On Thursday evening, at 7:33pm, I received a phone call from Sam. Sam had been skim boarding, in Pine Point Beach, Maine, a neighborhood located in the Town of Scarborough, Maine Approximately a half hour earlier, Sam lost his extremely sentimental wedding ring, while skim boarding. Sam said he was about to wipe out and as he was trying to regain his balance, he felt his wedding ring slipping off. Sam and his wife and other family members, were sitting on the beach, when he lost his ring. Everyone immediately started searching the wet sand and water. Sam was not sure which way the ring went flying off but thought it went behind him, to the north, as he was flailing his arms, to regain his balance. After searching for a half hour, the ring was still not located and Sam called me. I told Sam that I could be there in 25 to 30 minutes. I also knew that the tide was now heading out and that was to our advantage. I also knew that once I arrived, I would have less than an hour of daylight left and if the ring hadn’t been found, I would be searching in the dark.
Once I arrived, just a little after 8:00pm, I met Sam and his wife Annie. Sam told me the ring was his grandfather’s wedding ring and it was both silver and gold. Sam was already thinking ahead and he had marked, with a line, an area to the north and to the south. The ring he said, should be within these boundary lines but he wasn’t sure about the depth of the boundary line, because he just didn’t know if the ring had flown off his finger, to the east and into the water or to the west, towards the dry sand, where his family was sitting, watching him skimboard I decided to start my south, north grid search, in the area where Sam felt his ring coming off. I would then keep gridding back and forth, following the tide out. After approximately 20 minutes, It was suggested by a family member that I should start searching up higher, near the dry sand. I did that and when the ring wasn’t found up high, near the dry sand, I went back to where I had stopped a few minutes earlier. Annie and Sam thought the ring would be found on the lower left of the grid area, as you faced the ocean. After an hour of not finding the ring, it was getting very dark. I could not see my grid lines and this was imperative, to a successful recovery. I then Told Sam and Annie that I would now search in grid fashion, east to west, so my grid lines would be much shorter and I would be able to see the better. Approximately 15 minutes later Sam and Annie left, telling Cheryl and I we should call it off, until it was light out. I knew I could complete the remaining search area in just another 15-20 minutes. If I hadn’t found the ring, by then, I would stop for the evening, returning the next evening. I couldn’t come back down in the morning because Gary and I had already been booked , in York, Maine, at Short Sands Beach. As I approached the last two grid lines, to be searched, I told Cheryl I was stopping, once these two lines were completed. As I turned and headed east, towards the water, I received a very loud signal. My detector was telling me it was not very deep, maybe 2-3 inches and that the target was a high conductor, reading 93-95 on my VDI screen. This was definitely in the sterling silver range and I immediately plunged my sand scoop, into the wet sand and threw the sand, up onto the beach, in a pile. I ran my detector, over the pile of sand and the target was definitely out of the hole and in the pile. I took my pinpointer and started flattening the sand out, until I located the target. As I kept removing the sand, I saw a ring come into focus, in the darkness. Cheryl put her phone flashlight on and as I picked the ring up, we could see the gold also. We have found Sam’s wedding ring. I took a few photos and Called Sam, to give him the great news. He didn’t answer. I then sent a text message, congratulating him and sent him the photos. After arriving at home, Sam replied to my text, saying
“I CANT BELIEVE THIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I will call you tomorrow! My phone ringer was off. You’re an absolute lifesaver. Cannot wait to make a post about this on Facebook. That’s the one without a doubt. Seriously you’re the man! I cannot describe how much that ring means and the service you provided!”
This morning, we communicated and I would meet Sam, late afternoon, in Pine Point, to return his ring. Once I arrived Sam and Annie thanked Cheryl and I for not giving up and finding his wedding ring. Sam and Annie told Cheryl and I that the wedding ring was once Sam’s grandfather’s wedding ring. Sam was and still is extremely close to his grandfather and grandmother who are both still living and have been married for approximately 60+- years. Sam told us that his grandfather taught him so much, including his love of fishing, that still exists today. When Sam got married, his grandfather GAVE SAM HIS WEDDING RING, so that Sam would have it as his own wedding ring. That’s right, Sam’s grandfather, still married (60+- years) , gave up his own wedding ring, to the grandson he loved so much, so that his ring, would live on in the marriage of his beloved grandson. WOW!!! WHAT A GIFT, WHAT A STORY ❤️
I personally have never heard of anyone doing this before. Passing down your own wedding ring, while still married truly shows the love between Sam and his grandfather. What an incredible gift. As I often say, every ring has a story and this is an incredible story. Now this 60+- year old ring lives on with a new chapter, in its story. I just absolutely love hearing stories like this and it just drives me to do more good. Helping people like Sam, in their time of need is the greatest job in the world ❤️🙏
