Sean Kelly, Author at The Ring Finders

Lost Gold Wedding Ring found in Waterville, Maine

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

After being referred by fellow Ring Finder Dennis Boothby, who was unavailable, I took a ride up to Waterville this morning to reunite Sidney with his lost wedding band. The ring had been lost at the beginning of the month while clearing grass and brush on his property. Although he had rented a metal detector and tried finding it himself, he was unsuccessful. The search area was large about the size of a football field, but my decision to start at the brush pile proved to be the right choice with a new record for me set, by locating the ring in under a minute from beginning the search. I guess we can both give thanks for a second day in a row, Sidney for having the ring he has worn for 32 years of marriage back on his finger, and I for having picked the right end of that football field to start from. With Christmas coming I will be directing a portion of the generous reward I received toward sponsoring a local child’s Angel Tree wish.

 

Lost gold wedding band recovered from Thompson Lake in Oxford, ME

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

I received a call from Karen after her husband Scott had lost his wedding band in 10 feet of water while swimming laps between the dock and swim float in front of their camp on Thompson Lake in Oxford, ME. Scott had immediately realized he lost his ring and marked the location with a large rock. Using his marker I utilized a spiral search pattern and was able to recover the ring buried in several inches of silt within about 10 minutes of commencing the hunt. The couple will celebrate 27 years of marriage in a few weeks and Scott’s ring is safely back on his finger for that special day and many more to follow.

Lost Gold Signet Ring found in Long Lake in Mount Desert, Maine

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

I went to Long Pond in Mount Desert after receiving a call from Luke, who had been referred by fellow Ring Finder Bill McDougall who assessed this recovery would require diver search capabilities. Luke had lost this heirloom signet ring that had originally belonged to his dad and had been passed down to him. The ring was lost last summer in 4 feet of water while kayaking in front of the family camp, his Great Grandmother had purchased about 90 years ago. The bottom was particularly soft with 8 to 12 inches of mud and quite a collection of branches, leaves and lily pads. After a substantial search that yielded a slew of pull tabs, nails, and bottle caps, I was able to locate the ring which had settled down into about 6” of mud. The signet inscription “en tout fidele” means “in all faithfulness” and just as he and his family have been faithful in their stewardship and preservation of their camp for several generations, this ring has been saved and can someday pass to another generation as well. As always a portion of the generous rewards I receive will be directed toward a worthy cause, so I feel it is fitting to contribute to the badly needed roof restoration of the Conway Homestead & Cramer Museum in Rockport, ME so that this local treasure too may be saved and passed on to the future generations of our community and its visitors to enjoy.

Lost engagement ring recovered from Clary Lake in Jefferson, Maine

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)
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I headed to Clary Lake in Jefferson, Maine this morning to recover Carly’s engagement ring, it was lost in 14ft of water while swimming in a cove across the lake from her camp with friends and family on the 4th of July. After losing the ring the site was marked with a buoy giving a good reference point for use when starting my search. But, as with most of my searches, due to sediment being churned up there was zero visibility.

Lost Gold Class Ring recovered Boothbay, Maine

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

I traveled to Boothbay, Maine this morning to reunite John with his 1968 class ring from Kansas State University, a reminder for over 50 years of the efforts put forth in earning a degree in physics. The ring was lost as he worked to free his boat from a ledge she had become fetched up on after dropping some friends off at the dock in front of their home a few weeks prior. The search commencing at low tide, took about an hour and half being far from graceful as I sloshed and slipped while scouring the seaweed covered ledge and surrounding mud flats with John anxiously watching from the red Adirondack chair on his friends front lawn. When the cherished ring had been recovered and safely returned to his finger, we chatted for a while about our military service having noted each other’s veteran license plates and I enjoyed hearing about his time as a Air Force pilot during the Vietnam war. To honor his service and that of all our fellow veterans, I will be directing a portion of John’s generous reward to the American Legion Post in Camden, ME.

Diver metal detector search for lost wedding ring in East Boothbay, Maine

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

Continuing a family tradition of traveling from Houston, TX to spend the summer in East Boothbay, Maine dating back to 1910, Carr lost his platinum wedding band overboard while cleaning his boat, coincidentally named “Over the Edge” I was able to recover the ring despite the very silty seabed at Ocean Point Marina being littered with screws, nails and other bits of metal mixed amongst tons of broken clam shells. The recovery took about 2 hours of dive time, but happily ended in a good memory to be added to those that have kept his family coming back year after year. In addition to a generous reward, Carr treated my wife, daughter and I to a nice lunch. Inspired by the affect of a good meal to rejuvenate my chilled tired body, I will be donating a portion of my reward to Knox County Meals on Wheels.

iPhone 11 lost in the fresh Bangor Maine snow, recovered.

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

As he was out of state on a vacation road trip, I was referred to Julia, by Bill McDougall the more local Ring Finder to see if I could assist in finding her lost phone. She had been sledding at Bangor City Forrest with her boyfriend, when a wipe out caused her iPhone 11 to be buried in the foot or so of snow last Saturday’s blizzard had deposited on the area. Julia had wisely recorded her phones GPS coordinates before the battery died through an interface with her laptop, and had a good starting point to search. The couple had attempted searching by sifting through the snow, at night, after long days of work and Grad school classes, but had been unable to locate the phone. I drove to the site and following my own GPS hiked to the large area they had excavated during their search. Expanding the search  I was able to find the phone about 6-8 feet beyond the perimeter of the excavated area. I plugged the phone into my trucks charger and it quickly came to life with numerous intermittent vibrations for several minutes as a ton of messages and missed calls came rolling in. I guess Julia is quite popular or her cars extended warranty is about to expire any minute now. Regardless she is happy to have her phone back.

How to find a lost diamond engagement ring in the snow

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

Visiting from Arizona to see her family for Christmas, the recently engaged Fiona, lost her diamond ring while sledding with her younger siblings at their home in Readfield, Maine. After renting a metal detector and spending several hours searching without luck, she found me through the Ring Finders website and reached out for my assistance. Due to a busy schedule as Christmas approaches the search had to take place after sunset, so with a Winter Solstice full moon and trusty L.L. Bean headlamp illuminating the area the ring was located buried in a couple inches of snow after about an hour of searching.

What to do if you lose an engagement ring in a lake.

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)


I headed to Sebago Lake in Naples, Maine after receiving a call to recover this beautiful heirloom engagement ring. Emily’s mother entrusted the ring to Charlie when he asked for her daughters hand in marriage. At sunset the previous evening this young couple were on the dock of the camp the whole family had rented, when Charlie decided to pop the question. Taking a knee he inadvertently opened the box upside down, and the ring fell out slipping between two deck boards and settling several inches into the silty bottom in 8 feet of water. The recovery took only about 15 to 20 minutes, upon returning the ring, I insisted Charlie finish the task. By the way she said yes. The couple now officially engaged are returning home to Delaware, with the first of many true life marital adventure stories to look back on and chuckle about as they build a life together.

Heirloom Wedding Ring lost while swimming in the ocean recovered.

  • from Rockport (Maine, United States)

The long day began with a 4AM wake up and two hour drive to catch the first ferry out to Little Cranberry Island, Maine. My objective to search for and recover this heirloom diamond wedding band which had originally belonged to the owner’s Great Grandfather. The ring was lost over a week earlier on Friday the 13th while swimming at Sand Beach, the day before his vacation ended, he returned home thinking the ring was gone forever. A friend recommended he look for a Detectorist online, where he found my page on The Ring Finders site and gave me a call. The search took about 7 hours during which the 10 foot tide rose and then partially receded, ending with a successful recovery. On a side note, since this beach frames a working harbor my rusty nail, pull tab, bottle cap and unidentifiable metal shard collection grew significantly during the hunt for this ring.  A portion of the generous reward received will be donated to the Mid-Coast Leos (sponsored by Camden Lions Club) to help with their community service projects, which I am blessed to part of as a Leos Advisor.