BlackFish108
Tenderfoot
- Mar 14, 2013
- 7
- 9
- Detector(s) used
- Whites VX3 W/ standard 950 coil but waiting on my new 10" D2
White's M6- regular coil plus 6X9 shooter
White's Classic III W/ BlueMax 950 coil
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
First off I would like to say a big HELLO to everyone here! you guys have always been my go-to source for anything related to metal detecting and have never let me down. I'd like to start off by telling you all about my encounter with a dead body in a park... Not the best way to introduce myself i know, but since i started getting into this hobby (sport) in late Jan early Feb i thought I'd go in chronological order and get this out before posting any of my non organic finds. The other reason is that the newspaper reports aren't as thorough as my first hand encounter and to be honest, with respect to the family, i would really like to get this down on paper.
it started on a very cold and VERY windy day here in Greenwich CT (Jan 26th) of about 20-25 degrees, the night before it had dipped down to around the 0 degree notch (a unfortunate card to be dealt for someone walking that night). I had picked up my new VX3 at Al's hobbies about a week earlier and since the ground was frozen i would have a tough time using it... I'm sure you could imagine my anxiety to get out. I had picked out my spot (Cove park in Stamford CT) and off i went to follow Google earth to a beach that had been pretty messed up from hurricane sandy. I noticed a few guys working on some construction, most likely to push the sand back onto the beach from the storm. I picked a nice spot on the beach and started on my hunt. it wasn't long (please keep in mind this was my first Whites since my classic III the summer before) before i pulled out a nice old ship's spike, (ill post pictures of it later, as I have since restored...properly) a few clad's and decided that i may have better luck on a rather remote 1/4 mile long peninsula that an old textile factory had been years before.
As i made my way towards the tip of the peninsula, i had noticed that the ground was getting more and more unstable and rocky. I finally came across a little patch of sand and started setting the VX3 up/acting like i knew what i was doing (good god, how did i ever live without fox's settings at that point). Of course being the newbie I was, I had my head buried and my eyes glued to the screen (AKA not listening...i guess I'm a visual learner). As i made my way across a metal pipe, i happened to look up. To my amazement i saw what I thought was a piece of drift wood or maybe an art project of some sort. Then, as I approached closer, I noticed the horrible truth. I found The body of a 50 year old man face down but with legs bent at the knee sticking in the air and face on the rocks... just like if you had been sitting in a chair, frozen yourself and fallen forward, face first. he was not decomposed much but was clearly the rigor stage when he had died. When I noticed that there were no noticeable points of trauma and that he was indeed dead (no vitals plus his mouth had water dripping plus his lack of color), I immediately stood away and did not touch a thing which proved quite useful later on. After the initial shock wore off i ran like the wind back to alert the workers since I was the first on the scene (I left me cell in the car...never again) and lucky we were able to get paramedics out there within 15 Minutes (although unfortunately in vein).
I really want to extend my thanks to the Stamford EMS and the Stamford Police as their response was extremely professional and respectful. Of course my main condolences go to the Family, who had to endure a full day of unease before the awful news was brought to their attention and for that I am truly sorry. The police were also very accommodating towards me as they allowed me to stay and make observations with the Homicide team while taking the crime scene photos. They did think it was a homicide at first but after the autopsy, they ruled it to be an "accidental drowning". Here is the article from the paper that I found to be the most accurate: Body found in Cove identified - StamfordAdvocate
Kinda of a crazy first solo hunt if you ask me but strangely, in the weeks following I have been going out to detect almost every day (I work a 9-5 and still "find" time) almost to an obsessive degree. The body itself did not bother me (I had been a ambulance rider when I was younger) but the fact that he had expired less than 12 hours before i found him and that he has kids, (he was 50) had me in the "if I was just a little earlier" mindset for a while.
I have since come to terms with the unexpected find and have found that it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. I am not a religious person (nor a philosophical one) but before the incident, I was quite the shut-in... No hobbies or anything (maybe a bit of photography but not much). Now every time i go out each night, I have a new found sense of respect for just about everything. It’s a very odd phenomenon, especially if you know how skeptical and pessimistic I can be.
I think the heaviest albatross that fell from my neck was the desire to find coins out of purely monetary value. Now all I can think of when I dig a good coin or relic is, who placed this in their hands last? Was it a rich man? A thief? Or maybe just a jogger running along the sand. They may be gone but to have something tangible in my hands, validating their very existence, is what now drives me to the fullest.
R.I.P Frank
Thanks for listening and sorry for the long post,
I promise that I will post my finding's soon.
BF
it started on a very cold and VERY windy day here in Greenwich CT (Jan 26th) of about 20-25 degrees, the night before it had dipped down to around the 0 degree notch (a unfortunate card to be dealt for someone walking that night). I had picked up my new VX3 at Al's hobbies about a week earlier and since the ground was frozen i would have a tough time using it... I'm sure you could imagine my anxiety to get out. I had picked out my spot (Cove park in Stamford CT) and off i went to follow Google earth to a beach that had been pretty messed up from hurricane sandy. I noticed a few guys working on some construction, most likely to push the sand back onto the beach from the storm. I picked a nice spot on the beach and started on my hunt. it wasn't long (please keep in mind this was my first Whites since my classic III the summer before) before i pulled out a nice old ship's spike, (ill post pictures of it later, as I have since restored...properly) a few clad's and decided that i may have better luck on a rather remote 1/4 mile long peninsula that an old textile factory had been years before.
As i made my way towards the tip of the peninsula, i had noticed that the ground was getting more and more unstable and rocky. I finally came across a little patch of sand and started setting the VX3 up/acting like i knew what i was doing (good god, how did i ever live without fox's settings at that point). Of course being the newbie I was, I had my head buried and my eyes glued to the screen (AKA not listening...i guess I'm a visual learner). As i made my way across a metal pipe, i happened to look up. To my amazement i saw what I thought was a piece of drift wood or maybe an art project of some sort. Then, as I approached closer, I noticed the horrible truth. I found The body of a 50 year old man face down but with legs bent at the knee sticking in the air and face on the rocks... just like if you had been sitting in a chair, frozen yourself and fallen forward, face first. he was not decomposed much but was clearly the rigor stage when he had died. When I noticed that there were no noticeable points of trauma and that he was indeed dead (no vitals plus his mouth had water dripping plus his lack of color), I immediately stood away and did not touch a thing which proved quite useful later on. After the initial shock wore off i ran like the wind back to alert the workers since I was the first on the scene (I left me cell in the car...never again) and lucky we were able to get paramedics out there within 15 Minutes (although unfortunately in vein).
I really want to extend my thanks to the Stamford EMS and the Stamford Police as their response was extremely professional and respectful. Of course my main condolences go to the Family, who had to endure a full day of unease before the awful news was brought to their attention and for that I am truly sorry. The police were also very accommodating towards me as they allowed me to stay and make observations with the Homicide team while taking the crime scene photos. They did think it was a homicide at first but after the autopsy, they ruled it to be an "accidental drowning". Here is the article from the paper that I found to be the most accurate: Body found in Cove identified - StamfordAdvocate
Kinda of a crazy first solo hunt if you ask me but strangely, in the weeks following I have been going out to detect almost every day (I work a 9-5 and still "find" time) almost to an obsessive degree. The body itself did not bother me (I had been a ambulance rider when I was younger) but the fact that he had expired less than 12 hours before i found him and that he has kids, (he was 50) had me in the "if I was just a little earlier" mindset for a while.
I have since come to terms with the unexpected find and have found that it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. I am not a religious person (nor a philosophical one) but before the incident, I was quite the shut-in... No hobbies or anything (maybe a bit of photography but not much). Now every time i go out each night, I have a new found sense of respect for just about everything. It’s a very odd phenomenon, especially if you know how skeptical and pessimistic I can be.
I think the heaviest albatross that fell from my neck was the desire to find coins out of purely monetary value. Now all I can think of when I dig a good coin or relic is, who placed this in their hands last? Was it a rich man? A thief? Or maybe just a jogger running along the sand. They may be gone but to have something tangible in my hands, validating their very existence, is what now drives me to the fullest.
R.I.P Frank
Thanks for listening and sorry for the long post,
I promise that I will post my finding's soon.
BF
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