Delaware
A ring lost on a Delaware beach, and the hours before the next high tide
From Lewes and Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island, then inland to Lums Pond and Wilmington
On the ocean beaches at Rehoboth, Dewey and Bethany, the wet sand uncovered at low water is under the sea again about six hours later. NOAA's tide predictions for Lewes list two high waters and two low waters on most days, and the mean range there is about 4 feet (1.2 metres). That puts a lost ring at beach towns like these on a timetable. If it fell on wet sand, the sea will be back over the spot within hours.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Delaware with a metal detectorist who can search there. Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the place, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
The steps are the same for a lost wedding ring, an engagement ring, an Oura ring, earrings, a necklace, bracelet or chain, an Apple Watch, key fobs, metal-framed glasses and hearing aids.
Four small jobs to fit in before the water comes back
Start with the tide itself. Look up the next high water for Lewes or Indian River Inlet in NOAA's free tide predictions. If the tide is rising, do the next three now.
Mark the spot against two fixed things. A towel gets moved and a line in wet sand washes out. Stand where you think it fell and pick one fixed object up the beach, such as a dune crossing or the boardwalk steps, and a second along the shore, such as a lifeguard stand or a street end. Photograph each.
Write down the time. With it, NOAA's predictions tell us how high the water stood at that moment.
Photograph the waterline, with something fixed in the picture.
Then put the photos, a pin, the time and a picture of the ring into one WhatsApp message. If you were about to look up a metal detector service near Rehoboth, message us first.
Areas and towns we cover in Delaware
- Rehoboth and the Delaware beaches
- Lewes and Lewes Beach
- Cape Henlopen State Park
- Dewey Beach
- Delaware Seashore State Park
- Indian River Inlet
- Bethany Beach
- South Bethany
- Fenwick Island
- Fenwick Island State Park
- Wilmington
- Brandywine Park and Rockford Park
- Newark
- White Clay Creek State Park
- Lums Pond State Park
- Prime Hook and Bombay Hook refuges
The Delaware shore park by park, and the water inland
The resort towns between Lewes and Fenwick Island
Rehoboth Beach has about a mile of boardwalk above its town beach, and Bethany Beach has a shorter one with a bandstand on it. Dewey Beach has the Atlantic on one side of the highway and shallow Rehoboth Bay on the other. At Lewes the beach curves along Delaware Bay from Roosevelt Inlet to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal, and the waves are gentle. All of them are on the page for Rehoboth and the Delaware beaches.
Bay beach and ocean beach at Cape Henlopen State Park
Cape Henlopen State Park sits where Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic, so it has beaches on both. There is a guarded swimming area with a bathhouse in summer, and a fishing pier on the bay side. One of the park's World War II observation towers makes a good fixed mark in a photo. The park also looks after Deauville Beach, just north of Rehoboth Beach. Up the bay shore, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge near Milton has six miles of trails, a boardwalk and Prime Hook Creek for canoes and kayaks, and Bombay Hook near Smyrna has a 12-mile wildlife drive with three observation towers.
The barrier beach north and south of Indian River Inlet
Delaware Seashore State Park is six and a half miles of barrier beach, with the Atlantic to the east and Rehoboth Bay and Indian River Bay to the west. It has ten access locations, some on the ocean and some on the bays. Two of them, Tower Ocean Road and the South Day Use Area, have a bathhouse and lifeguards in summer. Tell us which one you parked at.
Fenwick Island State Park and Little Assawoman Bay
Delaware's southernmost beach has three miles of ocean sand, a bathhouse and a World War II fire control tower. On the bay side, its Assawoman Recreation Area has a calm shoreline on Little Assawoman Bay where kayaks and paddleboards are launched.
Lums Pond and the Wilmington parks
Lums Pond State Park surrounds a freshwater pond where kayaks, canoes and pedal boats are rented. Brandywine Park and Rockford Park belong to Wilmington State Parks, along the Brandywine River, with picnic lawns and ball fields. For a fresh loss on a lawn like that, in a yard in Newark or on dry sand above the tide line, a metal detector rental can be a sensible first try. On wet sand, in water, over a large area or for a small item such as an earring, a detectorist makes more sense.
Between your message and a detectorist on the sand
Your message reaches the same person each time
Every WhatsApp message comes to Bartek. He will ask about the beach, the nearest street end or dune crossing and the time on your photos.
Your two marks and your waterline photo go to the detectorist
Whoever takes the search gets the pin, both photos, the time and the picture of the item before setting off for Bethany or Lewes.
Dry sand by a chair and deep water are not the same search
A ring dropped beside a beach chair at Rehoboth is one kind of search. One that came off while swimming at Fenwick Island is a much harder one. We tell you which yours looks like before you decide anything.
We read the tide tables before we suggest a time
Anyone planning metal detecting in Delaware on the ocean side has to know when the sand will be uncovered. We look up NOAA's predictions for the station nearest your beach before suggesting a day and an hour.
You hear the costs before you agree to anything
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
What the water does at Lewes, inside the inlet and after Labor Day
Two high waters a day at Lewes
At Lewes the mean tidal range in NOAA's figures is about 4 feet (1.2 metres), with roughly six hours from a high water to the low that follows. Waves running over the spot could shift a ring or put sand on top of it, and nobody can tell you from a distance which has happened. Low water does come round again, so a missed tide is not the last one.
A smaller tide inside Indian River Inlet
Inside Indian River Inlet the mean range is about 2.5 feet (0.8 metres), so the band of wet sand uncovered at low water is narrower there. Rehoboth Bay, Indian River Bay and Little Assawoman Bay lie behind the ocean beaches, and NOAA lists tide predictions for points inside the inland bays too. On the bay side, note the depth you stood in and your distance from shore.
Busy in summer, quiet and cold after it
The guarded state park beaches have lifeguards from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, and a lifeguard stand is an easy fixed mark. Out of season, use a dune crossing, a bathhouse or a street end. The water is warm enough for swimming in summer and cold in winter, so the date of the loss is one of the first things we ask.
Asked from the wet sand at Rehoboth, a kayak at Lums Pond and a lawn in Wilmington
My wedding band came off on the wet sand at Rehoboth an hour ago and the tide is coming in. What can I do before the water gets there?
Fix the spot while you can still stand on it. Pick one fixed thing straight up the beach and a second along the shore, such as a lifeguard stand or a street end. Photograph both, photograph the water's edge and write down the time. Low water comes round again about six hours after high.
My engagement ring went missing during an afternoon by the Bethany Beach bandstand, and high tide has been since. Does the place we sat still matter?
Yes, a lot. If your chairs were on dry sand above the high-tide line, the water has not been over that patch at all. Go back in daylight and line it up with the bandstand and the nearest boardwalk steps.
My husband's Apple Watch came off in waist-deep water at Fenwick Island State Park at about 3 pm. How could anyone work out where he was standing?
From the time. NOAA's tide predictions give the height of the water through the day, so 3 pm and waist deep together help narrow down which strip of sand to look at around low water. Tell us where you walked onto the beach.
An earring came out while I was wading on the bay side at Dewey Beach. Does the tide matter on the bay?
It can. NOAA lists tide predictions for points inside Delaware's inland bays as well as for Indian River Inlet, so ask us and we will look at the tide for that spot. Note the time and how far up your leg the water came.
How do I find out when low tide is at Bethany Beach tomorrow? I want to go back and look myself.
NOAA publishes free tide predictions online for Delaware stations, including Lewes and Indian River Inlet, with the time of every high and low water. Go back around low water and stand on your two lines. Message us before you go and we can start looking for a detectorist in the meantime.
My Oura ring slipped off as I climbed into a rental kayak at Lums Pond. Should I keep feeling around for it?
Better to stop and mark the place. A pond has no tide, so nothing is about to cover the spot any deeper. Note where the kayak sat when you got in, how far that was from the bank and how deep the water was on you.
My car keys vanished during a picnic on the lawn at Rockford Park in Wilmington and we have walked it twice. Is there a better way to look?
Yes, start from where the blanket was and not from the whole lawn. Go back while you still remember it, photograph the spot with Rockford Tower or a path in the frame, and send us the photos with a pin.
Delaware
Photos now, while the sand is still showing
If the tide is still out, take the photos now and write afterwards. When you do write, put the beach, the time and what you lost into one WhatsApp message, whether that is a lost ring at Rehoboth or a phone at Lums Pond. We will reply with the next step.