Wrecka
Full Member
- Jun 22, 2017
- 182
- 451
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Equinox 800
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Just read this on the business page of my Local Detecting supplier, very sad with happy ending.
Story followed by find footage.
Tragic car crash, victim’s lost ring found at scene, returned to grieving family 01-08-15
This was one of the hardest call outs I’ve ever had to respond to. A young woman was tragically killed in a car crash. The car had lost control at speed and rolled over numerous times during which her ring had come off her hand. After such a devastating event her family desperately wanted to find this ring and keep it as a memory of her life. The ring had been given to her by her father when she was 21. He sadly passed away shortly after and so it had never left her finger in the 9 years since that birthday. This ring meant everything to her family and her ex-boyfriend Zanda. I would do everything I could to find it and get it back to them.
I travelled out to the scene and met up with Zanda, who took me to where the tragedy had occurred. He had a forensic police map showing exactly what had happened. We followed the gouge marks and estimated the different roll points. I had brought an array of different metal detectors so Zanda and his father could also help in the search, as the crash zone was quite vast.
The victim had also lost 2 earrings during the event and the family also wanted them returned. While examining the area where the car had come to finally rest I noticed a different glint amongst the glass and debris field, there was one of her earrings! I handed it to Zanda who was amazed at how quickly it had been found, we had high hopes that the ring wouldn’t be too far away either. It was such a sombre moment, holding something of hers she was wearing up until she passed, but we pressed on.
We split up in to quadrants, each doing a different area. Sad reminders of what had happened that fateful night were all around us, broken sunglasses, a shoe and other heart wrenching items. It was a very emotional scene for everyone involved. I could only imagine what Zanda and her family were going through.
We searched for 4 hours, covering every inch of soil and grass from where the car first left the road. Still no luck. We were not going to give up. We were all prepared to search for days if we needed to. I must have bent down close to 300 times with my pin pointer, each time hoping to see the gem covered golden ring but it was disappointment every time. We continued to widen and widen our search area.
But just as our legs were starting to cramp — a scream from Zanda — I immediately rushed over to see him crouching over, overcome with emotion. His father hugging him as Zanda broke down. He had found it. I’ve never seen something so moving, the relief, joy and sadness all wrapped together. It was so poetic that Zanda was the one to find her ring, it meant the world to him — knowing how much it she cherished it and that it had not left her finger in almost 10 years.
It had come to lie a good 20 meters past the outer perimeter of our search area. We were all completely amazed at how far it had travelled from where the car had finally come to rest. It must have come off at the top of one of the rolls to get an optimal trajectory to make it such a huge distance, bouncing and rolling off the gravel to where now Zanda stood, still shaking from the discovery.
It was a recovery job and a day I will never ever forget. I can only hope it brings a small amount of joy back to a devastated family. They can never get her back, but the ring will make sure her most precious possession lives on with them forever.
Please watch the amazing moment when Zanda found the ring:
Story followed by find footage.
Tragic car crash, victim’s lost ring found at scene, returned to grieving family 01-08-15
This was one of the hardest call outs I’ve ever had to respond to. A young woman was tragically killed in a car crash. The car had lost control at speed and rolled over numerous times during which her ring had come off her hand. After such a devastating event her family desperately wanted to find this ring and keep it as a memory of her life. The ring had been given to her by her father when she was 21. He sadly passed away shortly after and so it had never left her finger in the 9 years since that birthday. This ring meant everything to her family and her ex-boyfriend Zanda. I would do everything I could to find it and get it back to them.
I travelled out to the scene and met up with Zanda, who took me to where the tragedy had occurred. He had a forensic police map showing exactly what had happened. We followed the gouge marks and estimated the different roll points. I had brought an array of different metal detectors so Zanda and his father could also help in the search, as the crash zone was quite vast.
The victim had also lost 2 earrings during the event and the family also wanted them returned. While examining the area where the car had come to finally rest I noticed a different glint amongst the glass and debris field, there was one of her earrings! I handed it to Zanda who was amazed at how quickly it had been found, we had high hopes that the ring wouldn’t be too far away either. It was such a sombre moment, holding something of hers she was wearing up until she passed, but we pressed on.
We split up in to quadrants, each doing a different area. Sad reminders of what had happened that fateful night were all around us, broken sunglasses, a shoe and other heart wrenching items. It was a very emotional scene for everyone involved. I could only imagine what Zanda and her family were going through.
We searched for 4 hours, covering every inch of soil and grass from where the car first left the road. Still no luck. We were not going to give up. We were all prepared to search for days if we needed to. I must have bent down close to 300 times with my pin pointer, each time hoping to see the gem covered golden ring but it was disappointment every time. We continued to widen and widen our search area.
But just as our legs were starting to cramp — a scream from Zanda — I immediately rushed over to see him crouching over, overcome with emotion. His father hugging him as Zanda broke down. He had found it. I’ve never seen something so moving, the relief, joy and sadness all wrapped together. It was so poetic that Zanda was the one to find her ring, it meant the world to him — knowing how much it she cherished it and that it had not left her finger in almost 10 years.
It had come to lie a good 20 meters past the outer perimeter of our search area. We were all completely amazed at how far it had travelled from where the car had finally come to rest. It must have come off at the top of one of the rolls to get an optimal trajectory to make it such a huge distance, bouncing and rolling off the gravel to where now Zanda stood, still shaking from the discovery.
It was a recovery job and a day I will never ever forget. I can only hope it brings a small amount of joy back to a devastated family. They can never get her back, but the ring will make sure her most precious possession lives on with them forever.
Please watch the amazing moment when Zanda found the ring:
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