On Sunday July 7th, I was in Dover, New Hampshire, searching for a lost Engagement Ring. I checked my phone and saw, I had a text message, from 3:09pm. It was now 4:01pm. The message read as follows,
“Hello ring finders,
Hello, my husband just lost his wedding band at Scarborough, Maine beach this afternoon. I know what area of the beach we were swimming in, it was high tide and I’m thinking at low tide there will be a chance of finding it. Is this something you can help with?”
I replied
“So sorry to hear this. I am actually searching for a ring in Dover l, NH, at the moment. May I call you when I finish here and on my way home?”
The message came back as yes and I continued searching, in Dover, NH for another 1+ hours. During that time we messaged each other back and forth, as I had a few questions. I found out that the ring belonged to Riley and his wife Marybeth, had found out about my Emergency Metal Detecting Service and contacted me.
Marybeth and Riley had gone to Scarborough Beach State Park, for the day, to enjoy the beautiful weather and were surfing from approximately 11:30am to 1:15pm, when Riley noticed he was no longer wearing his wedding ring. They then got out of the water and searched the area, as best the could, but the tide was now, at high tide.
Once I got home from Dover, we started communicating again. Marybeth told me that she and Riley, were returning back to Scarborough Beach State Park and were performing a visual search, in the hopes they would find the ring. They were not able to find the ring and it was now, that Marybeth took a video of the area, they were surfing in and sent it to me. It was an extremely large area, perhaps 500-600 feet long and the width was approximately 150 feet. I sent her some aerial shots of the area asking her which area were they in, so I could better understand where they were. Marybeth also told me the following
“We were Past section 4 on your map, the surf section .
It’s a gold men’s wedding band that has a unique ridge/twist on it
We just got married a few weeks ago. We did a private ceremony and our reception party is coming up in August so we are really hoping we’ll have the ring back for that 🤞🏼
Thank you so much for your help!
1) the deepest we went out was 6 feet deep. I know that for sure because that’s how tall my husband is and the deepest we went was him just barely being able to touch the bottom
2) we know for sure it came off in the water. We went out surfing at 11:30 am and he was wearing it. We noticed at 1:15 it was missing and so we stopped surfing then
3) yes section 5
WHAT? NEWLYWEDS!!! Only married a few weeks and they have their upcoming reception party. I really need to find this ring, for them.
With the video to watch and the map now confirmed as Section 5, The surfing section, I told Marybeth I would arrive at SBSP, around 5:45am, to take advantage of the low tide.
I did arrive at the location, parked my car and walked down to the surfing section, a walk of almost 1/2 mile. Once I arrived at the Surfing section, I saw just how large of an area it was and came to the realization, I was going to be here, for a while. I decided the area was too big, to do all at once. I would cut the area, in 1/2 and start searching, mid beach, where the tide was now lapping over. I would perform a horizontal grid search, to the shore and search as much area as possible, just knowing, I could come back the next day and finish, if necessary.
Once I started my search, I dug a small hole and threw the sand up, into a pile. This would be my starting point and a marker for me. I always dig a small hole and make a small pile of sand, at the end of each grid line, turn around there, take a 1/2 over and go back towards the previous pile of dug sand, dig hole, turn around again and continue repeating this method, so as not to miss any area. It has worked well for me, in the past.
I had now searched approximately 50-75 feet, of my 1st grid line, when I received my 1st signal. It was a little scratchy , in sound, but the VDI was a decent 12-24, on the VDI Screen. Definitely in the gold range. I dug into the sand, with my scoop and threw it up, into a pile of sand. I couldn’t see any target, so I pushed some of the sand, out of the way, with my foot. I then saw a very small piece of something gold, in color. I reached down and it was a 14k Gold Ring and it looked just like the one, in the photos, that Marybeth had sent me. I absolutely couldn’t believe it. Not even two minutes and I had found the wedding ring. I just need to have Marybeth, to verify this was Riley’s Ring. So I made a video and even though it only 5:56am, I didn’t think anyone would mind, if I sent them a text, of the video. I then sent the video and 5 minutes later received a reply, from Marybeth
“No way! That is amazing!!! 😭♥️
Can you send another picture to confirm that’s it? It appears to be!”
After sending 4 photos and asking her if there was an inscription (There Wasn’t), I received another reply
“Yes that’s it! The only engraving would just be the 14k stamp. I am so grateful! ♥️ I will coordinate with my husband on when works best for him to pick it up from you in Saco.”
Thank God! Riley would be getting his wedding ring back, in time for his August reception. I can’t tell you how good this makes me feel, to be able to help people out, in their time of need.
Plans were made to return the ring to Riley, on Tuesday, July 9th, once he got out of work. When Riley arrived, he was just so happy, that he was getting his ring back. A ring, he put on his finger, for the first time, on May 8th, his wedding day. He told me that he thought he would never see that ring again.
Marybeth, texted me and told me
“Again, we are so grateful for you and all of your help! When we give a speech at our reception party in August, I am going to share this story and how grateful we are for you 🥰”
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