Yarmouth Tag | The Ring Finders

Apple iPhone10 found at Smuggler’s Beach Cape Cod, MA and returned.

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

July 7, 2022
The 4th of July passed without anyone calling for help in finding a lost item. Tuesday was a day for a walk in the ocean keeping up with exercise and keeping the old body moving. It was after three coins in the first hour before I heard a big target. My first scoop missed it, the second was taken with a bit more care not to mar the object which turned out to be an Apple iPhone 10. I continued on detecting with Leighton who was finding just a very few finds also.

Back at the car, the iPhone powered up but was locked and had almost no charge. We turned it off and went on to detect in a few freshwater ponds. At home I put the iPhone on the charger and after about a half an hour of charging I tried to power it up again. This time I saw a message on the screen that the phone had been reported as LOST. The best was the last sentence “Please call 508-xxx-xxxx”, which I did. Luckily the group had only started their way off Cape Cod heading home. They had been in traffic for about an hour, turned around and in less than a half hour they arrived at my home to retrieve the phone. A few quick pictures, a grateful hug and they were off on the trip back home again.

Justin, the owner of the phone that had been bought with his mother’s help had all of Justin’s photos and personal information which he was more than thrilled to have back. He had been on the beach, but not in the water and believes the phone fell out of his pocket. The tides over the 5 days it was in the salt water must have pulled the phone into about 3 feet of water where I found it. Had Justin’s friend, Colby, not put up the notice on the phone there would have been no way for me to unlock and retrieve any information that might have been used to return the phone. We all agreed that everyone should have this type of information on the startup screen or on an I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) screen, just in case…

Wedding band lost twice, found twice. Yarmouth, Massachusetts

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

(June 14) The Vacationing wedding band has found its way back to its owner for the second time. Twelve years ago, Jim felt his wedding band slip from his finger into the depths of a Maine lake. Then a year later Jim was snorkeling in the area where the loss occurred and to his luck the sun was shining just right and reveled a sparkle from his ring that was just sitting on top of rock some 6 feet below the surface. Jim did a shallow dive and retrieved the ring and replaced it on his finger.

All was well until last year while vacationing on Cape Cod. With the excitement of a quick dip in Nantucket Sound Jim forgot to leave his ring on shore, safe with his wife, until his return. You guessed it…the ring once again took a vacation from Jim’s finger. Eleven months later I was enjoying a late spring afternoon of detecting when I happened upon the ring in waist deep water. With only a name and date I had little hope of finding its owner. Six weeks later I was in the same area detecting with little success of finding even a single coin when a strong signal was heard. The target turned out to be a Parrot drone. As I put the drone in my pouch, I was approached by Jim who had the usual question…Find anything? I showed him the drone and then he told me of losing his wedding band last year. His description said it was engraved with his wife’s name Karen. That rang a bell and I told him I just might have the ring at home and I would search my finds and call him back that night.

I was running a bit late for dinner…it was ready just as I walked into my home. I ate dinner, had a cup of coffee and nodded off to sleep. I woke with a startle; I had not looked for the ring or called Jim. Three minutes later I had the ring in my hand and dialed Jim. Unbelievable, the way things happen at times. Jim and I set a time to meet and for me to return his wedding band. The meeting turned into a luncheon with a great conversation on detecting and life experiences.

This was about the end of the story with smiles and happiness all around. Our last thoughts were about the drone not knowing that I would find the owner and return it the next day.

Yarmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Lost Ring Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 14, 2021 Cape Cod, Massachusetts Lost Ring Returned in Sand Found and Returned

Dang, if applying sunblock is not the cause that more people have their ring slip from their finger I don’t’ know what is. Not the case with Mark. He had removed his ring and placed it safely on his lap but a sudden call from his son and a quick turn caused the ring to slip off his lap and into the sand. After two hours of looking with no ring to be found it was time to call for help from someone, but who?

A chat with the gate keeper, Mark’s hope was heightened, he was told to call the RingFinders, and he did. I got the call and made arrangements to meet up with Mark before he left for home. I then called fellow RingFinder Leighton and together we started a long day of detecting as we met up with Mark and were shown the area where the ring sank into the soft sand. Leighton held back from starting to search the was to give me a head-start. Why? The day before we were starting a search for a necklace. Before starting I helped move a large log from the area. My bad, as within 4 seconds Leighton had unearthed the necklace. So he was going to give me the first search at some of the area.

As is the case many times, the ring was not found until the both of us had search the immediate area and then enlarged the search beyond the area we were told the ring should be in. Not bad, it was only about 15 feet east of the initial search area. Now Mark could return to finish packing for the trip home from the Happy Vacation Land on Cape Cod. Of course it was to be a happy ending to a vacation. And the ride home was sure to be in a car of happy people in that husband / father had his wedding band returned. Great memories for a wonderful week.

West Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Lost Ring Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 8, 202 It never hurts to reach out and ask.

And that is just what Andy did after searching with no results for his lost wedding band. I had been out looking for a ring that was lost over a year ago and saw another detectorist searching along the low water line. We never got close enough to talk and he left before I left the water. The kicker for me is that Andy had reached out to me because he saw a sign about TheRingFinders on the back of my car.

A text asking if I had found a ring was on my phone waiting for an answer. No, I had not. I replied and also sasked if I could help find the lost ring. Later that afternoon Leighton, another RingFinder and I returned to the beach searching the area we were told the ring had been lost. Three hours of detecting and no ring was found. The next morning I was up early and thought it would not hurt to cover the dry sand area we had not searched. I was out before the sun rose and found nothing in the sand. One more scan in the water would be relaxing before heading home. Not finding anything in the water, I was heading to my car and about a foot from the water line and some 60 feet from the area we had been searching I heard the last signal that I was going to dig before turning off my detector. YES, the sun’s sparkle reflected from a wedding band was a real surprise. I had found Andy’s ring.

A few texts later, I met up with Andy at lunch time to return his ring. He had a Thank You card filled with very heart warming words all ready to give me. His Thank You was a first for me in that I had never received a note in such a short time between the time I found a ring, told the owner, and returned it to the owner.

Yarmouth, MA. A man’s ring lost, shattered, pieces found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

A not so happy ring return to end a year of many quagmires. Bryant had known his wedding band did not fit his finger as it should. It is a downfall of Tungsten Carbide as a ring material is that it can not be resized. As so it remained on his finger until this years fallen leaf removal had to been accomplished. A friend offered to show off his new leaf vacuum and “pick up” the pile of leaves and take them to a dump.

Unfortunately, Bryant did not realize his band had slipped off his finger before the leaves had been removed form his yard. A visual search of the yard did not help. Bryant knew his access to a utility pipe locator might find the ring in the pile of leaves. No it did not. It was a non-ferrous metal detector for locating iron. Next a purchase and use of a low end metal detector did not locate the ring either. It was time to ask for help from J&E Enterprises, a local metal detector dealer. The owner, Eleanor, gave Bryant my phone number.

Bryant’s call gave me the necessary information for a search which was set for that afternoon. A two hour search in rain and fading light, even with one of my best detectors, I did not find the ring. A few pull tabs, aluminum and pieces of wire, but no ring. It got too dark to see targets in the leaf pile. I went home with no good news for Bryant.

Arrangements were made to search Bryant’s yard in two days. The next day I could not get it out of my mind that I could not find a few targets the night before. Now the sun was out, but the temperature was below freezing and I had to go and give the leaf pile another search. And I did search the ice encrusted leaves. In doing so I found two of the targets I could not locate in the dark the night before. Bitter sweetness came over me as I knew I had found two pieces of Bryant’s ring. The ring had been shattered by the impeller blade of the leaf vacuum.

I could not detect any more, my fingers too cold to hold my detecting gear, let alone pick up another small piece of the ring.

Bryant met me after work to offer his thanks for putting an end to the search. A closure of a sort. I offered to return for another search after the ice and the next day’s forecast of a foot of snow had melted away. On the light side the return of the parts was a better ending to our searching than if I had searched Bryant’s yard, finding nothing and leaving Bryant with no closure.

We parted with hopes of 2021 being a much better year for everyone.

Yarmouth Beach Lost Ring Found & Returned Cape Cod, Massachusetts

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

One facet that I love about my hobby is meeting many people. Maurice is one I will never forget. His true feelings for his heritage going back to the Wampanoag Tribe on Cape Cod to his love for a cherished ring that belonged to his grandmother kept me wanting to hear and learn from his words.
What a wonderful story he has about his heritage from the original inhabitants of Cape Cod and their trading, bartering and relationships with other tribes as far away as New York. All this information went along with the fact the larger ring was his grandmother’s who had raised him.

Maurice’s grandmother’s ring along with another ring were dislodged from his little finger while playing in the seaweed with his 5 year old daughter. He searched for the two rings until sunburned.
The next morning he was back searching again. His personality engaged other beach goers to help in the search. The one that helped the most was Sue, the Yarmouth beach’s gate attendant. She remembered The Ring Finder from a ring I returned last year. This lead to our contact. A half an hour later I was ready for the search. Within 15 minutes I had retrieved the smaller band, and anther 5 minutes the second ring was in my scoop. The search and recovery was made easy with Maurice knowing when and where the rings slipped from his finger. The entire beach came alive with cheers and smiles as Maurice removed and showed his grandmother’s, one of a kind, ring.

Maurice and his family left the beach for a Cape Cod lunch and continue enjoying their sea shore adventure form the distant hills of Westfield.

Chair, shark and sand could not keep a ring hidden from The Ring Finder of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

July 22, 2019

The second day of a heat wave drove Karen and her family to the edge of cool waters and onshore breeze coming off the bay. There was no interest reading or heeding the posted sign about wearing shinny jewelry into the waters. On the beach, a protective layer of sunscreen was in order, but had no place in Karen’s shinny jewelry setting. Rings off, suntan lotion on and the day’s enjoyment began. The incoming tide necessitated moving the chairs to dryer ground. However the arms of the beach chair were not strong enough to hold onto Karen’s ring. The folding arms let the ring slip into the sharks realm.

An evening of searching by lanterns and hands could not coach the ring form its sandy resting place. A voice mail on my Ring Finder’s phone was answered and a 7am meeting to use a metal detector to locate the ring was set. As usual everyone had their idea of were the ring was. Here; No over there; Look for the stone! OK now we were narrowing in on “the” location. Wouldn’t you know, but four visitors looking to secure a prime piece of beach for the day had already claimed the area where the search should progress to. With out our asking, the four picked up and mover well beyond our area of search – Thank you guys. Well as things were going you have probably guessed it, no ring was to be found in that search area.

Moving outside the original box by only two feet up popped the shinny jewel encrusted awesome ring. The engagement and wedding band still bonded together. One that had no place in with the sand with its glittering jewels calling the sharks.

NOTE: Only unconfirmed shark sightings have been recorded in the area searched. But it sure made the blog a bit more than just: Ring Lost, Ring Found, Ring Returned posting.

What a ring return in Brewster, Cape Cod, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Gene was pursuing his fishing hobby and had a big trout on the stringer. Little did he know that Cape Cod’s fish are smart and powerful. Yes, the trout pulled the fish stringer free from the rocky area in which it was anchored and started to swim away. Gene’s keen eye caught the movement and was not going to let a fish out swim him. Well, he really was not thinking about swimming but the fish was managing the rocks better than Gene. Gene went down – Dive Number 1 – and he missed to hold onto the trout. Up and after the colorful fish again, OOPS…Dive Number 2 – took place and up came Gene with the trout in hand, BUT without his wedding band. All the movement in the water caused the ring to go into hiding. The resulting search did not reveal the ring’s hiding place in a bit over 2 feet of water.

Days later, while watching TV and the story of Jim Wirth returning a Manhattan University ring to its owner 47 years after it was lost, a search for a RingFinder was on. I was contacted and agreed to go look for the missing wedding band. Wait a minute – Gene wanted to watch the search. Just short of a week later Gene and his wife made arrangements to meet me at the loss location. After a short hike and a 15 minute search I had the ring in my scoop. I walk into shore and let Gene take the golden ring, a symbol of 51 years of marriage, from its temporary resting nest among the rocks in my scoop.

On the walk back to the parking lot I gave Gene a big at-a-boy for his dedication to fishing to feed his family. However, he does not eat the fish he catches. Oh, if Gene only had a trout or two he wanted to give me as a gift. No such luck, maybe I will have to take up fishing again, but then there would be no time for being a RingFinder. Heck here on Cape Cod there is enough fish for everyone. I’ll keep on metal detecting. The people I have met are far more interesting than any fish I ever caught.

After the pictures of smiles were taken and a stories of West Hartford, CT (where I am from) were exchanged we bid our good-byes. Gene had the fish and the ring that did not get away! What a great __ __ __ __ story! – you fill in the blanks, HINT: found on a stringer, or found in my scoop.
What a fish tale – What memories…

What a welcome to MBL Woods Hole, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Martin, a new student at MBL, (Marine Biological Laboratory), in Woods Hole, had one heck of an unforgettable first night. Nothing like this would happen in his motherland of Germany. It started with bright blue lights all around him, the kind he will never forget. The light was not in he rear view mirror but rather all around him as he wadded in the waist deep waters of Buzzards Bay. The bio-luminescence comb jellyfish were the source of this light. – see: http://yesterdaysisland.com/natures-living-light-show-bioluminescence/ for more on this unique sea creature.

However, while thoroughly enjoying the moment, a horrifying second moment occurred that left Martin distracted for the next 27 hours. These hours should have been filled with attention to finishing a cardboard boat for the afternoon’s race he was entered in. No the distraction was not a sting from the harmless jellies, but the loss of his wedding band to Neptune’s dark depths. Not the light from the luminescent jellies nor the light from several waterproof cell phone could expose the ring’s hiding place.

What to do next? What else but Google search for “How in H*** do I find my ring in the ocean?” lead Martin to the web site of TheRingFinders.com. An e-mail sent at 10:30pm was answered an hour later requesting a bit more information and a promise to call around 10am. At 11am I was in the water waving my magic wand. On the seventh target my scoop was filled with black rocks and a glittering gold ring. YES, it was Martin’s. The search was over. Martin removed the ring from the bed of rocks in my scoop and replaced it where it belonged, on his finger, not swimming around with a bunch of jellies.

Pictures, smiles and stories followed along with many congratulations from fellow beach goers.

PS…Martin’s team won the Cardboard Boat Compitition, all team members had a chance to ride the waves. One heck of a great day for Martin. May continued success continue, forever, in all of your endeavors.

Lost Ring Yarmouth, MA Leaves Man at Rope’s End

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Out for an early morning walk Devin came across a rope swing hanging over a pond. He climbed the tree to reach for the rope and his wedding band, just 362 days old fell from his finger. My search of the never before seen area with heavy brush cover yielded only one target, a silver quarter. Now knowing the area, I call Devin for a bit more information on the ring’s loss. I traded in my Big Foot Coil for a Sniper coil and went back for a second search. I also carried along a ring with an orange tail tied to it. I climbed the tree, dropped the ring and started the search in the area of the dropped ring. Within 6” my detector emitted a golden signal. I bent, moved brush and dirt away…no ring. I still had the signal so more dirt was mover, and with no ring in sight I put my finger under a tree root, removed dirt and the ring. Unfortunately, I found the ring on the 366th day, it was not in its’ proper place on its’ first anniversary. Still the anniversary was a success and the ring is now back where it belongs. Happy days to follow and many more smiles will surely be in Devin and Brenna’s future.

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