Recovered items

On Sunday night, Diego visited the sauna at Worser Bay and removed his sterling silver chain with a chunky solid insert— a piece with HUGE sentimental value. After cooling off with a plunge into the ocean, he later realised the chain had been forgotten in his pocket and lost in the water. Water recoveries are always among the hardest jobs. They are real needle-in-a-haystack searches, especially at Worser Bay where items can sink quickly into the soft sand. After getting the call, I worked out the approximate location and checked the tide conditions from when the chain was lost. That gave me a good idea of where it may have settled. I headed down during my lunch break with my waders, scoop, and detector. After around an hour searching in chest-deep water, I picked up a scratchy 91 signal on the Deus — exactly the kind of signal chains often give. One scoop later, Diego’s chain was back where it belonged. It is always an incredible feeling to reunite someone with something that means so much to them. Happy to help, Diego! Andrew H

I had been camping in Tawharanui on Sunday, 22nd March, at around 12:30 pm. I was on the main beach and took my ring off, along with my watch, before going for a swim. I left them wrapped in my towel beside the rope line that separates the small dune area near the walkways from the beach.

After my swim, I picked up my towel, shirt, and watch and walked back along the beach toward the campground. I didn't realise I hadn't put my ring back on until I was about 50 metres down the beach.

The ring is white gold and very special to me - it has my four children's names etched around the outside edge, and mine and their mother's names on the inside. It was made five years ago by my ex-wife's father, who has since passed away. Because of that, the ring carries a lot of meaning - not just for me, but also for my ex-wife and our four children. It's one of the few things that still connects us all to him.

When I realised it was gone, I was devastated. Weeks passed, and I hadn't told my children - I was scared to, knowing how much it meant to all of us. The weight of that loss sat heavily with me, and in the end, it was my current partner who encouraged me to reach out and do something about it rather than give up hope.

I had attached a Google Maps image highlighting where I believed I had lost it, somewhere above the high tide mark.

Although a few weeks had passed, I was put in touch with Matt, who had actually already headed out to the beach to search. I was worried I might be wasting his time, but I felt it had to still be there.

Amazingly, it was - and I was able to get it back.

I truly can't thank you enough, especially Matt. Your help means more than I can say.

I met the owner at Mission Bay after learning he had lost a ring that meant a great deal to him—an heirloom passed down from his deceased brother. He showed me the area where he believed it had been lost, but knowing how water movement and tides can shift objects, I expanded the search zone. Since the ring had been lost while he was in the water, there was a strong chance it had been carried by waves or current. After scanning the upper portion of the expanded area, I moved downslope and began picking up broken tones on the detector. I decided to focus there. After a couple of scoops, the signal was still in the hole, so I used my pinpointer to narrow it down. That’s when I caught a glint of gold peeking through the shells. In the three to four days since the ring had been lost, it had settled nearly five inches beneath the sand. I turned, smiled, and said, “You must be the luckiest guy around.” He replied, “I just finished saying a prayer that you’d find it.” Matt N

After our wedding just two weeks ago, I lost my platinum wedding band while swimming at Narrow Neck Beach on Christmas Day. After spending the evening at low tide with a garden rake and no luck, I was gutted and thought I might never see it again. My wife then found the NZ Ring Finder Facebook page, so I gave them a call on Boxing Day. Ian quickly organised for Matthew to come down, and with his metal detector he found my ring within 25 minutes! I honestly couldn’t believe it. I’m so incredibly grateful to be reunited with my ring and can’t thank Ian and Matthew enough. Very thankful for this amazing community of talented people who are willing to help others out ❤️ Tom

After a busy weekend, I was driving back toward Auckland along the Bombay Hills when I came across a message about a lost ring. A young man had dropped it while carrying groceries up a set of stairs, and it had disappeared into the surrounding garden foliage.

After contacting him, I arrived and was given a brief explanation of where he believed the ring had fallen. I began searching the garden beneath the stairs. The ring was an heirloom - given to him by his father - a graduation ring from an American school many years ago. It carried deep sentimental value, making its loss especially devastating.

As I started the search, it was clear the task wouldn't be easy. In dense undergrowth like that, the ring could have been anywhere - an inch away or completely out of sight. The area had already been searched, but without the right equipment, it was easy to miss something so small.

Just two minutes in, I caught a faint glint beneath some crushed vegetation. It was subtle - something that could easily be overlooked - but there it was.

I turned to him and said, 'You must be very lucky,' as I picked the ring out of the undergrowth and handed it back.

The relief and joy on his face said it all.

Another great find - and a real pleasure to be able to make someone so happy.

We had a call from a client who outlined a situation that required the services of our ringfinders team. The gentleman told the story of issues with his property, which resulted in the need for tarpaulins covering the ground that were held down with large wire staples. It seemed that when the tarps were removed, there was a few staples that seemed left behind. One of our team accepted the task that was offered, an opportunity to have a break from finding gold and silver, to give the property a 'going over' to provide the owner with a level of satisfaction that there were few (if any) staples left. After going over the property for many hours, the owner had a level of comfort that we had not only met his expectations but exceeded them. We removed hundreds of metal staples, some of which were protruding out of the ground like traps waiting for an unsuspecting foot. We are pleased to be a part of property cleanup such as this helping clients to make their property safe. Matt N

Manoj dropped his ring as he was getting ready to leave the beach yesterday. And although his wife and him spent some time combing the area, they didn't find it. After a call to New Zealand Ring Finder, our man on the spot met Manoj and outlined the search area. After only about 4 minutes going over the area, Matt located the ring tone, and bent down to pick up the clump of sand containing the ring. Manoj was extatic to see the shine of the gold as the heavy ring was returned to his waiting hand. The detectorist puts the speedy find down to the good description from the client. Another successful recovery From Matthew on the Hibiscus Coast

We received a call from a Mother who’s daughter was playing in a sand pit in her preschool. Unfortunately the childs 9carat bracelet had come off and became buried in the sand. Search attempts had not uncovered the bracelet, and Sera contacted New Zealand Ring finder. Matt was dispatched to the area, and started searching. Ring finder jobs are never straightforward, and the same could be said for a small area of sand. There were a lot of false positives, with a metallic base to the sandpit and a number of items which were barely discernable. After covering the area where the item was reported to be, he continued to scan the area, and after another 15-20 minutes, he noticed the bracelet as it started to gleam into view. The bracelet was reunited with the pair who were extremely grateful to have their sentimental item returned