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Wedding Ring Lost Three Days at Sea is Found

Metal Detectorist Stanley Ross found the ring 20 minutes into the search.

A couple vacationing at Santa Catalina Island had quite the adventure. Their time for relaxation and fun turned into a recovery mission — for a wedding ring lost at sea.

The ring went missing off the shore of Emerald Cove. Game On Nation founder Steve Shenbaum did his best to recover his wife's ring with snorkeling gear and help from family and friends. He thought all hope was lost when he failed to find the ring on his own.

"Our process was going back and forth in the water and on shore based on the visual markers Dave [Shenbaum's brother] had established as soon as Jacky announced the loss of the ring," Shenbaum told NBC4. "The water was very cold and the tide was changing rapidly so it was tough to maintain a rhythm and a pattern. And the sand kept getting turned up and the water kept getting murky because of the strong tides."

Unknown to Shenbaum, his brother Dave Shenbaum, a Manhattan Beach Fire Department captain, continued the quest three days after the ring was lost. 

Dave enlisted self-proclaimed metal detectorist, Stanley Ross to join the search. Ross took on the mission after asking a few questions about the ring. He simply replied, "Let's go find it." The team effort enhanced with the help of Joe Bark of Bark Boards. Bark volunteered his boat and rode along for the quest. 

Ross found the ring 20 minutes into the second search. 

Later that day, Shenbaum got an optimistic call from his wife stating his brother may have found the ring. Dave instructed Jacky to meet at the Redondo Marina to hand off the recovered ring. Shenbaum arrived shortly after.

Shenbaum recalled his wife in tears as she held up her hand to show him the ring.

"My reaction was God is great and so is my brother," said Shenbaum.

Shenbaum expressed his gratitude for the rescue team on social media. 

"Someone I've known and admired my entire life (Dave), one of his best buddies I briefly met years ago (Joe) and a man I had never met before (Stan) went on a journey to look for something that meant nothing to them but signified so much to Jacky and me," Shenbaum wrote in Instagram. "They not only found the ring that morning, they gave us the gift of recovery and reconciliation, and they did it with such love, fortitude and unwavering faith."

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