Richard Browne, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 5 of 25

BMW FOB Lost in the Sand – Bank Street Beach Harwich, MA Found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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June 22, 2025

The warm temperatures and bright sunshine had brought quite a crowd to Cape Cod’s beautiful beaches. One such fun seeker was Charlie who hails from England and drove his mother’s car to the beach. It was a wonderful experience, soft sand, good friends all enjoying the day…until it was time to leave. A frantic search started for the missing car fob, without it there was no way home.

The search for the fob failed and an internet search for a metal detectorist that could help. TheRingFinders.com showed up on the search results and Luke was the closest. Luke had another commitment and reached out to me. As luck would have it, I had just returned home from returning a lost/found wedding band and I could leave immediately.

The short story is I met Charlie and his friends in the parking lot, walked to the area where he had spent the afternoon. The area marked out for me was relatively small and in less than five minutes the fob was in my scoop, we were heading back to the parking lot and then onto home. The next day was to be even better weather wise and of course, to find a more secure place to put the car fob while on the sands of Cape Cod.

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Lost Ring Found and Returned Seagull Beach Yarmouth, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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June 22, 2025

Nick and family were enjoying the sandy beach and the start of a heat wave on sunny Cape Cod when Nick had the need to wash his hands. A quick run to the water’s edge and a few swishes in the water left his hand clean, smooth and without his wedding band. The surf was churning the seashells in a motion that washed his ring and shells together. Nick lost sight of the ring and all the searching did not reveal its location. A sleepless night followed and the morning’s question was: What to do now?

A suggestion to rent a metal detector, a Google search for a dealer revealed the name and phone number for J&E Enterprise. The call from Cassandra was answered by Eleanor, the owner, who strongly suggested that she call a RingFinder – Richard as he would be their best way to recover the ring.

A half an hour after the call came in, I was on the beach ready for the recovery. I was assured that the ring was lost right where the sea shells covered a strip of sand. After searching the suggested area I realized the ring was lost at low tide, not at the high tide line where the day’s shell line lay. The tide would have been lower so I moved my search to the low tide line of shells. My first two signals were too deep, the third was a target I had to dig. Yes, it was in my scoop. I left it in the scoop and Cassandra was brave enough to move the shells in the scoop and retrieve Nick’s wedding band.

I believe I saw tears of joy and great emotions as Cassandra placed the ring back on Nick’s finger. I just love my hobby at moments like that! Then I was told of another loss of 2 rings, I found out that the loss happened four years ago. Well, on a public beach, I had to agree that the rings were long gone. That is why time if of the essence to start searching for a lost item. I left leaving a suggestion, should another “loss” occur. That was to drop a few coins, pull tabs, anything metal in the area the “loss” happened. That would make the search for the correct area be easier to located a day or so later.

The only thing left was to wish everyone, the best and to enjoy the remaining time on vacation, leave the jewelry at home or wear a silicone ring as a “Keeper” so a sentimental ring will not slip off one’s finger.

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Englewood Beach Yarmouth, MA Wedding Band Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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June 7, 2025

It was on the fifth day before Dan’s first anniversary that he and his wife were enjoying boating on Cape Cod’s water, visiting a small island and a sandy beach with their granddaughter and family when somewhere along the way his one year old wedding band slipped off his finger.

The previous days of searching did not locate the ring. After hearing of a story of one of my previous finds, Dan’s wife took family recommendation about a group called TheRingFinders and and did a web search. Her search showed 4 entries for Cape Cod and she called me as I had over 200 returns and was the closest to her. Within two hours I was searching for the ring. Dan and Donna showed up about ten minutes into my cursory search. I had gone under the swing set and down to the water’s edge with only one signal, that of a of a penny. We then talked about Dan’s area of walking on the beach and I was close, but I was not close enough. The area were a dinghy was moved to and that of a swing set, where the granddaughter had enjoyed being push by Dan, would need a more thorough search.

I continued my search to the dinghy area and then up to the swing set area, finding a button and another penny on the way. I expanded the area under the sixth swing and very close to a leg of the swing set the best signal of the day rang into my ears. A small scoop into the sand, a quick shake of the scoop and there it was – the ring that would not stay lost for the evening’s anniversary party. What a day for the 78 year old couple, on their first anniversary! A day to remember.

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Keys Lost and Found on Sandy Pond Trail Cape Cod, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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April 4, 2025

A dog walk around Sandy Pond, as part of Crynne’s daily routine, lead to a stressful afternoon when she returned to her car and could not find her keys. A few trips around the pond in hope of finding the keys proved they were hiding from sight. She thought a metal detector would surely help in finding them.

Eleanor at J&E Enterprises was very helpful, as always. Her recommendation was to call Rick, a member of TheRingFinders. On the call I heard the information I needed and was on my way. My first suggestion was that my search, with Crynne leading the way, be done in the opposite direction from the way Crynne always walked around the pond. This would give us a different point of view.

Mainly because Crynne’s hobby was to remove the trash she saw during her walks, the path was nice and free of trash. Of course some of the removed trash had been just off the beaten path, those areas had to be searched with my metal detector. About ¾ the way around the keys were found. They had been in an area that Crynne had walked over a few times, but from the reverse direction. They were just out of sight when coming from the opposite direction. The keys really did not need a metal detector to be found. Sometimes just a different point of view is all that is needed in ending a stressful situation.

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200th Return by Richard Browne Member of TheRingFinders.com Centerville, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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February 24, 2025

It was the second warmest day since January 1st and a grate day to clean up some of the winter’s wrath on tree limbs. Dan was in the wooded area next to an old cranberry bog behind his house doing just that. He was carrying a fallen limb to the rear edges of his property when a low hanging branch snagged one of his hearing aids from his ear. After hours of searching, without finding the hearing aid, Dan reached out for help.

A call to Eleanor, at J&E Enterprises, got Dan two useful bits of suggestions. First he was encouraged to call one of TheRingFinders and in the meantime he could try dragging a magnet. Dan called me first. I answered the call and I was on my way. While waiting for me to arrive the search with a magnet was on. Something I had never thought of while searching for any of the 6 hearing aids that I have returned.

As I had done the day before, I adjusted my detector to the specific model hearing aid I was searching for. The area was again less than a 20 foot diameter around the branch. A standard cross hatch search pattern because of the foliage and terrain was about impossible. About 20 minutes passed with many bogus iron alerts from my detector, right tone but wrong numeric reading. A slower, shorter swing of the detector started on the outer  edge of the most probable area that the hearing aid would be in. Low and behold right under the branch that had caused the loss and again, as in yesterday’s find, the hearing aid could not be seen while standing above it. I had to get on my knees and carefully move the foliage that was covering the hearing aid before retrieving it for Dan.

This was my 200th return since I joined TheRingFinders and as I did on the 100th return I wanted to give something special to the owner of the lost item. Unfortunately I did not have the Carpe Diem token with me and I had to return to Dan’s home the next day. The token was designed by a metal detecting friend, Jim Wirth. Sentimental Memories are something that cannot be replaced and I am so fortunate to have so many. Thanks to all that have reached out to TheRingFinders for help and in making Unforgettable Memories.

 

 

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Lost Hearing Aid Found and Returned, Yarmouth Port, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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February 23 2025

The month of January and first 3 weeks of February have been very cold here on Cape Cod. I had only been out detecting one day since the first of the year. Well the Temperature had got into the 40’s and people have been getting out for a walk the past two days. Anne was one that got out for an extended walk with her sister and dog. While on the walk she lost a hearing aid. After not being able to find the lost hearing aid she contacted friends, including one of my neighbors, Eleanor of J&E Enterprises who in turn contacted me. It is great to see how people come to one’s aid when help is needed.

During the walk with her dog a low hanging branch caught Anne by surprise and dislodged the hearing aid. Anne and her sister looked for several hours and could not find it. The hearing aid’s app showed the location to be in the Cul-de-Sac area. Good information but not much help. A cell phone app for locating a “lost” hearing aid gives the location to be within 30 feet or so of where the two were disconnected. Knowledge of the tree lessened the search area to a 10 foot circle within the Cul-de-Sac. A visual sight search was about impossible as the bronze hearing aid and ground cover blended in perfectly with each other.

Using the second hearing aid as a “standard” I adjusted my detector’s notch filtering and sensitivity settings to give a good indication to the missing hearing aid. The exact location of the lost hearing aid would be known when the detector’s coil was passed over it. Starting at the tree where it was believed the loss occurred, it took only a couple of minutes to locate the hearing aid. However, I could not see the hearing aid until I got down on my hands and knees and moved some leaves.

Anne was right with me as I recovered her hearing aid and was very grateful for the service I provided. She called her husband, thanked me many times, chatted with my wife as I put my gear away. I know she is waiting for this blog to be posted.

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Barnstable, Cape Cod, MA Pearl Earring Lost and Found with RingFinder’s Help

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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September 15, 2024

A wonderful day at a nature center turned into a stressful night for Carolyn. While helping her children through the Nature Trail and before leaving the center one of her cherished pearl earrings came dislodged from her ear, however the earring back did not. Thinking of how to find the earring, Carolyn went to a hardware store that rents a metal detector. Luckily the store person knew a bit about the detector they rent and would not rent it to Carolyn. The reason was it just was not sophisticated enough to detect such a small piece of metal especially in an environment that would have many metal objects in the area i.e. pull tabs, nails, pieces of fencing etc. An effort was put forth and proved the rental cost would not be justified by the known detector’s results.

Another suggestion by the employee was to contact “TheRingFinder”, in this case. me. The sun would have set by the time I could have been on site. So an 8AM meeting was set. Carolyn and a few others returned to the event area before the sun set and frantic looking all over the parking lot and areas that could be seen before the sun set, but did not find the pearl.

In the morning I, along with Carolyn, started by first looking through the car’s seats, floor, voids between the center console and seats, cup holders to mention the obvious. Nothing was found and a quick walk over the parking area and on down to the kids nature trail. This was straight forward from the place the loss was discovered going back along the path of the previous day’s activities. Even with my adjustments made to my detector of choice for this search, the search was hampered by the many bits and pieces of metal in the area I had to search over. I stopped to do a bit of control tweaking because I was now on wood chips and not gravel and I wanted to have the best setup to find the earring.

Up to this point I was following Carolyn pretty closely, and she got about 10 feet ahead, looking down and at her foot was the earring. The was the end of my searching the area. Carolyn said if it had not been for the store emplyee’s honesty as to the rental detector’s capabilities, my logical thinking and implementation of a methodical search “we” would not have found the earring. We both agreed it was “Meant To Be”.

With a happy Book of Smiles photo, pair of earrings, need to get back to her children, the hugs, Thanks, Best Wishes, and a weekend to remember ended is short order as we parted to go on with each of our own day’s agenda.

 

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Dennis Port, MA Heirloom Ring Lost, Found and Saved the Vacation

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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September 10, 2024

Vacation time on Cape Cod has almost come to an end. Now it was time for a local to leave far a vacation thru Spain with a 15 mile a day hike itinerary. That is Chris’ plan but first she had to find a family heirloom ring. She had looked “everywhere” with no luck in finding the ring and new it was time to reach out for help. One town official gave her the name of the local dealer of metal detectors, J&E Enterprise. Due to the urgency of finding the ring before the air flight to Spain left, my number was given to Chris. One call for help, a few minutes to determine if I could help and I was on my way to start a search.

I arrived even before Chris showed up. After I had my gear ready Chris pointed out the area where the ring might have been lost, and we reviewed the previous day’s activities. While I started my search Chris, with a few suggestions from me, went inside to do a search of her own.

I started in the outdoor shower with a pin-pointer and a detector that could “see” through the floor boards. Nothing rang out, I moved to the path to and the bird feeding area. Again, nothing. That is when Chris came out to show me the ring I had been searching for. It had come off of her finger the previous night as she packed for the trip. At this point we both were thrilled, Chris because she had the ring back on her finger and myself because I would not have to tell her that the ring is not in the areas you have told me about. There is nothing worse that having to tell a person “I did not find the object”.

This type of search has happened more than once. It is related to the fact that one feels that the “missing” object is right “here” when in reality it is over “there”. The “here” is where the object was noticed that it was missing, not where it was really lost. That is why I ask a series of questions before a search begins, just to determine the entire area that may be involved with the loss. An average metal detector is useless inside a house due to the amount of metal, electronic appliances, house wiring, and plumbing also creates a problem. A pin-pointer or a detector with notch filtering may be helpful in certain areas such as an attic.

Another terrific outcome for the day. I am sure the trip will be very special and more enjoyable that Chris will not have been wondering about the ring, at least until she had unpacked.

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Truro, MA Gold Wedding Band Lost, Found, and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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September 1, 2024

“Chris I Love You Susan” was engraved in a wedding band that took a slip from Chris’s finger as his daughter looked on. Chris visualized were the loss took place and that there were 51 steps to the stairs leading off the beach. During the next few hours Chris made many unsuccessful dives to retrieve the ring from its watery resting place. A visual search also took place. Susan then took charge, acquired my number and called for help.

The next morning at 7AM the search began and lasted about 2 hours before the tide had come in and prevented further searching. I would return for the afternoon tide. Which I did. I paced off the 51 steps, took visual reference points into account and began a search. First I gridded over the sand that was under water in the morning. Nothing to dig, I moved into the water. Low tide, with between 1 and 2 foot waves along with some seaweed made detecting a bit tough. The second signal I had was over the small drop-off at the bottom of the beach’s slope. With everything moving as it was I had to take a third scoop before I caught the object in the scoop. I love to see the glitter of gold among the shells and sand. Without emptying the scoop I left the surf and counted 68 steps to the stairs. On the walk I pulled the ring out, verified the inscription, and dumped the shells.

Next feat was to climb the 98 steps to the top of the dune and my car. I cleaned the scoop, put the ring back into it, changed the boots I was wearing to sandals for safer driving and drove off toward Chris’s vacation home. I turned the last corner and there Chris was, walking back to the beach to see if I was there. I told him the surf was now too rough and it would be worthless to climb down to the beach and back up. But I would appreciate him looking in my scoop. A bit perplexed, he did and could not believe that it was HIS ring from Susan.

At the house, a cappuccino, many friendly licks from his dog, and lots of wonderful stories were related. I just love how I get to know people by just going a bit out of my way to help them. It is also great knowing that there is at least one more reason for having wonderful memories of a vacation on Cape Cod.

 

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Dennis, MA Wedding Set Lost, Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)
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August 31, 2024

On my way home from some hobby detecting; not looking for anything specific, just enjoying the afternoon sun and sea swells, and waiting for another call for help in locating a lost object. I was less than a mile from home when my wait was over. A neighbor, Barbara, was calling to request that I respond to a woman in distress over a missing marriage ring set of 36 years this month. Sure, I am on my way was my answer as I pass the road to my home. Next I called home to tell my wife I would be a bit longer, put dinner on hold, I had to go and find 2 rings.

Within twenty minutes I was ready to start the search. While being escorted to the area on the beach where the rings were lost I was told that another detectorist had found the engagement ring but had no success in locating the wedding band. Maura had removed her wedding band and engagement ring at the beach to apply sunscreen. She put the two rings in the cup holder of her chair, but forgot to put them on afterwards. A few hours later she folded up her chair and left the beach. Back at the house she realized she didn’t have her rings and knew instantly what happened. Returning to the beach and sifting through sand with hands. There were also many interested people all wanting to help. Unfortunately the only help to find the wedding band came from the call to my phone. One woman helping – Barbara told Maura about a world wide group TheRingFinders, that she had a connection, and then called Richard 1 of some 600 TheRingFinders.

It took me about a dozen swings of my coil before I located the wedding band. My advantage over the other detectorist was in the quality of the detector being used and some 40 years experience with detectors. I passed a few detecting tips on to the new detectorist, Thank Yous were passed among all the helpers and I left for the waiting dinner.

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