Metal detectorist reunites man with diamond ring after he found it on a beach
- 6 months ago
A metal detectorist has reunited a man with his diamond wedding ring after he found it buried on a beach.
Stephane Seguin, 40, lost his $1,200 ring whilst swimming with his kids on a trip to St Augustine, Florida, US.
He saw detectorist Joseph Cook, 38, out searching the sands and asked him to keep an eye-out for his ring.
Determined Joseph returned to the spot every day for over a month and eventually found the gold and diamond ring.
Stephane and his fiancé, Marie-Eve Bedard, 43, travelled 1,600 miles to collect the ring and personally thank Joseph - who they invited to their wedding in 2025.
The couple bought the ring in 2011 to be used as a wedding band but with life and kids taking priority, they postponed the big day and Stephane started wearing it anyway.
Stephane, a tinsmith from Quebec City, Canada, said: "When I lost the ring in the sea it felt like falling in a dream.
"We spent every day looking and then we eventually saw Joseph on the beach.
"I said to Marie-Eve 'I'm not going to tell him where it is as he'll look for it and keep it!'
"But she went up to him and he told us if he finds it, he'd return it.
"We left the following week and he still hadn't found the ring, unfortunately.
"But when I saw the video of him finding the ring, I knew it was the ring before he even closed up on it - it was amazing."
Joseph, a detectorist and content creator, from St Augustine, Florida, said: "They were the most humble people I've ever met, out of all the returns I've ever done.
"They told me their whole story - her dad had passed away at 50, and October has always been a bad month for them and they said they wanted a new chapter in their lives and a positive story for October.
"They thanked me a million times and said October is a happy month in their life from now on. That's why I do it.
"Being on the beach and having that solitude and being by myself and in the nice weather all day, you can't complain a whole lot.
"But for me, it's giving stuff back to the people - a $10 dollar item to somebody could be worth $10,000 in their mind."
Joseph, who uploads all his finds to his YouTube channel, had been in the middle of recording a video when Stephane and Marie-Eve approached him.
He said: "They came up to me asking if I'd found a ring today and I said hadn't but I asked to exchange numbers.
"They didn't have their phones on them so I told them to follow me on my socials and if I found it, I'd return it.
"I went back to that place every single day for a month and a half but I assumed someone else had found that ring and decided to keep it.
"I decided to try one more time and I wasn't there for more than four minutes and 'beep beep beep', and I knew it was theirs."
Just like any other find, Joseph posted it to his social media channels and hoped the couple would see it.
Back in Canada, Stephane and Marie-Eve had been watching the videos, in the hopes of spotting the ring.
Stephane said: "I didn't know why but I found the videos really entertaining.
"I was sure it was going to turn up."
Within 24 hours of uploading the video, Joseph had received a message on Instagram from the couple.
He said: "As soon as I woke up, they had messaged me in shock and they couldn't believe I'd found it.
"I did not expect them to see it that quickly. Marie-Eve sent me a picture of him wearing the ring to prove it was them as well."
The couple then decided to undertake the mammoth 1,600 mile, 26-hour journey to retrieve the ring and thank Joseph in person.
Joseph said: "Even though I said not to give me anything they made me some gift baskets, gave me my own ring and took me out for dinner.
"The hamper had all sorts of things from Quebec and a coffee mug that said 'help others', it was pretty cool."
Stephane added: "I felt it deserved something more than being sent in the mail. I didn't want it to get lost again either."
Marie-Eve said: "He's so nice, he's fun and authentic and I think he thought we were special.
"We're going to get married in the summer of 2025 and we want him to be our special guest at our wedding."
Stephane Seguin, 40, lost his $1,200 ring whilst swimming with his kids on a trip to St Augustine, Florida, US.
He saw detectorist Joseph Cook, 38, out searching the sands and asked him to keep an eye-out for his ring.
Determined Joseph returned to the spot every day for over a month and eventually found the gold and diamond ring.
Stephane and his fiancé, Marie-Eve Bedard, 43, travelled 1,600 miles to collect the ring and personally thank Joseph - who they invited to their wedding in 2025.
The couple bought the ring in 2011 to be used as a wedding band but with life and kids taking priority, they postponed the big day and Stephane started wearing it anyway.
Stephane, a tinsmith from Quebec City, Canada, said: "When I lost the ring in the sea it felt like falling in a dream.
"We spent every day looking and then we eventually saw Joseph on the beach.
"I said to Marie-Eve 'I'm not going to tell him where it is as he'll look for it and keep it!'
"But she went up to him and he told us if he finds it, he'd return it.
"We left the following week and he still hadn't found the ring, unfortunately.
"But when I saw the video of him finding the ring, I knew it was the ring before he even closed up on it - it was amazing."
Joseph, a detectorist and content creator, from St Augustine, Florida, said: "They were the most humble people I've ever met, out of all the returns I've ever done.
"They told me their whole story - her dad had passed away at 50, and October has always been a bad month for them and they said they wanted a new chapter in their lives and a positive story for October.
"They thanked me a million times and said October is a happy month in their life from now on. That's why I do it.
"Being on the beach and having that solitude and being by myself and in the nice weather all day, you can't complain a whole lot.
"But for me, it's giving stuff back to the people - a $10 dollar item to somebody could be worth $10,000 in their mind."
Joseph, who uploads all his finds to his YouTube channel, had been in the middle of recording a video when Stephane and Marie-Eve approached him.
He said: "They came up to me asking if I'd found a ring today and I said hadn't but I asked to exchange numbers.
"They didn't have their phones on them so I told them to follow me on my socials and if I found it, I'd return it.
"I went back to that place every single day for a month and a half but I assumed someone else had found that ring and decided to keep it.
"I decided to try one more time and I wasn't there for more than four minutes and 'beep beep beep', and I knew it was theirs."
Just like any other find, Joseph posted it to his social media channels and hoped the couple would see it.
Back in Canada, Stephane and Marie-Eve had been watching the videos, in the hopes of spotting the ring.
Stephane said: "I didn't know why but I found the videos really entertaining.
"I was sure it was going to turn up."
Within 24 hours of uploading the video, Joseph had received a message on Instagram from the couple.
He said: "As soon as I woke up, they had messaged me in shock and they couldn't believe I'd found it.
"I did not expect them to see it that quickly. Marie-Eve sent me a picture of him wearing the ring to prove it was them as well."
The couple then decided to undertake the mammoth 1,600 mile, 26-hour journey to retrieve the ring and thank Joseph in person.
Joseph said: "Even though I said not to give me anything they made me some gift baskets, gave me my own ring and took me out for dinner.
"The hamper had all sorts of things from Quebec and a coffee mug that said 'help others', it was pretty cool."
Stephane added: "I felt it deserved something more than being sent in the mail. I didn't want it to get lost again either."
Marie-Eve said: "He's so nice, he's fun and authentic and I think he thought we were special.
"We're going to get married in the summer of 2025 and we want him to be our special guest at our wedding."