Happy New Year Everyone!!
As I sit back and look at 2019, it was a really good year for returning lost items to people. I can only hope that 2020 will be even better.
People always ask why do I return items? Why not keep it or sell it? I have dedicated my life to helping people. I started back in 1976 when I started volunteering for my local ambulance squad. I got my Red Cross First Aid certification, became an EMT in 1980, a paramedic in 1985, and became a Flight Medic in 1988.
It was 1992 that I started metal detecting. As I started to find items, I would wonder how it was lost, what was the owner doing to try to find it? Could I somehow find the owner?
I joined the local metal detecting club. We started a program where we offered our services to law enforcement, to assist in solving crimes. I have a plaque in my office from a County Prosecutors Office thanking me for helping them convict two carjackers. Five of us found some of the stuff they tossed while being chased by the police in the snow.
My 1st item that I found & was able to return happened in Ocean City NJ. I was on the beach detecting, my wife was reading, and a young girl came up to me and asked if I could help find her religious necklace & charm that was given to her for her 1st communion. I went to the area and searched. I didn’t have any luck and she and her family needed to leave. They gave me a pager number to call if I found it.
About 10 minutes after they left, I found it. I called the pager number, from a payphone and entered the number. This was before everyone had a cell phone. My wife and I waited for a while by the payphone. After a long wait we were getting hungry and went to the boardwalk for something to eat. While walking on the boardwalk, we see the girl and her family standing in line for a famous pizza shop, Mack & Manco. The dad came over a said thank you very much for searching. It was obvious he didn’t get my message. I pulled out the necklace and charm and the girl started to cry.
Since then, I have tried to return the items I find. The look on people’s faces when they see an item that they thought would be lost forever is priceless. The hugs aren’t bad either.
If you lose something call a professional right away. Don’t waste your time or money renting or buying a metal detector. It takes years of experience to learn how to operate a detector properly.
I hope you all have a SAFE & HAPPY 2020.
