After inadvertently digging up an item and a note on the beach, a metal detectorist respectfully reburied them in the sand.
The beach can prove a hotbed of discoveries for metal detectorists – rings for those fortunate enough to come across them, and ring pulls for those less so.
One treasure hunter was left in shock this week, however, after uncovering a heartbreaking find which he duly reburied in the sand. Sharing a snap to Reddit, the detectorist simply penned: “Sad but interesting find.” His photo showed a jar, which contained a piece of paper that revealed the other contents were the ashes of a man who passed away in 2011, aged 22. The note, written by his grieving mother, requested that if found, the jar should be placed back “respectfully”.
The finder added: “I found this buried 6 inches down on the Oregon coast. When I saw the piece of paper I thought it might have been geocache related. Based on the amount of ashes I’m guessing there’s a few more of these out there in more of his favorite places. Yes I did put it back.”
And in response to a question about the item, he divulged further: “The lid was painted metal with a plastic liner on the threads so it was easy to open with no corrosion. I’m guessing the mother didn’t think about us when she chose that container but then again she did leave a note. Based on the location I’d be surprised if I wasn’t the first person to dig this up.”
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Sad but interesting find
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Saddened by the MetalDetecting subreddit post, scores of other Reddit users expressed their sorrow over the discovery. “She [the mother] probably kept it in the jar so she could come back and visit,” one person suggested.
“This is both sad and beautiful at the same time,” another added. “Doing something like this isn’t legal where I’m from and I’m trying to imagine what it would feel like to come across this in person. I’m not saying that I think anything about this is wrong. It’s heavy but also beautiful. I hope that the parent has been able to find peace and happiness.”
A third added: “I’d probably put a heavy rock over the top and bury it much further down. It’s heartbreaking.” And a fourth recommended: “If I were the O.P. [original poster] I would take them with me and get a new container and bring them back in a new container with no metal lid to help avoid future metal detectors from finding this, a couple hours of disturbance to find a eternity of peace.”
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As a positive outcome of the find, meanwhile, one Reddit user revealed that since the find was unearthed, the man’s online obituary has seen a wave of activity.
“Reddit can be so awesome sometimes,” they said alongside a link. “This young man’s obituary sat for 13 years without a comment and it’s currently being blown up with love and prayers from this community.”
A second person agreed: “It is awesome that people from Reddit are leaving very kind messages on Steven’s memorial page.” And a third wrote: “I know this can be viewed as sad, and I truly hope this detector put the ashes back respectfully, but I am finding hope here. I think this is one of the very FEW cool things about social media, because we all, who have seen this post, now know that this son was truly loved by his mother and any future detectorists who come across this site will know it too.”
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Sourse: www.express.co.uk
