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.

January 23rd, 2010 by Brad Lovell

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!

January 7th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

After an unsuccessful search for two wedding rings at Whale Beach, my confidence was at an all time low. Being the stubborn person I am, I take each and every job personally…and when I can’t recover the lost item for my customer I feel like I have let them down. Earlier on in the day I had received a phone call from Kylie. Kylie managed to lose both her wedding and engagement ring in knee deep water at Umina Beach (near Gosford on the central coast). So with my tail between my legs, I drove north towards Gosford. By the time I arrived at Umina Beach it was around 9:30pm, well and truly dark. I eventually found Kylie and her husband searching the beach for the rings. I had Kylie mark off a large area in the sand and mentioned to her I would search between these two marks and into the water. Without waisting any time, I began a slow tedious north-south search with my underwater metal detector. About an hour went by and things we’re not looking promising. But the one positive aspect of this search was the beach was very clean. The only signals I had received in over an hour we’re 20c coins. Not one piece of rubbish. Getting close to two hours of searching, I was getting close to completing the search in the area Kylie had marked. Had she put me in the wrong spot? Had the rings been washed away? Many thoughts we’re going through my mind, but I was determined to redeem myself after an unsuccessful day at Whale Beach. Not long after, I received a loud blast through my earphones. I gently pushed the scoop into the sand, and recovered the target. That target happened to be Kylie’s gold diamond engagement ring. Kylie was jumping up and down for joy, hugging both myself and her husband. My job was not over yet, I still had to find the wedding ring. About one swing of the metal detector from the where the engagement ring was, I managed to recover Kylie’s wedding ring as well. This was a great end to a not so great day. I want to thank Kylie and her husband for being patient with me, and for a generous reward

January 7th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Tuesday was a busy day for me, with 6 missing rings needing to be reunited with their owners. First job for the day was Brett’s wedding ring (previous entry), which turned out successful. Not long after recovering Brett’s wedding ring I received a phone call from Adis. Adis lost his wedding ring at Whale Beach, about an hour north of Sydney. As I was driving to Whale Beach, I received another phone call from Jasmine. Jasmine had also lost her wedding ring, and she too was at Whale Beach. When I arrived at Whale Beach, I met up with Adis as he explained to me what happened to his wedding ring. Adis put the ring on his towel as he applied suncream. When his kids came out of the water, his wife lifted the towel not realising Adis had left the ring on it. I figured this would be an easy job, but after searching the area many times over with 2 different metal detectors I could not find the lost wedding ring. Even Adis used one of my metal detectors as I searched with the other. I said to Adis I needed to go and help Jasmine who was patiently waiting for me to search for her lost wedding ring. At this point I was approached by another lady who asked if I could help find her wedding ring too. 3 lost wedding rings at the same time, this was getting weird. Anyway, Jasmine had not moved from the area she had been sitting all day. Her wedding and engagement ring we’re in a zipped pocket in her bag, with keys and wallet. Jasmine reached into the bag to give her sister her wallet. It seems that the wallet must have folded and grabbed the two rings. Jasmine found the engagement ring in the sand next to her towel, but the wedding ring was no where to be seen. I searched the area Jasmine had been sitting. No wedding ring to be found. We worked out the path Jasmine’s sister had taken to the car. It was a long walk, and it would take me a few hours to grid the entire area. I mentioned to Jasmine I would search the area, and give her a call if I manage to find the ring. Jasmine was surprisingly calm, saying it is not the end of the world. Adis on the other hand was very desperate…so I went back to his area and continued expanding the search perimeter. In the mean time, the other lady who lost her ring mentioned she found hers, and not to worry about helping her now. I spent the rest of the afternoon searching for both Adis’s and Jasmine’s wedding rings without any success. The following night I went back with Tony from Jewellery Rescue, and we basically grid searched the entire half of the beach to no avail. If anyone does happen to pickup a wedding ring at Whale Beach, please contact me so I can put you in touch with Adis and Jasmine. Adis’s wedding ring is white gold, with G&G engraved inside, while Jasmine’s wedding ring has Jasmine and her husbands name engraved inside the ring. My day would not end yet…

January 6th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

On Tuesday I drove out to Pennant Hills (near Castle Hill) to help Brett find his lost gold wedding ring. Brett was not exactly sure when or where the ring fell off, but there was a time frame in relation to when he noticed it on, and when it went missing. And he had not left the home in that time period. Brett had also been spreading wood chips in his garden on the day the ring went missing, so there was a good chance it may have slipped off into the garden. When I arrived, I began my search in the garden area without any luck. I decided to turn up the gain on the metal detector and search the garden one more time to be sure. Once again, no wedding ring to be found. There was another vegetable garden which Brett said he may have worked on that day, but was not sure. Before checking the vegetable garden, I decided to detect the thick grass that ran parallel to the garden. A few minutes of searching the grass and I received a nice loud signal, very similar to a $1 coin. There hiding in the grass was Brett’s chunky gold wedding ring. After a recent run of bad luck, I was just as releived as Brett and his wife to have found the ring. It was a pleasure meeting Brett and his wife, plus his two puppies (Dash & Dale) who kept me entertained while hunting Photo coming soon…

January 6th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Nancy and her husband spent Christmas Day at Nelson Bay. Unfortunately the day ended badly with Nancy losing her watch which was a wedding gift from her father. Nancy put the watch in her pocket before riding down the Sand Dunes. After a few slides down the dunes, Nancy reached into her pocket and noticed the watch was missing. A couple of days later, myself and good friend Tony from Jewellery Rescue drove out to Nelson Bay to meet Nancy and her husband. Nelson Bay is normally well out of my area of service, being over  a 3 hour drive. But I could hear how desperate Nancy sounded over the phone, and did not have the heart to say I couldn’t help her due to distance. After a quick drive from the 4WD tour company that takes people to the dunes, we we’re at the spot Nancy believed she lost the watch. Tony and I got to work, slowly and methodically metal detecting the steep sand dunes. I was actually expecting to dig many signals on these dunes, as people would be always losing rings coins and car keys, but only silence from our detectors. After about 3 hours plus of an exhausting search, we we’re unable to locate Nancy’s gold watch. My feeling is the heavy gold watch has sunk deep into the soft sand dune, well beyond what our metal detectors could reach. Nancy and her husband we’re very disappointed, as we’re Tony and myself. But we did give it our best shot. I really hope someone finds the watch some day and hands it over to the 4WD tour company.

December 26th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

Last week I packed up my Scuba and Metal Detecting gear and followed Simon to a secluded location somewhere near Clontarf. The previous day Simon had jumped off his friends boat for a swim and felt his wedding ring slip off his finger to the bottom of the water. Water depth was around 3 meters, so it was almost impossible for Simon to swim to the bottom and search for the ring. The following day Simon and I swam out to the area where the ring had fallen. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the water was clear so I had high hopes of finging Simon’s wedding ring. I dropped the lead weight with rope attached to it and began my 360 degree grid search of the area. After having no luck, I moved the weights and rope to another area Simon had mentioned he may have been when the ring dropped. Another search of this area and I was out of air. It is always a horrible feeling coming out of the water empty handed, but unfortunately this is a part of the job. Simon and his wife we’re very grateful for the effort I put into searching for the wedding ring. It was a pleasure to meet you guys, and I am going to organise another visit to this spot with my diving friend Matt.

December 14th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

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

December 10th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

Early on in the week I was reading a post from my friend Billy in Western Australia. Billy offers a similar service to myself in the Perth/WA region (Lost Treasure). He mentioned that in his last 5 searches he has come up empty handed for his customers. I felt bad for him, knowing this frustration first hand. I myself had been having lots of luck recently, recovering clients rings underwater which I thought I would never find. But this week my luck has changed. My last 5 jobs have finished with my tail between my legs. Why am I mentioning failures for potential customers to see? Wouldn’t this be bad for business?? Perhaps…but I just want to make it clear that I am mortal. I cannot find every lost item. But I can assure you of this… every job is important to me. I am stubborn and take each and every search as a personal challenge. When I can’t find the lost item, I am just as disappointed as my customers.

This is the breakdown for the week…

Lost Ring In Water At Shark Bay: Jamie lost his grandfather’s wedding ring whilst swimming at Shark Bay at Vaucluse. After a 2 hour underwater search in the area Jamie beleived the ring to have dropped, I came out of the water empty handed. Jamie was visiting from the UK, and will be back home by now. But if anyone does happen to find an 18k Wedding Ring at Shark Bay Vaucluse, please contact me! Jamie is willing to pay a reward for its return.

Lost Engagement Ring Coogee Beach: Elizabeth lost her white gold diamond engagement ring while swimming in chest deep water at the north end of Coogee Beach. I spent the afternoon searching for it without any luck. Please, if any metal detector guys do manage to find an engagement ring that matches this description, please contact me so I can put you in contact with Elizabeth. She is happy to pay a generous reward for its return.

Lost Wedding Ring Shelly Beach: Simon lost his wedding ring while swimming on the rocks side of Shelly Beach. I made two attempts at searching for this ring but to no avail. This area is very common with snorklers and divers. If anyone has managed to pick up a wedding ring, that is half gold/half silver joining together in a wave pattern, please contact me. As always, a reward is offered for the return of this ring.

Lost Gold Bracelet HomeBush: Sree beleives he may have lost his gold bracelet while throwing flowers off his balcony into the garden below. I searched the garden area best I could for a couple of hours, and was unable to find the bracelet

Lost Diamond Stud Earring Concord: Natalie lost her Diamond Stud earring while hanging clothes on the line. She felt it fall off and searched the grass area with no luck. My Metal Detectors struggle picking up stud earrings, which means I spend the search on my hands and knees, combing the grass with my pinpointing device. Natalie’s husband came out and mentioned he had since mowed the lawn. Anyway after 2 hours plus searching, I had no luck finding the earring.

December 7th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

On the weekend I got a call from Pauline who had lost one of her diamond earrings. She was in the backyard playing with her dog when it began 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.