Category Archives: Returned Treasure

Ringing in the New Year 2024!

I received a referral from a friend who was out of town. A couple had a disagreement, and she threw 4 pieces of jewelry outside. The husband was able to find 1 bracelet, but that left another bracelet and 2 rings missing. The engagement ring and her wedding ring. 

You can read the full story here.

A lot of my searches involve thrown jewelry. I am sure there are a lot more people who don’t call for help finding their thrown jewelry due to embarrassment, that don’t find their jewelry. Don’t be embarrassed, it happens all of the time. Your lost jewelry will become a resentment that will cause more stress in a relationship.

If you are really that mad that you don’t want your jewelry, don’t throw it away; call me, and I’ll add it to my collection!

I love My Hobby!!

 

 

 

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Snow Ate My Keys

I received an email from Sheila describing how she lost her shed keys while shoveling snow after the last storm. They were in her jacket pocket, and when she was finished, they were gone. We set up an appointment after she left work at 7 pm.

Luckily, it was a small search area, as it was the coldest night of the year, 23 degrees. She showed me the area that she thought they would be in, so I started my search. About 15 mins and 21 cents later, no keys were found. I had to ask Sheila to move her car; because it was at the edge of the search area, and my detector was sounding off to the car. 

5 minutes later, I had her keys. They were buried in a pile of snow & ice that was under the rear of where she had parked her car. She was so happy. She needs access to her shed as another snowstorm is coming in a few days.

I Love My Hobby!!

 

 

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Repeat Offender 2nd Time We Found This Ring!

I received an email from Katelyn asking for help in finding her husband’s wedding ring. They recently moved, and Mike was working on clearing out branches & vines in the backyard near a creek. It seems like Mike is a repeat offender. In January of 2022, I found his ring after making snow angels with his kids. We set up a time and date to search.

I showed up in a snowstorm, the biggest storm since the snow angel adventure 2 years ago. It was early in the morning. Katelyn showed me the area Mike was working in. He was on both sides of the creek. At least it would be easy to see where I searched with a fresh 2 inches of snow on the ground and still accumulating. 

UI started searching. Right off the bat, I found 3 really old, crushed Pepsi cans. Oh boy, a party area. I thought there would be hardly any targets here. I decided to start with the easy parts first, as there were piles of cut branches & vines that I would have to move at some point. 

Nothing was on this side of the creek, so I crossed the water. 2 minutes later, I had a gold tone. Digin down the new snow and an inch of ice from an early-in-the-week storm, about a half an inch under leaves was Mike’s ring. I really like this ring, it is a beautiful rose color gold. Total time: 15 minutes.

When I walked back up the hill, Katelyn and the kids were playing in the snow. The look on her face was priceless when I showed her the ring. I gave her a refrigerator magnet to place on the new frig so they would have my number handy for the next time. 

I Love My Hobby!!

 

 

 

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Ringing in the New Year!

Ringing in the New Year 2024 style. I am not using the real names of this couple. I will call them Betty & Barney Rubble. Barney called me to see if I could help find some lost jewelry. He was referred to me by Fellow Ring Finder/Treasure Hunter Ed Cropski (he was out of town for the weekend). I work with a core group of excellent detectorists with much experience. If one of us gets a call and can’t make it, we give it to someone in our group. 

Barney said his wife got very angry and walked out the back door to their deck, and Bam-Bam threw 2 silver bracelets, a gold wedding ring, and a gold engagement ring. Doing his own reconnaissance, he found 1 of the bracelets. I was near the neighbor’s fence beside a pile of wood rubble, reminding me of a gravel pit. The other 3 items are still missing.

Betty was out on their deck in the area where she threw her jewelry. She looked very sad. After reviewing the angle of where Barney found the first bracelet and the scene, I told Barney that gold rings would travel farther than the lighter bracelet. I asked if his neighbors were okay with me searching their backyard. He said yes that he contacted them after our phone call. Betty went inside. 

I started searching the neighbor’s yard. There were a lot of signals. There is a newer deck, and I was finding a ton of wood screws that are used in deck building. After about 12 minutes of searching, I started to look under the deck. I almost immediately found the engagement ring. It was under the deck. From where Betty threw the jewelry and the angle of where the ring was, it had to go through the open-backed stairs from the ground to the deck; if I threw it, it would have bounced off one of the steps. Lucky throw. 

I intensified my search under the deck. It took another minute or two to find the missing bracelet. At this point, Barney had no idea I found either item. I asked him if he could hold my pinponter. He came over, and I held out my hand and dropped the engagement ring & bracelet into his hand. The look in his eyes was priceless. 

I asked Barney if he would search on the deck for the other ring while I searched on the ground. I didn’t feel right searching up there with all of the windows. The neighbors know Barney, not me. 

About 5 minutes went by, and Barney was standing next to me. He held out his hand that held the missing ring. My hunch paid off; it was laying on some covered furniture on the deck. He enjoyed the thrill of making the discovery. 

Betty came out on their deck as I talked to Barney in the driveway. I told her to come down & get her jewelry. She was grinning from ear to ear. Barney and Betty are happy once again in Bedrock. 

I love my hobby!!

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2 Hour Drive

I took a 2-hour drive down to Lewes, Delaware, for a recovery. Jessica lost her ring in her yard 3 weeks prior. Read the full story here. 

It was a successful recovery that took 15 minutes to find. She was elated that I was able to find it. She thought it was gone forever. It was her grandmother’s ring. The ring will need to go to a jeweler because it is bent. I guess the tractor ran over it. But she has it back. 

Spread the word about my service. I love returning things to people. 

I love my hobby!!

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Lost Ring on A Golf Course

I have to give a shout-out to the Pennsauken Country Club for allowing this return happen. They graciously let me search for the missing wedding ring, as long as I didn’t dig any holes. I didn’t take any digging tools, just my metal detector, and pinpointer. 

When you hear that there is a missing ring on a golf course, you think of what a daunting task this will be—searching acres and acres of thick grass. I have been lucky with my other golf course searches, as the people who lost the items had a good idea of where they lost them.

This was the case with John. He said it had to be around the 17th tee box.  The club let us take a cart out to the area. You can read the full story here. It was a quick 20-minute search. 

The club manager thought there was no chance of the ring being recovered. He had never heard of a ring being found before on a golf course. He is now a believer. You just have to contact a professional. 

I might just have to start advertising that I am a golf course recovery specialist!!

Till next time Be safe and keep your jewelry safe!

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Lost Wedding Ring @ Pennsauken Country Club Found By Dave Milsted

 

 

 

While out on a 911 call (I am a paramedic), John left me a message about his lost wedding ring. When I had a few minutes, I gave John a callback. He said while he was playing golf at the Pennsauken Country Club, he had placed his wedding ring in his wallet. He secured his wallet in his golf bag. With the heat, the cart girl stopped, and he retrieved his wallet to buy some beers for his group at the 17th tee box. When he got to the 18th hole, he looked in his wallet, and the ring was gone. 

His group went back to the 17th tee box but couldn’t find it. Another foursome also assisted in the search. No luck. One of the guys said you should call someone with a metal detector. John went home a googled lost ring. He found me on the Ring Finders site. We chatted about what happened. He had already called the golf course, and they gave him permission to have me search as long as I didn’t dig any holes. We set up a search date of Thursday evening. 

We both arrived at about the same time. We went into the clubhouse to let them know we were there to search. We guaranteed them there would be no digging. They let us use a golf cart to get to the location he suspected it was lost. It looked freshly cut, and it was close to the ground. There were a few thick areas of grass. He showed me the area the refreshment cart was. I started there.

In the area, the cart was also 3 electrical boxes. That means underground wires. OH NO. I definitely found a lot of underground items. I worked my way toward the area where John’s cart was parked that day. After about 15 – 20 mins of searches, I got a solid tone and number in the area that a 14-karat white gold ring would be. I bent down and spread the grass to reveal what was there; in there was John’s ring. 

John was dumbfounded. He thought he would never see it again. He was just going through the motions so he could be at peace knowing he did everything. He gave me at least a half a dozen bro hugs. He said he felt so high right now that he was afraid to drive home. So we called his wife from the spot the ring was found. She could believe it was found either. After the call, we dropped off the golf cart and went into the clubhouse to let them know we found it. The guy had a very surprised look on his face. 

We then walked to the parking lot. He still didn’t feel safe to drive. So he called his cousin, that was golfing with him on that fateful day. He was amazed also. John still wasn’t ready to drive, so he gave me another hug and said he was going to go to his car and call his dad. 

I love my hobby!!! 

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Pennsauken, NJ

Pennsauken Country Club Lost Wedding Ring, (July 2020)

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Landscaper Lost Gold Pendant

Kevin sent me a text message asking if I could help find a very sentimental gold cross that he lost while working his landscaping job. He was on a riding mower, and his chain got caught on a low branch. The chain snapped, and the charm went missing. He has the chain. He got my information from a former co-worker of my wife.
 
I told him he would need to secure permission from the owner of the house to search his backyard. Permission granted. We met at 5 pm, it would be dark shortly.
 
I started with my main detector and large coil. Searched most of the yard with no luck. I switched to my backup detector with a very small coil and a small gold program. After about 10 minutes, we got the signal we were hoping for. I separated the grass, and there was the charm!
 
Kevin was getting worried when I didn’t find it with the 1st detector. The look on his face when I showed him the charm was priceless!
 
I Love My Hobby!
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2 Rings Lost @ Yardley Country Club in PA.

 

Jordan called me a few weeks ago asking if I could help find 2 rings for him. They were lost on a golf course. Do you know how big a golf course is? He had a real good idea where they were. I was out of town for my Half Ironman race for the week. We agreed to meet today in the afternoon. 

Jordan made sure we had permission to search on the course. The Yardley Country Club is a really nice-looking club. Jordan went up to the pro and secured us a golf cart to take us out to the 14th tee box. Jordan Explained that if you walk with your clubs and use a hand cart, members will push their cart down the hill towards the 14th tee while they are putting on the 13th green. Most of the time the carts end up in the proper place. This time Jordon’s cart got to the 14th tee and flipped over. 

Jordan usually takes his rings off to play golf & puts them into his golf bag. Jordan didn’t realize they were missing until a few days later. He searched his bag & gloves with no luck. Then he remembered the mishap on the 14th tee. He went to the club a few times to look. One time he even took a rake. No luck. So he did an internet search on renting metal detectors and found me. 

The area was not that big. He believed that they can’t be too far from the cart path, one was a thin gold ring and the other is a larger platinum ring. I got started and got a signal right away, in the gold platinum range on my detector. Well, it wasn’t a ring, it was the top of a pencil, the part that holds an eraser. This club supports cheating by supplying an eraser (LOL). This little area was loaded with metal objects. I searched the area with no rings found. I told him I was going to expand the search area. 

About an hour into the search I got another good sound, it was a ring, I moved the ring and the other one was there also. The rings were thrown approximately 15 to 20 feet past the cart path. The amazing part is they stayed together. They were down in the dirt like someone stepped on them or a tire from a tractor ran over them. Jordan wasn’t looking so I put them in my hand and finished my current line. Jordan was talking to a foursome on the 13th green. I asked him if he thought that I was still in the area he thought they could be. He got out of the cart and came over to me saying yes. As he was talking I held out my hand, he didn’t see them, so I raised my hand a little higher. After about a minute he had a shocked look on his face, then a smile from ear to ear. He realized he was now out of the dog house.

I love my hobby!

 

 

 

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Beach Sand Almost Claims Another Ring or 3…

 

Charlotte called me yesterday asking if I could find her ring. She was on the beach playing a tossing game. When she tossed she lost her ring. I had plans today but told her I could be there this morning, bright & early. She agreed.

I got to the beach at 7:30 am. It was empty & I got an excellent free parking spot! She told me she was to the right of the trash cans, so I texted her saying I was there and started to search before she got there. Within 5 minutes I had an awesome shallow tone on the detector. I scooped up the sand and had a big silver ring in my hands. 

I was very surprised that I found it before she arrived. As I was taking pictures of the ring, Charlotte arrived. I asked her what her ring looked like, as I was going to surprise her when she described it to me. She said it was a yellow gold ring with a pearl in the center. Oh, that is not the ring I found, bonus!

She showed me the area she was in when she lost her ring. The ring was her grandmother’s ring, which has a lot of sentimental value attached to it. She said she spent several hours sifting through the sand with family looking for it. She is in the area for a family reunion. She explained to me that just last week she lost another ring on a beach in Virginia, that a family friend found with a metal detector. She didn’t learn a lesson with that loss. 

I started to grid the area she sent me to. Within 5 minutes I had that special gold tone on my detector, scooped and there was her ring. She was so happy & relieved. I asked her if she learned any lessons. She said YES, I’m never wearing rings to the beach again. She had to go back & pack as they are returning home today, to Virginia. 

I stuck around to search a little more and found another silver ring. Not bad, it was a beautiful morning on the beach!!

I Love My Hobby!!

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How to Find a LOST Ring in Oaklyn NJ, Call Dave Milsted the Metal Detecting Man

 

Karen emailed me earlier in the week to see if I would be able to search for a lost tungsten ring. Her fiance lost it while doing yard work a few weeks ago. I asked the usual questions, where? When? How? Any buried items? And so on…

We made arrangements for me to search Thursday after work. Of course, Mother Nature would play games and threaten with a Severe Weather Warning that afternoon. John was waiting for me. He showed me the 2 main areas of concern. He was working on removing a railing from the porch and then he was washing cars. My heart sank a little when he said while working on the porch he was throwing items into a large metal dumpster. It was pretty full with a lot of hazards. If John has my luck his ring is in the bottom of the dumpster. John also told me that the yard was cut at least once. 

I started my search around the porch. John asked if he could watch. He wanted to know about my detector, a Minelab Equinox, and I showed him how my pinpointer also worked. There were a lot of signals, most of them 2+ inches deep. I didn’t bother looking at those, as I was trying to beat the storms. 

After about 15 minutes I got a good tone, started to spread the zoysia grass apart and there was a nice looking black & gold ring. I pulled out my phone to take a picture & John was right there. He called me a “lifesaver” no pun intended. He was very happy! As we are both fully COVID vaccinated he gave me a big handshake. He said he would spread the word about my service. 

I love my hobby!

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Lost Stud Earring in Wilmington DE, Found in the Rain By Dave Milsted

As I was heading home from an unsuccessful search Roderick called me about a lost yellow gold diamond stud earring. He was down I-95 in Wilmington DE. I met him about 40 minutes later. It was now raining.
 
He showed me the area of the loss. He was on a riding lawn mower when a tree branch hit the side of his head causing his earring to fall out. He placed his matching earring in a sandwich bag, so we wouldn’t lose it as I tested the readings on my metal detector.
 
I got my detector and started to search, about 30 minutes later it started to pour. I went back to my truck and got an umbrella. As soon as I got back to the search area, I got the sound & ID number on my metal detector that I wanted to get. Using my pinpointer I separated the grass and saw the side of something gold. It was his earring, It must have been stepped on while they were looking for it, as it was pushed into the mud.
 
He was so happy & thrilled! A few F-Bombs might have been dropped. He said that he searched earlier in the week with a metal detector that he bought. After he couldn’t find it he decided to call a professional. I was soaked but it was worth it.
 
I love my hobby!!
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Not The Right Ring!

Samantha emailed me, asking if I could help find her father’s ring he lost 2 summers ago. They are getting ready to move soon. I asked her where they were located, and she said Connecticut. Hmmm, that’s kind of far, but after hearing the story, I told myself this one is for me.

 
Her dad retired from the NY City Fire Department in 1969 after 9 years on the job. He was seriously injured in the line of duty during a building collapse. He was on Truck 40. The ring he lost is the ring that the NYFD gave him upon retiring. It was his prized possession.
 
I made the 2.5-hour trek on Saturday morning. Samantha showed me a small search area. Ken was trying to clear a blocked small stream to allow the water to drain from their pond. They were on the bank when they heard the ring hit a rock and then heard a splash. They looked and raked the stream with no luck. They have looked on many different occasions.
 
I start detecting, and there is a lot of metal in the area. There is a fence-like structure on the banks under the dirt. There is also a lot of nails in the water. I searched about 30 minutes in the rain when I got a good tone high on the bank. I dig a hole, and Samantha sees gold. Samantha pulled a big gold ring out of the hole. We can’t believe we found it. I said we should surprise him.
 
I packed up my gear, and when Ken got down here, I started asking more questions. I pointed to the area where he told me the splash was. The ring was on my finger. When he saw it, I handed it to him and showed him where we found it. He didn’t show much emotion. He kept talking about a gold ring with the NYFD logo on it and a diamond in the center. This one was not that ring.
 
I asked if this was his ring and he said yes, he didn’t know that he lost this one. So I guess I’m going to continue the search. I got suited up again in hip waders and a raincoat. I looked for 2 more hours and couldn’t find the other ring. I can say with confidence that the other ring is not in this area.
 
I am disappointed that I couldn’t find the ring I came up to find. I wanted to help put a smile on the face of another first responder. But I was able to return another ring.
I love my hobby!
 
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Football on the Beach Strikes Again, No Touchdown in Ventnor, NJ.

 

 

Saturday, I was just sitting down to dinner when Josh called. He was on the beach in Ventnor and was playing football. His older brother grabbed at him and caught his chain. The chain broke off of his neck, and the game stopped. Both the thin chain & a Star of David pendant are missing. He kind of marked off the area.
 
My wife was nice enough to keep dinner warm while I made the journey to the shore. Parking was difficult as NJ continues to open up after being shut down for COVID-19. I found a parking spot 2 blocks away after doing several circles waiting for someone to leave.
 
Josh was waiting on the beach for me with his father and his younger brother. They showed me the area they thought the items would be. The chain is thin, and the pendant is about the size of a dime.
 
I started my search in a circular pattern from the spot they thought the items should be. After about 20 minutes, they adjusted the location, and I moved there. 5 minutes later, I had the pendant in my scoop. You would have thought that Josh and his family won the PowerBall the way they were celebrating. I searched for another hour for the chain. It did not appear. Thin chains and stud earrings are some of the hardest things to find. I tried multiple settings on my detector. I found everything but the chain. Because it was small, I believe it broke into numerous little pieces, not leaving enough metal for me to locate on the heavy mineralized sandy beach.
 
Josh was a little disappointed but said it was ok. He really wanted the Star of David pendant back, which he now has.
 
I Love My Hobby!!
 
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COVID-19 Lost Wedding Ring Recovery, Playing Field Hockey

 

April 5th, 2020 was going to be the most beautiful day of the week. So I had made arrangements to meet Mark at his parent’s house. This is where his wife lost her wedding ring a week ago playing field hockey in the backyard.

The area was beautiful, foggy, and a nice wet lawn, easier to track where I have been detecting, so I don’t miss anywhere. Mark wasn’t there yet, so I met his dad, Dennis. We did the whole social distancing thing.

He showed me a vast backyard, where they played field hockey last weekend. I asked if they were in any particular area, and he pointed to more then half of the yard. Oh boy, this could take a while. I went back to my SUV and got my detector.

I just started to search, and I heard someone say hello, I had headphones on, so I began to look around. It was Mark. I asked him a few questions. He was able to narrow the search area down a little. I was going to start my search at the swing set.

I started to search, and I got a good signal. I couldn’t see anything because the grass was so thick. I used my pin-pointer and spread open the grass, and there was a beautiful white gold wedding ring with several small diamonds. Less than 2 minutes of searching, it was in my hand. I needed that. I took a few pictures.

Mark was up on the deck. I started walking towards him and asked is there any area that his wife was in the most. I said that I didn’t want to be here all day. I said I had another question that might help. Does her ring look like this? And I opened my hand. The look on his face was priceless. No hugs or handshakes. Just smiles.

I asked for his wife’s cell number and sent her a few pictures. Within 30 seconds she called Mark in total disbelief. She worried all night that I wasn’t going to find it. I had told Mark when he contacted me earlier in the week that if it were in the yard, I would find it. He believed me until his wife changed his mind overnight. I love my hobby!!

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Dirty Dog Equals Lost Gold Diamond Ring in Townsend Delaware

Taylor contacted me a week ago, asking if I would travel to Townsend Delaware to search for his wife’s lost white gold ring.

She had come home after work back in October and found their puppy in its crate, where he had an accident. Covered in poop she raced him outside to wash him off with the hose. He was not cooperating. When she was finished and back inside the house, she noticed her ring from her grandmother was missing.

I traveled down early this morning in the dense fog. I met Taylor and he showed me the search area. He said he bought a metal detector shortly after the loss, but the unit was always beeping.

I got started and understood why his machine was beeping. There are a lot of coins on the path his wife took to the hose. I didn’t dig any and left them for Taylor.

Five minutes after starting I got the signal I was looking for. I took out my pinpointer and got a surface hit, but couldn’t see anything. I scraped away a layer of mud and I could see the outline of a ring. I called Taylor over to have him see what I was looking at. He couldn’t believe it. He said no wonder why all of the time I spent on my hands and knees looking I couldn’t find it.

Either his wife or the dog, who is close to 100 pounds must have stepped on it shortly after it was lost. I dug it out and cleaned it off the best I could. It was a small white gold ring with 5 diamonds. The look on his face was priceless. I got a couple of man hugs!. I took a few pictures and started my journey home.

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Playing Basketball in the Cold & Lost a Little Hoop…

Amanda called me today in a panic. Her husband was in the backyard playing basketball and lost his wedding ring. They searched for a while with no luck. I told her if it is there I will find it. The kicker is they were married 5 days ago. The ring is a little to big and they have discussed getting it sized. The chilly air today didn’t help the cause.

I drove down to Williamstown tonight after work. It is dark and raining. Amanda showed me the area that the basketball court is located. It is a grassy area covered in leaves. The area is about 50 feet by 50 feet. There are no lights, so it was pitch black.

I decided to start close to the hoop. It could have been anywhere due to dribbling and shooting motions. 3 signals in and less than 5 minutes I found the ring! It was under some leaves.

Amanda was standing in the rain watching me. I walked over to her and I guess she thought I was going to ask some more questions. When I showed her the ring she was so surprised that I found it and couldn’t believe that I found it so fast. I got a hug! I’m glad my wife doesn’t get jealous, because I get a lot of hugs doing this service!

It was nice to have another quick find. After seeing the size of the area and it being so dark, I thought for sure that I would be there a very long time.

I love my hobby!! Another happy client!

 

 

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3 Pendants Lost in the Sand…

Today is my mom’s birthday. She helped me with a recovery today.

Angela contacted me earlier in the week, asking if I could help her find three pendants from a necklace. She was at a wedding in Wildwood last weekend and lost the very sentimental items.

She is a nurse and has odd hours as I do. We decided to meet on Sunday morning, my mom’s birthday. The weather forecast was not looking good with rain and wind predicted before sun up. Angela asked if the rain would be a problem. I told her that I would be there rain or shine.

I got there about a half an hour early, no rain but I did see a beautiful sunrise. Thanks, mom! Angela arrived and showed me the area of the crime. The wedding reception was at the Star Beach Bar in Wildwood Crest. She was around the fire pit, a cabana, and sat in the couches. There has been a lot of wind at the beach this week, so there was a lot of sand drifts around the cabanas and tables.

She said last weekend she and her friends searched, including removing the cushions from the chairs. It’s a good thing as the chairs have been removed for the winter. They also raked the beach. They only found a few coins.

I started a grid search. I expected to find a lot of bottle caps. I was amazed only to have found one. I found a lot of coins. I guess Angela was getting frustrated that I hadn’t found her precious items, so she started to walk around.

I heard a scream. My first thought was an animal came from under one of the cabanas scaring Angela. I went over to find out what happened. Here she found the smallest pendant of the three we were looking for. It looks like the wind had blown all of the sand off of the pendant. It was just sitting on the top of the sand.

So now I had a place to continue the search. The only problem was it was next to the cabana, and it had wood & metal framework. So every time I swung my detector it went off. Angela found a shovel and a rake. I started to shovel large amounts of sand away from the cabana and detect the piles.
Finally, I received a good hit and found the silver pendant.

The last pendant is mostly jade with just a little bit of 14k gold on it. A new strategy, set my detector up to search for gold nuggets. After about 15 more minutes of digging and detecting, we found what we were looking for. Angela was amazed and I got a very big hug. I love my hobby!

Ten minutes after I got into my car for the journey home it started to pour. Thanks for the help mom, and Happy Birthday!!

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Lost Wedding Ring Found in Sicklerville NJ

I received an email overnight asking for help in finding a lost wedding band. I asked the usual questions, when, how, where, type of ring, what is the ring made of?

Nicole’s husband was doing yard work earlier in the week and noticed when he was done that his ring was missing. They belive it might be in a huge pile of leaves. The property is about a half an acre. They have searched with no luck. I agreed to do a search Saturday afternoon.

I arrived at the house and there were 2 people in a car in front of the house, obviously searching for something. It was Nicole’s parents looking for the ring. No luck. I met Nicole and asked her to show me the possible locations that the ring might be.

She showed me the large pile of leaves. It was large. I asked to see the back yard. We walked through the gate and stopped as she explained where her husband was working. As she was explaining I looked down to see how thick the grass was, and there was the ring.

No metal detector was used and I found it in less than 1 minute. Nicole couldn’t believe it. She said everyone has looked and couldn’t found it. Her parents were amazed. It took longer for me to put my equipment into my truck than it did to find the ring.

Another happy client!

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Lost Ring While Throwing a Football in Turnersville NJ

I woke up to a voicemail. A gentleman (let’s call him Stan) left a message about a lost ring. We played a little phone tag, after a few calls we were able to speak. He said he was tossing a football with his son yesterday and he saw his ring fly off of his hand. He was unable to locate it. The reason he called was to rent a metal detector. I told him that I don’t rent my machines. I told him that I provide a service and would look for his ring. He stated that this was too good to be true. I told him to visit my website so he can see that it wasn’t a scam.

I arrived at a freshly raked yard. Stan was outside waiting with several children. I asked him to walk me through what happened. He tossed a football and watched his ring fly. It was a yellow gold ring with kangaroos on it.

I started in the pile of leaves. 30 seconds in a get a good signal. move the leaves to find a piece of junk metal. The ring was not at the curb.

I moved to the grass. Stan has a sprinkler system installed. It shouldn’t be a problem. The first target is a dime signal. The second signal is a zink penny signal. The third signal is the sound and number that I was looking for. I separate the blades of grass and see a gold ring pushed down into the dirt. It looks like it was stepped on. I pulled out the ring and showed it to Stan.

He said OMG, I thought that I would never see that ring again! I got a Bro Hug! He was so happy. The ring was bought many years ago in Australia. The kids were amazed and so happy that the ring was found and returned. Smiles all around!

I found the ring in less than 10 minutes. It took me longer to drive to Stan’s then it did to make the recovery. Stan told his son that he has to take the ring off when they play catch.

I LOVE my hobby!!!

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The Ocean Tried To Claim Another Wedding Ring, Ocean City NJ

I received an email early yesterday morning, from K asking about my fees to look for a lost wedding ring at the shore. I replied saying that I don’t have a fee. We sent emails back & forth getting all of the details. The only issue was I would be able to make it down till Friday, and today is Tuesday.

K’s husband R was playing in the ocean with their son in waist-deep water at high tide. As R was throwing his son into a wave, his wedding ring of 11 years went flying into the surf. K posted the incident on Facebook. One of her friends recommended me as I had found his lost ring before.

The best time to search for this ring would be at low tide, which is 11pm tonight. After some adjusting of my schedule, I traveled to Ocean City for the search on 9th st.

At 7:45 the beach was still pretty crowded. I called R and told him that I was there. He said he would come up and show me where the loss occurred. I searched for a while finding just a few coins. After a while, R approached me. I was on the wrong beach. They had entered at 9th street and went right. They were swimming at the 10th Street Life Guard stand.

R gave me the details and the general area. I did a grid pattern and came up with just a few coins. I expanded the search area, and on my 1st pass of the extended area, I had R’s ring in my scoop.

The happiness on R’s face was awesome. I got a firm handshake followed by a “bro” hug. He said he thought that this search was not going to find his ring. He had thought that it was gone forever. I said that you should probably call your wife. He said he would wait to see her reaction in person.

As we were leaving the beach K called asking about our progress. R told a white lie and said that we were still looking. When we got back to my truck, R paid for my parking, Thank You!! He asked for several business cards to spread the word. I found out that R is a 1st responder in PA, he is a police officer. I love helping other 1st responders!!

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Field of Tears, Lost Engagement & Wedding Rings, Westampton NJ

Sunday I get an email from Carrie asking for assistance in finding her rings. She thinks that they were lost in Westampton Burlington County during a softball tournament. She coaches a girls team and took her rings off and put them in her pocket that she also put her phone in. Well several innings later along with calls and texts she notices that her rings are missing.

They looked all over and couldn’t find them. They drove back in the dark to look again. She thought that they were gone forever. She explained that they drag the field after every game. I am thinking to myself that this will not have a good outcome. Someone found the rings at one of the games later that day and took them to a pawn shop. They had to be on the surface. Infields are hard surfaces.

I couldn’t head up on Sunday due to a half marathon I was running in and it was pouring in the afternoon. I said that I would search on Monday after work. Carrie would have to get permission for me to search the field. Permission was secured.

My wife & I drove to the fields on Monday. We came prepared with boots that we could get muddy, and it was a good thing we did. The field was muddy and had a lot of deep puddles.

Carrie had explained where she was during her time at the field. I decided to search the grassy area 1st as I thought that would be the spot that would provide cover for the rings. Nothing, very few signals at all. They do a good job of keeping this field clean.

Next, I went to the area between the dugout and home plate. After a few iron tones, I got a good tone, Boom! The engagement ring was in the mud about 1/2 an inch down. Wow, only 15 minutes into the search and I have 1 of 2 rings. The other one has to be close by, right?

Well, 20 minutes later I’m starting to think that the dragging machine moved it very far away. I sent a message to Carrie to call me. I wanted to know if there was any other place that she could have lost the 2nd ring. I continued to search.

Another 10 minutes into the search on the 3rd base side of the field, the 1st ring was on the 1st base side. I get a good tone. Boom!! I now have the 2nd ring. It was also about a half inch down. We did the best cleaning we could do in one of the many mud puddles. We took several pictures.

We left a message on the way home, asking for a return call, not letting on that I had found the rings, As I was unloading the truck Carrie called back, Edwina was there with me. I asked Carrie if there was any other location that she could think of that the rings could be. When she ran out of ideas I told her that I had found them. She started to cry, Edwina started to cry because Carrie was crying.

We met after dinner so Carrie could get her rings back. Carrie and her husband were very happy. Another happing ending!!!

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My Latest Recovery in Stone Harbor NJ

I received a desperate email from a devastated woman. I was Mary’s last hope. The day before she went with her family for a day trip to the beach in Stone Harbor NJ. While her husband in the water with their daughter, he watched his ring fall off his hand and sink into the sandy bottom. They searched for a while with no success. You can read the full story here.

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Day Trip To Stone Harbor Includes Lost Wedding Ring

Received an email at midnight, didn’t see it till the next morning after my 6-mile run. Mary informed me that her husband lost his wedding ring in the surf at Stone Harbor. They were only down for the day and are back home in Central NJ. I immediately responded to the email and called. Mary gave me more details but she said that someone was looking for the ring already. She told me who and I said if she needed me to call me back.

I called the other detectorist, and he informed me that he didn’t have any luck. I called Mary back and told her that I would give it a try. I asked her a ton of questions. When trying to find lost items you need to be a detective.

On the drive down I had a gut feeling that this wasn’t going to be successful. I got to the beach earlier than anticipated. The lifeguards were still on duty and would give me issues about being in the water not in the swim zone. I walked up to the access ramp and surveyed the area. Another overwhelming feeling that this wasn’t going to go well. There was a wedding on the beach 1 block south.

I went back to my vehicle to wait out the lifeguards. While waiting I talked to my mom and my mentor (Diane Toogood), asking for help from above. I also pulled up the Ring Finders site and looked at some recent successful recoveries, to get me in a better mental zone.

At 5 pm the lifeguards left the beach. I entered the water, no sounds. The other detectorist did a great job of cleaning out all of the other targets.

At 5:10 I get a great sounding tone, dig down. Rinse out the sand. Look in the scoop to find the ring that I was looking for, 10 minutes. I left the beach to get my phone. I took a few pictures and sent Mary one of them. Boy was I excited, full of energy. I thanked my mom & Dianne multiple times!!

She called me right back, sounding like she was choked up. She said that it looked like the ring, then told me the inscription that was inside. It matched. We made arrangement to me the following day. It was a GREAT ride home, I didn’t care how much traffic there was!!

I get more hugs from making recoveries. The ring is now back on her husband’s hand!

 

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