I received a call from John asking if I could help him find his custom made wedding ring. He said he had lost it a few weeks ago in the water. I asked John to give me some more details. He said he was washing his boat with a car wash mitt on his hand. The mitt came off and when he retrieved the mitt and picked it up he saw his ring fall out of it and sink into the bay.
I started asking a lot of questions, the main one being how deep is the water? John’s reply was 4 foot at low tide. I agreed to make the hour drive the following Sunday to meet him at low tide.
I got to the marina about a half an hour before low tide. Yes it was 4 feet deep to the muck, the muck was about another foot. I got into my wetsuit and got into the water. He pointed to the area the ring fell.
Within 2 minutes I had a solid signal. I thought wow this is great, a nice QUICK find I’ll be back home in time to watch the Opening Kickoff of the NFL Season. The muck was so thick in my scoop we need a hose to see what was in it. I had a “Stinkin Lincoln” a penny. I continued the hunt.
The area was quite, not much metal. I had to have John move his boat to broaden the search area. In the next hour and a half I had found 1 penny, 1 Miller Lite can and 4 little washers.
I was getting frustrated and so was John. The tide was coming in and was up to my neck while standing on my tippy toes. John then tells me that he might have moved the ring. He said for the 4 nights after he lost the ring he was in the water with a shrimp net trying to find the ring.
I said I am running out of time and need to get out because of the incoming tide, and I don’t scuba dive. But I want to check this one little area. 2 minutes later I had the ring. What a beautiful gold ring it is.
John was so happy, the look on his face was priceless! I was pumped, great adrenaline rush for an adrenaline junkie!! The people on the dock and the boat next to John’s were amazed that I had found it. They all thought that Davey Jones was now owner of the ring.
John said he will not wear it again until he gets it re-sized.
Below are some words from John:
On August 31st 2012 I was cleaning my boat after a day of reef fishing in OC N.J.
I lost my custom made wedding ring when my hand hit the rub rail. After a week
of searching myself a friend told me about Dave Milsted the ring finder. I
called Dave and set a date for Sept 9 2012 at low tide. Dave showed up on time
and worked very hard for two hours as the tide was rising quickly. Dave found
my priceless ring. I cannot thank him enough.
Best Regards
John R
O.C. N.J