Dennis Boothby, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 3 of 4

Water Shutoff Valve Found Outside The House In Old Orchard Beach, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Tuesday August 1st, 2023, I received a text message from Tish. She and her husband needed to find the outside water shutoff valve, at their home in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. She told me they were available until 11:00 am and it was 9:00am now. I immediately texted her back and told her that I would be there in 15-20 minutes. This call out would be a first for me. I had never tried to find a water shutoff, in the past. How hard could it be?

Once I arrived, Tish and her husband explained that their inside water shutoff was rusted and could not be shut off, in the case of an emergency. They wanted to find the outside valve to shut water off to the house, so that a new inside shutoff valve could then be installed. As I started detecting the area, I started getting lots of hot rocks that had been placed over the lawn, and we removed them as I found them. I also found an old, large rusty railroad spike and lots of old rusty nails, but no shutoff valve. As the trash was being removed, I received a very loud signal on the CTX-3030, showing it to be in the iron range and at a depth of 0-1 inches. We scraped back the rocks, dug a very shallow hole and the spade hit something solid. Scraping back a little more soil brought the water shutoff valve into the daylight. Now Tish and her husband may contact the local Water Company to come shut their water off and have their new inside shutoff installed.

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Lost Engagement Ring Lost And Found on Ferry Beach Scarborough Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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After a long but rewarding day (I have already recovered and returned 2 gold wedding rings), my wife pulled up in the car,  to pick me up and I was ready to go home. As  I was loading my detecting equipment in the car, my phone rang and I saw a voice mail had been left approximately 6 minutes earlier. The voice mail stated that the callers name was Robin and that she was with a group of people at Ferry Beach, in Scarborough, Maine and that an engagement ring had been lost in the sand. Robin had performed a “google” search and had come across my name. Robin was wondering if I were available to help them with my metal detecting service. I immediately called Robin back and told her that I absolutely would be willing to help. Robin proceeded to tell me they were out on the Point, at Ferry Beach. Ferry Beach is approximately 12-15 miles north from where I was in Old Orchard Beach, Maine and 10-12 miles south of Portland, Maine. With summer traffic is full swing, along the southern coast of Maine, I told Robin that I would be there in 30 minutes. Once my wife and I arrived, at Ferry Beach, Scarborough, Maine,  we saw Robin waving us down.
There were a group of people there and I learned the person that was missing the ring was Emily. Emily explained that she had applied lotion to herself and that 2 of her rings had slipped off and had fallen into the sand. One of the rings had already been found by the group but the engagement ring was still missing. The group had already marked an area off as being the most likely spot that the ring would be in. As I started a grid of the area, I found a nail and then a pull tab. I then received a nice signal on the CTX-3030. I pulled my pin pointer out, found the target and put my hand into the sand. Out came Emily’s Engagement Ring and when I held it up for the group to see, Applause and Cheers filled the air. I was again very relieved to have been blessed to have found and returned Emily’s Engagement Ring. Emily and her group of family and friends were also relieved and extremely grateful to The Ring Finders.
After finding Emily’s Engagement Ring, and the 3rd recovery of the day, I was ready to go home Wow, it was a day I will never forget. I am so blessed to be able to help people out, in their time of need.

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Another Gold Wedding Ring Found And Returned in Old Orchard Beach Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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Now that Joanne had her wedding ring back, her friend just told me that he also had lost his wedding ring in the sand. He told me his name was Gene and that just like Joanne, he had also placed his wedding ring on his beach towel and went swimming in the ocean. Just like Joanne, Gene had forgotten he had taken his ring off and placed it on his towel. Gene was drying off, using his towel when he remembered his ring. It was to late as the wedding ring had been swallowed up by the beach sand. Gene proceeds to show me the area his beach towel was, when the ring was lost. It was only 5-6 feet away from his friend, Joanne’s lost ring. I passed the coil over the area that Gene had pointed out and within 3 swings of my coil, I had found Gene’s wedding band. I still couldn’t believe that I had just recovered 2 gold wedding bands with in 5-6 feet of each other and that they knew each other.
As I walked away and resumed detecting down new the low tide mark, I decided to call my wife to come pick me up, as I was now 3 hours into my hunt and that is about my limit. When my wife arrived, I started putting my detector and gear in to the car, when my phone rang. Story to continue in my next blog.

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Gold Wedding Band Lost In The Sand, Recovered and Returned

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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Sunday July 30, 2023 is a day I will never forget. I was able to recover and return, not 1, not 2, but 3 rings in one day.  The first recovery happened as I was already at the beach and detecting down near the low tide line. A woman approached me and asked if I could find her gold wedding ring. I asked her if she had lost it in the water. She replied that she had lost it up in the dry sand. I then asked her how she lost it. She told me that she had taken her ring off and placed it on her towel so that she could go swimming in the ocean. As we walked to the area where she lost it, she told me her name was Joanne and that Joanne had come to the beach with her family and some friends. When we arrived at the location of where she lost it, she told me that she picked up the towel to dry off, after swimming in the ocean and the ring must have fallen into the sand. She then pointed to the area where she thought it had fallen into the sand. I passed the 17 in coil of my CTX-3030 over the area and on the backswing , I received a sold target and then got the pinpointed out, located the target and Joanne  had her wedding band back. Literally less than 20 seconds to locate the ring.
As she was thanking me, one of her friends asked me if I could find his ring. WHAT,  You lost your ring also? Yes, he replied. Wow, I couldn’t believe it. I will now finish the story on my next blog.

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Gold Necklace Lost In The Water And Waves At Low Tide, Very Sentimental

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I had seen a post on Facebook, by Kelli,  about a MISSING GOLD CHAIN WITH A CROSS, being lost on the beach. Later that morning, I received a text from Kelli wanting to know if I could help. After talking with Kelli, I found out the Gold Chain and Cross Pendant had been lost 2 days earlier, in the surf, approximately 1 1/2 hours after the low tide. Since it wouldn’t be low tide for another 4 hours, I told Kelli that I would meet her in 2 hours at the Old Orchard Beach, Maine location, where the necklace had been lost, 2 days earlier.
Once I arrived, I met Kelli and her boyfriend, Jake. Jake explained that the waves were really rough that day and the necklace somehow came off his neck and disappeared, into the Waves, Water and Sand. I told them that I would grid the beach, parallel to the water and follow the tide out, hoping the necklace would then appear in just the wet sand and no longer under the water.
I was performing the grid search for approximately 1:20 minutes, when Jake came down to me , near the low tide mark. He explained that he and Kelli had to leave and and were leaving tomorrow morning to go back home, In Massachusetts. I told Jake that I would contact him if I found it and if not, I would be back the next day, at low tide and expand the search. After Jake left, I decided to try the shallow water, as low tide was now upon us. I started a grid search in the water and was working my way towards shore. I finally received a decent low tone signal, reading 12-04 on the Minelab CTX-3030 and put the scoop into the wet sand. I caught a glimpse of 1 gold link of a chain in the wet sand. I reached down, grabbed the link and pulled it out of the sand. I had Jake’s necklace. On 20 minutes had passed since he had left and I immediately called him. Jake and Kelli came right back and I returned the necklace. Jake the told me that the necklace had belonged to his father and that his father just passed away, 6 months earlier. Jake explained that he has  absolutely devastated , the past 2 days and thinking he would never see it again. I am so proud and happy to be able to help people like Jake, in their hour of need.

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Two Lost Gold and Silver Family Birthstone Rings Found in The Sand and Returned

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Thursday July 20, 2023, I received a text, just after 8:00pm, from Leslie. Leslie’s text stated, “Hi! I’m on my annual girls’ trip. At the beach all day and accidentally lost my two family birthstone rings in sand. Can’t find them. Retraced my steps. It’s getting late and I think they go over sand in the early morning. Can you help me? – Leslie”. She is concerned that the town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine cleaning machine would be there early in the morning and swallow up her rings and they would be gone forever. I immediately made plans to meet Leslie at 8:45pm, at the location where she lost the 2 rings. When I arrived , just prior to 9:00pm, I was surprised to see so many people at the beach, sitting on blankets and listening to music from a local beach bar and awaiting fireworks that were to start in less than an hour.
Leslie explained that there were 11 friends sitting around all day and she had taken the two rings off to apply suntan lotion and placed them in the cup holder, on her beach chair. As the day progressed, she had forgotten the rings were in the cup holder and when it was time to leave, folded up the chair and left. Once she realized the rings were missing, she and her friends searched the area they had been sitting in, without any success. They also retraced her steps after leaving the area with the chair, again, with no success. Leslie then attempted to find and rent a metal detector in a Beach store, next to where she was staying. The beach store owner told her they didn’t rent metal detectors but knew of me and recommended that she contact me and he gave Leslie my contact information.
Once Leslie showed me where they were all gathered and sitting for the day, I immediately started to grid the area. After about a 1/2 hour, I had covered the area they had been sitting in. She then told and showed me thecpath she took after leaving the area, with the folded up beach chair. Unfortunately, the path she took was full of people sitting around , listening to music and waiting for the fireworks to start. Still cognizant of the fact the beach cleaning machine would be cleaning the area, early the next morning, I told Leslie that I would be back down at 5:00am and search the area, before the beach cleaning machines could rake the area.
I arrived back at the beach, just before sunrise and immediately started to grid the area. I needed to be fast and through as I could see a beach cleaning machine just about 100 to 150 feet from where I was. I decided to re-grid the the area I had done the previous night, as this was the area where the cleaning machine would be heading next. Still nothing in the area I had done last night but I received a signal about 3-4 feet outside the area I had gridded the previous night. The signal was jumping all around and was not repeating. I slowly passed the coil lover the area and I received a nice solid 12-13 on the CTX-3030. I brushed some sand around and saw the gold ring. Passed the coil over the area again and received a very strong 12-47 and I just knew it was the silver ring. Brushed some sand away and there was the silver ring. Both rings were within 6 inches of each other. Being it was still only 5:20am, I sent a text to Leslie to inform her of the good news. Leslie replied a little while later and was ecstatic. We then made plans to meet up in the early afternoon and she would be reunited with her rings. Upon receiving the rings back, Leslie explained that the gold ring with three stones were the birthstones of herself, her mother and father. Her mother has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Leslie had expressed her deep gratitude to me for finding her such sentimental rings.

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Gifted Silver Ring From Grandmother Lost and Found By A Metal Detector on Pine Point Beach,Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Friday Night, July 7th, I received a text from Domenic. In the text, Domenic stated that a ring, gifted to him by his now deceased Grandmother, had slipped off his finger, while “diving into a wave, approximately 75-100 feet from the high tide line”. Domenic went on to describe the ring as a “simple metal band with LOVE inscribed in a groovy-funky 1970’s – esque writing with a spot below the O, for a gem”. In Domenic’s own words, “I haven’t taken that ring off since she gave it to me 2016, and I’m heartbroken that I lost it”. Domenic also told me he found me through an internet search and that he was back in Boston as he had to work the next day.
I immediately called Domenic back and he described the area where he lost it, while swimming the day before. Since he was swimming at high tide, I told him I would go down 1st thing in the morning and follow the tide out with my metal detector. I arrived at Pine Point, Maine, an area within Scarborough, Maine and about 20 minutes south of Portland, Maine. I fired up the Minelab CTX-3030 at 5:20am and started a grid search, parallel to the beach and just followed the tide out. After 1:44 minutes, I received a strong loud signal, reading 12-46 on the VDI Screen. I scooped out one scoop full of sand and I saw just a sliver of something silver in color, laying on the beach. I picked it up and it was a ring with a funky “LOVE” written across the front. After 2 days of being in the ocean, I had found Domenic’s gifted ring.
Domenic had already gone home to the Boston area, so I sent him a text telling him I had recovered his ring. Domenic sent back a text saying “Oh wow, what a great message to wake up to! You are amazing”. We then made plans to meet up the following day to return his ring. Domenic made the approximately 2 hour drive from his home in the Boston area to Pine Point. We met in Old Orchard Beach and a very happy Domenic received his VERY SENTIMENTAL ring back. Who doesn’t just love a good ending? I am proud to be able to help people like Domenic and return something they thought would be lost forever.

 

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Lost Wedding Ring Found in A Maine Lake With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Saturday July 8th, I received a call from Amy. Her husband, Johnny, had lost his wedding ring, in the water, at their lake house, in Raymond, Maine, the previous day. After searching the shallow water with sifters and rakes on Friday and Saturday morning without finding the ring, they decided to do an online search for help. They found me on The Ring Finders site and Amy made the call. They were located on Panther Pond, in Raymond, Maine. I knew the area fairly well as they were very close to Sebago Lake, which I have previously been to. I immediately got my equipment together and loaded in my vehicle and made the 45-50 minutes drive to their lake house.
Johnny immediately met my wife and I as we drove up to the house. Jonny explained that he just got married 5 months ago and was very upset with losing the ring in the water. He had been roasting marshmallows over a fire and had gone into the lake to wash his hands. After washing his hands, he shook his hands to dry them off and the ring flew off into the lake. Johnny showed me the area he was in when the ring flew off. I started my slow sweeps along the sand bottom of the lake, with the Minelab CTX-3030, and in less than two minutes I received a nice low tone signal, reading 12-20 on the VDI screen. I got the pinpointer out and located the target. A couple of scoops of sand with my hand and I saw a bright and shiny gold wedding ring. I picked the ring up and showed Johnny, Amy and extended family and friends that were watching and received a big round of applause that made me feel just great. To see the relief and smiles on Johnny and Amy’s faces makes me feel so proud and lucky to be able to help people in their time of need. What a great hobby. Here is wishing Amy and Johnny many many happy years of marriage.

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Engagement Ring Lost , Found, Returned, With A Metal Detector, In Ocean Park, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Wednesday July 5, 2023, I received a call from Lisa. Lisa explained that her friend had lost her engagement ring at the beach, in Ocean Park, Maine, within the last hour. Lisa went on to explain the her friend was still at the beach, searching for the ring with toy sifters and just running her fingers through the sand. I told Lisa that I would be right there, as I only live about 4 miles from where they were.
I arrived and Lisa met me out on the street and took me to where her friend, Sharon was , and where the ring was lost. Sharon explained that when they arrived at the beach, she sat in the beach chair to apply her sunblock lotion. She removed her ring and placed it in her lap, to apply the lotion. After applying the lotion, Sharon got up, forgetting the ring was in her lap. She immediately realized that the ring was now in the sand and started sifting the sand with her hands, fingers and kids Beach toys. They had no luck with this method and realized they needed a metal detector. Lisa found me by asking a local town association if the had a metal detector. They did not but they did have my business card and Lisa called me immediately.
I had them move their metal Beach chairs and searched the area where Lisa had been sitting. No signals around where the chair was and I started moving away from the chair. About 5-6 feet away from the chair, I received a nice low tone signal and a VDI readout of 12-06 on my CTX-3030. Yup, the engagement ring had been found in literally 2 minutes of searching and Sharon was very very happy to have it back on her finger.  Total time from receiving Lisa’s call to recovering the ring was 25-30 minutes.
This will be a birthday that I will never forget.

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Sentimental Engagement Ring Found on The Beach in Ocean Park, Maine With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Sunday, June 11, my wife and I we out riding our road bikes. I saw my phone going off and a voicemail was left. We rode another 10 minutes and stopped at Camp Ellis beach, so I could check the voicemail. The voicemail was from Tom and his wife had just lost her engagement ring. Molly had lost her engagement ring, in the surf, in Ocean Park, Maine. Luckily, Ocean Park is only about 3 miles from where we were and just 15 minutes away on our bikes. I called Tom back immediately and told him we would be right there. When we arrived, Tom and his wife Molly were still visually searching for the ring, in the now wet sand, as the tide was going out.
Molly explained how she was putting the ring on her hand and it had fallen into the surf she was standing in. She immediately looked up and looked at the house on the shore and used it as a landmark as to where she was located when the ring fell into the waves. A very smart move as knowing the exact location where it was lost is crucial to finding the ring before the tide comes back in.
After Tom and Molly explained what happened and where the ring most likely was, we rode our bikes back home, in about 20 minutes and I got my equipment together. I was back in Ocean Park with in 45 minutes of leaving there on my bike.
I started a grid search, parallel to the beach, working my way in, from the water to the shore, trying to beat the incoming high tide. Tom and some friends continued the visual search while I continued detecting with my CTX-3030, with a 17 in coil. Finally, after approximately a hour and 15 minutes, I received a very strong signal with a great sound low tone. I knew this was most likely the ring. Scoop went in the sand and when I dumped the sand, I could see the gold band. I picked it up, cleaned it off and saw the diamond and two sapphires. We had the ring. I looked over to Tom, gave him a nod of the head and thumbs up. The smile on his face was priceless and I will always remember it.
Tom explained that the Diamond was his Great Grandmother’s diamond from her engagement ring and was passed down to Tom’s mother and used as his mother’s diamond engagement ring. Now, Tom’s wife is using the diamond in her engagement ring, making this a truly sentimental ring, for 4 generations .

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