Detectorists sweep in to find bracelet
A YOUNG family has been reunited with a precious family heirloom they lost at the beach thanks to some enterprising metal detectorists.
Bec Sykes and her oneyear-old daughter Violet were enjoying a day at The Strand next to the Rockpool on Sunday afternoon when a silver bracelet purchased by Ms Sykes’ late mother slipped from Violet’s arm while taking a dip, turning their happy morning into a day to forget.
Going home with her daughter downtrodden and disappointed, Ms Sykes put a post out on Facebook urging anyone down at The Strand to keep an eye out for the bracelet.
The response Ms Sykes received blew her away, as her post garnered 100 shares overnight and caught the attention of local beachgoers and metal detector users, who got to work almost immediately.
On Tuesday afternoon Ms Sykes got the news that her bracelet had been found under about 5cm of sand.
“The impossible happened. I was sitting on the couch when I got the news and I was jumping up and down, and she (Violet) was walking around like ‘what’s all the fuss about?’,” Ms Sykes said, who raced to the scene of the discovery.
“We were so excited and I’m just like ‘let’s go, let’s put our shoes on’.
“I’m just lost for words. I just want to thank everyone who shared the post, everyone that searched and everyone who knew about it.”
About a dozen local metal detectorists were involved in the search, with the first searchers getting to work about 2.30am on Monday.
Mount Louisa resident Sam Girgenti and his wife Charmaine were using their metal detectors at The Strand on
Tuesday, and they were none the wiser about Violet’s lost bracelet.
But it was Mr Girgenti’s detector that made the big find.
“It was just a coincidence. One of the guys came down and told me a bracelet had been lost,” Mr Girgenti said.
“I got strong signal and was just like ‘wow, that’s it’.
“It was found about two inches down (in the sand) and it was surprising that it had already gone down by that much. It’s actually pretty heavy for its size.
“I’ve only been doing this for 18 months and it’s the biggest and best thing I’ve found.”
Ms Sykes said even regular beachgoers joined in the search.
“The way the community came together to find the impossible is just amazing,” she said. “Their kindness and willingness to help me, a complete stranger find a lost bracelet is beautiful.” it