A Weird Recovery Job..

[Erik Oostra]

During the school holidays and Easter long weekend I've had a few recovery jobs.. Last night a lady on holiday from the UK contacted me on my Facebook page to ask if I could recover her phone.. She was back on the mainland but the phone tracker showed the exact location on the island.. I told her to send me a map and went to have a looksee early this morning.. The description couldn't be clearer: along the path next to the big water tank for Horseshoe Bay.. The gps coordinates pinpointed the exact spot.. You couldn't wish for an easier job.. especially as there was a vague promise of a $100 cash donation for my free services..  Anyway, I got to the spot where the phone was supposed to be and ended up using my detector as a rake.. 

 

 

After an hour of raking the slope where the phone was supposed to be and all around it, I still didn't find the thing.. I've let her know..  

[phrunt]

It's a shame you don't still have your GPX, you could follow the EMI, keep walking whichever direction the detectors EMI get's worse 😄

[Erik Oostra]

5 minutes ago, phrunt said:

It's a shame you don't still have your GPX

That's one of the many reasons I mourn its sad loss.. also for silver coins on beaches, no matter what program I'm running the Deus II, it's not finding anything the GPX or Equinox (or PulseDive) have missed.. I keep dreaming about the prospector I sold it to, hoping that he'll swap me back the GPX for the Deus II.. 😁   

[CW3]

Did you try calling the phone?

 

 

[Erik Oostra]

1 hour ago, CW3 said:

Did you try calling the phone?

The owner tried from another phone and it didn't ring through.. but the tracker was still working.. 

She's since contacted me again and it now seems the phone is on the mainland somewhere.. I'm as sure as can be that it's not where it's supposed to be on the island.. I've recovered phones using info from their trackers before and it's always worked, including a phone left on a bench at a bus stop.. 

The usual scenario is people telling me they've lost their ring 'somewhere on the island' or 'it must be in one of the four bays we visited'.. After narrowing it down together with her hubby, one lady came to the conclusion that she'd lost her ring in a hotel swimming pool.. she asked if I could check the filters.. but that's not the tragic part of this tale: she'd lost the ring thee months before! 

Needless to say a fair few recovery jobs don't turn out too great.. I find a lot of rings and jewellery that are never claimed.. I also check with the island police station to see if any of them turn up on their lost and found list.. It rarely does.. I'm always tempted to start melting them down into gold and silver nuggets.. and separating the stones for a jewel collection..    

 

[CW3]

I average about 20 recovery calls a year.

I've been on those calls that are a total waste of time. For me the good calls outweigh the bad ones to make it worth doing recovery calls.

Rings I find on my own with no name engraved. I'll hang onto for 6 months and check the lost and found ads. If nothing after 6 months they get sold to pay for equipment.

 

[geof_junk]

11 hours ago, Erik Oostra said:

You couldn't wish for an easier job.. especially as there was a vague promise of a $100 cash donation for my free services..

I know the $100 would not of given you as much satisfaction of finding the phone would of.