'Absolute legend' finds woman's treasured rings lost on beach
When Chelsea Broeren lost three rings at a Sunshine Coast beach, she thought they were gone forever and tentatively posted a plea on a Facebook group asking for help to track them down.
“They are really special to me and I’ve had them for a long time,” she pleaded in a desperate bid to find her lost silver rings.
Luckily for Ms Broeren, self proclaimed “treasure hunter” Sam Riley was tagged in the post by a friend and he decide to take up the challenge.
“One of them was my mum’s,” Ms Broeren explained, posting a detailed description and photos of her cherished rings.
“She felt like she’d given them away,” Mr Riley told Yahoo News Australia.
The Good Samaritan retraced the woman’s steps with her at Coolum’s Second Bay and with the help of his metal detector, all three rings were found in the sand and returned to their owner.
Ms Broeren was ecstatic when Sam located the treasured rings “there was a big cheer and a big smile,” he beams.
Chelsea took to a local Facebook group to thank Sam and dubbed him an “absolute legend.”
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Members of the group couldn’t stop praising the efforts of Sam, describing him as “a great bloke” and a “good soul.”
Hope you gave him some treasure back,” one poster said.
Although Coolum’s very own ‘Indiana Jones’ is currently looking for work, he doesn’t charge for his expertise and enjoys regular treks on the beach with his top of the line metal detector in hand looking for treasures.
Sam has since set up the Detecting Coolum Beach Facebook page to help reunite owners with their lost possessions because “he loves the hunt.”
“If people feel they want to give me something in return, they do but I really do it for the reaction, especially if the item has sentimental value,” he says modestly.
The page is starting to fill up with requests for Sam to help find items other locals had lost at the same beach.
“Have you ever found a rose gold tiara ring at Coolum beach Sam?,” a poster asks.
And Sam is already on the case “no sorry I haven’t … lost in the ocean or the sand?”
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