April 6th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

My friend asked me the other day, why do you post the unsuccessful jobs on your website. Wouldn’t this turn away possible business?? This could be the case, I really don’t know for sure, but at the same time I will continue posting the jobs I have been unsuccessful at recovering. I want people to know I am not a miracle man, and I cannot find ‘every’ lost item. I received a phonecall from Graham last week. He had lost his 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.

March 31st, 2009 by Brad Lovell

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, (Read Story Here) so Mike sent through an email with the treasure map attached. I printed out the treasure map, and began the journey to Palm Beach. After arriving, and studying the map Mike had made, I was pretty sure I had found the right area. After about 5 minutes of searching, I had found Mikes Platinum Wedding band 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!

March 7th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

I went for a treasure hunt a few nights ago with my friend Matt. We managed to dig up many different things including two sets of keys, a mobile phone, a Disney pendant, two lead weights, lots of coins including an old penny, and two rings. Matt is already working on finding the owner of the lost mobile phone and keys, so now it is my turn to find the lost owners of the two rings. One is a ladies silver ring (as pictured), and the other is a men’s gold wedding band. If you have lost a ring at Shelly beach near Manly, and they look like the the photo above..please contact me. If you are able to describe the engravings or prove the ring is yours, I will happily return it

March 4th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

After spending the entire day in front of the computer working, I decided to hop in the car and do some treasure hunting at a beach I always thought was named Chinamans Beach. But after looking at google maps, seems the real name is Shell Cove. After about an hour of hunting and relaxing at this beautiful cove, I found someone’s lost Silver/Torquoise Ring in the sand (as pictured). If you are the owner of this ring, and you can identify the engraving, I would be very happy to return the ring to you. Please contact me bradl@bigpond.net.au.

March 1st, 2009 by Brad Lovell

Hal's Stunning White Gold Ring

I was driving passed Coogee beach just after finding Stewarts Wedding Band at Maroubra Beach when I received a phonecall. The call was from a lady who’s friend had lost his Ring in the sand at Coogee Beach. After dropping off Stewart at Bondi, I drove back down to Coogee Beach to see if I could find this ring. I was introduced to Hao, who was the gentlemen who lost his beautiful white gold ring. Hao was obviously devistated that he had lost something of such importance to him. There was little daylight left, so I got straight to work. Hao explained to me that he flicked his hand down as he went to pickup a bag, so he was pretty sure the approximate location of the ring. When I arrived I noticed a crowd of people who had been helping search for the ring, including one guy with a metal detector. Unfortunately, the metal detector only found a couple of bottle caps, and not Hao’s ring. There we’re also some really big holes and sand mounds which made me a little nervous. Anyway, I made my usual perimeter, adding a large buffer zone from the point where the Ring was lost. This confused Hao, but he would soon find out why I did that. After doing a north-south search of an area which should have well and truly covered the area of the lost ring, no ring was found. It was time to complete the grid pattern in an east-west direction. I also increased the AC Power setting on the metal detector to reach deeper signals.

This made the detector a little bit unstable, but I was afraid Hao’s Ring had been buried deeper due to digging. About 10 minutes after starting my east-west sweep of the area, I received a faint signal. As always, when looking for someones lost item, I will dig every single signal..even when I know it is just a bottle cap, or foil. I began digging for the faint signal, which become louder once I removed a few layers of sand. A little more digging, and there it was. Hao’s stunning White Gold Diamond ring. It wasn’t in the same spot that Hao thought he lost it, but this seems to be very common. The look on Hao’s face when I handed him the ring is the reason I love my job so much! The look of dispair turned into happiness within a split second. And Hao gave me one of the firmest hand shakes I have had in a while Hao was incredibly greatful for the work I had put in to recovering his lost ring, and handed me a very generous reward. Hao, it was a pleasure to meet you, and an honour to return such a beautiful ring to its rightful owner. And thank you for sending me some photos of the ring. The photo on my iPhone did not do it the justice it deserves.

February 5th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

I received an email from Jen stating she had lost a silver necklace with a wedding ring attached to it. And sadly, it was her mother’s wedding ring that had been lost. The wedding ring and necklace had been lost in the sand at Stanwell Park beach. Jen desperately attempted to find the lost valuables herself without any success. I mentioned  I would be more than happy to look for the lost ring/necklace, but unfortunately Jen was unable to make it down to Stanwell Park, and show me the area where she thought her Ring & Bracelet we’re lost. I asked Jen to goto Google Maps, and plot on the map where she beleives she lost the items. She quickly emailed me the treasure map, and off I went down the south coast. The $100 Call Out Fee was not an issue for Jen, as she was desperate to retrieve her mother’s wedding ring.  After studying the map that had been emailed to

Jen's Treasure Map

me, I found the spot where Jen had been sitting. I setup a search perimeter, and began the hunt. Much to my suprise (and Jens) I found the ring/bracelet within about 5 minutes of searching. About a minute later I received a phone call from Jen. She was calling to give me more information on where the ring/bracelet could be…when I interupted her to give her the good news. As you can imagine, Jen was more than estatic. The chances of finding an item so small, plotted on a google satellite image are very slim, but luck was with us on this day :) And thank you kindly Jen for such a generous reward.

January 30th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

I received a message from Louise requesting my services in the southern suburbs of Sydney to search for her lost ring. The ring was lost at a quiet beach named Sandingham Bay the day before. I explained to Louise I would be happy to help, but made her aware of the $50 Call Out Fee, as Sandingham Bay is well beyond 20kms from the CBD. I really hate asking for a Call Out Fee, especially if I do not find the lost item in question…but I really need to cover myself for two hours worth of driving/tolls and petrol. In reality, this is incredibly cheap in comparison to what a plumber would charge for an out call! Plus for the $50, I will also search for 2 hours plus. The lost ring was very important to Louise, so the call out fee was not an issue for her. The ring was a gift from a close friend, who brought it back from Thailand for Louise. I made it down to Sandingham Bay before 8am. The beach was empty, with the exception of a few fishermen. Louise was running a little late, so I decided to start scanning the beach anyway. Not long after, Louise arrived and showed me the area where she lost her ring. Apparently Louise had removed her ring before going for a swim, and left it on her towel. When she decided to leave for the day, she forgot the ring was on the towel. A very common mistake. Obviously, the ring had fallen in the sand as she picked up her towel. Both Louise and her boyfriend tried searching for the lost ring to no avail. I marked off an area where I beleived the ring could have dropped, and began the search. After about an hour of searching, I had found plenty of fishing sinkers and bottle caps, but no ring! I had searched the area in a grid pattern, so I knew if the ring was in that area, I would find it! It was time to expand the search perimeter. I began searching further away from the spot where Louise had lost the ring. After about an another half an hour of scanning and digging, I received a nice strong signal on my Metal Detector. One quick scoop, and there it was. Louise’s beautiful lost ring. The ring was a good 20-30 meters away from the area it was actually lost. As I was walking back towards Louise, I could see the look of dissapointment on her face. She figured I was giving up on the search. I asked her if this was the ring she lost, and she instantly jumped up with a huge smile on her face. Louise gave me a customary hug, and put the ring back on her finger. Louise did not have much hope of seeing her lost ring again, so you can only imagine how she must have felt to have it back on her finger. It was a pleasure to help such a beautiful and friendly girl find her lost ring