Tag Archives: how to find a lost ring in snow

Out In The Snow (January 11, 2003)

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Jan 6th 2003 I received the following email:

I am in a horrible jam. I lost my wedding band between my house and my car….I looked for hours and I cant seem to find it. I wonder if some one from your group could possibly help me find it…. I can’t offer much but I would be happy to give 50 bucks. I know this is not much but we just got married and still kind of hard to make ends meet. I live in Stratford NJ ….if you could possible help me or maybe point me to some how could….

I contacted this person and planned to meet the next day. Around 930 am in 20 degree F temp and snow on the ground we met. I knew he didn’t trust me because he wanted to follow me all around. I asked the usual questions, when, where and how do you think you lost it. He said he was late for work and ran out of the house.

He said he felt the ring coming off his finger while he was running from his house to his car, so he closed his fist to keep the ring on. When he got to the car the ring was gone. He said it was white gold. He showed me his path of travel. I told him I would do a grid pattern of the whole front yard.

I search up & down finding everything under the sun except the ring. He was questioning all of the target registering on my XLT. I was trying to explain the different targets, like this is probably a penny at 6 inches. I could see the skepticism in his face.

No ring in that direction, so I said I will do the same thing going back and forth. Still no ring. I told him I would try a different coil. He said he had to go make a few phone calls. So I went to my car to switch coils from my 6 inch to the 10 inch coil.

At this point I was there for about an hour and even though I had gloves on my hands were frozen. So I was attaching the new coil when I looked down and saw the ring sitting there so nice and pretty. It was sitting less than 2 inches from a sewer pipe (no wonder my XLT didn’t find it). So I picked it up and put it on my finger.

I knocked on the door and held my finger up. You would not believe the look on his face!! I showed him where I found it, there was still a depression in the snow where it was located. I explained why the machine didn’t find it. I had a smile on my face the rest of the day.

Dave Milsted

Playing On The Beach (July 31, 2012)

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I received a call from Tim in Upstate NY on a Wednesday. He was very upset. He had lost his ring, the day before while on vacation in Stone Harbor NJ, while he playing in the surf. He had tried looking for it but he feared that is was gone.

I couldn’t look for it till the following Sunday. I asked him several questions and he knew the answers to them all. He was very prepared and knew where he lost the ring.

I started searching at 5:30 am that Sunday. There were very few targets on the beach. I was fearing the worst, that someone else had already found the ring. By 7:30 I only had found 6 targets, 2 coins and 4 pieces of trash. I was ready to give up. I said to myself a couple more passes then I can leave. At 8 am I had a good tone, scooped it up and low and behold I had Tim’s ring. I left the beach and got ready to drive home and the song on the radio was “Whoop There It Is”.

When I got home I called Tim. He couldn’t believe that I found it. He made arrangements to drive down and pick it up that Tuesday. He even brought
his wedding album to show my wife and I. He was so happy to get his ring back. Even though I told him a reward was not necessary, he left one.

Below is Tim’s story:

We were having a great week on vacation at the beach in Stone Harbor. The temperature (weather and water) were just perfect , but the surf was a bit rough. On Tuesday I went for a swim right about high tide and then I went back to our “camp” to dry off and immediately realized that I had lost my wedding ring in the water! I knew exactly where I had been swimming but searched and was unable to find it. I was very disappointed to say the least but still continued to look into the next day hoping the tide would wash it up, but no luck. I thought I would never see it again.

The next morning we had to take my daughter to urgent care because she was running a fever (she’s fine). On the way back she fell asleep in the car and I stopped to pick up some lunch. While I was gone my wife got bored in the car and started searching the internet on her phone to see if anyone had posted a ring under the “lost+found” on Craiglist.

She stumbled upon this story http://theringfinders.com/blog/Dave.Milsted/2012/06/lost-gold-ring-stone-harbor-nj/ , which ultimately led to us contacting Dave to see if he could help us find the ring. We were skeptical but he said he could look for the ring but not until the next Sunday (we came back home to NY on Saturday). On Sunday AM he called to tell us he had located the ring! We were amazed, it was buried several inches in the sand right where I said I lost it, 6 days earlier. Dave sent a email with the picture to confirm it was in fact the ring! I drove back down to Jersey the following Tuesday to retrieve the ring. We are very happy to have it back and still in disbelief!

Lessons learned:

1-Leave your rings at home

2-Looking for a ring in the ocean is NOT like looking for a needle
in the haystack:)

3-Google DOES have all the answers

4-Dave is amazing, thanks so much!

Lost Family Heirloom… (August 6, 2010)

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On August 4th 2010 I answered an ad on Craig’s List for a missing ring in the surf at Stone Harbor. The ring was a family heir loom. dating back over 100 years. We exchanged a few emails and I said I would give it a try.

I arrived at the beach at 5:30 am the next morning. The tide was high and the water had dropped at least 10 degrees. Good thing I wore my wetsuit.

I started at the life guard stands working a grid pattern to the north. There were very few signals. about 50 feet out there was a drop off and moguls of sand. I was getting a bad feeling about not finding this one.

There was another gentleman hunting the dry & wet sand. He came over to me and told me about the missing ring. I told him I saw the ad on Craig’s List. He had spoken to the guys wife and got a slightly different story. This widened the search area. Not good. He said he searched last night and was trying again this morning. This explains the lack of signals. He explained he had to leave soon but would try again in the evening.

It was getting late, and people were arriving at the beach. It was almost 9 am and the life guards were bringing out their boats. I was ready to give up. I was almost 2 blocks away from my starting point and area the guy Tim said he lost the ring. I got a nice deep tone and was praying to Davey Jones that this was the ring. It was, a very large mans gold ring. Wahoooo!!! I put it in my pouch and left the beach.

When I got back to the beach house, I sent Tim an email saying I found the ring. The only this was the date on the inside of the ring was different than what he posted. Boy this could get Tim in big trouble.

We played phone tag for most of the day. When we did speak we arranged to meet in the evening so the ring could be reunited with its owner. Tim and his wife arrived around 7:30 pm. They are a very nice couple from Baltimore. We took some pictures and Tim gave me a very nice reward. He was so happy to have the ring back that his great grandfather, grandfather and father have worn. He will not be wearing it in the water anymore!!

Below is a note from Tim:

Dear Dave, August 7, 2010

You are truly amazing!!! Here’s my story for any of you naysayers out there………

I had been swimming in the late afternoon with my nephews in the ocean off of 103rd Street in Stone Harbor N.J.. It wasn’t until that evening when I looked down at my hand before dinner that I noticed my wedding ring was gone!!!! It wasn’t just my wedding ring, mind you, it was also an heirloom that had been in my family for over a hundred years. Originally, it was a signet ring that had been my great-grandfather’s, my grandfather’s, and my father’s. All of them had been named Lawrence P. Naylor (LPN Sr., Jr., and the III). When I was married I decided to have it double as my wedding ring because I didn’t want to wear two rings. My wife and I had our initials and our wedding date engraved on the inside. We had just had our twentieth anniversary last fall.

Well, I was despondent to say the least. I knew it had fallen off in the water. Just for the record, I had always worn it in the ocean, but the water had been unusually cold and I recently lost a little weight so I assumed it slipped off while I was rough-housing with the kids. At any rate, it was in the surf, probably fifty or more feet out, and I was sure it was gone for good. We did go to the beach that evening before dark, but the water wasn’t clear beyond six inches or so. Except for a few shells, there was nothing. I had heard those stories about rings washing up the next day with the tide but didn’t hold out much hope.

The next morning, after spending about half an hour searching the shore we decided to mention it to the lifeguards who were just coming on duty. One of them suggested the “lost and found” section on Craigslist. Yeah, I knew it would be a waste of time but figured I could sleep a little better knowing I had tried everything. I posted a note about a lost ring in Stone Harbor. It seemed to be within minutes that I got a response from a guy whose address was metaldetectingman@gmail.com. I was curious, and desperate, so I went ahead and opened his response. He seemed genuinely concerned and asked for any specifics such as when, and exactly where I was when the ring came off, so he could consider the tides etc. He said he wasn’t sure he could get there right away, but he would try. This guy was serious, he even had a website. After a few back-and-forths, I thanked him for his interest and crossed my fingers. I knew it was going to be a waste of his time, but I really did appreciate the fact that he, and a few others by the way, who had also seen the Craigslist ad, showed real interest. One respondent said she would try, but it might be a few weeks at best until she could get down to Stone Harbor. This was all around noon on the day after the evening when I realized the ring was gone. We went swimming later that afternoon and noticed a real northward under-tow around our feet. Now I knew the ring was Poseidon’s forever!

The next day, around noon, I checked my e-mail. I still can’t believe what it said!!!! Dave had found my ring, more or less right where I had said it should be, in chest-deep water!!! He had shown up at about 5:00 in the morning and spent three hours searching before he found it. I will never be able to truly comprehend how he actually did it. Yes he did have a fancy, totally submersible detector, but he was looking in an area of about forty Olympic swimming pools, with surf and current to boot! Yeah, life would have gone on without that ring, but Dave saved me from a lot of regret over the years. Thanks a million! –
Tim Naylor

A Private Beach (July 11, 2008)

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Dave,

I just wanted to formally thank you for the great job you did finding my platinum wedding band. The ring was lost on 100 sq yds of beach for 6 weeks but thanks to your persistence you were able to find it in only an hour.

Losing that ring was a difficult experience due to it’s cost and intrinsic value but thanks to the professionalism you showed during our correspondence and the search process, I knew that I was in good hands. I’m attaching the photo that we took right after the ring was found.

Thanks again for your help.

Good luck in your future treasure hunts!

Troy Kelley
Little Silver, NJ

Vacation In Paradise (June 2012)

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June 21, 2012
My first morning in Jamaica and I was out on the beach at 5:30 am with my detector, searching the warm waters. This is the 1st time I have traveled outside of the USA with my detector. Very relaxing!! The water was very warm and I had the beach to myself, watching the sun rise.

I was having fun finding coins when a man called me over to the dry sand. He said that he knew where there was a gold ring. I asked him several questions. He said he lost it yesterday while playing catch in the water. He
was about chest deep when he felt it fly off. I asked him where he was. He took me down to the beach bar and said “out there”. He said it was a yellow & white gold band with no inscription.

I told him I would look for him. He said that there was a problem. He was leaving the resort in 45 min to fly back to Wisconsin. Nothing like pressure!! I told him to leave his information at the desk so if I find it I could make sure it gets returned. He said he would.

I went out to the area he pointed to. First signal was a set of room keys. About 15 minutes later I had another signal. Two scoops later I had a white & yellow gold ring in my hand. Wow! I found it! I quickly left the water, ran back to my room to drop off my equipment and to grab a camera. My wife was still sleeping so she couldn’t come with me.

I was hurrying up to the resort lobby. I saw Matt walking down the path toward the beach, scanning the water. I can only guess the thoughts going through his head. Where did he go? Did he find it and leave? He then spotted me walking toward him.

He asked how I made out. I reached into my pocket and produced the ring. He said “No way!!” He couldn’t believe it! He said he was so happy he was ready to cry! He said that he wanted to give me a hug. I said I was wet and smelly. He didn’t care. He gave me a hug. He said that I needed to follow him to the lobby to meet his wife.

When she saw Matt walking toward her holding up his finger, she screamed “No way!!” She said to me that she needed to give me a hug. I told her that I am soaked and smelly, but she didn’t care. She gave me a hug. They told me they were there celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. We had a bystander snap a quick picture because their bus was there waiting to take them to the airport. We exchanged some basic information. They offered me a reward, but I declined. I was happy that they could end their vacation on a happy note.

They had a long travel day ahead of them. Both of them now wet and
smelly!

Snow Problem (December 9, 2013)

I got a call Dec 9, 2013 from a man who said he lost his gold wedding ring in the snow yesterday (6-8 inches of fluffy white stuff). I told him that I would love to help but my truck was in the shop. I said I could come tomorrow. He said he had to work all day. I told him that I would come up tonight around 6pm, a night hunt…

When I arrived we went over the details of what he could remember. He took his new bride, from India, out to play in her 1st snow that she has ever seen. They were just married in May in India. He was taking pictures and they were having fun playing in the snow. Snow angles and all.

He said they stopped in like 4 areas to take pictures. He had the ring on at the first stop and it was gone at the last stop, noticed by reviewing the pictures. He didn’t realize till this morning that the ring was gone. The whole walk might have been 3/4 of a mile.

I went and got my machine. We started in the area that they took the 1st set of pictures. I quickly got a signal that was in the gold range on my machine. I kicked the snow aside, and you could see he was very excited. We didn’t see any gold & I had to explain the machine will make a lot of sounds during our hunt.

I continued on and then doubled back, starting a small grid pattern. Within 2 minutes we had another promising sound. I kicked the snow aside and we both saw gold. A total of five minutes of detecting & we had the ring. The look on his face was priceless. He couldn’t believe it. He said that he thought the ring was gone forever.

We went back to his apartment & he invited me in to look at the pictures he took yesterday. I am glad that I was able to find his ring. I wasn’t very confident after hearing how far of a walk they took. But by playing detective and starting where he knew he had the ring paid off!!

Catching Some Rays (June 2013)

I received a call from Sharon while I was at work on a 24 hour shift. She explained to me that she was catching some rays in her backyard and took off her wedding band and placed it on her towel. When she was done she got up and shook her towel, forgetting that she removed her ring.

When she discovered that it was missing she did a search of the yard with no luck. They had company over and they were all on their hands and knees searching. They even borrowed a family members metal detector
with no luck.

She did an internet search and found me on Ring Finders and gave me a call. I explained that I was at work, but I could meet her the next day. She agreed.

The next day Sharon gave me a call while she was on her way home from work. I met her and her husband, Justin. They showed me the area that Sharon was sitting. I went to may truck and got my machine. It took 3 swings when I got a nice strong low tone. I bent down and moved the grass to reveal a platinum wedding band. Found with in less than a minute.
Sharon and Justin couldn’t believe that I found it so quickly. The smile on her face was priceless…

Below is her story:
Dave,
I can’t thank you enough for finding one of my most valuable possessions, my wedding ring. I lost it because I let my vanity get the best of me- I took it off while getting some sun and soon thereafter dropped it in the grass. I didn’t notice that it wasn’t on my finger until hours later but by then it was too late. Neither me, my husband nor 3 other friends could find it after hours of searching. We even borrowed a family member’s “really good” metal detector but soon learned that not all metal detectors are made equal. Lucky for me, after searching online for metal detectors, I found your advertisement online under “Ring Finders.” I had no idea someone like you was out there but can attest, your job is highly valued as you found my ring within a couple of minutes. Unbelievable! My husband and I are forever grateful.
Sharon and Justin.

Yard Work, Lost Wedding Ring

Lost Wedding Ring in Moorestown NJ Recovered & Returned

I received a call from Joe about his lost wedding ring. He lost it while doing yard work a few weeks prior. I agreed to meet Joe after work in a few days.

I met Joe, and he showed me where he was working in the yard. He was all over his large yard. I asked several questions about what he was doing and if he had any guesses as to the area it might be. You have to a detective and ask a lot of questions to try to narrow down the search area. After this inquisition, I decided that I would start near one of the flower beds.

I got my metal detector from my truck and started my search. Joe went inside the house to do some work. I found some pieces of aluminum siding.

After about 10 minutes I got a good signal. I moved the grass out of the way, and there was a platinum ring. What an awesome feeling !!

I knocked on the door and showed Joe the ring. His face lit up. He was all smiles. I love the reactions of people who get their items back. He was amazed that I found it so fast. He couldn’t wait to tell his wife. I love this hobby!

Hi Dave,

I wanted to send a note to thank you again for coming out to find my
wedding ring. It is a horrible feeling losing something that means so
much to you.  On the other hand, it was an incredibly joyous
moment when you found my ring. It was definitely a priceless
moment!  If I ever lose my ring again or know of someone who
does I will know who to call.  Take care and keep up the great work!

Thank You, Joe Piotti

A Night At The Ballgame (June 6, 2010)

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Dave,
You must be an angel. An angel with a mean metal detector, that is. I lost my wedding ring at a local spring baseball game. We searched several times and could not find it. My husband told me don’t worry about it so much, but I was
devastated. During a frantic internet search, I found the Metal Detecting Man website and shot you an e-mail.

We met at the baseball field where I’d lost the ring. My heart dropped when I saw you walk in to the parking lot from the field in less than an hour. I thought, well, that’s it, he thinks it’s hopeless. I said, “No luck, eh? That’s OK, I am really grateful that you’re doing this.” I just hoped whoever found the ring was using it for good purposes (paying bills, etc.) or it was helping to keep a very lucky bunch of baby robins warm and safe this summer.

“Well, there was a lot of junk on that field,” you said, as you opened your hand to reveal my wedding ring.
And that, my friends, is when I hugged a total stranger several times and cried for joy.

Because of your generosity to help a stranger on your day off, I am wearing my wedding ring again. I think I will weld it to my finger. Even if you hadn’t found it, the world is a better place with you in it. I hope I can “pay it forward” to others in some way. You asked for nothing, but I insisted you accept the meager contents of my wallet that day. It is truly priceless what you’ve done.

I’m attaching a picture of the found wedding ring for your website. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Elizabeth
Burlington County, NJ

Backyard Tanning (October 21, 2006)

Dear Dave,

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you helped me to find my wedding ring in my back yard. I never dreamed that after 3 and a half years, I would ever see it again. The fact that you came back all this way with your friend a second time and didn’t give up was wonderful and your persistence definitely paid off. I just want to thank you so much for helping me because without you, I know that I never would have found it. You have made me very happy and I will absolutely recommend you to anyone I know who ever loses jewelry. Thank you and your friend again so much!!

Kathy Moncelsi

Lost In The Snow (January 5, 2014)

Received a call from a woman in Cherry Hill. Her husband was out shoveling 3 nights ago during the big 9 inch snow storm. He took off his gloves and shook his hands to warm them and he felt his wedding ring fly off.

They piled up all of the snow from the driveway and have been looking for it ever since. They were worried about someone else finding the ring or an animal taking it. They found my website and called me.

We made arrangements for me to head over a 3pm today. I arrived and found a large pile of snow on a concrete driveway, uh oh rebar….

She showed me about where her husband was standing and I did a quick search of the pile. Too much interference from the rebar. I scanned both sides of the driveway and not a peep.

So we shoveled the pile of snow onto the grass. I started to search the snow, within 3 minutes and had a nice solid signal. Dug thru the snow and found a beautiful 14k white gold ring. The look on her face was priceless. It took longer to shovel than it did to find the ring.

She was so happy. I collected a few more hugs for the hug bank. Her side of the story will follow in a few days when I get her email. Leaving my house to the return in my front door was less than 30 minutes.

Here is a note from Shira:
Dear Dave,

Thank you again for your help today! I can’t put into words how great it was when you found my husband’s (white gold) wedding ring in the snow! We searched for days, and I thought that at this point it may have been carried off by an animal because I felt we had searched so thoroughly without success. Every time the sun hit the snow yesterday, I ran outside thinking that I saw the ring shining as I looked out the window, but each time all I found was just more snow and ice.

Much thanks, and I hope that anyone else in a similar circumstance would not hesitate to call you for your expertise!

Sincerely,
Shira and Marc

Just Another Day On The Beach (September 2013)

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A few weeks ago I received a call from Candice. She said she was at the beach in Cape May the day before and lost her wedding band. It just so happens it was the same beach last week making another ring recovery. So I was familiar with the beach.

Candice said she was there with her family and not exactly sure where she was when she lost her ring. She was all over the beach with her kids and husband, even out in the rough surf. By going through her pictures she was able to come up with a half an hour time frame of when she lost the ring. I did a little research and found out that it was only a short time from high tide when she lost her ring.

I told Candice that I would not be able to search till at least Tuesday because of my work schedule. She sounded a little deflated but said it was ok. I asked her to download a picture from Google maps and mark it up with where she was on the beach that day.

Later that night she emailed me the picture. She was right she was all over the beach. She was by the rocks digging in the sand with her children. She was at the high tide line sitting in her chairs. She was in another spot building sand castles. She fell in the surf near the life guards. Oh boy where to begin.

My friend & I arrived at the beach near low tide. This would give us our best shot at finding the ring. The beach was crowded. This would cause a problem because we wouldn’t be able to do a complete grid search. We would have to go around the masses of people. Plus there were 2 other people on the beach detecting. My hopes were diminishing. The sand was soft and mushy, not good because gold sinks fast in this stuff.

We started to search. My friend Diane started by the rocks and headed south. I started near the life guards and headed south. I found a few items, mostly light trash, not good but expected in the soft mushy conditions. I am thinking that this is going to be a lost cause. After about an hour I could see Diane was done her area and started to go all over the beach. I could tell she was ready to leave. She can read a beach better than me and knew we weren’t going to be successful.

I was getting ready to give up when I had a good tone. I started to talk to my mom asking her to let this be the ring I was looking for. I scooped the sand and strained out the sand. In my scoop was a beautiful yellow gold ring with 11 diamonds. SUCCESS!! I walked over to Diane and said I was ready to leave. She said the conditions weren’t good. The I showed her the ring. She was shocked that I found it. She put it on her finger and said that its a perfect fit and I was going to get the ring back.

I sent Candice a text message asking her to call me when she could because I had some questions. She called back in record time. I asked a few questions about her markings on the map. Then I told I her that I found the ring. The phone when silent. I think I heard a thank you. Then in a broken voice I heard I can’t talk now I will call you later.

It was after five in the afternoon when Candice called back. She apologized for being so emotional before. She said she was crying so hard and everybody at work was looking at her that she needed to get off of the phone. She couldn’t believe that I found the ring. I sent her a picture. She is from Delaware so we were trying to come up with a place to meet. We went through our schedules and it would be 3 weeks before we could meet to return the ring.

We met today in Southern NJ. I met her mom, husband, 3 kids and her baby sitter. All of the people who were with her when she lost the ring. I gave her her ring and received many hugs. She was crying again. We took pictures and chatted for a while. She gave me a card with a generous reward which I tried to return but she wouldn’t let me.

Below is Candice’s side of the tale:

Just another Saturday at the beach or so we thought!

As a mother of 3 young boys, I decided to take a last minute day trip for the end of summer. We piled up the minivan with my husband, my mother, our AuPair and my three boys! Before leaving the house…my inner voice told me to leave my wedding ring at home since I had lost some weight…it was loose but, I didn’t listen. We packed the car full. We had the cooler, beach chairs, boogie boards and toys for the sand. We brought everything but Sunblock…. Yes, we all ended up burnt. We drove around for about 15 minutes trying to find a parking spot when we came upon Cove Beach in Cape May, NJ. I’ve been going to Cape May beaches for over 20 years and have never been to that particular beach before. So, we parked the car, and set up our stuff.

We played in the water! Taking on the waves. My two oldest boys were brazen…going out really far….enough to concern the lifeguards to whistle us in closer (it was a yellow flag day)….so then we built sand castles. We then came back to the beach blanket and ate some snacks. Back to the water again, riding the waves and then the youngest wanted to come back in the sand castle area. I had some trouble getting up out of the water and put my hands in the sand and there went the wedding band. But, I didn’t notice it then…I went back into the water with my husband while the kids searched for the perfect shells! When I came back…I sat down in the sand where the waves crashed in on our legs digging my hands into the sand looking for shells for the boys…we posed for a few family shots and then I realized it! The ring was gone. OMG!

I turned to my husband and lifted my hand to show no wedding band! He said “You’re joking, right?” “I wouldn’t joke about this” I said. He immediately jumped up and helped me frantically searched the sand. The tide was coming in harder and harder…we could hardly see. The kids looked, the babysitter looked, even some strangers on the beach…I was crying so hard, I needed to clean my glasses….I then realized from the family pictures…I might be able to see when I last had it on… and I saw it!!! When I was swimming with my youngest son. So, I knew where it was probably gone at but the tide had come in so far I knew I’d never get it back. I cried and cried. My husband hugged me and said he’d buy me another one. It wouldn’t be the same. I didn’t want a new wedding band…I wanted the one he gave me when we promised each other the rest of our lives together 10 years ago. I thought it was ironic that my husband asked me to marry him and gave me an engagement ring on another beach in Cape May, NJ years ago and now I lost my wedding band in Cape May, NJ.

A short time later, I was so upset and defeated…we packed the car back up and headed home. After the beach, we were supposed to go to the Wildwood boardwalk and ride some rides but….I just couldn’t build myself up to enjoy it. On the ride home I knew I’d never get my ring back. My mom reminded me that other than my ring loss, I still had my family and my kids were safe and happy.

Even though my family was safe and that was really the most important thing to
me…I still couldn’t stop being upset about losing my ring and my stupidity for not leaving it at home. My mom offered to come back the next morning and comb the beach with me… When I got home and everyone was getting ready for bed…I Googled to see what my chances would be if I could even had any chance. I looked at the possibilities of renting a metal detector and then came upon TheRingFinders.com. I read of success stories of rings found and my hope was restored. I found Dave Milsted and called him to see what could be done. I told him it was a gold wedding band with 11 inset diamonds. He told me to map the area I thought it was lost. I immediately mapped where we were sitting, where I thought it was lost and where we swam. Then my 3 boys brought me beautifully made “homemade rings” made from paper to replace my wedding band. I smiled for their thoughtfulness and creativity.

I then sent the email to Dave. I didn’t hear anything back. I anxiously checked email in the morning and saw I mis-typed his email address. OMG!!! Quickly I resent it to the correct email and added some more details.

Dave responded immediately and suggested he could go out on Tuesday. Slightly disappointed I put my faith in the fact that he has been doing this for years and if he felt there was an urgency…or not…then he’d be right. So, I stopped worrying until Tuesday. Since 8am Tuesday morning, I checked my email and phone every 30 mins or less. As the day pressed on, so my pressure skyrocketed. I even shed a few tears while telling the story to co workers. I figured, the longer it took to hear from Dave, the less likely it would be that he’d found it….

Then, I received an email from Dave saying he had a few questions asking me to call him! I jumped right on the phone and called. Dave asked me a few more questions about the location I thought it was lost. I explained where I thought I was and then he told me that the beach was packed and that there were already folks with metal detectors, the sand was loose and….my heart sank.

Then, he then told me he found my ring! I think I asked him if he was serious….and after he said “YES”…I was speechless. I couldn’t speak…I was crying hysterically and couldn’t stop! The sentimental value for me was so much more than the jewelry price value. I tried to get out the words to say Thank you and that I would call him back when I left my job to discuss picking it up. I immediately called my husband and my mom crying. They could hardly understand me but they finally realized what I had said and were both shocked and excited!

Dave, there are no words for what you do for people/families like ours. There is no replacing a memory or the value that was placed on something because of its emotional association with it when something is lost. You replaced it for me and renewed my strength in humanity that there are honest people who care about others and want to help people…”Thank you.” That is the smallest thing I can say and the biggest thing I can mean at the same time. I am glad my wedding band will be in safe hands until we officially meet and I promise to NEVER wear it in the Ocean again (at least until I get it re-sized)!!!

Wedding Party (July 20, 2010)

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July 30, 2010
I woke up to a desperate email. A couple in Cape May lost an expensive engagement ring. We sent a few emails back and forth. I couldn’t get there until 5:30pm. Joe manned the post not allowing anyone near the suspected spot where the ring could be.

He was there from 2am till 5:30pm. My son and I arrived around 5:30pm. 3 ladies, who were not related but heard the story, stated they have been praying to St. Anthony all day. They said St. Anthony will help us find the ring. They were asking me how good is my recovery rate. My answer was pretty good.

I did advise Joe that a lot of the time the lost object is nowhere near where you think it is. I said lets get started. He took me to the spot. I turned on my Minelab Explorer made a couple of swings and had the very nice low tone of platinum. I had the ring in my scoop in less than 30 seconds. And what a beautiful ring it was. Joe was amazed. He said he was ready to cry.

Joe phoned his fiancée and told her the news. She was at a wedding rehearsal dinner. She came running onto the beach. Joe placed the ring back on her finger. Hugs and pictures were in order.
Another happy couple.

Desirae’s Letter:
Dave,
Words can not describe how thankful Joe and I are that you saved the day last Friday. I couldn’t sleep at all after losing my engagement ring on the beach in Cape May, NJ. We spent hours hopelessly combing through the sand. When I found your website I thought it was a long shot but at that point I was willing to try anything. I had even contacted every hardware/appliance store within 10-15 miles looking for a metal detector – there were NONE. When you responded that you would be there I felt like I could relax for the first time since losing the ring – I tried to stop thinking about it for the next few hours but that was impossible everytime I felt or looked at my left ring finger.

I know I was not present when you found it, but Joe can not stop talking about it. Only one swipe of the metal detector and one scoop and there it was – you are my hero. When I got the phone call, everyone around me was screaming for joy. The best part of this story is that someone would have the kindness and magnanimity to come to the rescue of two complete strangers.

I now not only have my engagement ring, but also a wonderful story with a happy ending and a lot more faith in mankind. It may sound dramatic, but what you did for us was incredibly selfless.

Thank you again,
Desirae

Fun Day At The Beach…NOT!! (August 2013)

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I received notice of a missing ring. Wes told me that he was in Cape May with his mom the other day. When they got home, 3 hours away, she noticed that her 5 year anniversary ring with 5 diamonds was gone. I told him I would look for it, but it would be in a day or two because of my work schedule. He said that would be great. He asked me what I thought the chances of finding the ring would be. I just responded saying that I would give it my best shot.

Before I could get to the beach, Wes sent me a picture from Google Maps. He marked up the map with the area they were sitting on the beach with approximate distances from objects. This would be a big help since I have never been to this beach before.

I left my house at 4am to catch the low tide. Almost hit a deer standing in the middle of Rt 55. I started to think that this wasn’t going to end well.

I got to the spot at 5:30. There was already someone there detecting the beach. He came right over to me and stated that I would only be finding trash. I asked why and he said that the beach was hunting every day by multiple people. I got a bad feeling. I was thinking to myself that this was going to be a wasted trip.

I searched anyway. I started finding tinfoil and bottle caps. Damn that guy was right, TRASH! I continued on. I found a quarter and a dime, giving me a sliver of hope. Next was a soda can that was buried. At least the sun was coming up and I have a great view of the light house.

After about 30 minutes I got a nice tone in my headphones. I scooped up the sand and BINGO! I had the ring. I looked around for the other guy so I could show him that it wasn’t all junk, but he was gone. I stayed an searched for about an hour finding more coins and a camera lens. No jewelry. I even found a geocache before returning home. It was still to early to give Wes a call.

After I got home I gave Wes a call. I started telling him about the other guy that was detecting and what he said. Then I told him I spent about 30 minutes on the beach & found the ring. He was so excited. He said his mom didn’t know that he contacted me. He said he had to hang up and he would call me back. He had to go tell his mom. He called back in 15 minutes. We made arrangements to meet 1 week later to return the ring.

My wife came along with me. We were meeting in King of Prussia PA. Wes & Karen were waiting for us. Wes is a lot younger than I thought. Once Karen saw the ring the tears started to flow and so did the hugs. She said she didn’t tell her husband that the ring was found, because she wanted to make sure that it was her ring. She also told us that today was their 23rd wedding anniversary. You just can’t make this stuff up. Wes informed us that he recently got a good metal detector to search for old coins. But it was to long of a drive to get back to the beach.

I loved returning lost items…

Below is Karen’s version of the story…
Who knew a fun time at Cape May N.J. beach would end in not being able to find your ring when you got home. The anxiety of not knowing if I would ever find it. And how to tell your husband you lost the ring he got you for your fifth anniversary. The best part is who knew your 17 year old son would take action. He posted on Craigslist a lost ring and a reward to who ever found it. The first response from add was Dave.

Like an angle from God he took action without any reservation, he talked to my son and off to Cape May to find my ring. Then out of the blue I received a phone call from my son while I was at work reporting to me the story of how he posted the add and how someone responded and found my ring. In disbelief I told my son to have the guy send him a picture of the ring. He did! There it was. My ring. Now how were we going to get it. This guy I didn’t know had my ring.

My son talked to Dave and set it up to meet 45 min from our home and 45 min from Dave’s home. Again anxiety how could we meet with a stranger in the parking lot of Costco and get this ring. Maybe we would get to the parking lot and he would want 500 dollars for the ring. Then what would we do! Sunday morning came and off we went to try to get this ring.

Entering the parking lot lots of ideas of how this would play out entered my mind. Then he called he was in the parking lot. Here we go! Butterflies fluttering while walking to his truck. Him and his wife got out of his truck and to my surprise there was my ring. He had not expectations on getting anything for finding it. When I saw the ring all I could do was cry and thank him!! After receiving the ring I told him how it was my 23rd anniversary. And what a great gift

On The Way To Cape May (October 2006)

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Dear Dave,
Thank You so very very much ! 🙂 “You” are “The Man” !! Without your kindness and understanding, as well as, your thoughtfulness, caring and love of metal detecting that ring would have been history! 🙁 I wrote a little blurb in the Capemaytimes.com “forum” webpage section under vacation tips requesting any help finding that ring before I found you.

That area of the beach was probably not very “used” since I left from my vacation. It is a bit away from the concession stands and such. No one to date has answered that “help” request. Maybe, someone nearby read it and went to hunt for the ring but came up empty. Luckily for us, you didn’t!

When you told me you were going to search for the ring, I broke down and told my girfriend (Beth) since she was still quite upset about it. It gave her hope and the knowledge that I wasn’t going to give up on finding it somehow. Besides, there’s no way I could really wait until Christmas to return it to her. I would have no problem driving to your house or somewhere nearby if you would feel more comfortable that way to pick up the ring. I don’t want to take any chances loosing it once again (mailing it/etc.); besides, I want to thank you in person. After all, you went out of your way, spent time, money on gas etc. You are a lifesaver!

I would “really” like to get it Saturday if at all possible. I work 2nd shift so I wouldn’t be able to be up, awake and ready to drive there until 11a.m. at the earliest. I look forward so much from hearing from you I hope I can sleep some tonight! I best go and leave a message for Beth !

Thank you again, Dave. Sincerely, Jack

Dear Dave, Beth and I figured that the money was a fair days pay for a job “well done”; although, we wish we could have done more for you. We’re happy you’re pleased with it. Although you didn’t see Beth cry when you returned her ring, she did on the way home. She is very thankful she has it back. Thanks again for all you did.

There’s not many people in this world that would have taken the time nor the trip to search for a ring that a stranger from the internet lost. Most sincerely, Jack

ps: although you were “The Man” for finding her ring ….”I” reaped the benefits! 😉

Playing Catch In The Ocean (August 21, 2013)

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Saw an ad on Craig’s List about a missing wedding ring on the beach in Ocean City. I responded and informed the person that they should remove the post immediately. There are way too many dishonest people around, and the post gave way too much information, including GPS coordinates to the spot. All of our contact was through a Craig’s List email address.

Kate explained that her husband was playing ball at high tide and he felt his ring come off while in the surf. Her day had an app on his phone so the recorded the GPS coordinates. I explained that I would head down the next day at Low tide and give it a shot, but with the information she posted it was probably already found.

I took the hour drive down to the beach with a GPS unit and my detector. I went to the coordinates and marked an X in the sand, the area was dry at low tide. I started a spiral pattern. About 20 feet from the X I had the ring. The inscription matched “09/10/11”. It was only days away from the 2nd anniversary.

I got home and tried to send Kate an email saying that I found the ring, but the email was returned. ‘s What I found out was when you cancel your Craig’s List ad the email expires. Oh boy I have no way to contact her. I tried contacting someone from Craig’s List but got no response. So I posted my own ad stating Kate I found your ring. By now their anniversary had passed.

I waited for weeks, no response. By now their anniversary had passed. I wasn’t ready to give up so I posted it again. Still nothing. My wife wanted me to give up. I said I will post one more time.

About a week later I received a message from a number I didn’t know. It said did you really find my husband’s ring? I wanted to know who this was and how they got my number. She explained who she was and that I had given her my number in one of our emails. She said she was thinking about the ring and was looking on Craig’s List and saw my post. I asked her where we could me to return the ring. Her & her husband live in Boston. They were in Ocean City for vacation when it was lost.

She called her dad and we made arrangements to meet in Phila the following weekend. I met her dad and he said He will keep the ring safe until Thanksgiving when Kate will be down to visit.

A lot of hard work went into returning this ring…

Playing in the Surf (August 8, 2013)

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Made contact with a gentleman who said he lost his wedding band over 2 weeks ago while on the beach. He said the surf was rough and he lost it when it was near high tide at the top of the slope. I said I would look for it but didn’t have much faith because I know that beach gets pounded with many detectors.

I went out at 4 am the next morning. I could see there was someone else with a detector in the area. It was low tide. 20 minutes into the hunt my detector broke. I had to return to my car and drive back to our rental and get another detector. This isn’t a good sign.

I return to the beach and now there are 3 people with detectors in the area. I start a grid pattern, up & back, up and back. At 6:15 am I am worried about time. Adam & I are schedule to go fishing at 8a. I decide I am going to start gridding north & south instead of east to west. At 6:45 I am ready to leave, when I get a good signal. On this detector all metals sound the same so I have no idea what is under the sand.

I look in my scoop and see a gold wedding band. Can this be the ring that I am looking for? When I get back to our place I confirm the inscription, it’s the ring. Wahoo another return!

We made arrangements to meet a few weeks later, since they weren’t from the area. They were so Happy to get their wedding ring returned.

Custom Wedding Band Lost in the Marina (September 9 2013)

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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

Lost Wedding Band

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To Dave and Larry,
To lose my wedding band in the Ocean on the 10th street beach in Ocean City, N.J. was devastating. If it was in the sand on the beach, I would have held onto a shred of hope, but not in waist deep water during the height of the tourist season! The only people to ask “what to do?” were the lifeguards. They referred me to the South Jersey Metal Detecting Club. We had a laptop with us so we went back to the house and shot you guys an email. You replied instantly with some questions, and it gave me hope of retrieving my wedding band 2 weeks before our 10th Anniversary! A week or so went by and I figured it was time to be realistic. Then came the phone call from Larry! He had found my ring! Under water amidst the crowds of swimmers and boogie boarders, he found my ring! He mentioned it to the lifeguards and they remembered me and my family and told him he may know whose ring it is. I described it to him and I couldn’t believe it! Dave, you and Larry and the rest of your club that enjoy searching and reuniting people with such sentimental objects such as wedding bands are beyond a shadow of a doubt some of the classiest guys I have ever had the privelege to know. Thank you for all that you have done! Thank you from my wife as well. Meeting you guys on that same beach was quite poetic and a real pleasure! I will NEVER forget what you guys have done for me! You’re going on the Christmas card list, but I’ll bury yours on the beach somewhere around Thanksgiving and give you another “heads up”!! Just kidding, ha-ha! Thanks again for everything Guys!!
Sincerely,

Jeffrey W. Richardson
Audubon, PA

Weekend At The Shore (My 1st Recovery)

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My parents took my 2 kids away to Canada for a long weekend. It just so happened to be my weekend off, so me & the Mrs. headed for Ocean City NJ. We found a nice place to stay Fri & Sat nite, 1 block from the beach. So we headed down early Fri morning. Stopped at Atlantic City on the way down to catch the Titanic Exhibit. Wow some really nice jewelry there. Sure wish I could find something like that.
The life guards leave OC beaches at 5pm on Fridays, so guess who was on the beach at 501pm. I took my XLT because low tide was earlier in the day, so I decided just to do the dry sand for now. No sooner did I step on the sand and turn on my XLT, I was approached by a crying 12 y/o girl. She asked me if I had found anything today. I explained that I just got here, and asked here what she lost. She explained that she lost a silver chain and a charm of St. Mary. I asked her if she had an idea of where it might be. She said yes. She had taken it off and put it on her towel, so she wouldn’t lose it in the water. Well she forgot that she did this and when it was time to leave she lifted her towel and shook all the sand of it. Oooopppppps.
I followed her to the spot. Searching in the sand were her mom, dad, sister and friends. I started to work a grid pattern. Boy the people who visit NJ beaches are SLOBS!! I found a ton of trash and 12 cents. We started to draw a crowd. After about 30 minutes the family thought I would never find it. They were going to leave the beach. I told the dad to give me the address of the place they were staying and leave a phone number. I told them I was only going to be there for 2 nights, they were leaving the next day. He did so, but I could see it in all their faces, they thought they would never see me or the necklace again. He offered me $5 for searching. I declined.
After they left I enlarged the search area. About 10 minutes after they left, guess what I found!!! If St. Mary wasn’t attached, I would have never found this chain. It was so thin!! Well I ran over to my wife and showed her. We left the beach, got changed and went to the boardwalk to make the phone call to meet up with the family. Darn, no-one home just and answering machine. I left my pager number.
The Mrs. & me were starving, so we decided to head to Mack’s & Manco Pizza on the boardwalk. Just as we were entering the building, I was approached by a man. He wanted to thank me for searching for the chain, it was the dad. I could only recognize him by his shirt. I said, we just called & left a message, as I pulled out the chain from my wallet. Well the girl was ready to cry again. Everybody was happy. They couldn’t believe I found it. We traded names, and phone numbers. I told them I might do a small article for one of the hobby magazines. We took a few pictures. The chain was from the girls 1st Holy Communion. She won’t be wearing it to the beach again!! Boy never had such a good feeling. This was my 1st returned item!!!

Head Over Heels in the Surf (August 2013)

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After spending the morning at DeMarco Detector Sales getting a new detector to replace my Excalibur, I went to the beach to attempt a recovery.

I was contacted by a distraught woman, Danielle, who was walking in the water with her fiancé when she was hit by a large wave, knocking her down in the water. She was flailing about; fearful she was going to drown. When she got home later she discovered that her engagement ring was gone.
When I met Danielle & her fiancé Daniel, they had a map drawn up with an X to mark the spot they thought the ring might be. They were walking north in knee deep water 2 hours before high tide when the incident occurred. I was here as low tide was approaching, hoping the ring would be in the wet sand.
I started a grid pattern. While searching, it started to rain, great… 15 minutes later a beautiful rainbow appeared. I thought that this might be a good sign. Well, I searched north for a block and a half. I rechecked the area with no luck. While searching I was watching Danielle. She kept crying. She was very upset. I felt bad.
I decided to check south of where they thought they were. I went another half a
block, no luck. I have been searching for 3 hours and my arm was getting tired.
I said to myself I am going to give it 2 more up & downs. The next down I
found the ring. I had it in my scoop.
Dan & Danielle didn’t see me dig it. I started walking toward them looking beat & depressed. She said I can’t believe how hard you worked. Let me pay you for your troubles & asked if I could come back on Saturday to look again. I showed her my scoop and she saw the ring. She started to jump up and down & the tears were flowing. She kept hugging me. She must have hugged me 40 times. I told her that Dan is going to get jealous. Dan was just stunned
that the ring was found.

We took some pictures and they gave me a very generous reward. The looks on their faces was really the only reward that I needed. I love that feeling of returning lost sentimental items and watching their reactions of the people who lost the item.

I love my hobby!!
PS: The new detector worked GREAT!!
Below is a letter from Danielle:
On Friday August ninth my evening began like so many others and ended like no other…My fiancée and I went to dinner and we were having a wonderful evening; great food, music and drinks. We were discussing what day we should plan our wedding, where the location would be etc. Later we left the restaurant and the idea of taking a walk on the beach to watch a lighting storm over the ocean seemed romantic and appealing. Once there, we walked hand and hand…the sound of the ocean and waves lapping up onto the shore was just so beautiful…so beautiful I decided I was going to go wading around in it. It was now dusk, and looking back, it wasn’t the brightest idea in the world because when I turned to look at my fiancée one of those very waves hit the back of my knees which caused me to loose my footing and down I went into the surf…I struggled to get myself up but it proved so difficult Daniel had to trudge in and come to my rescue.

Soaking wet and humiliated I made my way back to the car, dried off, changed into some clothes, and headed home…that’s when Daniel said “Babe…your ring!” I looked down to fine only a tan line where my ring once sat. It was gone…washed away in the tide when I struggled so foolishly to gain ground. I was instantly heartbroken and quite honestly, hysterical. I didn’t know what to do.

The next morning I woke at dawn and raced
to what I thought was the location, and began searching. Up and down the beach I walked straining my eyes in hopes to find this ring that meant so much to me, defeated I left only to return in the evening with a three pronged rake…I dug, and looked and cried, still there was no ring. It had seemed the ocean had
taken it for her own and the sadness and guilt I felt only deepened.

Later that night I was on the computer…my ring of course being the only thing I could think about; I began searching lost rings in the ocean. As I scrolled through a sea of tales written about similar experiences I stumbled onto a site TheRingFinders.com, my curiosity was peaked.

Clicking through the links I finally came across the name Dave Milsted and I
thought to myself “It’s worth a shot to shoot him an e-mail…what’s the worst
that could happen, he won’t answer”? Before I knew it I was writing to explain
my desperate situation and asking for help. I clicked send and I waited. No
sooner did I write I saw there was a reply…and it was Dave! I nearly jumped out
of my chair I was so excited, I actually got a response and he was interested
in coming to my aid…I had a shred of hope, finally.

After a brief correspondence Dave said he would be willing to search out my ring and that he could come that Monday…the longest two days of my life I must say, but I was overjoyed that there was a chance that maybe, just maybe, I would find this diamond in the sand. Monday finally came and Daniel and I met up with Dave at the beach entrance in Brigantine. I was a bit nervous due to the fact that the sky was beginning to look a bit ominous. The dark clouds stretched out over the dunes and we moved fast in an effort to cover what ground we could. Daniel pointed out where he roughly thought I went in and as I stood at the waters edge I thought “I think I was here” a bit south from where Daniel had suggested but he insisted, and I was unsure so I went and agonizingly looked on as Dave began his search.

Tirelessly he moved back and forth through the water and along the beach
scouring the sand with his new detector (I later found out I was the first to
break this one in); it began to rain and I looked at the sky silently pleading
for it to stop so Dave wouldn’t…he didn’t; instead he only continued. Finally,
the rain eased up and a rainbow broke out in the horizon just over head of
where Dave was working. Daniel said “Look a rainbow” I smiled a little and
hoped it was a sign but one hour, two hours, three hours passed and still no
ring. It wasn’t here I thought.

At this point my Rainbow man was now working in front of me in the tide; I told Daniel I was going to ask him if he would come back Saturday to work the South side where he was now inching towards, I just had this burning feeling it was there. Daniel was insistent that it wasn’t down that far but I said “It will make me feel better if I know this whole area was covered.” No sooner did I say it I saw Dave approaching and I slowly got myself up to meet him. As I moved closer to him I began to speak but before I could say a word he shook his sifter at me; I looked down and there it was, my ring!!! Dave pulled it from the ocean, and truly blew my mind! I was stunned, ecstatic and absolutely over the moon! Daniel couldn’t believe it. I must have hugged Dave ten times in that moment!

August 9th was one of the worst
days of my life, however, August 12th became the day I will most
remember and I have no one else but Dave to thank for that. He returned
something precious to me…something I thought I would never see again. I’ll
forever be thankful to you Dave. You are an angel…not just to me, but to so
many others and you will forever be…

my Rainbow Man. Thank you!

Chasing Dogs!! (October 2013)

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I received a call around noon on October 9th from Joan in North Central NJ. She was out in her back yard last night trying to get her dog inside. While in the struggle she lost her 30th Wedding Anniversary band.

She spent a long time in the dark with a flashlight with no luck. She had a friend come over today in the daylight and spent several more hours looking.
I was pressed for time and said I would be able to come up in about 8 days because of my schedule. She was worried about the lawn guys coming in a week.

I moved some things on my schedule and took the 1 hour and 20 minute drive. When I arrived Joan was not home. I gave her a call and she said she was 10-15 minutes away. She said to go into the back yard and start without her. She had marked the area that she though she lost it with a bag of apples. That was my starting point. 5 minutes later I had the most beautiful ring I have ever found in my hands, a platinum Tiffany’s ring with too many diamonds to count.

Joan arrived about 10 minutes later. I was sitting on her porch petting her dog. As she walked up I pulled the ring from my pocked. The reaction on her face was priceless!

Here is Joan’s story:

I waited thirty years for wedding band from Tiffany’s. I wore a wedding band that cost less than a $100 for years, switched to my mother’s wedding band after her passing, and when my mother’s band no longer fit I went without a wedding band for years. In the meantime, my husband was saving for a really special gift for our 30th anniversary, a wedding band from Tiffany’s. I had the ring less than a year, when one night I walked into my backyard to get my dog to come inside. The dog was busy eating an apple, and did not want to go back inside. I pulled at her collar, and with my left hand gave her a little push when off came the ring. I stood in the darkness and panicked. I marked my spot with a loose branch and raced to get a flashlight. Hours passed and I gave up. In the morning, a friend came over and along with my daughter we spent another four hours searching for the ring.

We all gave up and figured that an animal found it over night. It was gone. But my friend gave me Dave’s number, and he came over that afternoon. In less than five minutes he found my ring!

I also want to add that I wasn’t home when he arrived and told him to go into my yard and search for the ring. I arrived home ten minutes later and there was Dave sitting on my back steps petting my dog. He reached in his pocket and handed me the ring. What a feeling!

He is completely honest and competent.
Don’t waste time searching on your own. Call Dave.

Regards,
Joan

Don’t Forget The Sun Screen (August 3013)

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I received a call on 8/1/2013 from John. His wife lost her diamond ring on the beach in Beach Haven (LBI). He said she was putting sunscreen on their kids, took her ring off and put it on a towel. She forgot about it. The tide started to come in and they moved their stuff.

It wasn’t till later that she realized that her ring was missing. It was white gold ring with a lot of little diamonds. It was given to her by her husband when she was pregnant with her first child because her wedding rings didn’t fit anymore. So there is a lot of sentimental value in this ring.

It was lost a few days ago, and they are worried that someone had already found it. Maybe a kid was digging and buried it deeper. Maybe the rise took it away.

Adam (my son) & I met them on the beach just after 7am. They had both kids with them and they were ready to play on the beach. John showed us the beach but didn’t have an exact location. So Adam started at one end and I started at the other end, we will meet in the middle.

Very few targets were on this beach. I got a good tone on my Minelab Explorer, said this has to be it. Dug it and looked in the scoop. Just a piece of tin foil. Bummer. Found several more pieces of foil. After about of 30 minutes another good tone at the high tide mark. Bingo! I had the ring.

We walked over to their encampment on the beach. Once Kristyna saw the ring she started to cry. John said he thought he was going to cry also. The look on their faces was priceless!! It’s such an AWESOME feeling returning lost items.

Lost 1980 Philadelphia Eagles Championship Ring (August 2014)

I received a call from Keith in May. He said he had lost his 1980 Eagles Championship ring while doing yard work. He was heartbroken and told me how much the ring meant to him. He has worn it since he received it 34 years ago.

Our schedules weren’t lining up. He was going away in a few days, and then I was going away. I told him I would come over later that day even if it was still raining out. We agreed on 1 o’clock in the afternoon. He gave me his information.

It was raining very hard at 1pm. I was prepared, raincoat with hood, rain pants and waterproof hiking boots. I brought my water proof detector Minelab CTX-3030. It was a nice size yard. The street in front of the house was flooded from all of the recent rain.

Keith showed me what he was doing the day he lost the ring. I thought if it is here it should be an easy fine. WRONG!!

Keith had trimmed all of the bushes & hedges, raked the entire property, put a lot of the debris in the street which is now flooded, started a mulch pile and planted new items in a flower garden. He remembers at one point looking at his hand saying this ring is giving me a blister.

I started in the easy sections, the open yard, nothing! I started moving to the different gardens. Uh-oh, they are all lined with iron to stop the roots from entering. Metal detectors love iron. It makes them sing. Even when trying to discriminate iron out of the range, there was so much it was hard to determine if there were any other signals. The machine I brought had an 11 inch coil on it.

I couldn’t search the street because there is metal rebar under the surface. There was way too much debris out there to shovel onto the grass. If it’s out here the leaf sucker is going to get it. I spent about 3 hours looking. No luck.

Keith was disappointed and so was I. I really wanted to return this ring. I have been an Eagles fan for too many years. What an awesome story this would have been. I offered to come back at a different time when the weather was better. We said we would keep in touch.

A few months passed and I called Keith. He was staying in his summer cabin and wouldn’t be back in this area for some time. I asked if there would be anyone around, because I didn’t want to be on his property without someone being there. He said his wife would be there this week and it would be ok to go over to look.

He had already started the inquiry of what he had to do to get the ring replaced. He needed approval from the Eagles & the NFL plus a police report.

I went over a few days later and met Michelle. She added a few other tid bits, like when he was done the yard work he traveled to North Jersey. My heart sunk. I thought to myself, that is why I didn’t find it last time. It’s not here.

I returned with and older but reliable machine, a White’s Spectrum XLT with a 3 inch coil. This is to help reduce the amount of signals from all of the iron in the gardens. I started searching the areas I couldn’t do in the rain, like the large slope of ivy in the back yard. The only thing I found back here were hundreds of mosquitoes.

I moved to the mulch pile, moving stuff around, nothing. I’m getting frustrated. 2 hours later the last things to check are the gardens.

I expected the ring to pretty much be on the surface. It wasn’t lost that long ago. I finally get a good signal at close to 3 hours from when I started. I climbed under the bushes and moved away the debris. Nothing. I dig about a half an inch down. Is that gold? I dig a little more. It’s the ring!!

I must have jumped about 10 feet in the air. The ring was very heavy, and very muddy. I went back to my truck and cleaned it up. Took many pictures, then I called Keith. When I told him that I found it, he started to get choked up. He couldn’t believe that I had found it. He told me that he thought that is was gone forever. He said someone told him to pray to St Anthony, so he did.

We made arrangements to meet a few weeks later when he would be back in town. He even let me keep the ring for 24 hours so I could show it off before I returned it to his wife. When we met we took pictures & he signed a few Topps Football cards that I had brought with me from his playing days.

Here is a letter from Keith Krepfle Philadelphia Eagles Tight End #84:

Dear Dave,

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for finding my lost 1980 NFL Conference Championship ring with your metal detector. I was reasonably sure I lost the ring while doing spring clean-up in the yard.

The day I called you in desperation for help, you came over immediately to try and find the ring. Although the weather was miserably cold and pouring rain, you nonetheless scanned the yard for hours trying to find it. I was obviously disappointed when you could not find it, however you said you would like to return in warmer weather to try again.

I was not absolutely sure I lost the ring in the yard, and for weeks looked everywhere but unfortunately it did not turn up. By summertime I had completely given up hope and contacted the NFL League office to inquire about replacing it (custom molds for all Super Bowl rings are kept on file).

Then out of the blue in August you called me again, offering (at no fee) to come back for another search. On your second search, to my unbelievable surprise, YOU FOUND THE RING! under a landscaping bush. I was so thrilled when you told me, I actually broke down and cried with emotion/thankfulness.

I cannot thank you enough for your dedication, honesty, integrity and persistence, and whole heartedly recommend anyone contact you for help locating lost items. You are truly and Angel of God!

Keith Krepfle Philadelphia Eagles- tight end

Back Yard Trouble (Wedding Band) May 2015

Back Yard Trouble!

Received a call from Katie. She told me that her husband lost his wedding band in their back yard. She found me by searching the internet and found Ring Finders.

I asked several questions about how it was lost. We decided on a date & time for me to search for the ring.

I arrived on a hot & sunny day in May. Katie’s kids were sleeping, so she said that she would be out in a few minutes.

I had Katie show me about where her husband was. She said he was in the driveway, cleaning out his car. He was throwing something when his ring came off. I had her show me the direction that he mad his toss.

I thought that I had enough information to start the search. The detector that I chose for this hunt was my Minelab CTX 3030 with a 11 inch coil. I started my search an the area was clear of trash.

1.5 minutes into the search I got my first signal. I moved the grass around and bingo, I had the wedding band in my hand.

I walked towards Katie & showed her the ring. She was amazed that I had found it so fast. I took a few pictures and headed home. Another successful recovery!

Here is Katie’s Version:

“My husband lost his wedding ring several months ago when it slipped off of his hand into the neighbors yard. We looked for it every time we were outside and finally gave up, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about it knowing how close it was–virtually in our own backyard. I heard about Dave through a Facebook group and was elated at the possibility of finding the ring. Dave arrived and professionally introduced himself. When I took him to the yard he asked very specific questions about the events leading to the loss of the ring. I ran into my house to check on my son and within minutes Dave had my husbands ring in hand! Just like that, it was back and proudly on my husband’s hand. THANK YOU!”