‘I thought it was lost forever': Man finds, returns wedding ring lost in Cocoa Beach sand
Ring finder searches for hours before locating jewelry lost more than a week prior
Ring finder searches for hours before locating jewelry lost more than a week prior
Ring finder searches for hours before locating jewelry lost more than a week prior
Claire Land thought she would never see her wedding ring again as she returned home to Colorado on Saturday.
“I felt like crying, (I) did a little bit,” Land said.
Land traveled to Orlando for a Make-A-Wish Disney World vacation for her stepdaughter last week. She spent last Thursday enjoying the sun at Cocoa Beach. She took off her wedding band to put sunscreen on, and when the Colorado woman looked for it again, she couldn’t find it.
“I like dug in the sand, ripped the stroller apart, ripped our backpacks apart and it wasn't anywhere,” Land said.
The band is her engagement ring and wedding ring soldered together.
Days later, she posted to Facebook and contacted Dave Mollison on The Ring Finders website for help. Mollison uses a metal detector and scoop to meticulously comb through beaches to locate lost valuables.
“(The group) I belong to, it's called Ring Finders and a lot of these other guys are ring keepers,” Mollison said.
Land sent Mollison a map of where she believed the ring was last seen. To the finder’s dismay, the map showed a spot near the Coconuts on The Beach bar. A busy, well-traveled stretch of Cocoa Beach.
“A lot of people go out at night and during the day metal detecting there and I didn't think it would still be there after a week,” Mollison said.
The finder trotted in a grid pattern around the area for more than four hours on Friday. All of a sudden, Mollison said he heard a faint ping in his detector headphones and knew he may have found it. He dug about 10 inches into the sand and pulled Land’s ring out of the ground.
“Your heartbeat goes up a little bit and you're like, 'Alright I found it,’” Mollison said.
Mollison texted Land pictures of himself smiling with her ring in hand. He went to mail it to Colorado the same day. Land is expecting to have the band back on her finger on Monday.
“Amazing. I thought it was lost forever,” Land said.