Pacific Beach Tag | Page 5 of 6 | The Ring Finders

Ring lost in Paradise Hills found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Elizabeth called and asked for help finding her husband Carl’s lost ring. After eating some cherries in the front yard, Carl tossed the remains, and felt his loose fitting gold ring come off his pinky finger. He and his family searched the grass, raked it several times, and even rented a metal detector, but, without success. They even had video of him doing it through their security system! A first for me, actually seeing the loss happen. Even after repeated viewing of the video,                              we couldn’t really see the ring fly, but, it at least showed the throwing motion and approximate direction. It looked like it should be straight out in the grass, but, after 10-15 minutes of gridding the small front yard with no ring, I expanded the search to include street, gutter, a drainage ditch. Still no luck, so, I continued past the side fence and up on a landscaped side hill. Sure enough, it was waiting for me there! After receiving a promising signal, I could just spot the edge of the ring poking out of the apple ivy ground cover. Carl wasn’t home, but, a very happy Elizabeth greeted me again at the door and their daughter contacted Carl with the good news and posed for the photo with the ring. A pleasure to meet you and thank you for the reward.

Lost Rings found at Pacific Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Last night I received a call from Jose asking for help finding his wife Deisy’s engagement and wedding rings. They were enjoying the beach with their two children yesterday and Deisy had removed her rings and put them in her pants pocket, and then put the pants in her beach bag. Good idea to keep them safe, right? Well, it didn’t turn out that way. Later in the day when they were ready to leave, she got her pants out of the bag and put them on.  A few minutes later, when they got to the house, she reached into the pocket and, no rings. Back down to the beach to search for them, but, as is typical, it was fruitless. They could be where she put on the pants (most likely) or anywhere along their hike off the beach and to the house a block away. After searching for help with the lifeguards and online, they came upon TheRingFinders.com website and me. Being a popular beach to detect, I hot foot it down there and meet Jose who takes me to where they were camped out that afternoon. It was now just after high tide and the area had been washed over a bit by some waves, but, not a lot of erosion, so, the rings should still be there. I began an ever-expanding grid search from that point, and after 20 minutes or so, I get a good solid 8 on my Equinox. Out comes the pin pointer and I find the engagement ring just under the sand about 20 feet from my starting point. Great, the wedding should be close by….not! I gridded that area 6 ways from Sunday and not a sound. Oh well, we’ll do it the hard way. I expanded the area even more and made 4-5 passes all the way to the stairs thinking it might have fallen along the way. Nope, found a few coins, lots of foil junk, a junk ring,and a couple of stud earrings, but, no wedding ring. Since the tide had gone out significantly since I started a couple hours earlier, I decided to go back to the original site and expand down the slope toward the water. Sure enough, after a few passes, I get a nice solid 6-7 reading and up pops the wedding ring about half way down the slope. We headed back to the house where I met a tearfully grateful Deisy. Glad to have met you both and thank you for the reward.

 

Ring lost at Mission Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Eric realized he shouldn’t play around in the sand with his wedding ring on, so, he thought it wiser to take it off and let someone else hold on to it until he was done. Little did he know that the person he handed it to would be the one to lose it in the sand. They knew approximately where it should be, but, sifting through the sand with their fingers and even borrowing a metal detector from the lifeguards didn’t help bring it to light. Off to the internet and a hit on TheRingFinders.com website. A quick look at the map and my name is listed for Mission Beach. I get the call about 8:15pm and arrange to meet Eric at 8:45pm at the site. We meet and I get the low down on how/where it was lost and what we’re looking for. On my first pass and only a couple of minutes later, I get a promising signal. Yup, it’s what we’re looking for. Both Eric and his friend are happy and relieved to get the ring back. Pleasure to meet you both and thank you for the reward.

Lost ring at Pacific Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Matt called TheRingFinders for help getting his wedding ring back. Seems he was playing ball out in the waves with a friend when, while catching the ball, it smacked his hand sending his gold wedding band flying into the surf. The bad news…..it was at low tide…..the good news…..it was only knee to thigh deep, and since he called both myself and fellow ring finder member Tony Eisenhower, who brought his grandson, we had a team to help in the search.

We met Matt at the appointed time and place so he could show us the search area. The good news……thankfully he took some reference points to help narrow it down a bit……the bad news……fairly rough surf and quite a bit of kelp to tangle us. Out we went, Tony and me using our new Equinox 800’s and Tony’s grandson with the trusty Excalibur. After about 20-30 minutes and no signals, guess who finally gets a good sound? Yup, the grandson, showing us both up! Tony came over, scooped the nice sound, and success, Matt’s ring is back in the sunshine. Now Matt can head home to MN without having to come up with an explanation to his wife on how he lost his ring here in San Diego. A pleasure to meet you Matt, and thank you for the generous reward.

 

Lost wedding set at Pacific Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Alyssa called me 5 minutes after my request for help in Coronado. She had lost her wedding ring/engagement combo in the dry sand somewhere in a 20 foot radius around where she was sitting. She was also visiting from out of town (MN) and was leaving the next day. After my successful recovery in Coronado, I headed to Pacific Beach with high hopes. Parking was virtually non-existent down by the beach, so, I parked a good 1/2 mile away and hiked to the site with my gear. She was waiting for me right at the search area and I started a grid search. On the first pass, I found a dime, a piece of trash, and then her rings. A happy Alyssa can now head home happy she doesn’t have to explain to her husband how she lost her rings here in San Diego! Thank you for the reward.

 

Lost ring at Ocean Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Marcio was at Ocean Beach with his wife and child having a nice day in the sun when the outlook changed. He had been building sand castles, washed the sand off the toys in the surf, and went in for a short dip. After all this fun, he realized his wedding ring was missing. He does an online search and contacted me for help. Even though the tide was coming in and approaching the evening high, I agreed to meet them and get an idea of where the ring may have been lost, do a preliminary search, and maybe get lucky with a quick recovery. Oh well, that wasn’t to be. I searched all the dry sand around where they were camped out for the day and also hit the slope heading down to the water. The tide and surf was up on this steep section of beach and had a nasty shore break, so, a water search at this time would have been pointless. I told Marcio that I would return in the early morning hours to take advantage of the minus low tide at that time. Fast forward to 12:30am when I arrived at the beach. I started a grid from dry sand to knee deep water, and at 1:10am got the signal I was waiting for. I texted Marcio with the good news and connected with him later that day for the return. Great to meet you folks and thank you for the reward.

 

Ring found and returned at Carlsbad State Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

If the sun lotion scenario is the #1 reason for losing a ring at the beach, this is probably #2. It’s the « I took the ring off and put into the chair pocket, forgot it was there, folded chair and packed everything up when we were ready to leave, drove away and then remembered the ring scenario ». Marcus didn’t get far….just out of the parking lot when he realized what he had done. He returned and searched to no avail. Out came the phone and a Google search. He found my ad on Craig’s list and gave me a call. I told him I would be there within the hour and met him at the location. We walked over the the spot where they had the chairs laid out (the most likely spot of the loss) and I started my grid. Maybe 30 seconds later, I get the sound I wanted to hear on my E-trac and scooped out his ring. A happy Marcus gets to go home, tell the wife, and not have to share the accommodations with the dog. A pleasure meeting you Marcus and thank you for the reward.

 

Rings found at Mission Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Maureen and her two friends were visiting Mission Beach from much hotter Las Vegas, when her engagement and wedding rings ended up in the dry sand. You’ve heard the tail of woe many times before…..blanket, rings removed, sunscreen, forgot, stood up…..rings disappeared from sight. The hardest part about this search was just getting there, finding parking, and hiking to the spot on this Saturday afternoon during the summer. That took an hour for me and I’m only 12 miles away from the beach! Had to park about a mile away and hoof it to where they were waiting. I got the lowdown on how they were lost and the small search area was cleared of their belongings. Two passes and that area was clean of targets…..hmm….ok, please move your belongings again and I’ll search under them. Sure enough, got a nice 12-14 signal right under their bags with my trusty E-trac. I asked Maureen’s friend Crystal if she would like to do the honors of reaching into the sand right in front of my coil and pull the ring out. She dove into the sand and sifted sand through her fingers and no ring. What? I has to be there! She tried again and came up with a zipper pull. Wonderful…..make me look like a goof why don’t you! Another swing or two and another great 12-14 sound. Ok, this has to be it this time. Sure enough Crystal was able to sift the wayward engagement ring into her hand. One more swing with the coil and a repeat of the first ring. A happy Maureen and her friends will have a much more pleasant drive back to Nevada. A pleasure meeting you three and thank you for the reward.

Ring found and returned at Mission Beach

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

I was running errands all day, so, I didn’t get the e-mail cry for help right away. When I finally realized it, I e-mailed back to say that I was available. After an exchange of information, I met Charles at the beach location that evening. He had been out playing football two days prior with other family members when…….well, we know the results of that! His wedding ring of 40 years came off somewhere during their romp in the dry sand. Initially, the search area was fairly good size, but, not ridiculous. Maybe half the size of a standard football field or a little less. After hitting some « hot spots » where Charles remembered being tackled in the sand and having no luck, I started a complete grid of the area. After 15-20 minutes I had found virtually no targets except a few minor pieces of foil and other junk targets. Not even one coin.  Hmmm…..maybe the area had been detected by someone else in the last two days and had already been found? I soldiered on and finally did find a couple of coins, and then, wow, a ring. Oops, not HIS ring. Oh well, not a bad looking ring, and not a bad sign either. At least that area hadn’t been detected extensively. I completed the whole designated search area and nothing more but a few coins. Darn, well, time to expend the search area. I made a few more passes at the north end with no luck.  Charles told me he hadn’t gone that far north, was resigned to the fact that it wasn’t going to be found, thanked me, and left for the night. I told him I’d hunt a bit longer and crossgrid the same area to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I then went to the southern end of the search area and extended that a ways too. Still nothing. I then started my crossgrid and found absolutely no additional targets…..until……on one of my passes at the southern end, I was looping around to come back north, when I hit THE signal. Finally! It was getting dark and the search area was now about the size of a whole football field! A call to Charles resulted in voice mail, so, I left a message, sent an e-mail, and cooled my heels a while until he contacted me. I detected back south toward my truck, the bathrooms, and showers when Charles returned my call. He and his son then walked down to meet me and pick up his ring. A pleasure meeting you both and thank you for the generous reward. It helps keep the service going. Have a safe trip home today.

Lost ring at Pacific Beach Found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)

Thursday evening, Paolo decided to go into the ocean, so, he removed his wedding ring and gave it to his wife Celine for safekeeping. Celine placed it on one of her fingers and waited on a berm in the dry sand for his return. As the sun was setting, they got up and left the beach. Once they reached their car, it was discovered the wedding ring was missing from Celine’s finger. They returned to the area where they had been, but, in the failing light and acres of sand, the search was fruitless. Fast forward to Tuesday when I received an e-mail from Celine who relayed the sad story and asked if I could help find it. We made arrangements to meet the next morning at 10am. Being several days later, I explained that many different fates for the ring could have occurred. It’s a popular beach for other detectorist to search, so, it could have already been found, the beach grooming machines usually go through the area early Monday morning, the high surf could have washed over the area and buried it, etc. I met Celine up on the boardwalk and we hiked down to the search area. She was a little uncertain of the exact area where she was sitting, so, I searched many spots one by one, eliminating them all. I then started running a grid from where she was sitting to the stairs where they exited the beach. After 4 passes and about an hour and a half, I finally got a likely sound and reading on my E-trac. One scoop and I pulled up Paolo’s ring. Celine was amazed that it was found, as, she figured it was a long shot. It was just a matter of time on this one. I was finding other good targets in the area, so, I knew nobody else had detected there. I just had to keep expanding the search area until I ran across it. They had been married for just a month, so, I was happy to get this ring back to them, so it can add another chapter in it’s story. Celine decided not to tell Paolo right away, but, instead to surprise him at dinner! I bet he will be!20161116_113327 20161116_113352