Just before 6:00pm, on Saturday August 2nd, I received a call from Mike. Mike, his wife and their son had spent the day at Ferry Beach State Park, in Saco, Maine. They were having a great time, until Mike noticed that he no longer had his wedding ring on. As most people do, they all began running their fingers through the sand around their chairs. It was all for naught as no ring was found. Fortunately Mike had not gone swimming but had spent the day around the beach chairs, other than leaving the chair area, just twice. Once, when he went down along the waterline, as his son was boogie boarding and once walking the length of the park’s beach, to use the restroom. Other than that, he was just enjoying the sun and scenery, with his family. It was while he was in the restroom that he noticed his wedding ring was missing. He didn’t see it in the restroom and walked back to the chairs, visually searching as he walked. Once at the chair, he searched the beach bags and chairs and sand, in the area. The ring was not found. Mike’s wife then walked up to the restroom area and she was not able to find it anywhere along the route. Mike then reported the ring missing, to the Park Manager. Once home, in Gorham (Maine), Mike learned about my services. This is when he called me. I told Mike I could certainly help him and we agreed to meet at 6:30pm, at the gate, to the Ferry Beach State Park.
Cheryl and I drove down to the State Park and met Mike at the gate. He was talking to the Park Manager, as she was locking the gates, for the evening. She wished us well and told us we welcome to walk the road, down to the beach. It was a long walk so I told Mike that he could leave his car where it was and Cheryl would drive us to Pond Avenue, adjacent to the beach and 1/2 of a mile less walking. Once Cheryl dropped us off, we walked a 100’ or so and were on the State Park’s beach. Mike took me to the area he thought they were in and I told himself that even if he was a little off, I would over grid search the area, so as not to miss any areas. I started at the southern end of the beach m working my way north, parallel with the high tide waterline. I was maybe 6’ to 8’ feet, from the high tide mark and Mike said their chairs weren’t that far down, towards the water. After searching for 100’ or so to the north Mike said that I should turn around and head back south. As I headed south, I was finding only a few non ferrous targets, a pull tab and a very small fishing sinker and some small bits of foil. I then headed north again and when I reached the northern end of the search line, still no ring. Mike then said that maybe he was a little closer to the lifeguard stand and I headed another 50’ to 75’ further north, turned and searched south, turned and headed back north again. Still the list wedding ring remained elusive. As Mike and I talked I suggested I search the 6’ to 8’ of dry sand, along the high tide waterline line. Again Mike said he didn’t think they were that close to the high tide line. I suggested that I just search it, so that we know the entire area, from the high tide line to about 30’ inland, on the beach, would be completely searched and once I finished this area, we could figure out our next move. Mike agreed with me and I started heading south, along the high tide line. As I was about 3/4 of the way done, I received a nice low tone, reading 27-28 on my VDI screen. I told Mike, that this sounded good but couldn’t guarantee it was the ring. It could be another pull tab. I took my pinpointer and ran it through the sand until I caught a glimpse of the side of the ring. Mike couldn’t see it, from where he was standing and I grabbed the ring, so he couldn’t see it and popped up, extending my hand with the ring, towards Mike , saying, “Mike, I got it, congratulations “. Mike’s jaw literally dropped and said “Oh my God, I can’t believe it. I think I might cry. I have to let my wife know.” Mike put the ring, on his finger and took a photo, sending it to his wife. Mike was very emotional and happy to have his ring back, telling me multiple times that “You’re the best, you’re doing Gods work “. I could see Mike’s eyes glistening a little and knew just how much this ring meant to him. This ring represents so much to Mike and it isn’t the monetary value, it’s his life with his wife and son, it’s the memories. After Cheryl came down and picked us up, he told Cheryl the same thing and conveyed how fortunate he was to have his beloved wedding ring back. Mike told us of his buying the ring in Manchester New Hampshire, all those years ago and was just so relieved he had it back. Cheryl also told Mike that we love doing this for others and that she was very, very happy for him. As we dropped Mike off, back at his vehicle, he thanked us again and was going to let everyone he knows about us doing great work for others. He thanked us one last time and told us “You guys really are doing Gods work, thank you.” Cheryl and I drove away smiling and telling each other how we love being able to see the happy tears and smiles on our clients, once they get their ring back. No better feeling in the world than to see people like Mike get their extremely sentimental ring back. I can tell you that we are all going to sleep tonight m with smiles on our faces. 😀❤️🙏


2 Replies to “Sentimental Gold Wedding Ring Lost In The Sand, In Saco, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector”
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You’ve probably heard the expression « You never know how much you love something until you lose it. » I recently had significant weight loss, coupled with applying slippery sunscreen and later restroom hand sanitizer, I was unwittingly primed to suffer the resulting loss. In retrospect, probably not the best combination to keep a smooth wedding ring on my finger!
When I realized it was missing, I felt that sickening feeling as my heart sank. We searched all our pockets, bags, chair pouches and the immediate beach area sifting through the sand, but to no avail. Looking around my surroundings and the vast expanse of sandy beach, the proverbial « finding a needle in a haystack, » seemed more likely than ever finding my ring. We reluctantly packed-up and left the park hoping someone would find it and turn it in. I left my contact info with Lynn at the front gate and then prayed to St. Anthony (Patron Saint of miracles to recover lost items). Within minutes, I received a text message from Lynn at Maine State Parks suggesting I try reaching out to Dennis, along with his contact information. I immediately called him and we planned to meet there just as they were closing the gates. With the help of his wife, Cheryl (a real sweet heart!), we drove around to an access pathway and walked back to the now uninhabited beach as high tide was just peaking! Dennis set up all the equipment and began a sweeping grid pattern, in a north-south direction, gradually working our pattern away from the waters-edge toward the dunes. After finding all sorts of metals (aluminum, tin can lids, metal tent spikes and miscellaneous pieces of fishing tackle, one last push to the outer edges of our grid and BINGO! There was Dennis holding my ring between his fingers with the look on his face that said it all! I hugged him and told him he’s doing God’s work! I welled-up with tears of joy! I took a picture of my hand now reunited with the ring on my finger and sent the text to my wife! Total time lost was less than 3 hours!
Who does that in today’s world? Dennis and Cheryl are miracle workers and should be recognized for their service to us! Lastly, I notified Lynn at the Maine State Park Ferry Beach that the ring was found and thanked her as well for connecting me with Dennis and Cheryl.
Who does that in today’s world? Dennis and Cheryl are miracle workers and should be recognized for their service to us!