March 10th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Tuesday I was called out to Freshwater Beach to search for Dan’s lost gold ring. Dan had placed the ring on his t shirt, and when lifting his shirt the ring had fallen somewhere in the sand. Dan had an idea where the ring was, but frustratingly could not find it in the loose sand. About an hour after Dan’s phone call, I arrived at Freshwater Beach and found where Dan was sitting. He showed me the spot he believed the ring to be. After about 3 minutes of searching, I received a nice clear signal from my metal detector which was  in the gold signature range. With the use of my pin pointing device, I was able to locate the signal which was indeed Dan’s lost gold ring. After some of the tricky and difficult jobs I have had lately, it was nice to have a quick efficient recovery Dan, thanks so much for your honesty and quick internet payment. Very much appreciated.

March 2nd, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Alex had this misfortune of dropping his wedding ring on the decking of the Manly Yacht Club. Somehow by sheer chance, the wedding ring managed to fall down a small crack between the wood decking, and into the water below. Alex mentioned that at the time the ring dropped, it was high tide and about 5 ft deep. I met Alex at low tide, and he showed me exactly where the ring had dropped through the crack. I figured this would be an easy 5 minute job, but as it turns out I would be very wrong. The area where Alex’s wedding ring had dropped, just happened to be an underwater junk yard! There was so much metal in area the ring dropped that trying to use the metal detector become frustrating. My only option was to start digging every signal, even signals I knew we’re not platinum. I just needed to get this junk metal out of the way. After close to two hours of digging I was exhausted. I had removed a huge amount of metal, but none of this metal happened to be the precious metal Platinum. Being frustrated, and knowing the ring had to be close by, I mentioned to Alex I would attempt a second search free of charge. This time I came with more man power, Tony from Jewellery Rescue. Both myself and Tony spend another 2 hours digging without any luck. If any other metal detector guys happen to find a Platinum wedding ring under the Manly Yacht Club, please contact me. Alex is happy to pay a reward.

March 2nd, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Last week I was called out to Waroonga, a beautiful suburb about 50 minutes north of Sydney. Belinda had noticed both her wedding and engagement rings missing, and was told by her daughter that her one and a half year old toddler was last seen playing with the rings in the front yard. After an extensive search for the rings, Belinda decided it was time to call me in for the job. Belinda was in the process of having her yards excavated so I needed to find these rings before they we’re lost forever. Both Belinda and her daughter pointed me to the area that little Jack was last seen playing with the rings. After beginning my search in the obvious areas, I decided to grid search the entire front yard to no avail. This was confusing, how far could a 18 month year old boy throw two rings? I asked Belinda if I could check the backyard, which was half excavated. After about 10 minutes of searching the backyard, I recieved a signal with the metal detector within inches of where old grass had been dug out, and new soil laid. I couldn’t believe it, it was Belinda’s wedding ring. As I bent down to pick it out of the dirt, I eye balled the diamond engagement ring hiding not far beside it. Both the rings we’re sitting withing inches of where the bulldozer had stopped digging. This was definitely Belinder’s lucky day! As you can see by the smile in the photos, Belinda was incredibly happy and relieved to have her sentimental rings back on her finger. Belinda, thank you so much for your honesty and kind reward! It was also nice meeting yourself, kids and Fudge the Labrador

February 20th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Last night I received a call from Jason, who lost his wedding ring while swimming at Red Leaf Beach. Redleaf is a netted harbour beach at Double Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Jason was not sure of the exact location the ring slipped off his finger, so we both knew this would be a very difficult recovery. I met Jason at Redleaf beach at 6:30 am this morning, and began the underwater search. When unsure of the location the ring slipped off, all I can really do is cover as much surface area as possible before my tank runs out of air, or I start getting too cold. So with my underwater metal detector and 10 meter long rope as a guide, I began a slow search back and forth for Jason’s lost wedding ring. After about 2 hours of searching, things we’re not looking promising. I had recovered the usual coins, bottle caps and a ladies ring…but not Jason’s wedding band. After another conversation with Jason, we decided to shift positions. I only had about another 30minutes left in me due to low air, and drop in body temperature. About another 20 minutes of searching in the new position and almost giving up hope, I fanned out a signal which turned out to be a white gold wedding band. I was praying that this was Jason’s wedding ring! I called him over to have a look, he looked at it for a second and then his face lit up. I had definitely found the right ring. We we’re both mentally prepared for the possibility of not recovering the ring, so as you can imagine we we’re feeling pretty damn good to have it back! Jason, it was a pleasure meeting you… and thank you kindly for a generous reward. This certainly was a lucky day.

February 10th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Yesterday I drove out to Castlecrag to meet Heidi. Heidi’s husband had lost his white gold wedding ring somewhere in the backyard. The area was covered with lots of trees grass and leaves, places where heavy gold sinks and dissapears. Heidi’s husband had an idea where the ring may have dropped, so I began searching the area. After a few false signals, I received a nice loud sound which is very similar to a $2 coin. After moving some leaves and grass away, there it was..a shining white gold wedding band. I want to thank Heidi for a kind reward even though it was only a 10 minute recovery. After some of the exhausting searches I have performed recently, it was pleasant to have a fast and hassle free job

January 31st, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Today I received a phone call from Naomi who managed to lose both her wedding ring and engagement ring on a harbour side beach called Red Leaf at Double Bay. Trying to do the right thing, Naomi put both her rings in the pocket of her skirt before going for a swim. When she was leaving for the day, Naomi picked up her towel and skirt and began walking home. After walking only 10-20 meters Naomi remembered the rings in her skirt pocket, and decided to put them back on her finger. After reaching into the pocket, there we’re no rings to be found. When I arrived, Naomi and her friend showed me the area they had been sitting, which was actually a baren looking grass area. If the rings we’re there, we would have been able to see them with our eyes. So I went down to the sandy area where Naomi first realised the rings we’re missing. After about a half hour search, I found Naomi’s engagement ring hiding in the sand. But after searching the rest of the area, I was not able to find the wedding ring. I did a search in the grass area she had been sitting, but no luck there either. I decided to do one last search of the sand area, digging all signals including crackling and null tones that normally mean rubbish. One of these crackling signals turned out to be Naomi’s wedding ring. In the hundreds of rings I have found over the past couple of years, this is the first time this has happened. This is a learning experience for me, and will be embedded in my mind next time I am searching for a thin gold ladies ring. Either way, it felt good to return both rings to their rightful owner…

January 6th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Late in December I used my underwater metal detector to search for a gold wedding ring that was lost at Queenscliff beach. The owner beleives the ring may have dropped in the water as he was holding his baby in waist deep water. I spent about 3 hours at low tide slowly searching the water with no luck. If by chance anyone does manage to find a wedding ring at Queenscliff Beach, please contact me. As always the owner is happy to pay a reward for the return of his wedding ring.

December 7th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

Sunday afternoon I received a call from Steve. His fiance had lost her diamond engagement ring earlier on in the day at Manly beach. She removed the ring to apply suncream, and lost track of its where abouts from there. I arrived at Manly beach a couple of hours later and began my hunt for the lost ring. As always, it is difficult to remember where you we’re sitting at a beach. Especially when the life guards are constantly moving flags and signs. Steve and his relatives put me in a position they believed to be sitting earlier on in the day. I began a very slow grid search of the area, but no luck in locating the ring. After about 2 hours of searching and extending the search perimeter, I finally found the beautiful white gold diamond ring. I received lots of handshakes and hugs from Steve and his family. I really love my job!

November 21st, 2009 by Brad Lovell

Yesterday I was checking my phone messages and I seemed to have missed a phone call from a gentleman by the name of John. According to the voice message John had left, his good friend Lisa lost her wedding ring whilst body boarding in the surf at Maroubra Beach. After returning the phone  call to John, I was honest with him and mentioned recovery of lost rings in the surf are very difficult. In fact, from memory I have only ever successfully recovered one ring in the surf. John was aware that the chances of recovery we’re low, but as always I was up for the challenge. After arriving at Maroubra Beach later that afternoon, I began asking Lisa questions about how she lost the ring. I thought she may have been conscious of the exact moment the ring fell off her finger, but unfortunately this was not the case. Although, she was 100% confident she had the ring on while in the water, and by the time she left the water the ring was gone. The only positive to this whole situation was the ring was lost at high tide, and by the time I arrived the tide was low. I had John and Lisa engrave markings in the sand as to the approximate area Lisa had been body boarding. Since the tide was low, I started my search in the deeper area first…slowly working my way back to the shore line. Being a warm day, the beach was very crowded…and as always people continuously approached me asking what I was looking for. As luck would have it, the beach was incredibly clean. After about an hour of slowly griding the wet water with the metal detector I only received 2 decent signals. One being a pull tab, and the other a bottle cap. By the time I was in ankle deep water I was able to cover more ground without being pounded by waves. Not long after, the underwater metal  detector picked up a nice loud solid signal. I plunged the scoop into the sand and detected the same hole again. No more signal.. Cool I retrieved the signal in one scoop. After emptying the scoop full of sand I began searching with my fingers for what was creating the signal. I was a little disappointed when I caught a glimpse of silver in my eye. I was hoping for a gold wedding band. But after picking up this silver sand covered object, I realised it was definitely a ring! Not only was it a ring, it was a huge ring! The kind of ring that could choke an elephant!  I went back to my car and called Lisa. I asked her what the ring looked like, and she described the exact ring! A huge white gold ring, with a large diamond in the middle, and smaller diamonds curling around the band. I could hear the excitement in Lisa’s voice on the phone, and received a big hug when returning her ring. This is one of the perks of the job It was a pleasure to meet Lisa and John, and thanks for putting up with all my questions before the start of the search.

November 20th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

This morning I received a phone call from Melissa, who is a former student of Haberfield Primary school. Melissa and some former students have been searching for a Time Capsule they buried over 35 years ago! They we’re hoping with the use of a Metal Detector, I would be able to help them locate the lost time capsule. I mentioned I would be happy to come out and help. I arrived at the School and was greeted by Melissa, the school Principal and a few former students who we’re actually there on the day the capsule was buried. But predictably things had changed a lot in the past 35 years. New trees, new basketball court, even an entry road into the school had since disappeared! The students we’re only 8 years old when they buried the Capsule, so they we’re not exactly sure of the location. They recall inserting a Coke Can in the Capsule, which would be the only way I could find it with the metal detector. I began to scan the area they felt it might be buried, only to find out that the area was scattered with junk. Every swing of the detector would send off 3 or more signals. And to make matters worse there was a huge Electricity box near by which was interfering with both my detectors. While the former students tried to recall the burial position, I continued poking around the area…listening for deep targets. After more discussions we decided it was impossible to locate the time capsule using a metal detector. Melissa is going to contact the ABC and go through the old video archives. Apparently where was video footage at the time the school originally buried the capsule. Hopefully this footage will help identify the exact area the capsule was buried. Melissa is very determined to find the lost time capsule, and I am hoping she will keep me up to date with how things go.