Cocoa Beach metal detectors help family reunite with priceless heirloom lost at sea
Strangers find lost family heirloom at Cocoa Beach
A priceless heirloom that was swept out to sea on a family vacation in Central Florida has been recovered in Cocoa Beach. Two men were able to recover the missing necklace using metal detectors, and it has now been returned to its rightful owners.
COCOA BEACH, Fla. - A priceless heirloom that was swept out to sea on a family vacation in Central Florida has been recovered in Cocoa Beach. Two men were able to recover the missing necklace using metal detectors, and it has now been returned to its rightful owners.
Family vacation ends in heartbreak
The backstory:
Niccole Lynn and her husband, Josh, said they took their family on a vacation to the Space Coast in celebration of their 20th wedding anniversary.
Niccole Lynn and her husband, Josh, took their family on a vacation to the Space Coast in celebration of their 20th wedding anniversary. (Credit: Niccole Lynn)
However, their family vacation ended in heartbreak when a priceless piece of jewelry was swept out to sea.
Lynn said her husband was wearing a special necklace, the last memento he had from his mother who had died, when he was swimming in the ocean and an aggressive wave knocked him over. She said she was almost convinced the sea had claimed her husband’s one-of-a-kind necklace.
"Her jewelry that had been melted down with her name, her birthdate and the day she passed away on the back," Lynn said when describing how special the piece is to her husband. "The wave hit him, and he knew right away the necklace was gone,"
Lynn said her husband wears the necklace everywhere and forgot to take it off while swimming in the sea with his children.
The lost necklace was a special, one-of-a-kind family heirloom. (Credit: Niccole Lynn)
‘I’m just going to take a chance'
What we know:
As soon as her husband made it back to shore, the couple ran up to some strangers they spotted with metal detectors.
"I’m just going to take a chance and approach them," Lynn said.
They approached two best friends, both named Bruce, who said they love searching for lost treasure.
After hearing the couple's story, they said they’d be on the lookout for the necklace, but didn’t think they’d actually find it.
"Everything was wrong, because the tides were too high; the waves were pounding," Bruce Lane said.
But the duo persisted, and a few days later, they struck gold – literally.
Two men in Cocoa Beach, both named Bruce, were able to recover the special necklace with the help of metal detectors. (Credit: Bruce Lane)
‘I knew that God puts people in our paths’
What they're saying:
The family was at the airport going back home when they received a mysterious call from the two men, who said they had found the missing heirloom.
"We already went over this place 50 times, and he was coming back, and he got it; he nailed it," Lane said.
The two men found the special gold necklace and sent the family a picture of them holding the heirloom.
The couple tried to thank the pair immediately.
"Right away, we had sent $200 to them," Lynn said. "Before I could blink, he had refunded the money and sent it back to us."
The two men said the money wasn't why they were searching for the necklace.
"That was our reward; finding it," Lane said.
The family said the men's actions helped them find new hope in humanity.
"I believe in God, and I knew it was God," Lynn said. "I knew that God puts people in our paths."
Lynn said the men's kindness was a wonderful teaching moment for her young kids to see perfect strangers going out of their way to make all the difference.
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The Source: This story was written based on information gathered by FOX 35's reporter Esther Bower, who interviewed Niccole Lynn over Zoom on March 27, 2025. She also met up with Bruce Lane on March 26, 2025, near the park in Cocoa Beach where the necklace was lost and found soon after.