Treasure finder: York man dives to recover lost items

Cory Devereau has dozens of rings, necklaces and watches. But he doesn’t want any of them.

“I have no use for jewelry,” he said. “And I’ve seen so much gold, I’m sick of gold.”

Devereau’s jewelry may mean nothing to him, but to his clients, it means everything.

Devereau of York is a scuba diver who specializes in finding lost items. He’s been diving for 35 years and has returned more than 100 rings and necklaces — even six or seven sets of dentures.

He doesn’t do it for the gold or jewelry. Devereau does it to help people, he said.

Cindy Whitesides’ diamond ring is more than just a ring. It belonged to her mother, who died 26 years ago.

When she dropped it in Lake Wylie, she was torn up.

“Pure devastation,” she said. “I cried and cried. I can’t tell you how I felt. I can’t put it into words.”

Whitesides said the ring was insured, but she didn’t want the money.

“My husband could have bought another ring,” she said, “but it wouldn’t have been the same.”

Her husband found Devereau’s business online, and they called him to their York home. Whitesides said it took him less than 20 minutes for Devereau to find her mother’s ring, more than a week after she lost it. She was overjoyed.

“It means I still have my mother with me,” she said.

Devereau said he can find things other divers might miss by using a search pattern and a metal detector.

“If you take off the back of an earring and cut it in half and blindfold me — I’ll find both halves,” he said. “The equipment is that good.”

Sometimes Devereau asks his clients to reenact how they lost the item and maps where it would have landed. He then lays squares of pipe on the ground underwater and starts his search there.

“There’s a method to my madness,” he said.

And that method? “Simply scanning every square inch.”

Devereau said this business has been his dream for a long time.

“The first day I got a metal detector, I quit my job and started doing this,” he said.

Devereau charges local clients a fee of $125 plus 30 percent of the replacement value if he finds the lost item. Devereau said he dives for several days if needed.

Luke Wood of Gaffney said Devereau was able to find the Clemson University class ring his grandparents gave him.

He lost his sunglasses in Lake Wylie, then lost his ring while diving for the glasses.

“My heart sank when it slipped off,” he said. “But I was running out of air so I had to go back up.”

He said the water was too dark and the ground too rocky to find the ring.

He called Devereau, who found the ring — and the sunglasses — in just over an hour. Wood said he was relieved, and said that although he may have been able to purchase a new ring years down the road, it wouldn’t have the same sentimental value.

“It was about a $1,000 ring, and has my grandparents initials inside of it,” he said. “So it was extremely important to me. I was relieved Cory was able to get it back to me.”

Devereau is confident he can find most lost items. He was once challenged to find a contact lens in a pool and found it in under 60 seconds, he said.

“My technique is pretty much flawless,” he said. “It’s metal? It’s mine.”

Devereau said he’s still searching for the owners of dozens of rings, necklaces and medallions. He won’t keep any of it for himself.

“This stuff is absolutely no use to me at all,” he said. “But I love doing it.”

This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Treasure finder: York man dives to recover lost items."