'Prospector Pete' Returns Lost Earring to Malibu Owner

When a Camarillo realtor found a lone vintage earring on Zuma Beach a few weeks ago with his metal detector, he had no idea the search for its owner would end up becoming a journey in itself.

"I just got a good signal and scooped it up and there it was. I looked at it and it was very, very nice vintage costume jewelry," Pete Ellermann recalled of the orange Austrian crystal earring.

Ellermann, who goes by the nickname "Prospector Pete" on YouTube, built his first metal detector with his father when he was 12 and had just started up the hobby again about five months ago. He had found jewelry before -- including a wedding band -- and posted information about it on Craigslist, but the owner never came forward.

After finding the earring, Ellermann showed it to a man on the beach, who had spoken to a woman earlier in the day who was looking for a lost earring.

"The only person I showed this to, made contact with [her]," Ellermann said.

The woman had left her phone number with the man's wife and lifeguards at Zuma Beach with the hope that someone would return her earring, which had more sentimental value than a monetary one.

With the phone number in hand, Ellermann searched the beach, but did not find her. Later, he went online and was able to track down the woman, Julie Labin of Malibu.

Labin, who lives in Malibu Park, frequents Zuma Beach and had misplaced her earring, which she had bought at a community garage sale in her neighborhood for $35.

"Orange is my favorite color and I don’t have pierced ears," Labin said. "It comes from this place down the street where I go once a year."

She said she was shocked when people on the beach informed her that the earring had not only been found, but that the man who found it was trying to return it.

"They genuinely cared and were interested," Labin said.

Ellermann and Labin met up at in Malibu, where Labin was able to reunite the earring with its pair.

"This is so cool. I bought the earring down the street at Zuma Beach, I misplaced it here and it was found again all within a half-mile radius," Labin said.

For Ellermann, the search for the owner was just as fun and challenging as his hunt for treasures on Malibu's beaches.

"That’s the goal here just brining some happiness to somebody," Ellermann said.