San Diego Tag | Page 3 of 9 | The Ring Finders

Lost ring in Coronado found.

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Patrick and his family spent the day at the beach in Coronado. Toward the end of the day, he went to brush some sand off his hands, and his platinum wedding band was brushed into the beach as well. The good thing was, that they knew where in the area it should be, and they didn’t leave until they could get help. When I got the call, I grabbed my gear and headed straight over. We managed to find each other in the dark by meeting  by one of the lifeguard kiosks, and then proceeded to the search area. They cleared their gear away so I could sweep the area. 10 seconds, two steps later, and first target, I had Patrick’s ring in the scoop! If only all of the hunts could be this easy. A pleasure to meet you Patrick and thank you for the reward.

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Ring Lost at La Jolla Shores found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Bonnie and her fiance were visiting here in San Diego and went to La Jolla Shores to enjoy the sand and water. They went out surfing, and when coming in on a wave, her engagement ring came off in waist deep surf. An online search brought them to The Ring Finders website and my contact info. I got the call later yesterday and after looking at the tide chart, figured I’d give it a try this morning at low tide. It wasn’t going to all that much lower than when she lost it, but, every little bit helps when detecting in the surf. Bonnie sent me a Google map and I used that to start my search at 6:30 am this morning. They showed up about 20 minutes later and I discovered that I needed to move north about 50 yards and was told it should be just north of where they had cones placed on each side of the lifeguard kiosk the day before. Being early still, they hadn’t put the cones out yet, so, we just had to guess where they had been. After a new starting spot, I began my grid and after a short time, they said they had an appointment to go to, wished me luck, and left.

I continued on with my shore-to-surf grid pattern heading north through the search area. After an hour and not a single target, I decided to go back to the starting point and head south. Half hour later and still not a signal, I began a crossgrid working parallel to the shore and working from deeper water toward the beach. At this point the tide had turned, started to come in, and the surf was getting rougher. After reaching ankle deep water and nothing to show for it. I was wondering where to search next. At that point, I noticed that the lifeguards were putting the cones out. Since they usually put them in the same area each day, I took a closer look, and realized that I needed to go south just a little more to completely cover the supposed search area. After a bit, I was just about finished with that area too. Wet, cold, tired, hungry, I was going to call it a day after the next pass or two. Just then, I got the signal I’d been waiting to hear all morning. One scoop later and I was relieved to see Bonnie’s ring. I emailed them the good news and headed home. They came by my house a little before noon and a happy Bonnie was reunited with her beautiful ring. A pleasure meeting you both, good luck with your move and upcoming marriage, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost at Fiesta Island found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Richard spent the day fishing on Fiesta Island. While cleaning some of the fish he had caught, he shook his hands to get some of the fish scales off, and his wedding ring went flying into the dry sand. He spent 3 days searching through the sand in that area, even buying a detector and trying his luck, but, he couldn’t find it. His online search brought him to TRF and my contact info. I met Richard at the site in the late afternoon where he showed me where he was setup the day of the loss. I’ve searched many areas of Fiesta Island before, and could understand why he had trouble trying to find his ring without any real experience using a detector. This area is tough even for seasoned pros. People have been burning wooded pallets and other scrap lumber on this Island for decades. Aluminum cans were thrown into the campfires and pull tabs litter the landscape. Anywhere you take a scoop of sand will result in 4-5 metal objects, so, it’s a real challenge to find just one signal in all that mess. It wasn’t a particularly big search area, but, it was slow going. 1 1/2 hours later, I had run 3 different grid lines over the entire search area, my trash pouch was almost full, and still no ring. I attacked ground zero at still a different angle and got another mixed signal on my Equinox…..the kind I’d been digging for the last hour and a half. After filtering out the sand, and pulling out 3 nails and 2 other pieces of melted aluminum, I finally see a ring in the scoop with the shells and rocks. Sure enough, it was Richard’s ring. Richard was overjoyed and was able to head home and give his wife the good news. A pleasure to meet you Richard, and thank you for the reward. 

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Ring lost at Ocean Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Lorena was visiting town and enjoying Ocean Beach with some friends and placed her ring in the cup holder of her chair. Time to leave, the chair got folded up, and the ring ended up in the dry sand. A common way rings get lost. Searching was fruitless and Lorena had to go back home up north. She contacted me to ask for my help in finding it. She had planned on returning the next morning to show me the search area, but, having already been a full day on the loose, I had her give me directions as to where she was when the ring fell into the sand. She did better than that. She had some photos that were taken while she was there in that location. Knowing that beach well, I could find that spot fairly easily. Finding the ring might be another thing! I waited until the sun went down so I could actually find a parking spot on a Saturday night. Not easy, but, I lucked into one. The beach was still mobbed with party goers. I made a beeline west toward the water and straight through the middle of search area. Before I got there, I see another guy detecting right through where I planned to search. He didn’t stop for any targets, so, i began my grid. Off to the right was a large group still camped on the beach, so, I started on the left. Made a dozen passes or so without so much as a pull tab. Not a good sign. Somebody (maybe the guy who I first saw) had already scoured the area? At that point, the crowd on the right was picking up and leaving. Great, I can now search the other side before I try to track down the other detectorist to see if he may have found the ring. Still not much in the way of targets until I made 5-6 passes and got a solid 6 on my Equinox. That’s usually a foil drink seal, but, I scooped it anyway as small gold can read in that range. Sure enough, a drink seal. Drat! Moved another 2 feet and got another solid 6 reading. Another juice seal I bet, was what I was thinking, but, after scooping it up, I discovered her ring! As I surveyed the spot I found it, I realized that the other detectorist had missed it by no more than a couple of feet! I texted Lorena that she would have to come back down to San Diego after all, but, instead of having to show me where the search area would be, she could pick up her ring. A pleasure to meet you and Pierre, and thank you for the reward.

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Ring lost at Mission Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Pete and his wife were escaping the heat inland and decided to go to south Mission Beach. Pete took his wedding ring off before going out in the surf, and gave it to his wife to hold. It was a bit big for her fingers, but, that’s where she held it. By the time Pete came back, his wife wasn’t feeling too good, and in their haste to pack up and leave, the ring came off and into the dry sand. After Pete did a Google search to get help, he came across one of my posts and texted me.  Being a Saturday afternoon, parking was going to be impossible, so, I had an early dinner and hoped the crowds would lighten up a bit so I could actually get to the beach.

I texted Pete back when I got to the beach and found he was already there waiting. He showed me the search area, and I started at what he thought was ground zero, and spiraled out from there. Naturally, since he had been there earlier in the day, the tide was at a different level, people had come and gone, so, figuring out exactly where they had been camped wasn’t a sure thing. After quite a bit of the supposed search area was covered, I was beginning to wonder if someone had already found it. I was finding a few other targets with similar target I.D.’s so I was still hopeful that it was still there somewhere. At the end of one of my passes, I was dodging around where some people were sitting and hit an area a bit out of the initial search area. It was an area where I was going to expand into next. I could see that people had been there recently by the disturbed sand. Sure enough, I got a nice solid 15 on my Equinox and found Pete’s ring. A happy Pete can now go home and make his wife feel a bit better. Nice to meet you Pete and thank you for the reward.

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Lost earring in Kearney Mesa found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Naomi was at a local park and lost a family heirloom earring. There were a couple of areas where she had been, including where she was playing with some dogs on the ground. On arrival, we met and she explained the situation and showed me the two areas, both of which are on a baseball field. Unfortunately, there was some guys playing ball on the field, so, one of the areas over by the left field foul line was busy. The other area was deep in right field and not too close to where they were playing, so, that’s where I started. Naomi had the mate to the lost earring, so, I was able to use it to give me a sound and I.D. number to go by. Wow, that little thing didn’t give much of a signal, in fact, in a couple of modes, it didn’t register at all! The best signal I could get was in the Gold prospecting mode, where I got a fairly solid 1 on my machine. I started swinging over the grass and found there were so many signals that I had to eliminate all the other numbers except 1 and 2 or I would be there for days! I made a couple of quick passes where she thought she had walked hoping to get a quick recovery. No dice, so, out came the cones and I started to do a complete grid while she walked over to see how long they would be in the other area. As it turned out, they were just about done, but, that was unnecessary. I decided to complete my grid and on the second pass, the weak little sound on my Equinox that I was hoping for, alerted me to the earring sitting there in plain sight. In a flash, Grandma’s earring was back on Naomi’s ear where it belongs. A pleasure to met you Naomi, and thank you for the reward.

 

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Lost ring at Mission Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Joe’s buddies were throwing him a bachelor party here in San Diego. Got the beach house, check, got the beer, check, took an Uber to get the Cardiff Crack (a special Tri Tip roast beef sold up the coast a ways), check, hitting the beach and throwing the football around in the water, check. What they forgot was that you should leave jewelry at home and not take them to the beach…..especially out in the ocean. He’s from Arizona, and just started wearing this ring, so, a common rookie mistake :-). The cold water combined with slippery conditions allowed his ring to just fall right off in the waist deep surf. An online search and The Ring Finders popped up with my contact info. I get the call just a hair after high tide, so, we made arrangements to meet a good 5 hours later when the tide would be a lot further out. Makes the search much easier to contend with when you can avoid most of the surf, current, and undertow. I arrive around 8:30 pm and meet Joe at the location. Earlier I had him take some reference points and pace off how far he had been out in the water. These were important details that help narrow the search area and increase the likelihood of success. I started gridding and getting no targets at all…..as in mind-numbingly quiet. After about 4-5 passes, I get a solid 11 and scoop a bottle cap. Rats….even though I figured it wasn’t going to be his size 14 tungsten carbide ring, I was at least hoping for something good. 2 more passes and I get a screaming 20 on my Equinox. Now, that’s more like it! Sure enough, Joe’s ring was in the scoop. He and his buddies were totally amazed and thrilled that Joe’s ring was recovered. Let the bachelor party begin! It will be a lot more pleasant trip home to AZ too, since I just realized that the ring is inscribed with « til death », which might have been the consequences coming back home without the ring!  Pleasure to meet you Joe, and the bachelor party gang, and thank you for the reward. 

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Ring lost at La Jolla Shores found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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James was here in town for a wedding, and staying at a beach resort at La Jolla Shores. Yesterday was a hot and dry day, so, He was out enjoying the beach and throwing a ball to his cousin in the cool, shallow water in front of the resort. Well, we know the scenario here! Ball gets thrown, and his family crest, signet, heirloom ring decides to take a dip too. Ring hits water, sinks quickly into the sand, and disappears. An online search brings up The Ring Finders website and my contact info. The tide had already receded a bit, and was still heading out, so, my wife and I jumped into the car and headed to the location. We were actually able to find parking not too far away, which two weeks ago would have been impossible on a Saturday afternoon. We meet James out on the beach and he shows us the search area. He makes his best guess at where « ground zero » was and I start a spiral search out from there in the wet sand . Half hour later and no ring, I start a cross grid and expand out beyond my initial grid. Another half hour later and only two targets total, I finally get a sweet, solid 16 on my Equinox just outside my initial search area. Sure enough, James’s ring pops out of the shallow plug of sand. A pleasure to meet you James, and thank you for the reward.

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Phone lost at Ocean Beach found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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This young lady was at Ocean beach last night with friends until after dark. She had her phone in her sweatshirt pocket until she was tackled to the sand and the phone popped out and was buried out of sight. She and her friends looked for it and even used the « find my phone » app last night and this morning to narrow the search area, but, to no avail. I got the call just as I was getting ready to leave La Jolla Shores after finding a lost ring there. 20 minutes later, I was at the location at Ocean Beach and met her and her mother. They ran the « find my phone » app again and showed me the search area. After wandering around a short time trying to zero in on the signal, I got a good hit on my Equinox and looked down to just see a tiny bit of phone case edge barely visible above the sand. I reached down and pulled her phone out and waved over to them walking ahead of me. Mother and daughter happy now and a lesson learned about loose fitting sweatshirt pockets! A pleasure to meet you both and thank you for the reward.

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Lost ring at La Jolla Shores found

  • from La Jolla (California, United States)
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Karim just wanted to rinse off a bit of sand in the ocean before leaving the beach. Sounds simple, safe, and easy right? Well, after wading into calf deep water and reaching down into the water, a wave washed through and stripped his wedding ring right off his finger. Immediately sifting the sand for the ring with his fingers proved fruitless. His wife hit the internet, found my number, and gave me a call for help. The loss happened 2 hours before low tide but by the time I got the call, it was just after low tide and it was coming in, so, the next low tide this morning was the best time to give it a try. We met at 5:30am and I started my grid where Karim thought he went into the ocean. 1/2 hour later I had only heard some iron sounds, when, I get a screaming 25 hit on my Equinox. Well, that didn’t sound like platinum to me, but, I scooped it anyway. There in my scoop was a ring, but, not Karim’s ring! By this time, it was starting to get light enough to see better, and Karim realized that we were in the wrong location. We then headed north about 150 yards and I started my grid work again. Again, nothing but iron grunts for 1/2 hour or so, when I get a weak but repeatable 3 on the Nox. Scooped and found a corroded piece of aluminum can. Rats! 2 feet away and I get another weak but repeatable 3 and figured I had another piece of that can. Scooped it anyway and was surprised to find Karim’s platinum wedding ring in the bottom! I was looking for a low non-ferrous tone, but, didn’t think it would read quite that low, but, I can’t complain about the result. Now Karim and family can head home to NorCal in a happier mood. A pleasure to meet you Karim, and thank you for the reward.

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