Richard Browne, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 2 of 25

Unusual Engagement Ring Lost In Hyannis, MA, Found and Returned By Rick Browne

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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July 5, 2026

Fourth of July was over, but not the need for some help in finding an heirloom stone in a personally designed engagement ring. Ken put it in words that I could not match, so please read on.

“My wife Annie’s engagement ring was lost after we went in the ocean to throw a football around after the extremely hot Fourth of July fun run in Hyannis Port. We only noticed a few hours later, and Annie was distraught.
Other background information: I proposed to Annie with the ring on a beach in southern England four years ago, and we got married three years ago in Hyannis Port. We live in London, but come to the Cape every year. 
It’s not your usual engagement ring – the sapphire stone was from Annie’s mom’s engagement ring, and it was passed onto me. We then designed the ring together in London, adding two diamonds alongside.”

My drive down a one lane road and wedging into a parking space were challenging. Annie, Ken and Margie met me, showed me to their private beach with two lines drawn on the sandy slope and told me the particulars of the loss. I then drew my markers about one quarter of the distance in from each of the original marks. And started a perpendicular pattern.

I heard a very deep signal and having been told of a class ring, lost about 20 years ago, I had to dig it. It was neither of the ring but rather a melted aluminum can. I kept on detecting and by the sound of the next signal in my headphone I knew I had a ring, Yes, a ring but one that I have never seen the likes of for an engagement ring. I had to go to Ken and ask if it was the engagement ring. Silly me for not asking what it looked like in the first place, before starting to search. I’ll have to remember that for future searches. Yes, it was the ring. I am so pleased I could live up to Ken’s expectations of performance.


 Rick, again thank you so much. 
We cannot express our gratitude enough. 

We found your details on The Ring Finders, and could not believe our luck that a shallow water specialist for Cape Cod was based so close by. Annie’s best friend Margie contacted you, although we were sorry to disturb you on July 4th. 

Once we read your blogs, we knew we were in the best possible hands for having any chance of finding it. 

We are so thankful. 

Kenneth and Annie

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Cape Cod, Yarmouth, MA Ring Finder Found Lost Cartier Love Bracelet and Returns it

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July 3, 2026

The 4th was nearing, the temperatures, both air and water, were on the rise as were the crowds on Cape Cod beaches. I was taking an Ice Tea break from chores that needed doing around the house when the phone rang. The caller, Megan, told me of a lost, very sentimental, bracelet in waist deep water and the tide was coming in. I had no choice but to go immediately and I did.

I arrived at the beach and was told of 14 coins dropped around the area where the loss occurred. I did not waste much time in the usual chat before I begin searching. I had the area pointed out, and the coins to help me zero in on the exact area to search. Over an hour of searching and I started having doubt in my detector and the area I been shown as I had not found a single coin. It had to be a faulting detector. I made a quick dash back to the car for my back-up detector. Another half hour and still no coin, the tide had crested and now was on its way out. The family crowd nearing twenty began packing up and heading home for dinner.

I was determined to find the coins dropped and the bracelet. I had been shown a matching bracelet and I knew the coins were quarters. How could I be missing that many targets? It had to be the area was further off shore than I had been told. Just before Megan left I found a quarter. I now had to stay for the tide to recede and I did. Another half hour and I had half the coins, Thinking I had located another I took a scoop and there it was the gold Cartier Love Brace and a quarter so I thought. A quarter, yes, but no bracelet. How could it have gotten out of the scoop, was I imagining seeing the bracelet? After 4 hours of getting beat by the waves my mind probably was playing a trick on me. I took another scan of the area at my feet there was another target and there it was the bracelet, but only a half a golden circle. Had I broken it in half while scooping for the target? How was I going to tell Megan? Where was the other half?

While I was continuing my search, now in chin deep water, a mother and two young children returned to the beach bringing me a Thank You note and a box of sweets for my efforts. But I was not going to leave the target area I was in until I had the other balf of the bracelet and it paid off. Two more quarters and the other half of the bracelet was retrieved and safely resting in my goody pouch. Persistence and a lower tide was all it took to almost complete the story. But first a few details of the bracelets history that Megan sent to me. Read on and you will learn why I am so persistent and one of the World Wide Group TheRingFinders.com.

Rick!

We cannot thank you enough!!!!

Added for the Cartier Love Bracelet Story: My dad passed away 6 years ago and the last piece of jewelry he bought my mom (Karen) and me were matching Cartier Love bracelets …while playing in the ocean with her grand kids one of her grandsons pointed out that he saw her bracelet fall off the side of the float they were on- all family members immediately got in the water to help her look but had no luck- I found your information online and called after about an hour … and well you know the rest!!

Good Luck with tomorrow’s engagement ring search!

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Cape Cod – Yarmouth, MA Lost Ring, Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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July 1, 2026

Well summer and a heat wave have arrived in time for the 4th of July festivities. Getting a head start, Kevin was testing the water, which was still a bit on the cool side, when his white gold wedding band slipped off his finger to land on the sandy bottom of his condo’s lake. He saw the ring resting and did a shallow dive to retrieve the ring only to have it slip through his fingers and vanish into the sand.

After several tries to re-locate his ring failed he gave up the search. A couple of days later a search on the internet for someone that could help him find his ring. To his credit he chose “TheRingFinders.com” to help in his search. Navigating the home page to the country, state and person he chose to reach out to me.

His call came in as I was heading to a doctor’s appointment, but I would be available around 5pm. I arrived about 4:30, had a brief discussion on where the ring was lost. Then it was out to chest deep water in an area about one quarter of the swimming area. I started covering the area in a grid pattern and after a few passes Kevin said he thought he might have been several yards from his initial recollection. So I move to the new area. And several more minutes of searching I was shown to still another area.

About 10 more minutes passed with only two coins, a fishing weight and two pull tabs in my pouch I started a grid pattern that encompassed all three areas. Another 10 minutes of my detector not giving me a signal to stop and dig, I heard the familiar sound I was listening for, a sharp, repeatable signal and a steady numeric ID number on the detector screen. A single scoop a quick shake to remove the sand from by scoop and I saw the white gold ring. My searching had been completed in about an hour.

All that was left was to take a few pictures, tell a few stories of other returns I have made and I was homeward bound, just in time for dinner.

I will end this story with one tip to those that have read this far and find themselves in a similar predicament as Kevin had been in. And that is to stay in the spot the loss happened, have someone bring you a few coins and drop them in the area your lost item should be. Then call for one of “TheRingFinders” to come and help retrieve your item.

Until then … have a HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

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Dennis Port, MA Lost Ring Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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September 11, 2025:
On August 18th Joey and his two little “ducklings” were frolicking around the waters edge when what so often happens, a wedding ring slipped off a finger into the shallow water of Nantucket Sound. Joey, the ducklings and other family members searched for the next two days before heir vacation time came to an end and they had to leave, abandoning their search and the ring in the sand. 3 weeks later Tana, Joey’s mother, came to the Cape for a visit. Over the next two weeks she, other family members and friends continued to search the area in hopes of reuniting the ring with its owner. That was not to be.

Joey’s mother, still had a few extra days before having to leave the Cape. During the time she and several of her friends brought up the subject of the missing ring and one friend offered up the information of TheRingFinders.com. As other suggestions had failed, Tana reached out to me for help.

I was a bit stressed out about my situation of buying and selling a house, and would have to fit in time for a recovery search. A look at the tide chart and I could fit a couple of hours in at 7AM the next morning. All was set until my Realtor and I finished up our afternoon commitments and I could make a search just before the evening tide. It was possible for Tana to meet me a the beach and I was on the way.

With my detector and scoop in hand, Tana and I walked to the area that the ring was lost at. The most likely area of the loss was pointed out to me: lifeguard chair, either side about 10 feet and straight down, into the water and out to no more than knee deep. An hour of searching and not one good signal, Then a solid signal from my detector that did not sound like a gold ring should but I had to dig it anyway. As I thought, it was not a ring but a toy truck. By this time I had widen the area I was searching. The sun had set and in the dark it was difficult to keep a tight grid pattern. It was time to call it quits until the morning’s tide.

Just before leaving the water’s edge I took one more look at the pictures Tana had shown me. There was one picture that showed nice flat sandy area with the two “ducklings” playing on it. I looked to the west into an area I had not searched yet and saw the exact same conditions, it was a bit further west than I had been told where the ring was lost. “One more pass” I told Tana, took two steps and got a signal. “Tana, your son’s ring is right there“… with nothing but wet sand for Tana to look at, I took one scoop of sand turned it over on the dryer sand. A after a couple of passing of Tana’s hand through the mound of sand, it came into view, yes, there was her son’s ring.

Pictures, information and a few metal detecting stories passed away a few more minutes before we parted with a promise to exchange the photos we had taken. One was for me to learn how to turn on my camera’s flash function. And another to have Joey leave his ring in a safe place in the

future when he visits the beach. Unfortunately it would still be a few days before the ring will be returned to Joey. I hope to meet Joey on his next trip to the shores of Cape Cod to get a photo of him with a smile and holding his ring.

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Dennis, MA Lost Ring in Sand Found and Returned by Richard Browne

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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July 29, 2025 Debbie and her husband were out house hunting. My home was on the market and the Open House sign attracted them. While touring the home they noticed my metal detector and struck up a conversation with my realtor about my water detecting prowess. Little did they know the knowledge of my hobby would be beneficial to them within a few days when Debbie saw her wedding band slip from her finger into the beach sand as she was applying sunscreen lotion.

The smart idea of marking the area with shells and a few small rocks after hand searching the sand would be of help in locating the area the next day. A better marker media would have been anything metal i.e. coins or soda cans. Debbie had paced of the distance from a wooden structure to the point of loss. At home they called Tom, my realtor, for my contact information. Jack had to leave a voice message which Tom later played back to me over the phone. I took the information and called Jack. I had to leave a message on Jack’s phone as he did not answer. A bit later Debbie called me and we set up a 6:30AM meeting on the beach.

I arrived a bit early just as the beach sweeper went by, grooming the beach for the holiday weekend crowd. With my new VX9 detector, on its first search, in one hand and my scoop in the other, I looked for the land marks but they had been swept away. I took what information I had, started to pace off 35 feet but that would have put me in the water, somethings never go well. I had been on the beach for less than five minutes when Debbie and her girlfriend showed up. After a bit of an introduction and pointing to the area, Debbie started to pace off the 35 feet. I watched as she paced the 35 feet by putting the heal of one foot to toes of the other, repeating it 35 times. I followed, detecting the sand as I went. About five feet (60”) from where Debbie’s 35 “feet” ended and even closer to my last drag mark in the sand I had my second signal of the morning. A quick scoop and my searching was finished.

“Lets go back to the car so I can get more information.” Looking puzzled, I had to tell Debbie to look into my scoop. Yes the ring was the second target and the ring was in my scoop. All in less than a minute! Debbie and her friend Lynn were told I was good at finding a lost ring, but this morning I was great. But Debbie had one more up on me when she said she had a cup of coffee for me in the car. I often mentioned my thirst for coffee but no one had ever had a cup ready for me.

At the car we talked and the recent happenings just continued to amaze us. Jack and I are both retired sailors and worked with submarines during our tours of duty. This year is Debbie and Jacks 30th anniversary. She had lived on Cape Cod and I live here now. I could not convince her that she and Jack should buy my house, it was meant to be – not. If the house was smaller – maybe. At least all is well and Debbie has her ring back for the upcoming anniversary. What a wonderful way to have at the start of another day on Vacation Land.

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Wellfleet, MA Richard Browne Makes Short Work of Finding a Lost Ring.

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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August 19, 2025 Richard, a Horticulturist at heart, was doing what he loved to do. That was helping a friend out by doing some gardening, pruning and clean-up when what could happen, did happen his wedding band slipped from his finger. He had no memory of it coming off, it was just gone, somewhere in the yard.
Telling his wife was a bit stressful when done they returned to the property, with hopes of finding the ring. Not finding the ring, they turned to the internet to find someone that could help. That is when I got involved via a text message that read “Maybe you have availability this week? I answered by a phone call and set up a time for the next afternoon.
I am glad I had set it up for the afternoon as another call for help came to me to find a ring lost in a local swimming beach. I asked another Ring Finder to go along…two could find the ring twice as fast. Sure enough Leighton found the water ring in less than 5 minutes. All said and done we were off to search for Richard’s ring at 2:30.

We pulled into the driveway right at 2:30, what timing! Introductions and then a walk thru the area that should be holding the band that matched his wife’s band, but one with a bigger and with a looser fit. As always a Ring Finder is always alert to his surroundings. About 30 feet from my car and our detecting gear a bit of glitter caught my eye. UNBELIEVABLE! It was the ring. This was my first find without even taking my equipment out of the car.

Now it was up to Tobe to take the ring home and have it resized so Richard could wear it with a bit of confidence that he would not loose it again. This return will be in the memory of several people for a long time. I wish all searches were this easy. No, not really, if they were, my hobby would lose my interest in very little time. But on the other hand, it would be quicker outcome for those that had made the loss. In the end, it matters not who or when a lost object is found, but that it is returned to the rightful owner.

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Permission to Help Find and Return a Ring on NSS, Cape Cod, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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August 12. 2025 A beautiful day a the beach was coming to its end and Matt had the urge to get a few more splashes in the rough waves before the sun set. But as it happens more than one can imagine he was hit by a wave and in that moment his wedding band slipped off his finger onto the wet sand. There was nothing Matt could do but watch it get swept away by the receding wave. The next morning he reached out to me for help. My first thought was that of it being on Federal Property, on which metal detecting is illegal. But, it may be possible to get special case by case permission to search one small area for a specific amount of time for a specific object. Or at times a Park Ranger may do the search themselves. The only other determining factor for me to go for the search would be the surf action, it can be so rough it could be life threatening.

All that being said, Matt wanted to get his ring back to his finger. He started the “Try to get the right person to give permission” which proved no easy task. First a phone call, no success. Second in-person visit to the NSS Visitor’s Center, again no success. Back to the phone, this time to a emergency number he found on the internet site. The dispatcher said she would have someone call him back. Success. Permission was granted for a “TheRingFinder” to search in the area he lost the ring during the one evenings low tide time and that the Rangers on duty would be informed of the situation. It was a go for me.

I had been on another such search about a month ago. I did not find the ring and was beat up by waves, that for a detectorist concentrating on the searching endeavor, could rip him off his feet. If it happened, his scoop could be ripped from his hands and lost into the surf. Likewise a detector may be lost. I know my limits, the dangers and to give up when the object is not worth tempting such dangers.

This search started with only short boots and a detector that had better trash rejecting tuning capabilities. That did not go well as I thought it might. But I had to go with the best equipment for the given search area. So, when I got to the water line with only two iffy targets, I went back to the car and got ready to detect in the water as far as I felt safe. That also did not go as I thought it would and as the sun was setting I was going call it a bust but I would make one last pass. In the surf wash of only 2 inches the only good signal hit my ears. One shallow scoop, a quick rinse and there it was, Matt’s wedding band. As I walked to Matt, I told him I though he was the luckiest son-of-a-mother and that’s a lot of sons to be luckier than. His reaction was such that I knew I was the lucky one to have retrieve and returned such a sentimental ring and return it. You now know why I enjoy my metal detecting hobby so much: Memory making emotions top the list.

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Eastham, MA Necklace « The Bean » Dug from the Sand and Returned by Richard Browne

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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A preface to my blog:

“The Tiffany Bean Necklace is more than just a piece of jewelry; it is a cultural symbol. Over the years, it has become synonymous with personal milestones—from graduations to anniversaries, and even as a gesture of self-love. The necklace represents a connection to significant life moments, encapsulating memories and emotions that are often cherished by its wearers.” Quoted from: wearfortune.com/blogs

July 20, 2025 As it happened to be the summer tourist season the main highway thought the Outer Cape on Cape Cod (route 6) is usually bumper to bumper unless you can travel late night or early morning. My luck the tide would be low and a early morning search possible. Parking would be another problem. My luck again was on my side. A vacationer was packing his vehicle at the end of his stay. He was all-in to let me park in “his” driveway while I went to search for the lost “Bean”.

Ready for the search, I preceded to the area described to me and then did a grid search. Not finding the necklace and wondering where to move my search area to. Luke shows up and told me the difference between what I counted as 2 wood posts was a bit short of what he had counted. OK another 50 feet down the beach and I saw some of the previous night’s search marks in the sand. I started to search swinging my detector in a precise pattern. About two minutes into the grid, Bingo, I heard a promising signal, took a shallow scoop and saw the necklace hanging from the end of my scoop.

The search was over, just as Luke’s sister (the Beans owner) was strolling down the beach toward our location as we were about to leave. Smiles and thank you along with me getting the relationship, to each other of those, that came to watch. I knew my trip home would also be easy as all the traffic build up would be in the other direction of travel this morning. Nothing but smiles and a good cup of coffee are a perfect beginning for any day.

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Craigville, MA Beach Club Gives Up Lost Ring to Richard Browne

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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August 10, 2025 It started two days ago while Brian and his friends were frolicking in waist deep water when King Neptune admired and help Brian’s wedding band slip off his finger. All the searching was unable to find the well hidden ring for two days. Eleanor the local Metal Detector dealer would not rent the men a water detector as she well knows one is not the easiest instrument to get the desired results. She strongly suggested that Brian call a member of TheRingFinders. Brian did but I was already out searching for an-other’s ring. When I got back to my phone I called and made arrangements to meet up at 6:30AM the next morning.

I was ready to go and waited the next fine minutes for Brian and his friends to show me just were the ring had been lost. It is always most helpful to be shown in person by the person who lost the object just where the item had been lost. My searching lasted about two hours going north to south and back then a pattern of east to west and back. With nothing of interest found I started searching in diagonal patterns. Again nothing. Now the tide was coming in and I still had not found the ring. OK. I would have to come back at the next low tide.

I did not make the evening low tide as I was called about a lost necklace with a fireman’s cross medallion. I thought I could make both recovery sites, but I did not. Additionally the owner of the Beach Club had mentioned just before we left after the early morning search that they expected the beach to be very crowded in the afternoon. I knew the ring was not going anywhere so I would go in the morning when I would not have to search around a crowd of bathers.

5:30AM and I was ready to go. I went to the dry sand and did a very cursory scan in the area the guys had been sitting two days ago. The plan I had in mind was to go to the buoy in a straight line from the the sandy beach. All was going as planned until, less than a minute, my detector gave me a signal I would not refuse to dig. In the scoop I brushed away a couple handful of shells and then I saw the glitter of gold. My search was over when I saw the T/B engraved on the inside of the band.

This is another reason I never take some of the information given to me as a golden rule, after all one’s memory of loosing a ring is not always clear. Back at the car I called Brian and within 7 minutes he was wearing his wedding band again, now with a smile on his face.

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Yarmouth, MA Lost Gold Necklace Returned by Richard Browne

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August 9, 2025 After an early morning search for a lost ring that I did not find, I received a call for help in finding a lost necklace with a fireman’s cross hanging on it. I had been a Captain in a Deep Creek, VA volunteer fire department back in the early 1970s. How could I refuse except it was only two hours before low tide and I thinking I may not be able to get out to where the necklace was lost. What the heck, I went.

I met Matt on the now crowded beach. He pointed out the area, the area he thought was the most likely to be where he lost his necklace. As the tide was coming in rapidly, I started at the deepest section and work into the shallower area. After retrieving a few iffy signals that were pull tabs and a fishing sinker. Then I heard a signal I was waiting for, I took one careful scoop, not wanting to harm the necklace, raised it to the surface and saw gold hanging onto the open edge of the scoop. It was about high tide and time to give up until the tide went out. Matt thought I was giving up for the day. He did not know I had the chain and fireman’s cross in the scoop.

Matt came to the water’s edge, not looking very happy until I let him look into the scoop and retrieve his necklace. Great thanks and praises arose from those watching what was going on. By the time I found the necklace most nearby bathers knew of Matt’s loss and why the guy in the water was just walking back and forth. Needless to say that Matt was most thankful for the return of his necklace and charm that had been given to him by his wife 10 years ago.

The real mystery is: how did the necklace come off of Matt’s neck? The clasp was still hooked, It had to have been pulled off, over his head. Perhaps by his son while riding on Matt’s shoulder. It really does not matter. What does, is the happy ending that made for smiles all around.

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