Recovery Expert Saves The Day, Ship Bottom NJ, LBI, recovered by Edward Trapper, NJ Ring Finder
Lost Ring Recovered in the Water – LBI Night Swim
Chloe reached out to me late one weekend evening, hoping I could help recover a special ring that had been handmade by a close friend. She explained that she had been doing a night swim off a dock in Long Beach Island when, while paddling away from the dock, she felt the ring slip right off her hand.
Water recoveries can be particularly tricky, with constantly changing conditions. I asked Chloe some key questions about the loss: how deep the water was, what type of bottom (mud, sand, etc.), and if she could pinpoint the exact moment the ring fell off. Thankfully, she was confident in all three, so I made the decision to begin the search the following morning.
We met at the property and walked out to the dock together. Chloe helped mark the location by tossing a few small pebbles where she believed the ring had come off. I climbed down the ladder into the water and began searching. The water depth matched what she described — which is rare!
After a few junk signals from old can tabs and pop tops, I finally hit a clean, sweet tone. I was almost certain this was it. After a couple of scoops (in very murky water), I reached into my scoop — and there it was! I held up the ring and Chloe’s face lit up with disbelief and joy. Her smile said it all.
I carefully handed up my gear, climbed back onto the dock, dried off, and we snapped a few celebratory photos. Another successful recovery — and another meaningful item reunited with its owner.
Jennifer called to inquire about the possibility of recovering her wedding and engagement ring, that accidently flew off her finger into the water, at the boat dock. As usual I questioned her about exactly what had happened, as well as any information she might know about the water depth, clarity, current, etc. She explained that she had opened the state room door, stepped out onto the finger dock, and was brushing some crumbs off one of the boat cushions, when both rings flew right off her finger, into the dark water below. Jennifer was adamant this was exactly what happened, and confirmed both rings must be pretty much straight down, or possibly under the other boat, or under the finger pier. The water was a workable depth of around 5′ or so, depending on what end of the finger pier I was. Knowing how deep and dark the water was, I had to gather many items to ensure I had what was needed, to make this a successful recovery. Once on location at low tide, the water did average 5′, so that was a good thing. What wasn’t so good was how black and muddy the bottom was, as you can see the nasty black mud in the one picture. after clearing MANY targets, which is common in marina locations, I got a promising signal, that turned out to be Jennifer’s wedding ring. She was quite surprised I was able to find it with all the trash on the bottom. One would figure the other ring would be right near by, but after another 45 minutes, I had no luck. I really didn’t want to throw in the towel, but I was leaving for vacation early the following morning, and had to call it a day. Jennifer was extremely grateful, as I promised her I would return the first chance I had after I got home.