Lost A Precious Keepsake On The Beach? These Guys Will Find It

CLEARWATER, FL — It was Thanksgiving weekend, a perfect day to spend with the family on the beach if you happen to live in Pinellas County, Florida.

For Imke and Tobias Borawski and their family, it was a chance to relax and forget about all the pressing problems of the week.

But what began as an ideal beach outing turned into a catastrophe. As the family prepared to leave, Tobias Borawski was horrified to discover that the wedding ring he'd worn for 17 years was no longer on his finger. Sometime during the day, the ring had slipped off and was buried somewhere along the miles of white, powdery sands on Clearwater Beach.

Dejected, the Borawskis reported the loss to the Clearwater Police Department with little hope of ever seeing the ring again.

“We thought the ring would never be found,” said Imke Borawski. “We were so sad, we did not know what to do.”

What the Borawskis didn't realize is that the Gulf Coast has a secret weapon.

The Suncoast Research and Recovery Club, a chapter of an international group called The Ring Finders, is made up of about 100 people from the Tampa Bay area who volunteer their services and metal detectors to find items that have been lost on Gulf Coast beaches.

According to Howard Metts, president of the local chapter, over the past nine years, members have used metal detectors to return 607 items to their owners, mostly rings.

That Monday, Clearwater police service technician Val Hornbeck passed on the report of the missing ring to the club.

“If it’s there, we are going to find it,” Metts replied.

Six days after the ring went missing, Metts and two other club members — Ed Osmar and Bill Gallant — met Imke Borawski on the stretch of north Clearwater Beach where the family had been lounging that day.

The Borawskis weren't sure if the ring had been lost in the sand or while Tobias Borawski was wading in the water, so the team set about painstakingly searching the shallows and sands, all the way to the parking lot.

It took just 45 minutes before Gallant shouted out. He found the ring buried in the sand about 80 feet from the shoreline.

“I was overwhelmed. I started to cry, and I could not find the words for it,” Imke Borawski said. “It’s priceless. The emotional value of this ring is priceless.”

Beyond the challenge of finding something lost, Metts said it's the relief on the faces of the people when he hands over their precious jewels that keeps him motivated to search.

“If you saw the expression on her face...," he said.

“These three people shared their time with us, and they didn’t even know us. It was so amazing,” Imke Borawski said. “It was our perfect Christmas story. I think we will smile about this for the rest of our lives.”

Over the years, the recovery club has been called to search parks, playgrounds, schools, yards, campgrounds and even in water up to 5 feet deep. It has traveled from New Port Richey to the north and Port Charlotte to the south in search of lost treasures.

In August, while spending the day on Treasure Island Beach, Shantel Griffin's brother-in-law was playing football with his sons on the beach when his wedding ring slipped off his finger into the water near the municipal parking lot.

Griffin said he was devastated, so she sent out a plea on Facebook.

"Please, if anyone hears of one being found fitting a golden nugget style, it would mean the world to have it returned," she said. "It was passed down from our grandfather and slid off while throwing a football with his sons. My brother-in-law is also dealing with a tremendous loss right now, and finding this ring would mean the world to him."

Like the Borawskis, Griffin was referred to the Suncoast Research and Recovery Club.

It took club member Joe Szemer just 30 minutes to locate the ring.

"This was more meaningful than I can even describe to have someone like Joe stop what he was doing to come to our aid to find the ring our grandfather passed on to him," said Griffin.

Another resident, Mike, was rubbing bug lotion off his hands while standing on the dock behind his sailboard in Tarpon Springs when his wife, Joselyn, who was on the sailboard, heard a small splash.

She said she realized right away that her husband's gold anniversary ring slid off his finger into 10 feet of water.

The couple contacted ring finders Howard and Jeanine Metts but held out little hope of recovering the ring. There was no visibility and 4 inches of silt. The ring could have been buried anywhere.

Donning his diving gear and equipped with a hand-held metal detector, Howard Metts jumped into the water, emerging a few minutes later with the ring in his hand.

Finding lost items isn't always so simple, said Metts.

Earlier this year, the club received a call from the daughter of a woman who had been pulling weeds from around a lake on her property when she realized the antique ring her mother had given her had slipped off her finger into the lake.

Metts, Rob Clarke and Osmar arrived to help. Before plunging in, the three men checked to be sure no gators were lurking and spooked a water snake away. Five minutes later, Clarke emerged from the lake brandishing the antique ring.

While the Suncoast Research and Recovery Club doesn't charge for its services, it will accept donations for travel and expenses.

Metts can be reached at 727-631 4191 and Szemer at 727-269-3112.