northern Virginia lost and found Tag | The Ring Finders

Glasses recovered SCUBA diving, EZ Cruz Marina, Woodbridge VA by Rob Ellis

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)

I am an expert metal detectorist with the knowledge, skill, and experience to recover your lost items on land and underwater. Please text or call as soon as possible: (703) 598-1435

Recovered By Master SCUBA Instructor Rob Ellis

 

Found May 16th, 2023

Erik was enjoying the day at EZ Cruz Marina, when a gust of wind took his hat and prescription glasses. With help from his friends, Erik tried using a long-handled net to scoop the glasses. Visibility, rocks, and depth made netting his glasses impossible. Sharon, the manager from EZ-Cruz marina, remembered that I recovered a ring last year and gave Erik my contact information.

A weighted Drop Line for Reference

When Erik called, he told me exactly how and where the glasses entered the water. He even sent me photos with drawings.

Gear Preparation

 

My divemaster (AKA: my wonderful wife) and I checked in with the marina office. We assessed the conditions and finalized how to conduct the search. We dropped a weighted “down line” from the dock to mark the center of the search area where the glasses fell into the water. The easiest entry was from the shore, with a hundred-yard swim. We attached a safety rope after reviewing tender-diver signals.

 

 

 

Most dock bottoms have a lot of metal debris, so I tethered the detector at the surface for my first search by gentle touch and use of a Garrett Pinpointer.

As I descended into the murky water, I lost all visibility at about 5 feet. I hit bottom at about twelve feet, and it was dark, very dark. Even my flashlight wouldn’t penetrate the murky water. I very carefully used my fingertips and pinpointer with a search pattern using the drop line as a reference. Within just a few minutes, I felt a pair glasses and carefully put them in my bag. There are always a lot of sunglasses around docks, and I wasn’t sure these were Erik’s. I ascended, gave the bag to my wife who compared them to a picture Erik had provided. She told me they were the right ones by signaling me the OK sign.

Manager Sharon from EZ Cruz Marina

Erik Smiling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were so glad to return Erik’s glasses. The actual search by touch took less than ten minutes. But the preparation, planning for the search & recovery, and clean-up took several hours. It was worth it to return such a nice young man’s glasses.

Rob Ellis: Metal Detector Expert… Call/text ASAP, (703)-598-1435

(20+) Robert Ellis | Facebook

 

Don’t give up. Many of my clients have bought, borrowed, or rented a metal detector before calling me. Just because someone has a tool, it doesn’t mean they know how to use it. I use state of the art equipment, and I have thousands of hours of experience searching on land and underwater. If you have tried using a detector without success, please call to see if I can help.

Platinum Ring, Lost 5 months, Found and Returned, Fairfax, Virginia

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)

I am an expert metal detectorist with the knowledge, skill, and experience to recover your lost items on land and underwater. Please text or call as soon as possible: (703) 598-1435

Found May 15th, 2023

Will Smiles!

Last fall, Will was doing yard work when he realized his ring was missing. He had been mowing his beautiful yard and thought it might have slipped off while emptying the grass catcher. While he was reading Reddit articles, Will came across one mentioning one of my recoveries. He texted me, and we set an appointment on a lovely day to conduct a search.

Search Area

There It Is!

 

 

Will showed me where he dumped his grass clippings in his back yard. There were a number of reasonable target IDs in the area, and each one had to be identified. After a long search through the piles of debris with a rake and shovel, I expanded the area to go under low tree branches and around large stones. Finally, I heard a clean signal (with a VDI of 15). Gently scraping the leaves away, the ring appeared!

 

Will’s Platinum Ring

Rob Ellis: Metal Detector Expert… Call/text ASAP, (703)-598-1435

Don’t give up. Many of my clients have bought, borrowed, or rented a metal detector before calling me. Just because someone has a tool, it doesn’t mean they know how to use it. I use state of the art equipment, and I have thousands of hours of experience searching on land and underwater. If you have tried using a detector without success, please call to see if I can help.

Gold Diamond Ring, Lost and Found, Woodbridge, Virginia

  • from Fairfax (Virginia, United States)

I am an expert metal detectorist with the knowledge, skill, and experience to recover your lost items on land and underwater. Please text or call as soon as possible: (703) 598-1435

Found January 7th, 2023

Roadside Diamond Ring Found!

On December 29th, Cole was driving home late at night along a winding road in Woodbridge, Virginia. He tossed out a cigarette butt and his beautiful new diamond ring unexpectedly flew off his finger into a roadside ditch. He saw the rings trajectory, stopped, and looked for the ring to no avail. The next day he called me, and we set up a time to meet so he could show me the area and I could begin the search.

Search Area Next to Busy Road

 

 

The ditch is close to a busy, winding road. I wore my yellow safety vest, used warning reflectors, and turned on the emergency flashers on my SUV. The ditch had a lot of debris, and the search was slow. After a few hours, it was getting too dark to continue. I told Cole not to be discouraged as I would schedule another search as soon as possible.

As Cole drove off, I discovered my SUV battery was dead! Apparently, emergency flashers on newer cars drain the battery much faster than the cars I grew up with. I couldn’t even open my electric hatchback to access the jumper cables. Thankfully my heroine, Mrs.E., came to my rescue with a portable jump starter.

On January 7th, I returned to the ditch to continue the search. After two more hours of searching, I found the ring deep in the debris. I texted Cole with the great news, and we met so I could return his beautiful ring!

Cole and Ring Reunited!

 

Some technical data for Ray, Brian, and my other Ring Finder friends: 10K, weight 7.8g, Equinox 800 TID=16, Deus 2 TID=71.

 

Rob Ellis: Metal Detector Expert… Call/text ASAP, (703)-598-1435

Don’t give up. Many of my clients have bought, borrowed, or rented a metal detector before calling me. Just because someone has a tool, it doesn’t mean they know how to use it. I use state of the art equipment, and I have thousands of hours of experience searching on land and underwater. If you have tried using a detector without success, please call to see if I can help.