Help with a beach recovery

[AugustMoose87]

So at work today, someone came up to the gate house and mentioned that they were there to look for jewelry that they had lost recently. The gate attendant, knowing I detect, called me over and introduced us. I went with them and searched most of the area they thought it was lost in. I don't want to give out too many details for fear of the lurkers, but here is the run down.

The woman had a silver necklace with a silver pendant and gold engagement ring on it. She was coming out of the water, and sat down in about thigh deep water to take off her wet suit. She thinks that in the process she accidentally broke the chain and lost all three items - chain, pendant and ring. I made sure to verify that she had checked the wetsuit, the car, etc, etc, etc. I MD'd the water where she was, around the table she set the wetsuit down on, where the rest of her things were, and the path she took back to her car. Fair number of targets, but not the ones I was looking for.

The one thing I know I want to do is more in the water - I had to put on hip waders on, so it was more challenging that if I can just go back with swim trunks. I'm also getting more frustrated with my some of my X-Terra coils only being water resistant - the coil I WANT to use (10"x5" DD 18.75kHz) is only water resistant... So the stock 9" concentric 7.5kHz is the only one currently in my arsenal that can hit the water. I am wishing the control box was water proof too, but I can rig a float of some kind to get me deep enough for this venture.

But I thought I'd post up to see if anyone had any suggestions on how/where else to look. If there is anyone in the area interested, I can PM details so you can help look, I just don't want to whole world to know where to look.

 

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[Sleepy]

Is this a fresh water lake? I'm just curious because you mentioned she sat down to take off her wet suit but I didn't see anything about tides or location. Was she diving and had taken off her other gear or involved in another water sport? If she was diving it would be real easy to break some chains and not know it and if wearing a BC and other equipment she could have broken it anywhere. Or if she was active in another water sport such as skiing it would also be easy to break at any point or location. I say all of that just because you could be hunting the area she took her wetsuit off and the chain actually got broken in any number of areas.

 

[sandswimmer]

If it's in the water (fresh not salt), and you have no current or waves, and if it was lost where she took off her wet suit, they all should still be in that general area. If it was lost on land and it's been a few days she should put up a sign in those areas because it would most likely have been an eye find for someone.
If she is sure of the spot they were lost, You should have no problem finding them with the stock coil, it will hit hard on the silver and I know it would also pick up the gold ring also, I have no doubt about this. As you said your only problem is the Xterra is not a water machine which makes it an uneasy recovery out past knee deep, and if you have no scoop it will be even more of a difficult recovery. Good Luck, hope you are able to do it. SS

 

[flgliderpilot]

Sure she didn't lose it getting her wetsuit on? Where did she put it on?

 

[AugustMoose87]

She said she remembered tucking it in to the wetsuit when she put it on

 

[cudamark]

There's a couple of TheRingFinders.com member close by in Boulder and Denver. You may want to give them a call for assistance. Jeff in Denver is a diver and has underwater gear if needed.

 

[CASPER-2]

TIP- you'd be surprised what you can find in calm clear waters using a steel leaf rack and a mask & snorkel
especially if you have nice sand with no rocks - you can hear the metal against metal usually or you can see the fresh drops especially necklaces
or if area is a small fresh water beach - you can try fanning wearing a mask & snorkel
ive seen guys pull stuff up in clear Carribean beaches doing that

 

[AugustMoose87]

Thanks for the tip Casper, I wish I would have thought of that. Sadly though, A) the area is a fairly firm clay/mud with rocks -most fairly small, but a few bowling ball sized or a bit bigger.