Brendon Chapman, Author at The Ring Finders

Two sentimental rings lost in Berkeley park…Found!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

It’s nice to know that people care.  When Lydia lost two very sentimental rings given to her by her sister, she told me that at least 10 individuals assisted her in trying to locate them.  The rings were loose fitting and came off when she softly tossed a ball in the park, surely they shouldn’t have traveled far.  At last, the search was called off and Lydia was focused on an alternative solution.

She set out to rent or buy a metal detector, but couldn’t find a local source for quick deployment.  That’s when she stumbled upon my information in association with THERINGFINDERS.  The following morning I received a text message asking if I had availability to come to Berkeley to locate a missing ring.  I quickly called to let her know I could be available anytime after 3:30pm and would gladly come recover the ring.  That’s when I learned it was actually 2 missing rings. She let me know that the search area would be small and she knew pretty well where she was when they came off.  She would be right!

I arrived a bit after 4pm ready for a hunt. Lydia was waiting in the park along with her infant son, a young nephew, her mother, and a dog (or two).  She showed me the area and even performed a sample toss of the ball.  As I got underway, the first thing I noticed was that the park was noisy, that is, there was an abundance of metallic objects in the ground.  Then, boom…a perfect gold signal!  The problem was, the beautiful heavy gold earring that was recovered did not belong to Lydia (someone didn’t find THERINGFINDERS). A few minutes later, another really great signal!  This time I knew without a doubt it was the first of two rings and the second would be close at hand. Meer moments later, I was handing both rings back to a very relieved and grateful owner.  We had made the recovery!

Remembering what I said above, it’s nice to know that people care… As I collected my equipment ready to leave, an older gentleman walked up with an very vintage Bounty Hunter Coin Master detector.  Lydia seemed to know him and he may have been in the park helping the day before.  He commented about my Equinox and congratulated us on the recovery of the two rings.  He then set off to explore the area with his machine.  I assisted with a Garrett Pin-pointer and he produced a penny that we provided to Lydia’s nephew as “buried treasure.”  I was glad to have met Lydia and to have played a roll in the story of these two sentimental rings.

Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

 

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Family friend looses silver skull ring and we recover it!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

It was St. Patrick’s Day and I had just finished smoking a corned beef for several hours and was finishing up cooking sides for our dinner.  The phone rang; a family friend we met through our community scouting pack.  Sarah explains that her son wore his fathers silver skull ring to baseball practice at the downtown Waterfront Park and at the end of practice it was missing.

I let her know that I would make the five minute drive to the park as soon as our dinner was finished. When I arrived, I was overwelled by the size of the grassy area of the outfield.  Sarah informed me that Odin had pitched and played first base, all areas that did not include grass.  He did however, walk to the warm up mound at the rear of the outfield and so we began our search there.  As the field lights when out our task got just that much harder, but it wouldn’t take long searching the grass between the dugout and the right field fence that we would “Make the Recovery!”

This would mark the very first recovery I performed in my home town of Martinez, CA and I was happy that I got to perform this service for a family that we know and enjoy.  Thank you Sarah, Odin, Amon, and Freya for your friendship.

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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White Gold Wedding Set lost at the beach…Recovered in Alameda!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

I was on a short holiday on the island of Kauai when I received a text message from Kimberly.  She had lost her white gold wedding set on the beach and contacted my good friend Jes Muse (also of The Ring Finders and creator of The Bay Area Bleepers YouTube channel).  Jes had provided my contact information to her since I am usually ready and available for all rings in the East Bay.

I sent a text back to Kimberly explaining that I was in Hawaii and would be flying back that day. I informed her that I wouldn’t be available until the following day but would be glad to assist. Additionally, I let her know that I would reach out to schedule a time to meet up for the search.

The following day was frustratingly filled with meetings, emails, and project issues, not the day one should have after a relaxing trip.  I ended up working late to get caught up and I had to let Kimberly know that the search would need to wait an extra day (not something I am accustom to doing).

Excited to get out and search, I took my kit with me to work so that I could travel direct to the beach in Alameda for the search.  I knew that the tides would be at their lowest just after quitting time and that’s when I would have the best search area.

I met Kimberly and her adorable children on the beach and she explained the situation.  I gave her and each child a cone to place where they thought the ring could be (a little fun and healthy competition). At this time, I had little doubts that I would find these two rings quickly.

I was humbled a bit, when after about 45 minutes of grid search in two directions I still had not uncovered the mystery.  With a little adjustment closer towards the water, I was on my fourth or fifth line, when I hit a sweet signal.  A perfect 7 in all directions, I was able to recover the diamond engagement ring without alerting Kimberly or the kids.  I swung over the hole again and a second perfect 7.

I called Kimberly over and informed her “I think there might be a ring underneath the sand here and it might be the match to this one…” as I held out the diamond ring for her inspection.  She was floored and had the absolute best look of disbelief, joy, and relief on her face.  Then with one last scoop…We Made The Recovery!!!

Both rings were safely extracted from the sand and as for the competition…turns out the little boy was closest.

Thank you Kimberly for taking me on this adventure with you and the children.  The look on your face when you realized I had found your engagement ring will forever be burned into my memory.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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Lost 2 day old gold/diamond ring….Found in Manteca!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

Chet was performing work on his quarter acre property in Manteca, CA.  He was moving around old tractors and a trailer full of steel beams.  At the end of the day, he made the discovery that the ring he had just received two days earlier for Valentine’s Day was now missing somewhere on the property.  He did a fair amount of searching for himself and even borrowed a metal detector from a friend with no luck.

When he contacted me through theringfinders.com he admitted to have not been able to sleep and even called himself a “desperate man”.  He felt awful when he had to come clean about the lost ring, but after talking to me, he was looking forward to a brighter day.

Well, that day came.  I performed a hasty search of the target area.  It was loud and there was trash everywhere. After 45 minutes, I decided to set up my grids and put on the tiny coil for purpose of better target separation.  I was in my second “swim lane” when I got a booming double beeper.  A perfect 13 in every direction.  We had made the recovery!!!

Just barely under the surface and very near our first search area I moved some tree clippings to reveal this gold and diamond beauty.  It was then that I turned it over to a very thankful Chet before taking some celebratory photos and cleaning up my grid.

It was a joyous afternoon for us both and I thank Chet for his good conversation and fantastic fruit he provided.

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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Beautiful Heirloom Ring Lost in Livermore…Found!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

On January 16th, I arrived to perform a search in Livermore, CA.  An heirloom white gold ring with sapphires and diamonds was reported lost in the yard by the owner Vickey.  It was not a terribly large area and she had been performing yard work when her beloved ring went missing.  She spent some time trying to locate the item, but the leaves in the yard made the search more than difficult.  Since I didn’t believe the ring would stay missing long I had all three of my young boys in tow.  I talked with Vickey for a few moments and introduced the boys.  She showed me the area and I had her filling out the search contract.  I blew away tons of leaves using a leaf blower and before she could finish the form, we had made the recovery!  Tears of joy streamed down her face and she was very appreciative of our efforts.  We sat at the from of her home and celebrated and discussed other searches I had performed and how I had gotten involved with such an amazing community.  It was the first recovery of the new year and I was proud to have taken part.

Thank you kindly Vickey for reaching out and entrusting me with such an important task.  I hope that ring tells a story of many more years with you and your family.

 

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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Wedding Band Lost in Mill Valley… Found with Metal Detector!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

This story includes a traveling mother, a sweet nanny, three adorable yet maybe mischievous young girls, and a lost wedding band.

Robin texted me one evening explaining that her daughter had taken her beautiful wedding band (rose gold with diamonds) to a playground with her.  She goes on to explain that the ring was then lost in the woodchips and remained at large.  She was looking for an individual with a metal detector to help find it.

I was just the person for the job and responded to plan and schedule a search.   Robin would be traveling and confirmed her nanny Gaby and the children would meet me for the recovery of this ring.

Gaby and I coordinated a date and time and when it came I was up to the task.  I arrived a bit earlier than expected and when Gaby arrived with three cute blonde girls all roughly the same age as my three boys, I got a good chuckle thinking about the old TV sitcom the Brady Bunch.  This search had all the makings for a good episode complete with a wholesome plot and the nanny (although much younger and far more cute than that of the TV series).

We walked out to the play structure where the ring was reportedly lost and one of the girls showed me a tiny area and said the ring was somewhere just there.  I turned on my machine and waved it less than three times and in less than a couple of seconds…We made the Recovery!

Thank you Robin for utilizing me to help recover your beautiful ring!  I’m so happy for the best of outcomes.

 

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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Three Gold Coin Charms lost in Emeryville Park…Found!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

I was contacted by Anna to assist with the location and recovery of three gold coin charms from a park in Emeryville, CA.  Each charm was engraved with the initials of one of the handsome men in her life, the larger one for her husband, and the two smaller for each of her young boys.  These charms were cherished Mother’s Day gifts, so when they fell to the ground and disappeared into the long grass, it was heartbreaking.  When these charms were not located after extensive searching, a quick google search brought Anna to me.

I arranged to meet the family at the park the next evening and requested permission to bring along my three boys.  It was a new and interesting park that I thought they might enjoy and the weather would be much cooler than that further inland.  I met the family and they gave me a quick run down of the who, what, when, and how as well as the exact location.  It didn’t take long to locate the first of three charms, a small one.  A few moments later, the second was recovered, the larger one.  Then for a while…nothing! After a few anxious minutes…beep, beep…We made the Recovery!

Afterward, we talked about the significance of the 3 gold coin charms while the children played in the park.  We took a handful of photos to memorialize the event, and after a while a fun soccer game broke out.  It was a great evening for everyone.

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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Unique ring lost in backyard garden…Recovered!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

I received an email from the Mount Diablo Metal Detecting Club requesting volunteers for a ring recovery in Pleasant Hill, CA.  The ring had been lost several weeks earlier while the gentleman performed backyard gardening work.  I responded that I could be available to assist.

The following day members of the MDMDC and the local chapter of the UPI met at the residence to perform a search.  After a short description of the work being performed when the unique and beautiful ring went missing, we got to work and it did not take long for this All Star Team to Make The Recovery!!!

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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Diamond Ring Lost While Swimming…Found!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

On the 18th of June Corrine lost her diamond ring while taking a swim test at a local lake.  She spent plenty of time searching the bottom for the missing ring with no luck.  At some point in the panic of the moment she entered the situation into ChatGPT on her phone.  This resulted in providing a link to THERINGFINDERS.COM and directly to me.

As it happened, I had two constraints to providing immediate support.  First, I was out of town with the family visiting relatives.  The second issue was that my Equinox 800 was still awaiting a new control box after damages accrued while providing support on a dive recovery.  I would also need to reach out to the local parks department for permission to enter the water with a metal detector.

A few days later, these constraints had worked their way out and we scheduled the search.  I would be teaming up with Mark (a member of the MDMDC) and Evan (scuba diver) would be tagging along for support as well.  Members of the parks department would escort our small team to the lake shore to prepare and within minutes of entering the water…We Made The Recovery!!!

The ring was successfully recovered in 3 feet of water in the precise location Corrine said it would be.  It was as easy as they come and all parties were ecstatic for a speedy success.  I can’t thank everyone involved enough for playing their part in getting this diamond ring back to it’s rightful owner.  Thank you very kindly.

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

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Discovery Bay Dock Dropped Platinum Ring Recovery!!!

  • from Walnut Creek (California, United States)
Contact:

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

I have been waiting for this collaboration for some time.  A close friend of mine, Evan is an experienced scuba diver with experience working on dive boats and performing lost item recoveries in deep water.  When I got the call for assistance from Sarah to recover a platinum men’s wedding band from 10′ of water, I originally turned down the opportunity.  After thinking about options for providing direction to Sarah, I made contact with Evan for his thoughts.  To my surprise he agreed to provide his services, along with my help, to give it a shot.  I think Sarah was also surprised when I contacted her saying that I had a diver.

Everyone was excited and motivated to perform the search as soon as possible.  We could not have asked for a better weather window with beautiful bluebird skies, a light delta breeze, and water conditions were not too awful either.  It took some time to get set up at the private backyard dock in Discovery Bay.  Our first search of the dark silty waters was not very productive in that we struggled to keep the diver over the target area, but a small stainless screw gave us all hope that it was possible to recover the platinum ring with the metal detector.

A second search was much more productive in the target area, but at a point Evan returned to the surface…the detector (a underwater rated machine) was water logged and quit working. Admittedly, Sarah and I were thinking that recovery was less likely now than ever.  Evan however was not quitting the cause and returned to the 17 foot depth to perform a hand search.  After several minutes he surfaced once more…We had made the recovery!!!

Evan had earlier noted a canvas boat cover in the general area under the dock.  As a last ditch effort he searched the folds of this and low and behold, by nothing but feel, recovered the missing item.  Sarah and I both shouted in celebration and the smile on Evans face bore nothing but pride.

Only moments earlier, a neighbor on a stand-up paddle board had cruised past and stated that she was praying for us!  Was this coincidence or a little divine intervention…I’ll let you decide, but we were glad for the kind gesture.

Congratulations to Sarah and her family for getting the ring back and to our exquisite diver Evan who took on the murky dark waters of the delta and won!  And, as an added bonus, no metal detectors were harmed in the making of this recovery (after drying out, it appears to be operational).

The Bay Area Ring Finders Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP     925-580-2590

 

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