#York Maine Metal Detector Rental And Service Tag | Page 2 of 2 | The Ring Finders

Labradoite Pendant “Wedding Ring” Lost In The Sand At York Beach Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Thursday, July 18th, I received a call, from Nikki, around 2:00pm. Nikki told me that the previous evening, she and other vacationing family members, had walked from the place they were staying, in York Beach, Maine, down to Short Sands Beach. The group had walked the sidewalks, around the gazebo, in Ellis Park and eventually, down onto Short Sands Beach. They had entered the beach, near the gazebo and had walked , at an angle, down to the rocks, on the southern end of the beach. They then walked along the water and also, in the water, as the tide was going out, to the northern end of the beach. This would be approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile long. They were on the beach, between 8:30pm and 9:30pm, with low tide at 10:18pm. At some point on the way back, towards the southern end of the beach, Nikki noticed that her Labradoite Pendant was missing. Since they had been walking along the water, the group started searching the beach, but it was now dark and not easy to see. Nikki’s three year old daughter was also along, on the family walk and as children do, she was running and zigzagging, on the beach, with Nikki chasing her. There was no way to remember exactly where on the beach, Ellis Park and sidewalk, they had actually walked. The next morning, Nikki and other family members went and searched the sidewalks, park and beach, in the daylight. The Labradoite Pendant was not found. While on Short Sands Beach, Nikki saw two metal detectorists and asked them if they had found the pendant or if they could help her find it. They hadn’t found the pendant and they told her that she should contact, The Ring Finders of Maine for help. Nikki then called me a few hours later. A BIG shout to the two metal detectorists, for the referral. I greatly appreciate it.

I told Nikki that I would need to check the tide charts to see when the best time to search would be. Since she was walking along the water approximately an hour before, low tide, I wanted to search for 2 to 3 hours, prior to low tide, following the tide out, until low tide arrived. Once I confirmed the best time to search was the following morning, on Friday, I texted the information to Nikki and we agreed to meet at the Gazebo at 9:00am, with low tide at 11:31am and as a bonus m the tide would actually be lower that on Wednesday night. This would give us more exposed wet sand to search and I could search from 9:00am to 12:00pm. I told Nikki that because she didn’t know the exact path that was walked, and the area is so large, the chance of a recovery was extremely unlikely. Just too much area, to search, with not enough time, because the tide woGary Hillming in. I told Nikki that I would see if Gary Hill were available and if he was, the two of us would be able to cover twice the amount of ground. I called Gary and he absolutely wanted to help. There is no way possible to cover this much ground, by myself. Actually, there is no way possible for Gary and I to cover this much ground, but we will double the area, I would have been able to cover.
We met Nikki at the Gazebo, a few minutes early and she pointed out the area we should search. I looked out over the beach and thought to myself that a miracle would need to happen, in order to locate this pendant. We could certainly grid search the tide line, as it went out but even Nikki didn’t know where, on the beach, she had chased her young daughter, many times, on the walk. Our best strategy was to split the beach in half, with me searching the southern half and Gary searching the northern half. We found the center of the beach, marked it by digging a hole in the sand. Gary to the north, towards Fun O Rama, an arcade and I headed south. Neither one of us were finding much. Mostly can slaw ((Small pieces of aluminum), foil and pull tabs. I just kept thinking to myself that this was going to take a miracle. A half hour went by, then an hour and all we had to show for our efforts were a bunch of grid lines that we had made to show where we had been. But, we kept going. Another 2 hours to go, before the tide would be working against us. About 25 minutes later, my phone rang and I saw it was Gary calling. I answered and Gary said, “You can stop now. I FOUND IT, come on down”. I turned around and saw Gary waving at me, approximately 100 yards, to the north. I made a beeline towards Gary he held up the Labradoite Pendant and I just said “I can’t believe you found it, UNBELIEVABLE. GREAT JOB GARY”. Gary was just smiling ear to ear. I tried calling Nikki but it went to voicemail. I took a few photos and sent them to Nikki. A few minutes later Nikki called and was very excited, thanking us. She also sent a text after seeing the photo and said “That’s it!!!” She said she would be right down. A short time later, Nikki, her husband, Chadley, and their 3 year old daughter arrived. They were stunned that we found it and I don’t blame them. I was also stunned Gary had found it. After all I had to,d Nikki is was highly unlikely it would be found. I told them that I estimated a less than 10% chance of finding it but someone was looking down on us and them. I could see Nikki was a little emotional and Gary and I were told that she and Chadley considered the Labradoite pendant, as their wedding ring. Chadley had been in Costa Rica, prior to their marriage. He bought matching, or as close to matching Labradoite Pendants as he could. One for Nikki and one for him. When they married, they had “Wedding Rings” tattooed onto their fingers but always wear the Labradoite Pendants, as their real wedding rings. Very cool 😎. After a few more minutes of small talk and thank you’s Gary and I said congratulations one last time and as we were walking away, Gary stopped, looked back and saw Nikki and Chadley embraced for an extended hug. Nikki had tears coming down her face. WOW, such a gratifying moment to witness, for Gary. I hadn’t turned around but wished I had. We search for these sentimental items for moments like this. It’s just the best feeling in the world, knowing we were able to help someone find a very sentimental item. It’s the best job in the world. ❤️🙏

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Very Sentimental Silver and Gold Wedding Ring Lost In Scarborough Pine Point Maine Surf, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Thursday evening, at 7:33pm, I received a phone call from Sam. Sam had been skim boarding, in Pine Point Beach, Maine, a neighborhood located in the Town of Scarborough, Maine Approximately a half hour earlier, Sam lost his extremely sentimental wedding ring, while skim boarding. Sam said he was about to wipe out and as he was trying to regain his balance, he felt his wedding ring slipping off. Sam and his wife and other family members, were sitting on the beach, when he lost his ring. Everyone immediately started searching the wet sand and water. Sam was not sure which way the ring went flying off but thought it went behind him, to the north, as he was flailing his arms, to regain his balance. After searching for a half hour, the ring was still not located and Sam called me. I told Sam that I could be there in 25 to 30 minutes. I also knew that the tide was now heading out and that was to our advantage. I also knew that once I arrived, I would have less than an hour of daylight left and if the ring hadn’t been found, I would be searching in the dark.

Once I arrived, just a little after 8:00pm, I met Sam and his wife Annie. Sam told me the ring was his grandfather’s wedding ring and it was both silver and gold. Sam was already thinking ahead and he had marked, with a line, an area to the north and to the south. The ring he said, should be within these boundary lines but he wasn’t sure about the depth of the boundary line, because he just didn’t know if the ring had flown off his finger, to the east and into the water or to the west, towards the dry sand, where his family was sitting, watching him skimboard I decided to start my south, north grid search, in the area where Sam felt his ring coming off. I would then keep gridding back and forth, following the tide out. After approximately 20 minutes, It was suggested by a family member that I should start searching up higher, near the dry sand. I did that and when the ring wasn’t found up high, near the dry sand, I went back to where I had stopped a few minutes earlier. Annie and Sam thought the ring would be found on the lower left of the grid area, as you faced the ocean. After an hour of not finding the ring, it was getting very dark. I could not see my grid lines and this was imperative, to a successful recovery. I then Told Sam and Annie that I would now search in grid fashion, east to west, so my grid lines would be much shorter and I would be able to see the better. Approximately 15 minutes later Sam and Annie left, telling Cheryl and I we should call it off, until it was light out. I knew I could complete the remaining search area in just another 15-20 minutes. If I hadn’t found the ring, by then, I would stop for the evening, returning the next evening. I couldn’t come back down in the morning because Gary and I had already been booked , in York, Maine, at Short Sands Beach. As I approached the last two grid lines, to be searched, I told Cheryl I was stopping, once these two lines were completed. As I turned and headed east, towards the water, I received a very loud signal. My detector was telling me it was not very deep, maybe 2-3 inches and that the target was a high conductor, reading 93-95 on my VDI screen. This was definitely in the sterling silver range and I immediately plunged my sand scoop, into the wet sand and threw the sand, up onto the beach, in a pile. I ran my detector, over the pile of sand and the target was definitely out of the hole and in the pile. I took my pinpointer and started flattening the sand out, until I located the target. As I kept removing the sand, I saw a ring come into focus, in the darkness. Cheryl put her phone flashlight on and as I picked the ring up, we could see the gold also. We have found Sam’s wedding ring. I took a few photos and Called Sam, to give him the great news. He didn’t answer. I then sent a text message, congratulating him and sent him the photos. After arriving at home, Sam replied to my text, saying

“I CANT BELIEVE THIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I will call you tomorrow! My phone ringer was off. You’re an absolute lifesaver. Cannot wait to make a post about this on Facebook. That’s the one without a doubt. Seriously you’re the man! I cannot describe how much that ring means and the service you provided!”

This morning, we communicated and I would meet Sam, late afternoon, in Pine Point, to return his ring. Once I arrived Sam and Annie thanked Cheryl and I for not giving up and finding his wedding ring. Sam and Annie told Cheryl and I that the wedding ring was once Sam’s grandfather’s wedding ring. Sam was and still is extremely close to his grandfather and grandmother who are both still living and have been married for approximately 60+- years. Sam told us that his grandfather taught him so much, including his love of fishing, that still exists today. When Sam got married, his grandfather GAVE SAM HIS WEDDING RING, so that Sam would have it as his own wedding ring. That’s right, Sam’s grandfather, still married (60+- years) , gave up his own wedding ring, to the grandson he loved so much, so that his ring, would live on in the marriage of his beloved grandson. WOW!!! WHAT A GIFT, WHAT A STORY ❤️
I personally have never heard of anyone doing this before. Passing down your own wedding ring, while still married truly shows the love between Sam and his grandfather. What an incredible gift. As I often say, every ring has a story and this is an incredible story. Now this 60+- year old ring lives on with a new chapter, in its story. I just absolutely love hearing stories like this and it just drives me to do more good. Helping people like Sam, in their time of need is the greatest job in the world ❤️🙏

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Gold Wedding Band Lost In The Old Orchard Beach Maine Sand, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I had just returned home from a successful Recovery and Return, in the Town of Ogunquit and Cheryl and I had a slew of errands to do, including grocery shopping. Once I showered, we were out the door, headed to Kennebunkport Maine. While we were out and about and almost done with our errands, I had a text message come in at 10:40am.. It was now 12:09 and I don’t know how I missed this message, from 1 1/2 hours earlier . Anyways, this was what the message said,

“Hi Dennis! My name is Duke and my wife thinks she lost her wedding ring at Old Orchard Beach near the end of Pearl Ave. Is there anything you can do to help us?”

I immediately called Duke back. He told me that the previous evening, he, his wife (Francesca) and others had gone down to the beach, at Pearl Ave, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. They had gone down there to watch the weekly fireworks , put on by Palace Playland Amusement Park. The fireworks were scheduled for 9:45pm and Duke and Francesca had arrived early. While waiting for the fireworks to start, Francesca and Duke started horsing around, chasing each other, on the beach. While playfully running around, Francesca noticed her wedding ring was missing. The area they had been running around, wasn’t very large, maybe 20’ X 75’. Not knowing exactly where the ring came off, they and others started searching the sand but the ring was not located. The next morning, Friday July 11th, they returned to Pearl Ave and started searching again, looking and sifting through the sand. The ring was still not located. A beach goer had noticed what was going on and they were told about the missing ring. The beach goer knew about The Ring Finders of Maine’s Emergency Metal Detecting Services and told them they should contact me. That is when Duke, reached out to me.
After hearing the story, my first reaction was to ask Duke if the Beach Cleaning Machine had cleaned that section of beach, this morning. Duke replied that he hadn’t seen the beach cleaner and the sand was still full of footprints, from the previous evening. Hearing that was a huge relief. If the beach cleaner had gone through the area, the ring would have been scooped up with all the other trash and be long gone by now. I told Duke that I could certainly help search for the ring but I was in Kennebunkport and I would be back in the Old Orchard Beach Maine area around 2:00pm. Duke told me they would be there until I arrived and continue searching for the ring.
Once I arrived, just prior to 2:00pm, parking was at a premium. I couldn’t find parking, on Pearl St., so I went one street south of Pearl, on Union St. and found a spot to park, as someone was leaving. We entered the beach, on Union Avenue and headed north towards Pearl. As Cheryl and I were walking on the beach, I saw a couple, by themselves, with a metal detector, in the area of Pearl Ave.. As I approached, the person saw me and introduced himself. It was Duke and Francesca and Duke had gone to Walmart and purchased a metal detector. He had done this prior to contacting me. The young married couple had only found a few screws. They showed me the area they thought the ring would be in and where they had run around, the night before. Like I mentioned, it really wasn’t a large section and I estimated the entire area would only take me about 20 minutes. I explained to Francesca a Duke that I would perform a grid search, starting near the dune grass and working my way towards the water. I then had Duke throw his Gold Wedding Ring, into the sand. I would show Francesca and Duke how the metal detector works and the sound that the gold ring would make. I scanned my coil over the now disappeared ring and a nice loud low tone, emitted from the metal detector. This made the couple feel much better, knowing my detector would find the ring, once the coil went over it. I started my first grid line, up 75’ and turned around and headed back towards my starting point. Nothing on the first line, other tan 2 dimes and 2 pennies, along with a few pieces of foil. My second pass was not successful and neither was my 3 pass. On my 4th pass on the grid line, I received a loud low tone and I just knew this had to be the ring. Ringing up as an 18 on my VDI Screen was definitely in thee gold range but the tone, to me was unmistakable as gold. I removed my pinpointer and located the target, in the sand. I saw a beautiful shiny gold ring. I picked the ring up, turned towards everyone watching me and asked Francesca “Did you say the wedding ring is 14K Gold?’ She replied “Yes, it’s Gold”. I then held the ring up for everyone to see and said, “I found your ring”. Francesca hurriedly made her way towards me with a BIG smile. Cheers and clapping broke out from everyone in the area. A fantastic feeling of euphoria came over me. It had only taken me, maybe 5 to 7 minutes to find the ring. People shouted out congratulations and came over to shake my hand, along with a big hug from Francesca. Just a great feeling to be able to help others , in their time of need. The best feeling in the world and now I have recovered and returned two rings today.. I had found and returned a wedding ring in Ogunquit Beach, early this morning. Now I am heading to Kinney Shores, Maine, in Saco, Maine. That’s right. While still in Kennebunkport, Maine , Duke wasn’t the only person who contacted me. I would now be driving the 1 mile or so, to Kinney Shores to find a wedding ring, with diamonds, that had been lost on July 4th, a full week earlier. Will I make it 3 for 3 in ring searches for the day? Stay tuned, for more❤️🙏

 

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Newlyweds Gold Wedding Ring Lost In The York Beach, Maine Surf, Found Underwater With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Friday July 4th,, just before 4:00pm,, I received the following Voicemail, from Colin

“Hi Dennis, My name is Colin and I got your name off of the Ring Finders of Maine website. Um, today, this afternoon, I lost my wedding ring at, ah, York Harbor Beach, Maine. That was about three hours ago and I’m asking for your services. Feel free to call me back as soon as you can at 508-***-**** and if I don’t answer, please text me, if you can. Um, any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Dennis”

I immediately called Colin back and Colin explained that between 12:00pm and 1:00pm he and his wife were in the ocean water tossing a football around and they were waist deep, in the water. Colin felt and saw his ring go flying off his finger, on one of the throws, to his wife. He and his wife immediately began to search the sandy ocean floor but it was too late. The wedding ring had already disappeared, under the surf and sand. I told Colin that since it was lost, at that time, it would have been lost at low tide and now, 3 or so hours later, there was no way I would be able to get out that far, to search for his ring, because of the incoming tide. My best chance would be to search the next low tide and get out in the water, at that time. I told Colin that I needed to research the tides for today and tomorrow and try to figure out where the tide was when they were in the water and what time tomorrow, would be best to search. I then highlighted a tide chart and texted it to Colin. I also sent Colin an overhead view of York Harbor Beach. I sectioned it in 8 sections and asked him which section he thinks he lost the ring in. He was sure it would be close to the border of sections 1 & 2. When Colin lost his wedding ring, low tide was at 1:03pm and was a 1.6 low tide. The next low tide was at 1:55am and was a 1.4 low tide. I told Colin that I would not search the 1:55am low tide because I do not perform water searches, at night, in the dark. It’s just to dangerous. If I were to be knocked over by a wave, which has happened to me, I could become entangled in all my gear and pulled under the water. It just isn’t worth the risk to search at night, by myself and no beach goers around, So, the daytime low tide on Saturn July 5th would be at 1:55pm and would be a 1.8, a slightly “higher” low tide than when Colin lost his ring. This means the water depth would be slightly deeper on this low tide and would be deeper that waist deep, that Colin had been in. I told Colin that I would arrive at York Harbor Beach at 11:30am and search, as the tide receded. I would search until 2:00pm, when the tide would not be going out any longer and would then be coming in, for the next high tide, later that evening. Now I wasn’t familiar with York Harbor Beach and I asked Colin about the parking situation. He told me he was staying at the York Harbor Inn, Maine and I should be able to park there, since he and his wife were guests. Perfect.

So today my wife Cheryl and I arrived at York Harbor Inn and I checked in with the front desk of the York Harbor Inn, to be sure I could park, on their property. They actually knew of me, The Ring Finders of Maine and were happy to let me park there, while searching for their guests wedding ring. As I was leaving the reception area, Colin and his wife arrived. They immediately took Cheryl and I down to the beach, where they were the previous day. As we walked to the beach Colin mentioned the wedding ring was just a little loose on his finger. I asked how long they had been married and they told me that today was their 1 week Anniversary, WAIT, WHAT? Newlyweds? That explains a lot. I have found many, many rings for people who have been married for less than a year. Their rings just aren’t quite sized properly. OK then, let’s get down to work. I really want to find this newlyweds wedding ring.

As I was getting my gear on I saw a fellow metal detectorist friend , I have know for years, approaching me. Ed, who runs a YouTube channel called Maine Beach Metal Detecting. I actually subscribed to his channel and love watching his video’s, good stuff. You should check his channel and subscribe also. Anyways, back to the story. Ed had seen a Facebook Post about the lost ring and contacted Colin. Colin told him that he already had me coming down, to search at low tide. Ed decided to come down and meet me to see if he could assist. I asked Ed if he wouldn’t mind searching the wet sand, performing a north and south grid search, following the tide out. I would go into the water and perform a north and south grid search, using landmarks, along the shore to keep me in a straight line. As I entered the water, I immediately felt the water’s freezing temperature. This was much colder that the water recovery I had performed, in Ocean Park Beach Maine, just two days earlier. To compound the matter, the sky was cloudy and I wasn’t getting any of the warmth, that the sun provided, just two days prior. As I was freezing to death, on this search, I was finding very, very few non ferrous targets. There was much more iron targets being detected but I just went over those. I was chest deep in the ocean and working my way further out. I figured I had been in the water, going back and forth for approximately 45 minutes to an hour and I also knew that the tide wouldn’t be going out much further. I was already up to my chest/arm pit area, deep in the water. I really couldn’t go out any further and feel safe about it. The waves were just rolling in and thankfully, weren’t breaking/crashing on me. I motioned to Cheryl to come to the waters edge. I wanted to know what time it was and try to figure out how much time I had left, before the tide started to come in. Cheryl said it was 12:30pm, leaving me with just under an hour and a half, before the tide, turned against me. Because of the waves, I knew I could probably do only one more grid line, to the north, before I had to stop the water search. As Cheryl headed back to the comforts of her chair, I took a half step to my right, into the slightly deeper and cold water. After approximately 5-7 minutes of the last grid line, to the north, I received a very loud low tone, on my Minelab Excalibur. This was absolutely the best sounding target of the day. Now the hard part. I needed to watch for the rolling waves, while feeling the undercurrent, rushing past my legs. I placed my right foot on the target to mark the location, I had to dig. I took my long handle sand scoop and plunged it into the sand. I brought up a scoop full of sand, shook the scoop, in the water, to remove the sand. Once the sand was gone, I looked into the scoop and absolutely nothing but some rocks and a sand dollar. I dumped those back into the ocean and ran my detector, back over the hole to relocate the target. I located the target and it was still in the dug hole. I took another scoop of sand, from the hole and shook the sand out. I looked into the scoop and there were more rocks and a big shiny GOLD RING, staring back at me. I was very excited to have found Colin’s ring and I immediately yelled to everyone that I had found the ring. I then lifted the ring up in the air in a celebratory manner, so everyone could see the wedding ring. I then saw Colin, his wife, Cheryl and Ed, making their way to the waters edge, as I made my way to shore. I could see the excitement and smiles on everyone’s faces as I exited the water. Colin and his wife were just so relieved and happy to have had the ring located and back on Colin’s finger, where it belongs. I was also smiling ear to ear. I can’t explain the joy I get of seeing the faces of my clients, when they get their item back.
I thanked Ed for helping me and we all headed back to our vehicles. As we were walking back to the vehicles, Colin’s wife mentioned that they will certainly have a story to tell everyone, when they get home. I’ve always said that every ring has a story and now the story has been added to, for Colin’s wedding ring. I also told Colin he should either get the ring resized, which can be very expensive or he could buy a silicone ring sizer, for less than $10.00 on Amazon or at Walmart. The silicone ring sizer id just clear silicone that you can wrap around a small section of the ring, so it fits you much better. I also told Colin that although the ring was in the area he thought it would be, I was out much further and deeper than I expected. I really was at the limit of going out any further and still be safe. If I hadn’t found his wedding ring today, I would be looking at the tide charts, for the next week, to see when the low tide would be further out. I would then come back and try again. Thankfully that didn’t happen and now all I wanted was to stop shivering and put the heat on in the vehicle. I needed to get warm.
So I would like to wish Colin and his wife a long and happy marriage. Congratulations to you both. I love my job of making smiles😀❤️🙏

 

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White Gold Wedding Ring Lost In The Ocean Park, Maine Surf, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Wednesday, July 2nd, as I was driving, I heard a G-Mail notification, on my phone.

“My husband lost his ring in Ocean Park. I don’t have phone service to call because we’re Canadian. Any chance you could come out?
Thanks,
Heather “

I pulled over and replied
“Hi Heather, Did he lose the ring in the Dry Sand or Water?”
Heather replied that her husband thinks he lost his wedding ring, in the water. They are staying on Temple Ave, in Ocean Park, Maine and had walked down to the beach.
I then messaged Heather and told her I would head straight home, get my equipment, and head straight to Ocean Park. We made plans to meet at the beach access path, at the bottom of Temple Ave., in approximately 25 minutes.
After retrieving my equipment, from home, I immediately headed to Ocean Park and I was met by both Heather and her husband Quinton, at the bottom of the Temple Ave, beach access path.
After introducing myself, I asked Quinton to run me through the events, preceding him losing his White Gold Wedding Ring. Quinton told me that once he and his family arrived at the beach, he applied lotion to himself and then walked down to the water, with his children. As the children were playing in the water, Quinton was also playing around with the children and they were in approximately 4’ of water, just prior to low tide. After playing in the water for a while, Quinton noticed his wedding ring, was no longer, on his finger, while in the 4’ of water. After visually searching the ocean floor , Quinton and Heather went back up to their chairs. Heather then put a Facebook posting, about her husband, losing his wedding ring and if anyone finds it, to please contact her. Almost immediately people were commenting on her post and telling her to call me. Heather told me the comments were extremely positive about me being able to help that she decided to contact me, via the email.
As I was walking down to the water I asked Quinton if he knew the area, he was in with his children and what time he noticed his ring missing. Thankfully he knew the exact area but he lost it around 10:00am and it was now close to 12:30am. Not only has the ring been in the ocean for 2 1/2 hours, the tide was now coming in and had been, for an hour and a half. When the ring was lost, it was lost approximately an hour, before low tide and he was further out, in 4’ of water. The water would be deeper now but I needed to try and find the ring. I fired up my detector and headed out into the incoming tide and waves. Quinton accompanied me out into the water, to get his bearings and put me in the right location, which was between the signs on BillowHouse Beachfront Boutique Inn and The Nautilus at Ocean Park Beach. Maybe 100’ to 150’ between the signs and who knows how far out, into the water, would be my grid search area. Once we were in the water we went out as far as we dared. The waves were very large and a few of them literally were over my head. I had to jump straight up to avoid being slammed by the waves. After 15-20 minutes of being battered by the waves, Quinton and I exited the water. There was no way I could get any further out, with the tide coming in. I told Quinton and Heather, I would be back, the next morning between 9:30am to 10:00am. This would give me 2, 2 1/2 hours of searching, by following the tide out. I would search the wet sand, in the event, the ring was moved by the large waves and pushed closer to shore. I didn’t really think this would be the case but I just needed to cover all bases and search the area.
So this morning, my wife Cheryl and I headed to Ocean Park, hoping the waves weren’t as big as yesterday. Cheryl brought along her beach chair to enjoy the day, after her daily 5 mile walk, as I intended to search for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I brought two different metal detectors with me. A Minelab Manticore, with a 15” coil and a Minelab Excalibur, with a 10” coil. I planned to search the wet sand with the Manticore because of the large coil. I could cover the wet sand, fast and efficiently. The Excalibur is a waterproof diving metal detector and to me, is much easier to swing, in the water, waves, currents, etc.. The Manticore is also waterproof but I just feel much more comfortable with the Excalibur, in the water and definitely more comfortable with the Manticore, on the wet and dry sand. My plan would be to spend an hour or so, grid searching the wet sand, waiting for the tide to recede far enough out, that I could reach the area Quinton had been in, the previous day. Thankfully, the waves weren’t as big as yesterday but still big enough to knock you off your feet, if you weren’t paying attention and definitely big enough to just knock you around.
After an hour or so of grid searching the wet sand, I decided it was time to venture out into the water, hoping I wouldn’t get too battered around. Once in the water I would grid search the area by going straight out, as far as I deemed safe and would the take a half step, to my side and head back towards shore. I did this because I can keep a better grid search line by lining up with something on shore. I would just go out, come in, go out, come in and work my way from the Nautilus sign, to the Billow sign. As I made my way towards The Billow House. I saw Heather in waist deep water, with her children, as they caught the waves, with their boogie boards. I had covered a large portion, of the area, and with maybe 45 minutes of searching left, I told Heather it wasn’t looking good. Heather understood the difficulty of the search but kept hope alive. As I made my way to shore, I was about to turn around and head back out to the deeper waters, through those dang waves. I saw Cheryl standing at the water’s edge. I exited the water and updated her on the search. After finishing the update, with Cheryl, I re-entered the water and headed back out towards the deeper water. When I got to about knee deep or maybe a little deeper, I heard a nice loud low tone. This was absolutely the best sounding target, I had had all day. Unfortunately, The target was right where the waves were breaking. I didn’t dare to take my eyes off of the waves, while I tried to juggle my detector and scoop. I yelled over to Heather and asked her if she could hold my metal detector, while I tried to scoop up the target and keep an eye on the ever coming waves. Heather immediately came over and took hold of my detector. I kept the target, under my right foot, as I would brace for the waves. After a few waves went by, I saw an opening and I pushed the scoop into the sand, pulled up a full scoop of sand. I then shook the scoop in the water to wash the sand out. I could hear something in the scoop and when the sand was gone I looked into the scoop. A big smile broke out as I saw a big ring. I then tilted the scoop towards Heather to show her the ring. Her hand immediately went to her heart and she couldn’t believe it. She was so happy and she just kept thanking me. She also waved to Quinton, to come on down. I saw him running down to the water’s edge and Once he arrived, I showed him the ring and he gave me a big hug. He also kept thanking me and was just so overjoyed, at having his ring back. He told me he just felt naked without his wedding ring of 16 years. Now it’s back on his finger, where it belongs and he will sleep well tonight, knowing his ring is not on the ocean floor.
It’s truly a pleasure helping others out in their time of need. There are many, many rings, lost out in the water, that are never recovered. Thankfully, this isn’t one of them
I have the best job in the world.❤️🙏

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