11 years of meaning nearly gone if not for help of strangers at Bluffer’s Beach

For Pamela Noronha, what was supposed to be a fun weekend at the beach quickly turned into a stressful scene on Sunday.

Noronha had been with her husband and some friends when she lost her wedding ring at Bluffer’s Beach in the city’s east end on July 4.

“It was our engagement ring and also our wedding ring, so I was pretty upset and I was sure I was never going to see it again,” she said.

The Toronto resident says she spent hours searching the beach with her husband but eventually let go of hope as they left for home.

That’s when she decided to make one last effort at recovering her heirloom, by joining a Facebook group for Scarborough Bluffs.

Screenshot of Facebook post of Pamela Noronha looking for her wedding ring.

Within hours, she says the group suggested she contact a network of ring finders, who also have their own Facebook group.

That’s where she met Stéphane Coutu, a ring finder from Brighton, Ont.

The next day, Coutu quoted Noronha a small fee, and a subsequent charge contingent on if he found the ring before making the 90-minute drive to Toronto.

Equipped with his metal detector and eight years of experience, he tracked down the ring in just a few hours.

Pamela Noronha’s engagement and wedding ring. The piece of jewellery has been on her hand for eleven years. | Pamela Noronha

Coutu says it’s his expertise in metal detecting that leads to successful recoveries.

“This ring recovery was fairly easy since they had a good idea where they lost it,” he said.

Noronha says she was more than happy to pay Coutu and laughs that she will never be taking her 11-year-old ring anywhere near a beach again.