Treasure Hunters Find Gems Amid the Ashes of Disaster

Jan Pazzi’s diamond wedding ring survived last year’s Altadena fire just fine, but it took a treasure-hunting hobbyist from Downey to retrieve it from the pile of debris that was once Pazzi’s home.

George Johnson said he and his crew were also able to find most of Pazzi’s other jewelry, including seven rings and a jumble of gold chains, in the ruins of her Kinneloa Canyon Road home during a daylong search one day before Pazzi’s lot was scheduled to be cleared by a county crew.

Johnson belongs to the 300-member Prospectors’ Club of Southern California. Late last year, members of his group and the West Coast Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Assn. came forward to filter more than 20 truckloads of ashes and debris through the metal screens of their sifters. They hoped to find lost treasures for victims of the fires that destroyed hundreds of homes throughout Southern California in late October and early November.

Using skills honed through searches for missing murder weapons for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and experience from hours spent combing Old West ghost towns, members of both clubs searched about 25 home sites in Laguna Beach and Altadena.

They recovered more than $20,000 worth of jewelry, including rings set with diamonds, rubies and other precious stones. They also found three hand-carved Egyptian jade scarabs and a commemorative-coin collection.

Their rewards for the long hours and the countless cuts from broken glass that nick them through their work gloves are the smiling faces of homeowners after the prospectors find what they are looking for.

Johnson said he went up to Pazzi with his hand closed, then opened it to reveal her ring. “Her scream could have been heard for 10 blocks,” he said.

“We work completely for free--heck, I’ve driven over 2,000 miles working on searches in Laguna and Pasadena--but her smile made it all worthwhile,” said Johnson, 68, who retired to do treasure hunting after a 30-year Navy career as a boatswain’s mate.

In their searches, the prospectors use sifters measuring 2 feet by 3 feet that comprise welded metal frames lined with wire screens to fit over wheelbarrows and 35-gallon drums, Johnson said. Ashes and debris are shoveled onto the screens. Then the prospectors sort through the material that does not fall into the drums and wheelbarrows underneath.

Stacy Sproull, who lost her home in Kinneloa Estates, called on the groups to find a ruby ring her grandmother had left her and an antique surgical kit that belonged to her grandfather.

“We thought the ring was gone,” said Sproull, 35. “Friends had dug through the whole area and found nothing. But these people really know what they’re doing, and (Johnson) found the ring.”