The Metal Detective

A book about looking for things that matter

I've been writing this work down for a while now — the recoveries, the craft behind them, and what fourteen years of handing rings back to people has taught me about being found.

Out now

FOUND

30 Days of Redemption

What does a lost wedding ring have to do with the Gospel? Everything, as it turns out. Both are about searching for what matters, and both are about the moment something lost finally comes home.

A ring lost in the ocean. A baptismal cross recovered after ten days in the surf. A man who finished reading the Bible the night before and walked onto a Malibu beach the next morning. Every recovery I have ever done has turned out to be a redemption story pointing at the same thing: nothing is lost to God. It's just waiting to be recovered.

FOUND is thirty devotionals with thirty small-group teaching guides, written by a regular guy who swings a metal detector for a living.

Read it if: You've ever felt lost, or you know somebody who is, or you're looking for something to take into a small group.

August 2026 · 331 pages · Paperback $16.99, Kindle $11.99

Get it on Amazon

Why “The Metal Detective”

It started as a joke and stuck. Detective work is genuinely most of the job — by the time I switch a machine on I've already interviewed you, worked backwards from the tide chart, and narrowed a beach down to a patch I can actually search. The detector is the last ten percent.

So that's the name on the books, and it's what people in the detecting world call me. If you came here looking for The Metal Detective, you're in the right place. Everything about the recovery service is on this site, and everything about the books is on this page.

What I've actually done

Fourteen years of this work, and more recoveries than I've kept count of. I spent thirty-one years as a physical education teacher before it, I'm a licensed Christian minister, and I'm a member of The Ring Finders, the international directory of independent recovery specialists.

None of which matters much when you've just lost your wedding ring. What matters then is that somebody who knows these beaches picks up the phone. Read a few of the searches and judge for yourself.

Book questions

Are you the same Dave as The Metal Detective?

Yes. The Metal Detective is what people in the metal detecting world know me as, and it's the name on the books. Dave the Ring Finder is the recovery service. Same person, same phone number.

When is the second book out?

When it's right. It's written, but I found several things in it I want to correct before I put it back in front of people. Text me and I'll tell you when it's ready.

Do I need to buy a book to hire you?

Absolutely not, and please don't feel any obligation. If you've lost a ring, call or text 805-290-5009 and let's talk about that instead. The books are a separate thing I do because I enjoy writing.

Will a book teach me to find my own ring?

The one I'm revising will teach you how the work is done, and if you own a detector already it'll make you considerably better at it. But if your ring went into wet sand or water yesterday, don't order a book — the tide isn't going to wait for shipping. Call me, or read the free guide on this site.

Can you sign a copy?

Happily. Text me and we'll work it out.

Do you speak to groups or churches?

Yes. Between the recovery stories and the devotional material in FOUND there's plenty to talk about, and I enjoy doing it. Give me a call.

Lost a ring right now?

Put the book down and call or text 805-290-5009. On a beach, the tide is the only deadline that counts.

Call 805-290-5009 Send a text instead