Google Maps Saves The Day (Again!)
June 18th, 2009 by Brad Lovell
Some recoveries can be long and tedious. It is not unusual for me to spend up to 6 hours searching for some body’s lost precious item. And then there are jobs where recovery time can take minutes. And this story is of the later. I received a phone call from Owen who lost his beautiful Platinum wedding ring while playing soccer at a park in Sydney. Due to work commitments, Owen was unable to meet me at the location, but I had him send me a google map satellite image of where he had been playing soccer. He actually felt the ring fall off his finger, but finding it in the thick grass was impossible. So I printed out the treasure map, and made my way to the park. On arrival, the weather was not looking to good, so I was hoping this would be a quick one. I looked at the map, and found the area Owen had circled. Literally after a few seconds of searching i received a target which read zero inches under ground. I start parting the grass with my fingers, and there it was. Owen’s precious Platinum wedding band. Just as I got back to the car, the rain started pouring down. It was a close call! Owen was excited that I had recovered his lost wedding ring, and gave me a very generous reward. Thank you so much Owen, and it was a pleasure to meet you!
- No Comments »
- Posted in Lost Rings, Recovered
Platinum Wedding Ring. Unfortunately in this particular case, Graham had no idea where the Ring had actually fallen off. He was swimming at Freshwater beach near Harbord. He recalls feeling the ring on his finger after having a swim. The last time he noticed the ring was while walking to the Kiosk. It wasn’t until he and his wife we’re at dinner that night, he noticed the ring was missing. I warned Graham that it is hard enough to find someones ring when they have an idea where it fell off, but when you don’t have an idea…it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But most of the time, people need to feel they have done all they can to find their lost ring. It gives them a sense of closure. So I mentioned to Graham I would be happy to search for his lost wedding ring. We squared off an area where Graham spent the day on the beach, including his walking path to the Kiosk. On this particular day, there was another treasure hunter at the beach with his metal detector. Graham asked him kindly to join in on the hunt. The more surface area we covered the better. Any how, after a good 2/3 hour search, we had no luck at finding Graham’s lost platinum wedding band. If anyone happens to find a lost wedding ring at Freshwater beach, please contact me at bradl@bigpond.net.au and i will forward your details to Graham. I am sure he would be happy to pay you a generous reward.
This is another story where google maps saved the day. I received a message from Mike who lost his Platinum wedding band in the sand at Palm Beach. I was sleeping at the time of Mike’s message, and did not have the chance to respond until about 3 hours later. In that time, Mike had already gone to Tandy and purchased a Metal Detector. Unfortunately the new Metal Detector Mike just bought could not find the platinum ring. As most experienced metal detectorist’s will know, Platinum gives off a low deep signal..almost similar to foil or pull tabs from aluminium cans. Whether or not the Metal Detector from Tandy discriminates these signals I am not sure…but Mike had no luck. After talking on the phone, I mentioned to Mike the sooner I get there, the greater chance I have of recovering the ring. But Mike was not a Northern Beaches local, and was back home in the Eastern Suburbs os Sydney. He was unable to meet me back at Palm Beach due to work commitments, so I asked him to plot the location he lost the ring on google maps. This method had already worked for me once before, (
about 6/7inches deep. This ring had some weight to it, so it had sunk into the sand really fast. Also, it was in an area that had a lot of foot traffic, being an entry and exit to the beach, so it is quiet possible that peoples foot steps we’re burying the ring deeper and deeper. Mike was a VERY happy man when I called to tell him the great news 
My girlfriend returned the ring to Mike the following day. Sorry I never actually got to meet you Mike, and thank you kindly for such a generous reward!
Shark Bay to collect his lost wedding ring. This was a great confidence booster for me, as this is the first time I have recovered a lost item underwater successfully. And to say Andrew was elated to have his wedding ring back would be a gross understatement. Andrew was incredibly appreciative of the work that had gone into recovering his lost ring, and handed me a very generous reward. I thank you kindly for this Andrew, and it is always a pleasure helping out a man of his word :)