Lost treasure awaits beach 'detectorists'

Tim Higginbotham scans a beach near Fort Pierce, Florida, with his metal detector.Metal detectorists travel to beaches to try to find coins or gold jewelryRelics do sometimes wash ashore, but most of the loot slips off the bodies of beachgoersSkyrocketing price of gold has more people than ever interested in the hobbyGoing to big tourist beaches can boost chances of good finds, veteran detectorists say

(CNN) -- Most people heading to the seashore bring along sunscreen, colorful towels and a big umbrella. For others, the ultimate beach accessory is a metal detector.

You've probably seen them during your trips to any coast -- sweeping the gadget back and forth along the water, ears covered by big headphones, eyes scanning the sand -- and wondered what exactly they're looking for.

Meet the detectorists, as the community of hobbyists is known.

You'll return from a day at the beach with a tan and some pretty sea shells. They're hoping to bring back something more lucrative. Gold, anyone?

This treasure hunt may evoke romantic images of shipwreck relics washing up ashore, and that does sometimes happen. But more often than not, the loot simply slips off the bodies of modern-day beachgoers.

"If you have people who are swimming, you're going to have gold in the water," said Dan Berg, an avid detectorist and author of "Beach and Water Treasure Hunting with Metal Detectors."

"The more swimmers there are, the more gold there's going to be."

It's the perfect setup, when you think about it.

Most vacationers cover themselves liberally with suntan lotion and bake under the sun, so their hands swell.

Then, when they go to cool off in the water, their fingers shrink. And since they've already been "pre-lubricated" by the sunscreen, rings can slide right off, Berg said. Waves and currents help nudge accessories off, too.

It's probably one of the only pastimes that pays for itself.
--Dan Berg, detectorist

The promise of such orphaned jewelry, or "drops," has always made beaches an alluring destination for detectorists, but the skyrocketing price of gold in recent years has more people than ever interested in the hobby.

(In case you're wondering whether the treasure hunters feel bad about keeping other people's stuff, the answer is pretty much no. There's usually no way to know how long the items have been lost or how to track down the owners. But in the rare instances they can identify them, most say they're glad to return the valuables.)

Beachcomber stumbles upon historic wreck

In search of 'bling'

Want to get in on the action? There's real money at stake, so there is a sense of secrecy, caution and reluctance when you ask veteran detectorists for a lot of specifics.

But most advise newbies to start with the big tourist beaches first to increase the odds of finding something valuable. Think Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Venice Beach, California, and the like.

Then, there's Miami's South Beach.

"That's a flashy place, and it also has a lot of people who like to party. They get out there with their bling and they turn cartwheels and get drunk and do all kinds of foolish things," said Tim Higginbotham, who has been beach metal detecting for 25 years.

"Miami is an ideal place to come up with a Rolex watch or a good diamond ring or something like that. You can find a lot of stuff down there on South Beach."

Veteran detectorists advise spending $200 to $500 for your first metal detector. A good one will "see" about a foot under the sand.

Consider what kind of detector you want to use: There are machines for use on land only and machines that allow you to wade into the water.

Going into the water can yield better results because there will be less junk than on a dry beach where people throw away bottle caps, etc., said veteran detectorist Dan Berg.

Go early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid the crowds, said veteran detectorist Amy Maruso.

Be prepared for a workout. Maruso's typical outing lasts five hours, which includes lots of walking and digging.

Detecting after a storm that erodes the beach or moves the sand can boost your chances of finding something valuable.

Have lots of patience. It takes time to learn where the good items are, so you'll probably find lots of trash at first, said veteran detectorist Tim Higginbotham.

Going to any popular beach after a big holiday, like the Fourth of July, can also yield more finds because so many people flock to the shore to relax and celebrate, Higginbotham said.

The detectorist has found his share of gold over the years, some of which he has sold and some of which he keeps in a safety deposit box.

He mostly hunts along the beaches near his home in Fort Pierce, Florida, on the state's Treasure Coast -- so called because of the Spanish ships full of silver and gold that shipwrecked in the area almost 300 years ago.

Here, relics sometimes do show up, including Higginbotham's favorite finds: a religious medallion from the Nieves, a sunken Spanish treasure galleon, and a 1714 gold coin.

Eccentric image

Be aware that you'll find lots of junk before you stumble onto anything valuable, warned Amy Maruso, who lives in suburban Philadelphia and likes to treasure hunt on the beaches of northern New Jersey. The hobby has consumed her for 30 years and she carefully studies winds, moon phases and tides to plan her outings for maximum payoff.

Maruso recently cashed in some of the gold she's found for $1,300, she said. But she also doesn't scoff at loose change -- which can add up -- so she likes to go to any beach that has a boardwalk, where people are likely to carry a lot of coins for parking meters, amusement rides and food.

The sight of detectorists scooping up change from the sand sometimes prompts laughs from other beach goers, Maruso said. Bud Light even made an ad mocking "Mr. Beach Metal Detector Guy" as part of its popular "Real Men of Genius" series.

The hobby has an eccentric image, Maruso agreed. Her most memorable encounter while metal detecting on a beach took place with a homeless man who asked her for money.

"He looked at my scoop and he said, 'Oh, never mind, I see you have to scrounge for change too,'" Maruso recalled with a chuckle.

Her favorite find so far has been a "large cent" minted in the United States in 1794.

The hobby can be so addictive that detectorists often pack their metal detectors whenever they travel to any destination with a beach. Berg has brought it to Bermuda and the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. Higginbotham usually finds enough change to pay for some meals when he vacations in the Caribbean.

"The beauty of metal detecting is that almost anybody can do it, and you can do it at different levels and intensities," Berg said. "It's probably one of the only pastimes that pays for itself."

Resources

Interested in finding out more? The Internet offers lots of advice, including sites such as the Treasure Coast Beach Report and GoMetalDetecting.com. You can see what valuables others have found on forums, including TreasureNet.com and MyTreasureSpot.com.

Metal detecting often isn't allowed on beaches that are state parks, so check out guidance from the Federation of Metal Detector and Archaeological Clubs.

If you want to limit your searches to beaches near shipwrecks, there are online guides to sunken ships along the coasts of Florida; the Outer Banks of North Carolina (known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic"); and New England.

CNN

Eyewitness to Miami Beach shooting alleges police misconduct

(CNN) -- An eyewitness to a fatal police shooting in Miami Beach last week claims police officers attempted to confiscate the video he filmed of the incident, and even crushed his phone underfoot in an attempt to destroy the recording.

Narces Benoit says he just happened to be in the area driving with his girlfriend when police fatally shot an erratic driver early Memorial Day morning.

He said after the disturbance started, he pulled over his truck, and started recording with his cell phone camera capturing the shooting.

"When he noticed me recording, one of the officers jumped in the truck, put a pistol to my head," he said. "My phone was smashed - he stepped on it, handcuffed me."

Juan Sanchez a detective with Miami Beach Police Department said he could not comment on how officers that night handled eyewitnesses who may have filmed the incident, because the matter could become the subject of an internal investigation or a civil lawsuit.

But Sanchez added that after the shooting, the site was an active crime scene and the police were looking for additional suspects.

Benoit's girlfriend, Ericka Davis, was also in the truck at the time.

"They handled us like we were criminals," she said. "The officer came over to the driver's side, on my left, and just put the gun to my head."

"They took everyone's phones and smashed them," she said.

Benoit says the only reason he still has the footage is because it was saved on a tiny memory card, which he removed and hid from the officers, despite being told to hand over his video.

"I took the chip out and put it in my mouth," he said, and kept it there the whole time he was interviewed by police at a nearby mobile command post.

His video shows an officer on a bike approaching his truck and pointing a gun directly into the camera; giving an indecipherable command; and then backing away.

Another officer orders them to stop filming and get out of the truck, and then the video ends.

Benoit charged CNN a fee to license his video and air it in a news report. He has since given police a copy, he said, but is considering suing them over his treatment.

Miami Beach police say they are still investigating the fatal shooting of the driver, that Benoit captured on tape.

Police say at around 4 a.m. on Memorial Day, officers stopped Raymond Herisse in his car, but after an altercation, he sped off.

Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega said that Herisse drove recklessly, striking other cars, "driving on sidewalks, and you name it."

"One of the officers was struck," he told reporters. Luckily the officer was not seriously injured, he said, but the suspect posed a threat to the officers and the public, "as a situation involving deadly force."

A video posted on YouTube, which CNN cannot independently confirm, shows a commotion on a wide boulevard, as an erratically driven car comes to a stop at an intersection. Bystanders scatter as officers surround the car, with guns drawn. Then gunfire breaks out. In Benoit's video, it looks like there are muzzle flashes from the pistols of as many as a dozen officers.

Herisse was killed, and four bystanders were injured by gunfire, according to Noriega.

Benoit and Davis criticized the police for the number of shots they fired, in the presence of numerous bystanders.

"We could have been killed," said Davis. "They were shooting so long, you could hear their guns clicking on empty, but they kept pulling the trigger," she said. "I think that's excessive."

Noriega said it was unclear whether the suspect shot at the officers, but police later recovered a gun from his car.

CNN

Police to search New York beach again for clues in deaths of 8

Bone science identifies crime victimsSTORY HIGHLIGHTSPolice say they are searching for more human remains FridayEarlier police divers returned to the bay near a section of Long Island, New York They searched for evidence in the deaths of at least eight peopleThe area is also where 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert was last seen in May 2010RELATED TOPICSMurder and HomicideLong IslandNew York City New York (CNN) -- Police will conduct a "limited" land search Friday near the Long Island bay, part of their continued search for clues in the mysterious deaths of at least eight people.

Investigators will be searching in an area of the Town of Oyster Bay for more human remains, said Lt. Kevin Smith, of the Nassau County Police Department.

Investigators, earlier this week, scraped the sea floor with metal detectors and long poles with mesh baskets during an underwater search for evidence in the possible serial killer case.

"It could be a piece of jewelry, it could be a piece of apparel, anything of interest," said Suffolk County Marine Deputy Inspector Harold Jantzen.

Thursday's search was in the same area where the bodies of four women were uncovered in December 2010.

The area, near private docks in the upscale Oak Beach area, is also where 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert -- the missing New Jersey woman whose disappearance prompted the initial search -- was last seen in May, 2010.

Police said Gilbert, like the other four women, was a prostitute who advertised on Internet sites such as Craigslist.

She was first reported missing after attending a private party at a home in the Oak Beach community.

A man who lives a few miles from where the remains were found said that a young woman who matched Gilbert's description and "looked like she was partying all night" came to his door at about 5 a.m. on May 1.

"She was screaming 'Help me, help me!' and said somebody was chasing her," said Oak Beach resident Gustav Coletti.

She then ran away when Coletti called 911, he said.

Gilbert has not been found, but it was her case that led to the grisly discovery of the bodies of four women, at least some of whom were wrapped in burlap and discarded in tangled bushes next to an oceanside Long Island highway.

At least four other bodies were later found nearby in March and April, though medical examiners have yet to identify them.

Two additional sets of remains -- including a human skull -- were discovered last week in bordering Nassau County, police said.

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'Crazy' killings scare beach towns

Police stand near a spot where remains were found Monday in Nassau County on New York's Long Island. STORY HIGHLIGHTSDive teams planned to look in waterways on the north side of the barrier islandOne resident says his wife and daughter are scared to come homeAnother resident: "It kind of creeps me out" to have been driving past bodiesPolice are investigating another possible set of remains in the suspected serial killings (CNN) -- As police on New York's Long Island were sending dive teams to search for clues in a string of suspected serial killings Wednesday, area residents were trying to come to terms with the grisly crimes.

People who live near where bodies have been found said the "eerie" and "frightening" findings have left some families shaken.

"It's just crazy," said Walter Arnold, 65, who -- along with his wife Dolores -- brought up five children in a house on Long Island's West Gilgo Beach. "My wife is scared to come home for the first time. My daughter is frightened. It's just horrible."

But others said that because of what's known about the killings and the victims, they are not afraid of being targeted. The four victims who have been identified thus far were all women who advertised prostitution services on websites such as Craigslist, police have said.

Tourism and real estate professionals on Long Island said the apparent string of killings does not seem to have affected business.

Police said Monday they were examining a skull found on the outskirts of a bird sanctuary in Long Island's Nassau County, potentially the ninth set of remains discovered in the probe. About four hours earlier, a New York state police officer and his cadaver dog spotted another set of remains about a mile and a half away. On Tuesday, police said both the skull and the remains were determined to be human.

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