand over night, and possibly disappear with the tide, or risk it being found by an suspecting beach comber. I met Dave at the beach within 30 min. and had Amanda’s necklace in the scoop just a short while later. Dave was in total disbelief I found it so fast, especially after they had done an extensive search prior to my arrival.
I received a call from Bill about his wedding ring lost in the sand down in Holgate, on LBI. He was on the beach early that day with his wife, and decided to leave due to the fact the wind was blowing about 30 knots, which made it very unpleasant. They have been married for 44 years, so this ring was extremely sentimental needless to say. We arranged to meet later that day where he was staying at Hurleys in Holgate. Bill had explained every detail leading up to the ring being lost, as we walked up. The beach is extremely narrow in this area, and he was fairly certain where he was set up, especially with flags and a lifeguard chair right where they were. I searched the first spot and the ring wasn’t there. We tried another spot and nothing again. This isn’t a spot where someone would get confused as to the location, which had us both totally bewildered. Then I searched the steep path back to the h