GeekyBeach Metal Detecting

GeekyBeach Metal Detecting

Metal Detecting & Lost Item Recovery

Tag: RingFinders

Ring Recovery on Stinson Beach in California

This ring was found all thanks to GPS and some photos on the beach. I was contacted after a man lost his wedding ring on the beach. Usually when this…

This ring was found all thanks to GPS and some photos on the beach.

I was contacted after a man lost his wedding ring on the beach. Usually when this happens, the search area is very large (it’s not always easy to know exactly where you were and memories can be deceptive). As a metal detectorist, I do my best to find lost items before they are swallowed by high tides, so I have to narrow down the search as much as possible.

I always ask my search clients if they took photos on their beach day, and fortunately they did! Not only would I be able to use the photo to match up the background and determine where they were sitting, their phone also recorded their GPS coordinates.

After a quick 30-minute search and lining up my vision with the background of their beach photos, I had his 14K gold wedding band back above the sand. It’s just a matter of digging – not only into the sand, but into the details! I use every bit of data to narrow down the search and strike gold.

Photo of the ring after I recovered it from on Stinson Beach.

Photo of the ring after I recovered it from on Stinson Beach.

Story from the Ring’s Owner:
“Me and my wife were visiting Stinson Beach on a sunny afternoon. After enjoying a great snack we walked around then the sun started setting. As we got back to our blanket, it was time to start packing up so I started rubbing the sand off my feet. And just like that I rubbed my wedding ring off my finger. It’s bizarre to experience but I could tell that the ring was off but I had no sense whatsoever about which direction or how far it had flown from where I was sitting. My wife, my friend and I started to comb the sand around us for about an hour. The darkness kicked in, we had to head back despite knowing that the ring was somewhere right there we had to abandon it and head home.

In my devastation and desperation I googled around for professionals who could help and found Laura! I emailed her and we got into a conversation. After a few rounds of emails she had enough information about the location (based on geolocated images) and agreed to do a search…she sent me an email with a picture stating that she found my ring 🙂 What a truly unbelievable but relieving moment that was for me and my wife! We are forever thankful for Laura as my ring and I are now reunited thanks to her mailing to me 🙂

Thank you Laura, you are awesome!”

Photo of the ring owner's hand.

The owner’s ring back on his hand after recovering it from Stinson Beach.

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Tiny Gold Ring

I had the most adorable ring finding experience last week! A hopeful dad contacted me because his daughter accidentally lost her special baby ring while playing with a friend in…

I had the most adorable ring finding experience last week! A hopeful dad contacted me because his daughter accidentally lost her special baby ring while playing with a friend in the yard.

She wasn’t supposed to be playing with it, but we all remember being a kid and only doing what our parents said, right?! I shared a story about how I opened a collectible Barbie doll that was hiding in the closet when I was kid thinking I could repackage it so that mom would neeeever know. I was wrong. ; )

Both dad and daughter joined me to search their front yard. She even wanted to learn how to use my pinpointer to help me search! After a long, sweaty search, we were about to call it quits. Maybe the ring ended up somewhere else?

But I’ve learned over many past experiences that just when I’m about to give up, that’s when I need to give it another shot. Sure enough, about ten minutes into that last attempt…there it was, face down between the grass blades. The tiniest ring I’ve ever seen!

tiny gold ring

I had a hard time finding it because I was using an 11″ coil and it ended up being very close to the concrete driveway. It was a difficult process to carefully use the pinpointer to check along the perimeter, but it worked!

We all learn through these experiences as kids and even as adults. It’s okay – get out there and learn something new as a result!

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Hillside Ring Recovery

I received a call on the evening of Jan. 3, 2023 from a man whose wedding ring fell off on his property – a steep hillside home. He had searched…

I received a call on the evening of Jan. 3, 2023 from a man whose wedding ring fell off on his property – a steep hillside home. He had searched for a while and was hoping a metal detector would make the job easier.

It was already dark, but with an enormous winter storm predicted for the following day, there was a bit of urgency to find it quickly before heavy rain could wash it farther down the hill. Though it would be dark and the hill already damp from prior rain, I decided to venture out equipped with headlamps and hope.

What happened?

He was unloading groceries from the trunk of his car when the ring flew off his hand and started rolling down the driveway. He managed to see it happen and watched the ring, figuring it would stop on the concrete. Nope! His ring apparently had a daredevil streak – it launched itself off the concrete over the side of the road and down the hill next to the home.

I brought my Minelab CTX3030 and Equinox 800 (Minelab Metal Detectors ). When I arrived, he had assistance from three other men who were exploring the slope. As a transplant only one year ago from flatter than flat parts of the country, I’m still new to and intimidated by hills. I offered to give a quick lesson on the lightweight Equinox since they were far more adept with the hillside than I would be.

I set up the Equinox properly for the situation and target, and gave one of the gentlemen a crash course: easy…listen for the bleep! Then off he went down the hill while I checked out another spot that was easier to access. Within about 10 minutes or so, I heard the happy words: “Found it!”

Mens wedding ring shown in the hand of its owner after recovery on hillside.

My box lantern illuminates the owner’s hand after his ring was recovered.

Because they had all been searching for probably a couple hours, this was a major relief and exciting moment. I was particularly happy that even though I didn’t find it myself, I was able to bring the joy and excitement of metal detecting to another person. And of course relief to the ring owner!

It was a smart move by the ring owner to call someone with the right tool, and the experience to set it up quickly and properly for the situation.

This goes for many parts of life – not just for metal detecting. We can often feel like trying to handle obstacles on our own either personally or professionally. The additional help along with a metal detector made the recovery happen much quicker. And in my case, handing off the detector to someone with better hill skills!

There is perhaps no better example than asking you to imagine the last time you tried to DIY something in your home and it wasn’t as simple as you thought. Plumbing quickly comes to mind for me. I’m sure we all have examples from our professional lives as well.

In this case and so many others, it’s worth calling on your fellow villagers for assistance!

Lose something special? Call a RingFinder! RingFinders is a global directory of metal detectorists just like me who can help you recover lost metal objects.

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RingFinders in San Francisco

A story posted by SFGATE, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle, features metal detectorists in the city who have helped locals find their lost items through the website…

A story posted by SFGATE, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle, features metal detectorists in the city who have helped locals find their lost items through the website RingFinders.

Just like the detectorists listed in the story, Marshall Smith and James Badgett, I am also listed on the RingFinders website. I have been listed there for several years now, originally in the Miami, Florida area. You can see some of my stories on geekybeach.com, like an amazing ring recovered for a Florida tourist!

Now that I have relocated to San Francisco bay area, I am listed for Stinson Beach, which is a common tourist beach location in Marin County.

Be sure to view the story, because there are some really great photos and stories from the detectorists featured!

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Diamond Ring Recovered on Haulover Beach, Florida

A beachgoer in Miami Florida contacted me early morning on May 12, 2021 to recover a diamond ring lost the night before. She was a wreck searching for the ring…

A beachgoer in Miami Florida contacted me early morning on May 12, 2021 to recover a diamond ring lost the night before. She was a wreck searching for the ring and couldn’t sleep. Fortunately, she kept track of her position on the beach and we met before sunrise on Haulover Beach in Miami, Florida, USA.

It was a quick search in the dry sand near the tide line and within about 15 minutes, the ring was found and returned to the owner just as the sun broke through the clouds at the horizon.

Beautiful morning and a great way to start the day for this young lady who thought fast, did a web search and found theringfinders.com!

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Recovery Story: Heirloom Diamond Ring

I was just beginning my day when I received a call from Mousha – she told me that she lost her precious heirloom diamond ring the previous day on the…

I was just beginning my day when I received a call from Mousha – she told me that she lost her precious heirloom diamond ring the previous day on the beach after getting tumbled by the waves at the shoreline. I dressed in my warm swimming gear and biked to her location at the nearby lifeguard tower.

She had a very good description of where she had been sitting, swimming, and approximately where she was when the waves got a little rough. Her brother helped her estimate about how far away she had been from their sitting location when she was in the water. That description was incredibly helpful for coming up with a search plan.

I started with a W pattern along the high tide line down to the churn of the current tide first. Because the tide was moving out, I planned to move deeper into the water if nothing turned up in the wet sand. When someone shares a story of how they think their ring fell off, it’s important to listen closely and ask a lot of questions.

“I sat and prayed and she went out to begin her mission. I literally had no hope for her to find it but I was flabbergasted by her genuine niceness and her willingness to look.” – Mousha, Ring Owner

About an hour into the wet sand search, my CTX 3030 came back with a very solid signal…

I scooped about 8 inches of sand which contained the target, so I moved up to avoid the waves. As I spread out the sand from the scoop, I was thrilled to see the shape of a ring on its side. I picked it out of the sand, cleaned it off, and sure enough..it was a beautiful ring just as she described. I grabbed my gear, marked the spot in the sand and ran back to join her near the guard tower. She couldn’t miss the huge smile on my face as I had her describe it one more time…then I revealed it to her.

The beautiful family heirloom ring designed by Mousha

That moment – the moment when I see someone’s face light up – is what it’s all about for me. That item had so much meaning to her, it’s not just a valuable ring, it’s a piece of her life and heart. I loved hearing her describe the meaning. She had designed the ring herself using scrap pieces of gold and diamonds that belonged to her mother and grandmother.

She later shared that she felt like a part of her heart was drifting in the ocean. Now she has this connection to her mother and grandmother back with her where it belongs. I’m very glad that she found Ring Finders with the help of her brother and decided to take a chance and give me a call!

Ring owner, Mousha, wearing her family heirloom ring again right after finding it.

“The waves were very strong and I found myself tumbling in the strong current near the shore. When I got back to our spot I realized that my precious ring that I had designed using scrap pieces of gold, and diamonds from the pieces that were left to me by my mother and grandmother, was gone. You can only imagine how sad I felt missing what I held close to my heart so I always feel connected to my mother may she rest in peace. (Hence the reason I wore it to the beach because I never take it off). I searched the beach for hours and left feeling like a part of my heart was drifting in the ocean.” – Mousha, Ring Owner

Back on her hand in about an hour-long search.

So how do rings that seem tight come off in the ocean?

I hear so often that they can’t imagine a ring that is so tightly fit would just come off. Temperature of the water makes a big difference. If you are in chilly water, your hands are going to shrink up a little. Just enough to potentially make it easier to get rings off. Then if you are splashing around or get caught up in the sand and waves, the friction can just grab it without you even noticing.

I always share that it would be best to leave them at home, but if you’re traveling it can be scary to not have them on you. So at the very least, engraving your precious items can mean if you lose them it’s easier to know that it belongs to you. Some people use things like this ring protector that can be worn to help prevent loss. It might look a little goofy, but the feeling of losing it is worse!

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Mens Wedding Ring Recovered

I was on my way to the grocery store when I received a call from Jerrica – her husband had just lost his gold wedding band in the Atlantic Ocean…

I was on my way to the grocery store when I received a call from Jerrica – her husband had just lost his gold wedding band in the Atlantic Ocean off of Sunny Isles Beach, FL. I did a quick U-turn for home, changed into my water detecting outfit and grabbed my CTX 3030.

They made a smart move by finding the RingFinders website and calling me so quickly. Because they remained in the location where it was lost and were patient, they were able to accurately point me toward the water right where they believed the ring came off. They were able to describe it and he remembered feeling it come loose in the water.

I expected a long hunt because it is a very popular stretch of beach – lots of tourists and a fair amount of aluminum trash too. But to my surprise (and theirs), the ring was my first target!

I loved seeing the excitement from them and their friends who were shocked at how quickly it was found. All because they had the patience and quick thinking to call right away!

Losing engagement and wedding rings is very common in the water. Even though it feels tight normally, when you enter cooler water your hands will shrink up a bit in response to the cooler temperatures. That makes it very easy to come flying off when you are fighting waves! There are products like ring guards which will help keep them on your hand if you aren’t comfortable leaving them in the hotel room.  Some people use things like this ring protector that can be worn to help prevent loss. It might look a little goofy, but the feeling of losing it is worse!

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