Its Not Always Easy Being The Metal Detector Man!
February 10th, 2010 by Brad Lovell
Narrabeen Lagoon
I always enjoy a challenge when it comes to metal detecting. Some jobs are simple, and it literally takes me minutes to recover the lost item. But this has been a tough summer for the “Metal Detector Man”! Under water jobs are always difficult for too many reasons and variables to list. Which means my recovery rate for such jobs it low. I always mention this to my customers before starting a new job. I am not trying to talk myself out of business, but I like to be realistic. Here are some jobs below which had disappointing endings..
- Sam was attending a wedding that myself and Layne Beachley had to sneak around to get to a harbour side beach her ring was lost. The word soon spread via the wedding guests that Layne Beachley had lost her engagement ring, and she had hired the metal detector man to try and find it. The following weekend, Sam was at his friends holiday home throwing a ball in waist deep water. After diving for the ball, Sam believes this could have been the point when the ring fell off. I drove up to the central coast (Bonnels Bay) to search for Sam’s lost wedding ring. After a good 3 hour search covering the area with both my metal detectors, we decided to call it quits.
- Jan had this misfortune of losing the keel off her boat in the dirty Parramatta River. Jan knew of the area where she believed the keel to have dropped. Because it was a metal keel, I decided I could try searching for it with my under water metal detector. It wasn’t until I arrived to the spot I realised how bad the conditions we’re. The water was literally brown…with zero visibility. In fact I could not even see my air gauge pushed up against my mask. Anyway, I wasn’t going to let this stop me…I did my usual 360 degree rope search covering a 20 meter diameter. A few big signals but none of them the keel. After a couple of hours searching in darkness I ran out of air. If anyone has an idea or a service which could help Jan recover her 250 kilo keel, please contact me!
- Paula lost her diamond engagement ring at Narrabeen Lagoon. I actually had 2 attempts at this job, but could not perform the search with any sort of efficiency while my underwater detector was in for repairs. My 3rd attempt was a couple of weeks later, armed with my repaired detector. After completing both a north-west, and east west grid search of the area following my ropes, I was not able to find Paula’s engagement ring. If any metal detector guys to manage to find a diamond wedding ring at Narrabeen Lagoon, please contact me. Paula is more than happy to offer a generous reward.
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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…
On Wednesday I received a phone call from Layne who managed to get my phone number from the Manly Police. Layne had noticed her engagement ring missing after playing and throwing a ball in waist deep water at Apple Bay (right near Taronga Zoo). I packed my gear and drove down to the spot Layne described over the phone. Unfortunately the tide was high, and my underwater metal detector was playing up. I searched the dry/wet sand with no luck. I mentioned to Layne I would go back and try again at low tide on Friday afternoon. Thankfully she met me there, as it turned out I was searching the wrong spot on my first attempt. When meeting up with Layne, my cousin Nick who was there to help with the search recognised right away that the lady we we’re about to help was in fact World Surfing Champion Layne Beachley. I felt a bit stupid not knowing about an Australian surfing legend, and felt even more stupid when people on the beach we’re asking for a photo with Layne. Any how, we had a job to do…while Nick and Layne we’re snorkling the shallow waters looking for a glint of gold, I was carefully detecting the sand and shallow water in a slow North-South pattern. Since Layne did not feel when or where the engagement ring fell off, I honestly thought there was little chance of recovery. But after an hour of searching and digging up some rusty coins, I managed to pull a solid ring out of the sand. At first I figured it was a wedding band, but after eyeballing a nice sparkling diamond I was hoping that this was the right ring. After showing Layne the ring and seeing the 
smile on her face, I knew I had the right one 
We had a bit of a crowd gathering (including a wedding party) who congratulated me on finding the engagement ring. After a series of unsuccessful recoveries, it finally felt good to reunite a sentimental ring with its rightful owner. I want to thank my cousin (little Nicky) for helping out. Also it was very cool meeting Layne who was incredibly grateful for the service we had provided. I only had my iPhone available to take a photo of Layne with her engagement ring (which doesn’t do it justice), hopefully she will send a better photo of the ring soon. *Update* here is the photo, thanks Layne!
On Sunday afternoon I received a call from Denise. Denise was having a bad day…not only did she manage to lose her wedding ring, but her engagement ring too! I felt really bad for Denise, and told her I would be on my way to the reserve the rings we’re lost after dinner. Denise’s husband Daniel was still at the park searching the area with a torch. When I called Daniel to see how he was going, I heard the beeping of a metal detector. Someone had kindly loaned Daniel a Metal Detector when they saw him searching frantically for the lost rings. I arrived at the park not long after, and Daniel showed me the area they had been sitting earlier that day. Denise had picked up her young kids, and taken them to the toilet block which was about a 50 plus meter walk from the picnic area they we’re located. It was a possibility the rings fell off while Denise was carrying the kids. I began my slow grid search from the toilet block back towards the area they had been sitting. Halfway through my search, Daniel returned the loan Metal Detector and the globe in his torch broke. Feeling worn out from many hours of searching, Daniel went home while I continued searching. After about 3 hours of slowly grid searching the area, I had finally made it back to the area Denise had been sitting that day. I must admit, I had given up hope by now. What grass was left in the area was not very thick, and the chances of someone eyeballing two gold rings on the ground was very probable. A reflection from my LED headlamp in the distance led me to a tree close by. The reflection turned out to be coming from what looked like a small diamond, but with no ring attached to it. I wondered in my mind if this was a part of Denise’s engagement ring? I decided to search the surrounding area… and to my surprise, after a nice solid signal I looked down with my light and there we’re two gold rings lying next to each other. I picked up the rings and noticed no Diamonds we’re missing from Denise’s engagement ring. It was just coincidence that I found the other diamond, which turned out to be a good thing as it led me to the area Denise’s rings we’re dropped. Although it was getting close to midnight, I decided to give Daniel a call. I am sure he and Denise would sleep better knowing I had found the rings. Denise and Daniel we’re incredibly happy to hear the great news, and I am meeting with Daniel tomorrow to return the rings 
Brent and his Fiance Kristy we’re enjoying a beautiful day at Manly beach on Sunday morning. Kristy removed her diamond engagement ring while she applied sunscreen. Around the same time, the life guards asked Brent and Kristy to move positions as the Nippers we’re about to start their events in the sand. Kristy had rested the engagement ring on her leg, and was totally sidetracked when being asked to move location. It wasn’t until about an hour later Kristy realised she had lost the ring. To make matters worse, the nippers we’re running up and down the area Kristy and Brent we’re sitting. So it was difficult for them to search the area, and the Nippers could have been pushing the ring deeper into the sand. By the time I arrived at the beach, the Nippers had finished up…and Brent did a great job to try and keep the area clear for me to do my search. And anyone familiar with Manly beach on a hot summer weekend will appreciate this is quite a task! Brent showed me the area they had been sitting earlier on that morning, and I began my grid search. After my run of bad luck lately, I was more determined than ever to find Kristy’s lost ring. After about 15 minutes of a very slow grid search, I received a first signal. The signal was very similar to that of a 10 cent coin, but I also know that gold registers a similar signal. I began combing the sand with my hands and exposed what looked like a thousand shining diamonds 
After a quick phone call from Melanie, I was on my way to Sydney Park at St Peters (Inner West of Sydney). Melanie had been playing around in the park and decided to put her wedding and engagement ring in her pocket for safe keeping. After she had finished her activities, she reached into her pockets only to find both rings we’re missing. I mentioned to Melanie I would hop in the car and meet her at the park ASAP. Two rings sitting in the grass of a busy park would get picked up in no time. About 30 minutes later I arrived at the park and met Melanie and her husband. Melanie mentioned to me she had both good and bad news. The good news being her husband found the rings in the grass with a flash light. And the bad news being I had driven out there for no reason hehe. Melanie and her husband obviously felt bad that I had driven out there on a Sunday night, and offered me more money than my regular call out fee. I could not accept the extra money as I was not the one who found the rings. My primary concern was that Melanie had her rings back on her finger. I told Melanie and her husband there is no reason to feel bad. This has happened many times before, and is just a part of the job I love 
to lick her ear. Pauline realised the earring was no longer on her ear, and thought her puppy may have swallowed it. After a visit to the vet, and keeping an eye on her doggy droppings the earring was no where to be found. Gold stud earrings are normally difficult to find as there is not a lot of metal content in them. The metal detector has troubles detecting them. When I arrived at Pauline’s, I asked for the other earring so I could check if my detector would pick it up in Jewellery mode. Unfortunately there was no response from the detector. After a little tuning and changing the detector to gold prospecting mode I was able to get a signal from the remaining earring. I began hunting the area Pauline was when the earring came off. After 2 hours of searching and digging up scraps of metal, I was unable to locate the lost diamond earring. What went wrong with this recovery? We will never know for sure, but possible scenarios are puppy did indeed swallow the earring. Another thing that had me concerned was the lawn had been mowed after the earring was lost. Pauline, it was a pleasure meeting you and your puppies. I am very sorry I was unable to find your earring.
Last week I received a phone call from commercial diver Nathan. He had been asked to search for a lost diamond ring which was dropped in the water somewhere near Cottage Point. The ring’s owner, Edwina, was thinking clearly at the time she lost the ring…dropping a bag of sinkers in the water to mark the area. Edwina and her relatives had spent many hours searching for the ring to no avail. Nathan knew the chances of recovery without the use of an underwater metal detector would be very slim, so he called me to help out. After a boat ride to the location, Sarah (Edwina’s Sister) showed us the area the ring was lost. Much to my surprise the water was crystal clear, and the bottom was beautiful white sand. Sarah jumped in the water and located the bag of sinkers which marked the are of the lost ring. Nathan and I geared up and began the hunt. About 5 minutes into the search I received a nice solid signal from the metal detector. I begin to fan the sand away with my hand, revealing a beautiful gold/diamond ring. I returned the ring to Sarah who was one happy lady! The ring had been passed down from Edwina/Sarah’s grandmother, so it was one of those things that cannot be replaced. I want to thank Sarah and her family for a generous reward. And also thanks to Nathan who co-ordinated the entire recovery. I am sure we will continue working together in the future 
removed her wedding and engagement ring before boot camp training, and placed the rings in a pocket within her bag. When walking back to her apartment block, she removed the keys from her bag. We are guessing it was at this point the wedding ring fell out of the pocket and onto the ground below. Brian’s wife recalled hearing something drop, but could not remember exactly where she was when this happened. To make recovery more difficult, the ring was dropped on a foot path area which gets lots of foot traffic. Anyway, I searched the grass and gardens to the side of the path. After about an hour of searching and many bottle caps later, no wedding ring to be found. I mentioned to Brian there is a good chance someone could have picked the ring up due to the amount of people walking in this area. Just as we we’re about to give up hope, I said to Brian I am just going to scan one level deeper, away from the path..as you never know how far a ring can roll. My stubbornness turned out to be a blessing. As I was still searching, a gentleman asked Brian what we we’re looking for. Brian mentioned we we’re searching for his wife’s wedding ring. The gentleman said he had found a ring in that same area the night before. After describing the lost ring, we had a match! The man was a tourist from Turkey, and happily returned the ring to Brian. The chances of us being there at the exact moment the man walked by is very freakish. If we had of left 5 minutes earlier, or I could not get out to do the search until the following morning, we would probably have never ran into the honest man who had found the ring. As one could imagine, Brian and his wife are very relieved to have the ring back in their possession.