February 20, 2025 • 16 mins
Discover how Shoalhaven school teacher Mike Turner, with his trusty metal detector, has created an entire army of treasure hunters dedicated to re-uniting lost stuff with their super-grateful owners!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I heartshall Haven.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I got a phone call one day saying that I've
lost a ring. I found the ring. The ring was
worth about twenty five thousand dollars. It just hooked me.
I was a treasure hunter basically there and.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Then Gooday, I'm Pete Andrea and like sands through the
hour glass. So are the days of the life of
my guest for today's episode, Mike Turner, a modern day
treasure hunter. This shal Haven school teacher has turned a
bit of a hobby of beach coming into a genuine
passion to ease the distress of those who've lost very
expensive or very sentimental items that you just can't put
(00:37):
a price on. You'll fight. Mike and his trustee metal
detector making sweeps of the sand and the surf too,
usually on a mission to reunite lost rings, bracelets, key
rings with their desperate owners. Mike has returned tens of
thousands of dollars worth of lost items, and he is
now overseeing an army of like minded treasure hunters from
(00:59):
the northern Illa Warra right down to the far South coast.
They all love the mystery of a dramatic lost and found.
If Mike turner can't find it, nobody can.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
My uncle was a gold detector down at Ballarat and
he had a metal detector and I always wanted one
as a kid. And then about seven eight years ago,
I sort of bit the bullet and bought one. And
once I bought one, it got me hooked pretty much.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
And so scholl Haven Beaches became your preferred place to comb.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, only a couple of minutes from the Jarvis Bay
Beaches or the beaches there. And there was one day
I took my metal detector down, found a few items.
A few people knew that I was down at the
beaches early in the mornings, and I got a phone
call one day saying that I've lost a ring. So
I went down that next morning found the ring. The
(01:49):
ring was worth about twenty five thousand dollars, very happy
people to return it to and it just hooked me.
I was a treasure hunter basically there and then.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
And did it take long for word to get around
to other people that that's what you were doing.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I think back then there was a couple of people
doing it, but I was the most seen person. I
use social media to say that I'm out there looking
if anyone once a hand and I looked at my
few often found pages that people needed help. So I
sort of put my hand up and started helping. And
the word got around and in the six years that
(02:29):
I've been doing and I think we've accumulated about twelve
hundred followers in the scholl Haven area.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
That's a good response, But I suppose the results are
what really do talk? How much have you do you
think you've recovered in that time?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh, I tell you, I couldn't tell you exactly what
we were actually discovered or recovered. If people lose it
on the sand, we're nearly at that one hundred percent
mark that we can find something for them. If it's
in the water, it's a little bit harder. But over
the period of years, we've looked in sand, water, people's gardens, dams,
(03:08):
we've looked just about everywhere, and recovery rate is it's
pretty high. I won't say it's perfect, but we try
our best and we've got good results.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Now in that time, have you had to upgrade your equipment?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Oh, most definitely. I started, like probably anybody, I started
at the bottom because I didn't know what I was doing.
From there, I've probably upgraded about two to three times.
I've bought new coils, underwater gear, the whole lot to
do basically the ater z of metal detecting. So my
metal detector nowadays will do water, sand, gardens, gold fields,
(03:45):
and I've got different types of coils on the bottom
of a detector. They're the round thing to do different
areas as well, and different headphones for water for open air.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
I've probably gone from the ather z again with metal detectors,
from our mediocre one to basically at the top of
the range in treasure.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Hunting and throughout this time. It's a very very steep
learning curve for you as well, using all this different
equipment because I know they respond very differently to different scenarios.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Oh, it's definitely I'm still learning. They're all basically computers
nowadays and I'm still learning it. You've got to teach
your ear on sounds and then you're looking at meters
to say what it looks like and how deep it is.
There's so much to learn, and I think I'll be
learning every day of my life on this one. I
won't stop. I'm still going.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Now. You mentioned that you can detect underwater. Tell us
how that works well.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
My detector, it'll go down five meters. I've had detectors
in the path that will go down up to sixty meters,
but I'm not that brave. But the detector I use
is waterproof to five meters, and I've got waterproof headphones,
so if people do lose items in the surf, for instance,
we will go have a look. Also, got people in
my group that have got the deeper detectors and have
(05:05):
got scuba gear, so they will go down a little
bit deeper. But yet most detectors nowadays are fairly waterproof.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
And so you actually get into the water and go
under water and scour the bottom.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I certainly do. I was at a local beach there
just before Christmas and a lady had lost her wedding
ring and it was about chest deep, if not a
little higher up to the neck, and after a small
period of time off about half an hour, we actually
found her ring and she was a very happy, happy
person after that. So yes, we do do a lot
of water detecting.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
And when people approach you do they have much They
hold out much hope that you'll be able to help
them out.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Ah, look, we're all got hope a lot of them
think it's lost for good. And the ones that we
do find, which is, like I said, a very good
percentage of what we do find, very very happy people
at the end of the day that we actually found
it for them. They originally thought we wouldn't find find it,
(06:04):
but we do.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Now.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
What's some of the more unusual places that you've had
to search?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Oh, look, I've been in dams, paddocks, I've looked at
people's gardens because they've been doing the garden and they've
lost a wedding ring, for instance. But it's pretty much everywhere.
Bush trails, triathlon tracks, stairs, We've been everywhere. So we
get called out to all sorts of places, footpaths, people
(06:31):
just jogging on the footpaths and said they've lost a watch,
or a ring, or a necklace, even khaki. So we
look everywhere.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I can imagine how you feel when you hand back
that lost item to them.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
It's so exciting. It gives you that all that joy.
It's worthwhile. It's what treasure hunting is all about. You
find you're finding treasure and finding the owner. So it's
so exciting.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Again, like people probably lost family heirlooms, treasured the heirlooms
at the beach that you've been able to help recover.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I actually went to one a couple of years ago.
Wasn't at the beach. It was at a farm homestead,
and the lady had a cross, a gold cross, and
she actually got it from the Vatican, and she lost
it in her property and we ended up finding it.
But at the same time we found a couple old
pennies and a few other things in the property. So
as a hairloom, that was yeah, that was one of
(07:27):
the ones right up there, but wedding rings and all
that sort of things. I've actually did a recovery only
a couple of days ago where the fellow had been
only married for ten weeks and he'd lost his wedding rings.
So we haven't got it resized as yet, but we
found it in the water for him and another very
happy person.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So you've probably saved a few marriages.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I really think I have. I remember my first recovery
that I did, the quite expensive one that got me hooked.
He proposed that night and it was well up there
with the twenty twenty five thousand dollars wedding rings, engagement rings,
and I think I saved that marriage because she lost
(08:07):
it as soon as she put it on her hand.
And I think they threat it all night because I
went and looked for it the next morning. But his
face set it all. I think they were just so
happy to find the ring.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
When you've done this for them, Are they trying to
give you a rewards or anything like that?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Oh? Look, they always do. When I say they always do,
a lot of them try to give you a rewards.
And look, you know, if they do, they do. If
they don't, they don't. We do it for the enjoyment
of it. But you know, a reward is a bit
of a bonus at the end of the day if
they do do that.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, but it's not mandatory.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Not man. I've found things. People have approached me on
beaches before, and I found it. I've given it back
to and thanked them and walked off, you know, like
it's more of a fun I think. But I, like
I said, if there's a reward, I'm good. Well, we
won't say no.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
More of our conversation soon with Mike Turner from the
group's South Coast ring rescue, including a hell of a
story of one woman and a two carrot diamond ring
thought lost forever beneath the waves of the Shoalhaven.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I Heart Shoalhaven. I Heart shoal Haven.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Peter Andrea with you and my guest today is the
Shoalhaven Beachcomber extraordinaire Mike Turner, who is the ringleader, so
to speak, of the Facebook group South Coast Ring Rescue.
Mike has recovered tens of thousands of dollars worth of
lost jewelry to its rifle owners, a hobby that he
says gives him great satisfaction, like the time he took
(09:47):
a call from a highly upset Sydney woman holidaying on
the coast. She'd taken a dip and managed to lose
a two carrot diamond engagement ring. Marina's heart also hit
bottom that day. She really thought she'd seen the last
of her divine diamonds.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
So my name is Marina and I am from blackcount.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Tell us about these ring of viewers. What is it?
How many carrots? How big?
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (10:13):
So my ring is around two carrots gold marquees cut
and yeah, I'd say it's a pretty decent size. But
when I lost it, I was so devastated because obviously
my partner has been working so hard for this, and
then all of a sudden we lost it. Well, I
(10:34):
lost it. My father in law was on the boat
in the ocean and I went to very swim. He
was on the shore, parked up, but it was still
around neck deep, so I had to swim, and my
phone was on the boat, so I was actually eating
in one hand and the other hand was paddling, which
was my ring finger hand, and all of a sudden,
(10:55):
I feel my ring slip off my finger and I
looked at my father in law. His names with Peter
as well. I'm like, Petere, my ring has just fallen off,
and he goes, Marina, stop lying. I know you're joking
with me, and I'm like, no, it's gone, and he
just looked at my face. I was in so much terror,
and he's like, Marina, stopped looking because it's gone. It's
(11:18):
completely gone. And so I just left. I left the
water and I just storm off and cried. I was
so devastated.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And when did he hear that someone might be able
to help you? And did you hold out much hope?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
No, I thought. I literally walked away. I didn't want
to speak to anyone. I thought well, I'm going home,
my holiday's over. And then I come back to the
beach and my brother in law he actually spoke to
one of his stones two days prior and said he
lost his ring, and he contacted Mike, who found his ring.
(11:54):
So within five minutes, my brother in law called Mike
and he came literally two minutes later, and I came in.
I was like, oh, well, fingers crossed, he's able to
find my ring. Literally the whole beach was trying to
look as well, and yeah, I was. Everyone was just
talking to me. Mike tried to keep everyone you know,
(12:16):
away and tried to let everyone not going near where
the ring is just in case everyone was like kicking
the sand or like swimming near it. But maybe around
forty minutes, I hear everyone yelling and celebrating, and that's
when I started crying. I was so overwhelmed. And yeah,
he found my ring eventually, And how.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Did you feel when you slipped it back on?
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Oh I didn't slipper back on. I put it in
a safe at the holiday house, and I was it
wasn't it wasn't coming out. It wasn't coming out for
the rest of the for the rest of the holiday,
and I was very relieved, and I'm very very grateful
for Mike. I couldn't recommend him more like the fact
that it was in the ocean and I was neck
deep and he could find it is insane. And someone
(13:05):
was like to me, you should go get a lottery
ticket because that is just luck.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
And I was like, I agree, So, Phil, when you
hear someone like Marina how ecstatic and how relieved they
were when you've returned their ring, how do you feel
about that?
Speaker 4 (13:23):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Look, I get a lot of people cry in enjoyment,
I guess, and I really want to cry myself. I
think it's just at the happiest moment that you see
these people getting something back that they think they've lost forever.
So it really makes me cry.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
You've put together a fair network up and down the
Shoal Haven and South Coast of people who can be
contacted to help out. That must be pretty rewarding as well.
How big is your network now?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
The network that we use, I've got about twelve hundred
members at the moment, and I use quite a few
of those to help me out in areas that I
can't get through. I don't have the time to get
to a spot, but we pretty much do from Woollongong
right down to Bateman's Bay. So I've got members all
the way up and down the coast, saying that we
(14:19):
have got networks up at the Great Lakes and even
up in Queensland. We all talk, we all ask rescues
or recoveries onto each other if we can, so it's
a huge network really. But like I said, my network
that I try to help in is that Woollongong down
to Bateman's Bay.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Now, if someone has a middle detector and would like
to get involved and help out, how do they do that?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Man't All they do is have a look at our
Facebook page look for ring Rescues and beach detecting in
the South a New South Wales of the South Coast
of New South Wales. They look us up and all
we've got to do is join. If they do join us,
they're quite welcome to go on the hunt and help
people out. We just like them to. We like honest
people obviously, because we like all the properties that we
(15:06):
look for to go back to the rightful owners. So
it's an honest group. We haven't had any problems. So
we go from there and they will let anyone join
our group. We have discussions, we have catch up days
every now and then we'll go down to the beach
and introduce ourselves and have a bit of fun. And
at the same time we like to help a lot
(15:26):
of the learners work out what sort of equipment to
buy and how to use.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
That equipment, demystifying the whole shebang.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Yes, it's a great little hobby.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Well, I'm sure that a lot of people would agree,
especially those that are happily now wearing wedding and engagement
rings that they thought they'd lost forever. Exactly right, you
can understand why Mike Turner is often referred to as
one of the Sean Haven's unsung life savers on our beaches.
His dedication and determination turns just bear into delight for
(16:01):
those dreading their precious belongings are forever lost in the
depths of the Pacific, and Mike is super keen to
add more treasure hunters to his network of beachcombers. You
can find Mike and his South Coast Ring Rescue group
on Facebook. It's called Ring Rescue and Beach Detecting South Coast,
New South Wales. You'll find some pretty amazing yarns and
(16:22):
happy endings. That's all for now for this episode of
iheartshoal Haven, proudly supported by the new South Wales Government.
I'm Pete Andrea. Catch you next time.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I heeartshoal Haven.
I heartshall Haven.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I got a phone call one day saying that I've
lost a ring. I found the ring. The ring was
worth about twenty five thousand dollars. It just hooked me.
I was a treasure hunter basically there and.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Then Gooday, I'm Pete Andrea and like sands through the
hour glass. So are the days of the life of
my guest for today's episode, Mike Turner, a modern day
treasure hunter. This shal Haven school teacher has turned a
bit of a hobby of beach coming into a genuine
passion to ease the distress of those who've lost very
expensive or very sentimental items that you just can't put
(00:37):
a price on. You'll fight. Mike and his trustee metal
detector making sweeps of the sand and the surf too,
usually on a mission to reunite lost rings, bracelets, key
rings with their desperate owners. Mike has returned tens of
thousands of dollars worth of lost items, and he is
now overseeing an army of like minded treasure hunters from
(00:59):
the northern Illa Warra right down to the far South coast.
They all love the mystery of a dramatic lost and found.
If Mike turner can't find it, nobody can.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
My uncle was a gold detector down at Ballarat and
he had a metal detector and I always wanted one
as a kid. And then about seven eight years ago,
I sort of bit the bullet and bought one. And
once I bought one, it got me hooked pretty much.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
And so scholl Haven Beaches became your preferred place to comb.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, only a couple of minutes from the Jarvis Bay
Beaches or the beaches there. And there was one day
I took my metal detector down, found a few items.
A few people knew that I was down at the
beaches early in the mornings, and I got a phone
call one day saying that I've lost a ring. So
I went down that next morning found the ring. The
(01:49):
ring was worth about twenty five thousand dollars, very happy
people to return it to and it just hooked me.
I was a treasure hunter basically there and then.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
And did it take long for word to get around
to other people that that's what you were doing.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I think back then there was a couple of people
doing it, but I was the most seen person. I
use social media to say that I'm out there looking
if anyone once a hand and I looked at my
few often found pages that people needed help. So I
sort of put my hand up and started helping. And
the word got around and in the six years that
(02:29):
I've been doing and I think we've accumulated about twelve
hundred followers in the scholl Haven area.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
That's a good response, But I suppose the results are
what really do talk? How much have you do you
think you've recovered in that time?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh, I tell you, I couldn't tell you exactly what
we were actually discovered or recovered. If people lose it
on the sand, we're nearly at that one hundred percent
mark that we can find something for them. If it's
in the water, it's a little bit harder. But over
the period of years, we've looked in sand, water, people's gardens, dams,
(03:08):
we've looked just about everywhere, and recovery rate is it's
pretty high. I won't say it's perfect, but we try
our best and we've got good results.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Now in that time, have you had to upgrade your equipment?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Oh, most definitely. I started, like probably anybody, I started
at the bottom because I didn't know what I was doing.
From there, I've probably upgraded about two to three times.
I've bought new coils, underwater gear, the whole lot to
do basically the ater z of metal detecting. So my
metal detector nowadays will do water, sand, gardens, gold fields,
(03:45):
and I've got different types of coils on the bottom
of a detector. They're the round thing to do different
areas as well, and different headphones for water for open air.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
I've probably gone from the ather z again with metal detectors,
from our mediocre one to basically at the top of
the range in treasure.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Hunting and throughout this time. It's a very very steep
learning curve for you as well, using all this different
equipment because I know they respond very differently to different scenarios.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Oh, it's definitely I'm still learning. They're all basically computers
nowadays and I'm still learning it. You've got to teach
your ear on sounds and then you're looking at meters
to say what it looks like and how deep it is.
There's so much to learn, and I think I'll be
learning every day of my life on this one. I
won't stop. I'm still going.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Now. You mentioned that you can detect underwater. Tell us
how that works well.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
My detector, it'll go down five meters. I've had detectors
in the path that will go down up to sixty meters,
but I'm not that brave. But the detector I use
is waterproof to five meters, and I've got waterproof headphones,
so if people do lose items in the surf, for instance,
we will go have a look. Also, got people in
my group that have got the deeper detectors and have
(05:05):
got scuba gear, so they will go down a little
bit deeper. But yet most detectors nowadays are fairly waterproof.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
And so you actually get into the water and go
under water and scour the bottom.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I certainly do. I was at a local beach there
just before Christmas and a lady had lost her wedding
ring and it was about chest deep, if not a
little higher up to the neck, and after a small
period of time off about half an hour, we actually
found her ring and she was a very happy, happy
person after that. So yes, we do do a lot
of water detecting.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
And when people approach you do they have much They
hold out much hope that you'll be able to help
them out.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Ah, look, we're all got hope a lot of them
think it's lost for good. And the ones that we
do find, which is, like I said, a very good
percentage of what we do find, very very happy people
at the end of the day that we actually found
it for them. They originally thought we wouldn't find find it,
(06:04):
but we do.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Now.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
What's some of the more unusual places that you've had
to search?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Oh, look, I've been in dams, paddocks, I've looked at
people's gardens because they've been doing the garden and they've
lost a wedding ring, for instance. But it's pretty much everywhere.
Bush trails, triathlon tracks, stairs, We've been everywhere. So we
get called out to all sorts of places, footpaths, people
(06:31):
just jogging on the footpaths and said they've lost a watch,
or a ring, or a necklace, even khaki. So we
look everywhere.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I can imagine how you feel when you hand back
that lost item to them.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
It's so exciting. It gives you that all that joy.
It's worthwhile. It's what treasure hunting is all about. You
find you're finding treasure and finding the owner. So it's
so exciting.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Again, like people probably lost family heirlooms, treasured the heirlooms
at the beach that you've been able to help recover.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I actually went to one a couple of years ago.
Wasn't at the beach. It was at a farm homestead,
and the lady had a cross, a gold cross, and
she actually got it from the Vatican, and she lost
it in her property and we ended up finding it.
But at the same time we found a couple old
pennies and a few other things in the property. So
as a hairloom, that was yeah, that was one of
(07:27):
the ones right up there, but wedding rings and all
that sort of things. I've actually did a recovery only
a couple of days ago where the fellow had been
only married for ten weeks and he'd lost his wedding rings.
So we haven't got it resized as yet, but we
found it in the water for him and another very
happy person.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So you've probably saved a few marriages.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I really think I have. I remember my first recovery
that I did, the quite expensive one that got me hooked.
He proposed that night and it was well up there
with the twenty twenty five thousand dollars wedding rings, engagement rings,
and I think I saved that marriage because she lost
(08:07):
it as soon as she put it on her hand.
And I think they threat it all night because I
went and looked for it the next morning. But his
face set it all. I think they were just so
happy to find the ring.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
When you've done this for them, Are they trying to
give you a rewards or anything like that?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Oh? Look, they always do. When I say they always do,
a lot of them try to give you a rewards.
And look, you know, if they do, they do. If
they don't, they don't. We do it for the enjoyment
of it. But you know, a reward is a bit
of a bonus at the end of the day if
they do do that.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, but it's not mandatory.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Not man. I've found things. People have approached me on
beaches before, and I found it. I've given it back
to and thanked them and walked off, you know, like
it's more of a fun I think. But I, like
I said, if there's a reward, I'm good. Well, we
won't say no.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
More of our conversation soon with Mike Turner from the
group's South Coast ring rescue, including a hell of a
story of one woman and a two carrot diamond ring
thought lost forever beneath the waves of the Shoalhaven.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I Heart Shoalhaven. I Heart shoal Haven.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Peter Andrea with you and my guest today is the
Shoalhaven Beachcomber extraordinaire Mike Turner, who is the ringleader, so
to speak, of the Facebook group South Coast Ring Rescue.
Mike has recovered tens of thousands of dollars worth of
lost jewelry to its rifle owners, a hobby that he
says gives him great satisfaction, like the time he took
(09:47):
a call from a highly upset Sydney woman holidaying on
the coast. She'd taken a dip and managed to lose
a two carrot diamond engagement ring. Marina's heart also hit
bottom that day. She really thought she'd seen the last
of her divine diamonds.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
So my name is Marina and I am from blackcount.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Tell us about these ring of viewers. What is it?
How many carrots? How big?
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (10:13):
So my ring is around two carrots gold marquees cut
and yeah, I'd say it's a pretty decent size. But
when I lost it, I was so devastated because obviously
my partner has been working so hard for this, and
then all of a sudden we lost it. Well, I
(10:34):
lost it. My father in law was on the boat
in the ocean and I went to very swim. He
was on the shore, parked up, but it was still
around neck deep, so I had to swim, and my
phone was on the boat, so I was actually eating
in one hand and the other hand was paddling, which
was my ring finger hand, and all of a sudden,
(10:55):
I feel my ring slip off my finger and I
looked at my father in law. His names with Peter
as well. I'm like, Petere, my ring has just fallen off,
and he goes, Marina, stop lying. I know you're joking
with me, and I'm like, no, it's gone, and he
just looked at my face. I was in so much terror,
and he's like, Marina, stopped looking because it's gone. It's
(11:18):
completely gone. And so I just left. I left the
water and I just storm off and cried. I was
so devastated.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And when did he hear that someone might be able
to help you? And did you hold out much hope?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
No, I thought. I literally walked away. I didn't want
to speak to anyone. I thought well, I'm going home,
my holiday's over. And then I come back to the
beach and my brother in law he actually spoke to
one of his stones two days prior and said he
lost his ring, and he contacted Mike, who found his ring.
(11:54):
So within five minutes, my brother in law called Mike
and he came literally two minutes later, and I came in.
I was like, oh, well, fingers crossed, he's able to
find my ring. Literally the whole beach was trying to
look as well, and yeah, I was. Everyone was just
talking to me. Mike tried to keep everyone you know,
(12:16):
away and tried to let everyone not going near where
the ring is just in case everyone was like kicking
the sand or like swimming near it. But maybe around
forty minutes, I hear everyone yelling and celebrating, and that's
when I started crying. I was so overwhelmed. And yeah,
he found my ring eventually, And how.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Did you feel when you slipped it back on?
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Oh I didn't slipper back on. I put it in
a safe at the holiday house, and I was it
wasn't it wasn't coming out. It wasn't coming out for
the rest of the for the rest of the holiday,
and I was very relieved, and I'm very very grateful
for Mike. I couldn't recommend him more like the fact
that it was in the ocean and I was neck
deep and he could find it is insane. And someone
(13:05):
was like to me, you should go get a lottery
ticket because that is just luck.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
And I was like, I agree, So, Phil, when you
hear someone like Marina how ecstatic and how relieved they
were when you've returned their ring, how do you feel
about that?
Speaker 4 (13:23):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Look, I get a lot of people cry in enjoyment,
I guess, and I really want to cry myself. I
think it's just at the happiest moment that you see
these people getting something back that they think they've lost forever.
So it really makes me cry.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
You've put together a fair network up and down the
Shoal Haven and South Coast of people who can be
contacted to help out. That must be pretty rewarding as well.
How big is your network now?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
The network that we use, I've got about twelve hundred
members at the moment, and I use quite a few
of those to help me out in areas that I
can't get through. I don't have the time to get
to a spot, but we pretty much do from Woollongong
right down to Bateman's Bay. So I've got members all
the way up and down the coast, saying that we
(14:19):
have got networks up at the Great Lakes and even
up in Queensland. We all talk, we all ask rescues
or recoveries onto each other if we can, so it's
a huge network really. But like I said, my network
that I try to help in is that Woollongong down
to Bateman's Bay.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Now, if someone has a middle detector and would like
to get involved and help out, how do they do that?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Man't All they do is have a look at our
Facebook page look for ring Rescues and beach detecting in
the South a New South Wales of the South Coast
of New South Wales. They look us up and all
we've got to do is join. If they do join us,
they're quite welcome to go on the hunt and help
people out. We just like them to. We like honest
people obviously, because we like all the properties that we
(15:06):
look for to go back to the rightful owners. So
it's an honest group. We haven't had any problems. So
we go from there and they will let anyone join
our group. We have discussions, we have catch up days
every now and then we'll go down to the beach
and introduce ourselves and have a bit of fun. And
at the same time we like to help a lot
(15:26):
of the learners work out what sort of equipment to
buy and how to use.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
That equipment, demystifying the whole shebang.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Yes, it's a great little hobby.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Well, I'm sure that a lot of people would agree,
especially those that are happily now wearing wedding and engagement
rings that they thought they'd lost forever. Exactly right, you
can understand why Mike Turner is often referred to as
one of the Sean Haven's unsung life savers on our beaches.
His dedication and determination turns just bear into delight for
(16:01):
those dreading their precious belongings are forever lost in the
depths of the Pacific, and Mike is super keen to
add more treasure hunters to his network of beachcombers. You
can find Mike and his South Coast Ring Rescue group
on Facebook. It's called Ring Rescue and Beach Detecting South Coast,
New South Wales. You'll find some pretty amazing yarns and
(16:22):
happy endings. That's all for now for this episode of
iheartshoal Haven, proudly supported by the new South Wales Government.
I'm Pete Andrea. Catch you next time.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I heeartshoal Haven.
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