These are the kind of events that makes Metal Detecting a truly honorable hobby.
Black Mountain, Asheville, NC — A group of metal-detecting enthusiasts helped police find some stolen jewelry last week. The jewelry was stolen in a string of home break-ins last month. Five town residents were arrested in the case. The Police Department approached the metal-detecting hobbyists and gave them the approximate location of where they thought the suspected criminals disposed of some items. The treasure hunters did the rest of the work.“They did a good job,” police Sgt. Rob Austin said.
Mike Post, a Swannanoa Valley resident and dealer for Minelab brand metal detectors, recruited members of the Blue Ridge Metal Detecting Club and posted a message on Treasurenet.com, a website for hobbyists. They converged on the site Aug. 5 at the end of Vance Avenue and Montreat’s In the Oaks campus, and began sweeping the area, Post said.
Another man out for a walk discovered some jewelry boxes after the searchers told him what they where looking for. They were able to use their metal detectors to uncover the jewelry hidden beneath the leaves and dirt.
“It doesn’t take long for this stuff to bury itself,” Post said. “It settles once it rains and the wind blows.”
Club members came from as far as Sylva, and one man who was traveling through the area from Illinois made a detour to attend after seeing the post on Treasurenet.com.
“It was a good idea,” Austin said. “It panned out.”
The jewelry is now being processed as evidence. Austin is reviewing descriptions from police reports filed immediately after the break-ins to match the jewelry with the owners.
He said the case underscores the need for homeowners to document their possessions with photographs and record the serial numbers of possessions. Having photos can help homeowners claim their stolen goods if they are recovered, and serial numbers can help law enforcement officials track items through nationwide databases.
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