Some of Our Happy Clients!

A ROLLING RING GATHERS SOME MOSS…

Turns out that even gold rings gather moss.

We got an email from Gregory asking us to hunt for his lost ring at one of the Big Island’s most hunted spots by metal detectorists – Hapuna Beach.

Gregory had been on his honeymoon and snorkeling in shallow water. At dinner, his wife noticed his ring was missing – and they were gutted to think they’d never see it again! (We hear many stories of newly-weds having their lost rings discovered at dinner…!)

It took Gregory a week to find us and there were some major hurdles working against finding his ring. The first was the fact that it had been over a week since he’d lost it. The second strike was that he’d lost off of one of the the most-hunted beaches in Hawaii. The third was he wasn’t here to retrace his steps or point out the most probable places it was lost! As we discussed the area, he was on the other side of the Pacific Ocean in Oregon…!

As I searched for the ring, I checked every crag and rock – including the little urchin holes – trying to imagine I was an adventurous man on his honeymoon, yet “not a strong swimmer” as he’d described his foray into the water. I worked from the sand – through the water, rocks and eddies made by the shifting tides. Nothing but a few pieces of junk.

As I got to the deepest point I could search, I turned around and retraced my steps back to the shallows, following the Google Maps points Greg had noted, as well as I could remember. The water was a slurry mix of fresh and salt water which causes one’s vision to blur.

A mossy circle grabbed my attention between two sea urchins jammed in the rocks. The blurry water and the swaying moss growing on the object felt almost dream-like as I pulled it out of its home between the sharp spines of the urchins. Almost as a magician had waved a wand, the object shed all of its camouflage as I pulled it close to my mask to inspect it – from green moss to brilliant white and yellow gold – the ring glimmered into reality in front of my eyes!

I took a moment underwater to thank God, appreciate this beautiful, ornate and heavy ring, and contemplate what it would mean to Gregory and his new wife that I’d found it.

The ring had been hidden but it had almost jumped out at me as I passed even though it had “grown” moss over the week it had been lost. We’re so glad to have been part of this story in their new marriage.


Big Island Metal Detecting is Hawaii’s TRUSTED ring-recovery service and a proud member of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce.

LOST at SEA for TWO MONTHS – RING REUNITED and GIVES HOPE to OWNER

It was a busy day for Big Island Metal Detecting! Two desperate callers rang within 10 minutes of each other requesting searches for their lost jewelry. What started out as two recoveries ended with the discovery of a third ring! Since all searches are time-sensitive, Sylvie searched one beach looking for the lost wedding ring – while Brent searched another beach with his friend for a lost earring.

During his search, Brent found a very large ring under the water with the inscription “Dario Loves Fallon” written on the outside. Lost Ring Mauna Lani

As the ring did not belong to either client, we went to work to track down the owner, a feat we thought would be nearly impossible, especially without a last name to search the World Wide Web!

A Google search turned up only one page that promised a little hope of identifying the owner. A Go Fund Me webpage had the matching names, “…Dario, Fallon’s husband..” The Go Fund Me page was set up to request contributions because Fallon had a life-threatening medical emergency and required immediate surgery. Following the page links and using the new details, it was then possible to then find their Facebook pages – which indeed had photos of them on the Big Island of Hawaii a month earlier!

 

Diamond Engagement FOUND after Snorkeling in Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii!

“Rae of Hope”

We got the call to go to Hilo to find a lost diamond engagement ring on a recent, rainy afternoon. It’s an two hour drive away and the ring was lost at Onekahakaha Beach Park in the public swimming area.
Raelyn met us in the parking lot with her young son and we quickly got the full story.

She had tried snorkeling for the first time ever in the large but protected, rock-and-sandy bay. After only a few minutes of putting on her mask and snorkel, she stood up in chest deep water and realized that her precious diamond engagement ring was missing from her finger. It had definitely been on as she’d gotten in the water as, ironically, she’d removed her gold wedding band so as not to lose it!

We retraced her steps into the water along a small sea wall which jutted into the shallow bay with little steps down either side. She showed us how she’d walked into the deeper water, put on her mask and paddled around into deeper water. As the tide was at its lowest, we decided to start at the deepest point she’d been, which was now just over waist deep.

As we searched, Raelyn and her son swam and watched us carefully metal detect the sandy bottom. Every once in a while we’d ask her to try and remember exactly where she’d been, or if we were still in the same area she remembered being in.
Several times when retracing her movements she mentioned swimming away from shallow, brown stones. I thought it was an interesting thing to remember and asked her to show me where the brown stones were. Just near the entrance of the swimming area, where she’d first put on her mask, was a small field of algae-covered, cannonball-sized stones. I decided to try my luck and started searching the area using a newly purchased Minelab Excalibur. Sylvie faithfully continued hunting the deeper water with her Garrett SeaHunter.

Play Video

Looking over at Raelyn, she was now sitting on the nearby sand talking to her husband on the phone while her son played in the shallows. A glint of white gold peaked out from under the sand in about knee-deep water as I turned back. I’d found it!
I signaled Sylvie and Raelyn then turned on the GoPro to film it coming out of the sand, “live”! Both ladies rushed over and I pulled the ring out out of the sand and handed it to a jubilant Raelyn! She held her hands over her mouth for a moment in disbelief. “I’d just told my husband on the phone I didn’t think we’d find it!”
There IS always a ray of hope when looking for lost rings – and we’re so happy when it shines down on our clients.

Contact us immediately if you’ve lost your ring or other valuable!​

We’re Hawaii’s TRUSTED metal detecting and recovery service. 

HAPPY WIFE – HAPPY LIFE: Ring Recovery in the Water at the Fairmont Orchid Hotel, Mauna Lani, Big Island Hawaii

Mauna Lani, Big Island – Logan and Samantha had been swimming in the lagoon at midnight after a work conference at The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii on the Big 1010Island, Hawaii. They, along with friends and colleagues, had been having fun in the water after a work wrap-up party.

Sam realized her wedding band had slipped off her finger into the dark water. But she quickly realized she’d lost not just one but two rings! Her engagement ring must have come off first – but she had no idea where that had been lost – in the water, on the shore – where?!? Her wedding band now also seemed lost in the dark forever.

We got “the call” the next morning and arrived at the small bay an hour before noon to search for the lost rings. Sam looked distraught and Logan looked really unhappy at the situation of his unhappy wife!
We started looking right away, with Sylvie searching the shallows with her Garrett Sea Hunter and me going a little deeper in the water with my Minelab Excalibur II.

Lost Ring Found! A happy ring recovery from the beaches of the Big Island of Hawaii at the Fairmont Orchid Hotel and Resort on the west coast.

The Fairmont Hotel has little water movement so our biggest concern to recovering the ring was that fact that it was so late in the afternoon already – maybe the beach had been searched earlier that morning and the rings had been found by treasure hunters!

After an hour of carefully detecting back-and-forth I suddenly hit a strong signal. There had been no other solid signals until then, deepening our fears that the area had already been detected. I scooped the signal in the water – nothing – then scooped again. A diamond-encrusted wedding band was in the scoop! Logan ran over and while happy for the find, was now concerned to find the second, more valuable engagement ring. We continued to search – going over and over the area we thought it was in.
Sylvie expanded the search area and signaled that she’d found something under the sand. Her detector does not discriminate between metal objects like mine does, so she dug in the sand (under about 2 feet of water with her long-handled scoop), not sure if she’d be pulling out a bottle cap or a ring.

Sylvie looked into the basket of her scoop and grabbed something and held it high for Logan and Sam to see who were down the beach. The entire beach – even the beach bar – all started clapping! Sylvie held a large, gleaming two-carat engagement ring in her fingers. The beachgoers must have been watching the long hunt and the applause was great, but seeing Sam reunited with her treasures – and Logan’s praise and relief were worth a million!
Sylvie always says that we’re in the Business of Saving Marriages This time it really was our own ‘married teamwork’ that saved the day with one ring-recovery each!

The insanely large solitarie diamond ring recovered from The Fairmount Orchid Hotel by Big Island Metal Detecting.
The insanely large solitarie diamond ring recovered from The Fairmount Orchid Hotel by Big Island Metal Detecting.

Ring Recovery – Diamond Wedding Ring Found in Kua Bay, Big Island Hawaii

Kua Bay, Big Island – Laura called us this morning and left a message saying she had lost her ring
at Kua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii. 2016-03-07 11.05.48We were concerned as we know at this time Kua Bay has some very large waves. Brent called her back and she informed us she was playing with her kid in 1 foot of water and saw the ring fly off her finger go up the shore with the water. She assured us that she knew exactly where the ring was lost. Her husband spent the rest of the afternoon looking for the ring. As we know, rings sink in matter of a few seconds. Brent told her the possibilities of a small ring in a large ocean – but also mentioned what we know of many-a-ring lost in sandy areas – that there is a great possibility that it would have be trapped by the immediate sand and was still near where she lost it!

We checked the waves and weather report and it said that high waves were developing into dangerous conditions by the evening. This was not a good forecast for ring recovery.

We felt that because it was so shallow – and in a sandy area – and because she knew exactly where she lost it (as she had seen the ring come off) that there was a good possibility we could find it, despite the waves.

We were also approaching low tide so needed to act quickly. We agreed to meet Laura at Kua Bay, who had a 90 minute drive ahead of her as she was coming from another side of the island.2016-03-07 11.07.54

We had a general idea of where it was so both Brent and I (Sylvie) began searching before she arrived. Brent with his Excalibur (Minelab) and me with my trusty (Garett) Sea Hunter (which actually does just fine around the lava even though it is a pulse induction detector). We could see the tide was getting higher and higher and also rougher and angrier. Laura arrived and narrowed down our search area.

Brent found it 15 minutes later!!! People on the beach who had been watching all clapped when he presented it to her! Laura had posted signs the night before at the beach – and some people asked us if we were looking for the ring the in the “lost” posted signs.

It was one of the most unique and beautiful rings we have seen. Laura confessed that she did not think we would find it but had been praying. It was so great to hand her back her rainbow wedding ring. This was a ring design she had seen when she was 15 and she’d told herself that when she got married this would be the ring her husband would give her. She has been married 9 years.

Mahalo! Laura for trusting us to find your ring!! We’re so glad its still part of your life!

Laura told us she had her husband’s prayer group praying for the recovery. Brent had also started praying as soon as he heard we’d be going out to look for the ring! It seems to have worked. Brent continued metal detecting for fun for another 30 minutes and said had we arrived to look for Laura’s ring any later it would not have been possible as the waves had started pounding hard.

Ring recovered on Kua Bay Beach

NOTE: If you lose your ring please don’t post signs and be careful whom you tell – we know there are people who will take advantage of the information that you lost a valuable item. We have been told that some metal detectorists prefer to collect their finds and not make an effort to return them to their owners. Please only tell trusted sources.

Newlyweds Lost Ring Found at the Fairmont Orchid in Mauna Lani, Big Island Hawaii

Mauna, Lani, Big Island – I received an email on Thursday night from Keila saying her husband of five days had lost is his wedding band in Mauna Lani at the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Normally my husband Brent and I work as a team metal detecting on the Big Island, Hawaii with Brent doing all the in water searching and me covering the sand. As he uses a more sophisticated Minelab he can also detect better around all the mineralized lava. My detector is my trusty pulse induction Garret Sea Hunter. I have successfully recovered a ring before with it and found gold but not while in waist deep water. (It’s great for SCUBA).

Unfortunately Brent was away on a job so I needed to make a judgment call as to weather I would be capable to search with a good chance of recovery. I looked at some pictures and the bay which was very protected and looked very sandy.

Keila and her new husband Matt assured me that it was very shllow and there was little water movement. I told them I would have to wait until Saturday and could go out then and please let me know if there had been any other detectorists.

I hired a friend to help me dig and we met Matt on Saturday morning. Unfortunately what I did not realize was that it is probably a man made lagoon and that there is a lot of lava rock underneath the sand which Is not very deep, maybe 3 inches before hitting lava. have heard not all detectorists in the area try to return the rings.

I set out on a search pattern in the small area and getting a lot of small and false signals. Also the water was more like 2-4 feet deep and I did not bring any scuba with me.
I looked for about 1.5 hours and then Matt and Keila had to go catch their plane. I assured them I would keep looking.

I got some strange signals near the rocks but mostly half a signal, only beeping on one swing of the detector and not two. I was getting distraught thinking Brent would need to come out with is Minelab if no one else found it first.

I decided to do one last sweep of the area and then I heard it, a proper signal, actually a double beep and on each swing of the Garrett! I asked my assistant to dig and there it was! A very nice 14k brushed white gold ring!!! Yay my first in water recovery! I immediately sent
a message to Matt and Keila who were already at the airport. What a great feeling knowing there honeymoon ends with happiness and I will soon be sending them the ring!!!

Newlyweds’ Lost Wedding Ring FOUND at the Hilton Hotel Waikoloa, Big Island, Hawaii

Waikoloa, Big Island -Van and Ellie called us with bad news and good news. The bad news was that Van had been swimming in the Hilton hotel’s lagoon in Waikoloa and lost his new wedding ring! He’d put sunscreen on and within minutes of getting in, felt it fly off as he moved his hand through the water.

The good news was that since he had felt it slip off – he’d marked the precise location, time and depth before calling us.

There were no waves in the lagoon, the deepest part of the lagoon was shoulder depth and within a controlled space (as opposed to a public one – so someone who may have seen them searching couldn’t return and keep Van’s ring if found).

We met them at the entrance to the main lobby where the hotel had also arranged security to log us in and bring us to the lagoon. We were relieved for the buggy ride as the hotel grounds are huge and we’d brought two underwater detectors as well as light scuba gear in case…

Van climbed over the rocks and went into the water with me while Sylvie gave me (and Van’s wife Ellie) moral support from the nearby shore. Sylvie didn’t get in as I thought it would be a quick find – since everything was going in our favor – it was almost an “ideal” location.

One and a half hours later, I was starting to worry… We’d gone over-and-over the square he’d marked the moment his ring was lost. I continued to expand the search at every pass. Sylvie called over, “Should I gear up and bring in the Sea Hunter?” We use the pulse induction Garrett Sea Hunter MkII with a big coil in clean sandy-bottomed areas.

“I think so…” I replied not sure how I – or my Minelab Excalibur could have missed the ring. I was getting cold and frustrated that something seemingly so right had gone so wrong.van ring closeup
Just as Sylvie started walking over to get the other detector I suddenly heard the loud clear tone that tungsten makes in my headphones. “Cancel that!” I yelled over to Sylvie. Van looked up. He was holding the Go Pro and started filming. I stuck my head in the water, scooped and looked into the basket. “Does it look something like this?!” I asked, picking the ring out of the mud and stones.

Van and Ellie were so relieved to have their precious ring found!

And so were we – Phew!

Large Diamond Ring Found in Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Kailua Kona, Big Island We got the call to find a lost diamond ring – a 2+ carat stone set in heavy gold – at a private residence.
The ring had bounced out the bedroom door at night – and couldn’t be found on the balcony or yard below.
Due to the massive rains we’d been having, and the fact that the grass would be mowed the next day, we got the urgent call and luckily could come over the same day.

Two Lost Diamond Rings Recovered in Hawi on the Big Island of Hawaii

We got an urgent call from a family on vacation who had lost two diamond rings in the water near Hawi, Hawaii (Big Island), while swimming with their children in the ocean.

We drove about 1 hour and 45 minutes to the small State Park of Keokea to recover the rings and met them in the parking lot.

It turns out that Avesta had lost both of her precious rings – one a diamond ring with a whooping 2.75 carats in platinum. The disappointment of both Avesta and her husband, Hamid, was visible at loosing their valuable rings but they were both optimistic at our chances of finding them.

I put my mask on and hit the shallow water with my Excalibur II metal detector. After a 30 minute search we had found a pocket full of coins but no rings. Swinging back into a sandy area, suddenly I heard the low growl of platinum in my metal detector’s headphones. “I don’t want to give you false hope but think I’ve found a ring,” I said.

Sure enough, the basket held a gleaming ring with nine diamonds in a row. Hamid picked it out of the basket, happy, and eager to see if the second ring was also nearby. As I put the detector back in the water, a second signal was instantly in the headphones! And right there, we recovered both rings, one after the other, where they had been lost and sunken into the sand. The second ring we recovered was a whooping 2.75 carat diamond ring – you can see the joy and surprise on their faces on the video – when getting back their lost – and now found – treasure!

“Lucky me that I found you guys. Thank GOD!!!!!” Avesta wrote in an email the next day. “Phewwww so lucky I am!! FYI it was our 8 year anniversary the day you found the ring, makes it even more special.”

 

Lost Ring Found Waikoloa Beach Area, Hawaii – Speedy Recovery

This was a great recovery for several reasons! First, it marked the first ring recovery we’ve done since moving to the Big Island of Hawaii and joining Ring Finders three months ago. We were so happy to help Pedro and Martyna from Poland find her lost engagement ring! Second, this recovery set a new personal speed benchmark for finding lost rings! Martyna had put the ring on a hat to shoot at sunset in memory of their one-year engagement at the same spot. Unfortunately the ring fell off the hat the moment a wave swept up and it was gone…! They spent the evening looking for the ring with their fingers in the sand, and by the time they’d called us and we could make the hour’s drive to their location out at Anaeho’omalu Beach, Waikoloa, it was noon. Martyna told us she’d spent the night in tears. Arriving on the beach, I was a little worried to see Pedro and Martyna’s friends – about six of them – all on their hands and knees raking fingers thru the sand and digging piles of sand here and there. Fortunately, they showed me the exact spot she’d lost the ring. I asked everyone to stand back and switched on our Excalibur II metal detector. Two, then three sweeps of the coil and, “HELLO!” I hear the growling lowish tone of platinum within 5 seconds. I asked Sylvie to switch on the GoPro but by the time she’d turned the power on, the ring was in the scoop and Martyna was hugging, Pedro, me, Sylvie and all her friends! Total search and recovery time was about 10 seconds! I wish all recoveries were that straight-forward – for everyone’s sake!

Found 1 Month After Losing It At The Beach

A man here lost his Tiffany&Co. men’s platinum wedding ring while playing with his son in the ocean not far from our house. Today, one month later, we found it for him in neck-deep water!!! It was the third time I’d looked but clear water, a long-handled scooper, new headphones and lots of prayers all worked together! Pulling it out of the scoop underwater I automatically knew we’d finally found it for him!

Brent returning the Tiffany platinum wedding band to the very happy owner. This was lost over a month ago and after 3 attempts and some upgraded equipment Brent was able to find it.

The first attempt was a week after it was lost. It was found in about 5 feet of water during high tide and lost in about 1.5 feet of water during low tide.

 

Platinum And Diamond Ring Found After Losing It In The Sand

We got a call last night from a GM hotel friend that her friend had just lost her 1 carat, platinum, custom-made engagement ring yesterday on the beach! Her fiancé had the ring customer made it was she had not even had it a month.

So….we sent her a quick email and this morning met her and her fiance at the beach early. We brought to full sets of SCUBA gear and 2 metal detectors. Brent searched in the water while Sylvie searched in the sand. They were pretty sure they had lost it in the water.

After 40 mins of searching with the Garrett SeaHunter MkII, Sylvie found the ring about 8 inches below the sand much to the relief and joy of the happy couple!