#How Do I Find A Lost Gold and Platinum Ring In Maine Beach Sand Tag | The Ring Finders

Cherished Heirloom Gold Wedding Ring, Lost In The Saco, Maine Grass, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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While up on a ladder, cleaning walls, during spring cleaning, I received the following voicemail,

“Yes, good morning, hello. My name is Louann, M*******, and I just wanted to give a quick call. I believe I lost a ring this morning walking my dog. Um, it fell off my necklace that came unclasped, and I just thought I’d give a call. I live on Franklin Street, Saco, Maine and so the walk was very short and um, Yes, if this is something that, um, you might be able to assist with. My number is 207-***-****. Thanks very much, and my name is Louann M*******. Thank you so much. Bye.”

I immediately called Louann back and she told me what has happened. As she was hurriedly getting ready for work, she put her necklace on that also contained a pendant and her mother’s cherished heirloom, gold wedding ring. Louann then took her dog, for a walk, just prior to leaving for work. While walking he dog, Louann felt the necklace, sliding down her neck. She grabbed her necklace, as it was going down her blouse and noticed that only the pendant was still on her necklace. Her mother’s wedding ring, was no where to be found. Louann searched the immediate area, where she felt the necklace, coming off her neck, but couldn’t find the ring. She then took the dog home, undressed and checked all her clothing, hoping the ring had become caught up, somewhere, in her clothing. No such luck. Louann then rewalked her route, carefully scanning the sidewalk, road and grass, of the many lawns. Again the ring was not found. Louann left for work and arrived late, for work. Once at work, she remembered about our services and looked our Facebook Page up and then called me. I told Louann that I lived just off of Saco Main Street, only 1 1/2 miles from her and would leave immediately. once Cheryl pardoned me from spring cleaning. Thankfully, Cheryl understands that rings lost in public spaces, are an extremely high priority. Time really is of the essence, when a ring is lost on a neighborhood sidewalk. There are always people out for a walk or run. There is also a school down the street and many students actually walk this sidewalk, to and from school. Louann and I were exchanging text messages, concerning the exact area, she had walked. I sent her an overhead view of the area, from Google Earth and marked the route out, that I thought she had described. Louann then sent me a view, of the exact route, she had taken, with her dog. Once Cheryl granted me a pardon , I headed to Louann’s house.

I arrived at her house in just 6-7 minutes and parked in her yard. Since her route was very short, I knew I wouldn’t need long to search. I could search the entire route, in just 20 minutes or so. I decided to search the grass, on the house side of the sidewalk as I walked northeast down Franklin. I would then search the strip of grass, between the sidewalk and street, on the return trip, to Louann’s house. I also decided that I would use my smallest metal detecting coil, the Minelab Manticore’s M8 Elliptical Coil. Because I would be searching an old, well traveled sidewalk and street, I knew there would be decades upon decades upon decades of trash, under the surface. There would be all kinds of small pieces of metal, like pull tabs, bottle caps, gum foil, etc.. The M8 Coil is only 8” wide by 11” long and will only detect what is under the coil. A larger coil would be picking up much more of the trash, with each swing of the detector, something I did not want to happen. The very small search area was going to be perfect, for this coil.

As I searched the lawns, in front of the houses, along the street, I couldn’t believe how many targets I was receiving. Everything from coins to trash were lining those yards. Because the ring was lost, just a few hours ago, I knew it would’t be under the surface. Every target, that was even close to gold, I would check, with my pinpointer, so as not to miss it. As I searched the grass, I was also visually searching, the sidewalk and street. After 10 minutes, I reached the turn around area, and the ring was still missing. I then headed back towards Louann’s house. This time I would be searching the grass strip, between the sidewalk and street. I was finding even more trash, in this area, than on the lawns. Amazing at just how much trash there is along the street and roads. Approximately 1/2 way back to Louann’s house, I finally heard an extremely loud low tone. As soon as I heard that repeatable low tone, I stopped and looked down it from of my coil and there sat a Gold Ring. Louann’s mother’s sentimental wedding ring. The ring was sitting, right nest to the sidewalk but was partially blended by the golden colored dead grass. Louann hadn’t seen it when she visually searched. I didn’t see it, while visually searching. Even after hundreds of rings being found, I am still amazed at how these things, just blend in with the environment. I made a short 30 second video and sent it to Louann, via text. Here is her reply,

“Omgosh ‼️‼️‼️💯🙌 Dennis! I am so happy, relieved, crying … i cannot thank you enough – i can come pick it up fr you later?🥹🥰Thanks SO very much – see you later. Also … that area where you found it, was same place i felt my chain falling from my around my neck, unclasped … as i was walking and i was frantic trying to locate the ring … 🤩🙌”

Louann came to my house, on her way home from work. I could see just how much this heirloom ring means to her, as I placed it in her hand. I could see her smile and maybe just a little misty eyed. There is no better feeling, than to help someone, get these cherished heirloom rings, back on their finger, of necklace, in this case. As I have said, in the past, every ring has a story. Louann’s mother’s ring has a long cherished family story. Now, a new chapter, in the story of this ring, has begun. I love my job, it’s the best job in the world.😀❤️🙏

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Three Rings Lost Cross Country Skiing In Biddeford Pool, Maine Found With A Metal Detector Two Gold Rings And A Gold Emerald And Diamond Ring

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Friday evening, February 20th, I received the following message
“Hi Dennis! I just saw a story about Ring Finders of Maine and am SO EXCITED that you may be able to help me! I live in Biddeford Pool. I was xc skiing on the golf course here Jan 22 before the big storm came. I took off my rings and thought I put them in a coat pocket, but alas, I think I put them in a zipper area that was really an underarm opening in my ski shell. 😩 I did a quick look the day after and had a friend help look on that Saturday. It was brutally cold and windy, the snow was on its way!
I have Apple Watch mapping and know two areas I stopped. Just can’t remember exactly where I took my rings off. They can’t be spread all over the course, I was on a short course over lunch.
I was going to wait until spring to try to find them—my gold, emerald and diamond ring and my mother’s 2 small, gold wedding bands. With snow coming again, tonight it seems prudent to keep waiting. Please let me know your availability and thoughts. Thank You!
Desirée S*******”
For reference, the story Desirée mentions is a NEWS CENTER Maine story, about The Ring Finders of Maine. The golf course mentioned is The Abenakee, in Biddeford Pool, Maine, a neighborhood in Biddeford, Maine.
I then replied,
“Hi Desiree, I am so sorry to hear this. I can certainly help you try and recover the rings. Thankfully, The ground is frozen and the rings should be above the surface.
So a few questions and observations,
1) We can certainly search the two areas where you had stopped and can do that, sooner, rather than later, as long as the snow isn’t too deep. If the snow is to deep, I can certainly check the two areas you stopped at and see what happens. Otherwise, we will need to wait until the snow recedes some.
2) With your Apple Watch mapping, do you know or would you be able to show us the rest of the route you took?
3) You say you don’t remember the exact spot you took your rings off. Could you have taken them off, before you started skiing, like in the vehicle?
4) At what point in time did you realize the rings were missing? While you were still at the course or later? Just wondering if the rings could have made their way to another area.”
“Thank you for the quick reply, Dennis!
Some answers:
1) Yes, I have peace of mind that I have two spots I know of for sure. One is by a road though, hoping the snow plow hasn’t pushed them down the road. We’re getting snow tonight and now they are talking more on Monday. I haven’t been to the golf course to see what the depth of snow is lately. I did see some bare grass, but don’t have good sight from the road to one of my stops along the woods.
2) YES! I have the whole route documented!
3) No, I took them off on the golf course. I had taken my jacket and gloves off at different points, as it was warm. I know where my jacket came off. I just don’t know which of the 2 other spots I took my rings off because my pole was hurting my hand from the rings rubbing. I did check my car just in case! And like a crazy person I kept opening every pocket of my jacket expecting a different result!
4) Sadly, I didn’t realize they were gone for almost 24 hrs. I lost them Thursday at lunch, Friday at lunch I figured it out and went to the golf course. It’s was terribly windy, my tracks were getting blown over with snow. I tried to dig at the road, with no luck.
Went back Sat., a friend had a cheap metal detector but we never got it to work. I then walked to spot #2 and just kicked the snow on the track path hoping to see something. It was a windchill day so wasn’t out long. I haven’t been back.
I’m retiring from work next Friday, so with the new snow coming and it probably being a wild week at work, March is probably better to start this adventure. I have confidence they are just sleeping in the snow, they are safe and just waiting for Spring!! I told my friends, “At least they aren’t in the ocean!!!”
And with that, began a slew of text messages back and forth with Desiree. The three rings that had been lost were two very small Gold Bands, that had belonged to her deceased mother. A Gold, Emerald and Diamond Ring that Desiree had designed and made in Indiana, over 30 years earlier, around the time her son had been born. A one of a kind ring! All three rings held extreme sentimental value, with all the memories that came with them. Unfortunately, the rings had been lost a month earlier, on January 22nd and with the snow already on the ground, the day they were lost, more snow hd fallen, in the last month, including a storm that dropped 18 inches, on Biddeford Pool. Desiree and I agreed that I would search the very large area she had cross country skied, once the snow was more manageable or gone all together. Desiree had already been in contact with the Country Club and they had granted me permission to search, on their property. Now, it was just a waiting game.
Finally, on March 10th, Gary Hill met Desiree at St. Martin’s Church, adjacent to the golf course. Desiree had crossed St. Martin’s Road on both her way out and on her way back, on her cross country ski course, 6 weeks earlier. We started there because, at this point , Desiree had fallen, crossing the road and she knowns she still had all three rings on, at that point. There were only two other areas, after falling, that Desiree had stopped at, that day. The first area was approximately a 1/3 of a mile, from where she had fallen. She had stopped because she was getting hot. She had removed her jacket and tied it around her waist. Before tying the jacket around her waist, Desiree had also removed her gloves and rings. She placed her rings, in her jacket pocket and proceeded on with her skiing. It wasn’t until days later that Desiree realized the pocket wasn’t a pocket at all, that she had placed the rings in. It was a zippered arm pit vent and THERE WAS A HOLE IN THE VENT. OH NO!!! After another 1/3 to 1/2 mile, Desiree stopped again, to take a few photos, including a selfie at a flag on one of the golf courses, greens. Her phone was also in her pocket, but a different jacket pocket. After a slight tussle, getting the phone out of her pocket, she took the photos were taken and she finished her trip, back at the Country Club’s parking area. There were no more stops or falls just a slight difficult time, getting up and over the snow back, at St. Martin’s Road. Like Desiree, Gary and I were most interested in the two areas, where she had stopped. The area the rings were taken off and the area the photos had been taken. Gary and I would perform a “snowplow” search, as we headed to the first area, where the rings had been taken off. Nothing found. Once at the first area of interest, we performed a very slow methodical grid search of that entire area. Once again, no ring. While Gary and I searched, Desiree would walk ahead of us, on the course she had taken, that day. She was visually searching the areas that did not have any snow. We all then started heading to the flag pole, where the photos had been taken. Desiree led Gary and I along her route as she continued her visual search and we continued our snowplow grid search. We arrived at the green and Desiree said she had stopped to take the photos at this location as Gary and I peppered her with questions, like “Where were you standing, when you took the phone, out of your pocket?” Where had you gone and stood, when taking the photo?” Once we received the answers to those and other questions, we started searching the entire area around the green. Gary was just to the north of the flag and I took the south side. There was still a lot of snow around this green, some areas deep enough that I wasn’t sure our detectors would be able to penetrate the deeper areas of snow, to find these very small rings. After just a few minutes of searching, I received the tone I had been hoping for. A nice low tone loud and very repeatable. Because of the snow, I couldn’t see the target, I swept the child over the snow, to remove some of it, when I caught a glimpse of a very small area of a GOLD RING and I could see a GREEN STONE, an EMERALD. I was just three or so feet from the flag. I looked over at Desiree, with a sly smile and said, “I got one”. She replied “Are you serious” and I said, “Yup, the emerald one,” Desiree hurried right over and I pointed to the ring, under the snow and I let her remove the ring, as I took a video of her. As Desiree pick the ring up she said, “This is my emerald ring, oh my gosh.”. We were all smiling and some of the weight had been lifted, from everyone’s shoulders. But, There were still two very small gold bands to find and they would be the most difficult. It was decided to search the area around the green very throughly but there was still a lot of snow. Gary and I were unable to locate the rings in the area of snow so we followed Desiree, along the route she had taken, back towards St. Martins Road and the church. We ended the search without finding the two gold bands and we all agreed that more snow would need to melt, before we tried again, in a few days. There were a couple of 50 degree days, in the forecast and a lot of the remaining snow would vanish.
While waiting for he snow to melt, I was looking at the map of, Desiree’s Apple Watch GPS tracking her route. I noticed a few areas that I thought we hadn’t searched. During the search, we may have zigged,, when we should have zagged. In my mind, we didn’t go far enough south of the green, and then a right, back towards the fairway, liked by three trees, on the south side of the fairway. The fairway still had quite a bit of snow and Desiree just couldn’t remember how far out in the fairway, shed had been. Desiree also thought the area where she had taken her rings off needed to be searched again. She was thinking hard about her route and had a feeling, she may have been down, in the rough, more than she thought. So on Friday the 13th, we met again and started the search once again. We decided to search the entire area of the green once again and after coming up empty, we went to plan B. Desiree would take Gary across the golf course and start searching the rough, where the rings were taken off. Gary would then follow Desiree along the route, towards the green. I would start at the green and work the route, backwards, towards Gary and Desiree. An hour or so later we caught up to each other and still the two gold bands hadn’t been found. We then decided that we would go back to the green and follow her route, down the fairway, across the road to where she parked, that day. We would shift slightly on the fairway, because Desiree just wasn’t sure how close to the trees she was. Unfortunately, After another 2 1/2 hours or so, the two gold bands we still missing. With very heavy rain scheduled for Monday March 16, we decided to search again on Wednesday March 18th. The very heavy rain would get rid of the rest of the remaining snow and we needed a new game plan.
I kept thinking in my head, rightly or wrongly that the Emerald Ring was large enough and shaped differently, because of the setting the emerald and diamonds were in, that it was blocking the smaller bands, from falling out first. In my mind, once the emerald ring fell out, the two small bands would follow, but how far down the fairway, towards her parked car were they? Desiree kept mentioning to me that the trees she went by on the fairway were to her left but she just couldn’t remember how far out in the fairway. I decided that I would have Gary and I grid search, from the tree line, to the edge of one of the bunkers. We would grid the entire fairway, from the flag on the green, to the end of the tree line, a distance of approximately 200 yards. If we didn’t find the rings in the fairway, we would go back to where the rings had been taken off and expand the search deeper into the rough and fairways, until we found them. Desiree would meet us there around 9;00am but Gary and I arrived at 7:30am. Once in the fairway, we marked the fairway up so that we knew exactly where to grid search and not worry about her ski route. We knew she went through this area and we would search the entire area and not guess how close to the trees she was. Gary started on the east end of the grid, towards the green and flag. I walked down to the western end of the fairway, to the last tree and we just started swimming slowly. There were many targets, in the ground but nothing close to a small gold ring. After a little more than an hour, Gary and I were only 30 yards or so apart from each other. I yelled her to him that we were running out of real estate to search in this area and we would head to the area where the rings were taken off, as soon as we finished this area. We both headed south towards the trees, turned around back across the fairway. We were now only 20 yards apart and turned south again, towards the trees. My first step and swing produce a beautiful sounding low tone and I just knew in my heart, it was gold. As I glanced towards my coil, I noticed my VDI Screen was reading 14. Another very positive as small gold band will definitely be ringing up in that area. I put my detector down and scanned the surface when a yellow gold band had come into focus. WOW!!! Gary had already heard my detector and also knew that was a gold tone. He came over to me and as he approached me, he spotted the white gold band, with his twin optical scanners. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? Just two or 3 feet apart, in a perfect line, Desiree’s mother’s two gold band had been found. We started high fiveing each other and doing our happy dance, all the while we were smiling, smiling and did I mention smiling.
It was now close to 9:00am and we saw Desiree and her fried Chris, walking towards us with their dogs. Gary and I had decided to surprise Desiree and had placed a pine cone, atop of each ring, hiding them. Gary pretended to still be searching, with his detector, with Desiree approaching. Once she and Chris arrived, she asked how it was going. I told her what we had searched and if the rings weren’t found, in the fairway, where does she think they would be. I was taping her the entire time and she pointed towards the rough, on the other side of the golf course, where she had taken her rings off. I then asked her if she could do me a favor and pick up the pine cones. As Desiree walks to the first pine cone, she doesn’t stop looking at me and has a slight grin, on her face. As she reaches down, she says”No way”, picks up the white gold band, breaks into a big smile and says “Oh my gosh, Oh my God, Oh my God, no way”. She then reaches down and picks up pine cone #2. The manager of the golf course arrives as she is picking up the cone and with the bright sun, everyone can see the yellow gold band sparkling in the sun. I hear everyone cheering and happiness filling the air. Desiree then gave Gary and I a big, saying things like “I love you, you guys are amazing”, before the happy tears really started flowing. Gary gave her a tissue, so she could pat her eyes, dry. After 3 different days of searching, it was good to see and hear an ego booster like that. Desiree asked if that was where we found them and it was exactly, where we found them. We never touched them, just placed pine cones on top to surprise her. The two gold band were found adjacent to a marker, in the fairway. The marker said “125”. The marker is telling the golfers that the flag/hole is 125 yards away, from the marker. So, Desiree’s Emerald ring fell out next to the flag and the two gold bands rode their way another 125 yards, down the fairway. As the happy tears were still flowing Desiree thanked us for being persistent and not giving up. Gary and I wasn’t going to give up. If we had’t found them today, we were coming back tomorrow and search another area. Thankfully the golf course hadn’t started their ground work yet and won’t start for another 10 days or so. We needed to find them otherwise they would possibly be gone forever or at the least, badly damaged by the mowers, etc..
As Gary and I were leaving, we turned around to see Desirée and Chris embracing. It had been a long and stressful 8 weeks, for Desirée. Hopefully now she will sleep a little better and I know, because she told me, she will no longer wear her extremely precious and sentimental rings, while cross country skiing.
So, not another ring back on the finger but another three rings back on the fingers. See Desirée’s whole reaction to getting her rings back is why Gary and I do this. There is no better feeling in the world, than seeing the emotions of someone getting their rings back, after thinking they were gone forever. We love our jobs. We have the best job in the world. 😀❤️🙏
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Gold Diamond Engagement Ring Thrown Out Of The Car, Lost In Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Snow Bank, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received the following text message on Thursday, March 12th
“Hi, I need your help!!! She lost her temper and tossed her engagement ring out the car window but was parked, she went back today to look some and took this picture .” A photo accompanying the text, showed an intersection of two roads, along with this text, “I took a picture from where I parked, and I tossed it towards that side of the road on the corner of Friar Tuck”
I replied asking about the city or town’s location where this happened and also to whom was I communicating with.
The reply was “Friar Tuck road in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Mike and Terrie”
I replied that I was concerned anyone could have seen it, in either road, just out walking or running. Their response was that Terrie had already gone back, this morning and didn’t see it. Terrie thought it was somewhere, in the snowbank.
We kept texting back and forth, to verify the exact location, as I know how to get to Wolfeboro Bay NH, but I am not familiar with all the roads. Google earth showed me that Friar Tuck Road was just a very large loop. There were two entrances for Friar Tuck, about a quarter to half a mile away from each other, both exiting onto King’s Highway (RT 153). You could drive in one entrance and come out the other end. I didn’t want to drive an hour and 20 minutes or so and end up in the wrong location. Both Terrie and Mike were working and couldn’t meet me, until after work. It was now approximately 1:45pm and if I could leave by 2:00pm, I could arrive just after 3:00pm and start searching. I was a very, very small area and shouldn’t take long. Once all 3 of us agreed that I had the correct location, Cheryl and I took off for Wolfeboro.
Once we arrived, I matched the location with the photo, sent to me by Terrie and Mike. I then took the same photo and sent it to them. They replied I had the correct location. Perfect. I immediately started searching the snowbank, along Friar Tuck Road and around the corner and onto King’s Highway. Nothing was found. I then climbed the snowbank and searched the other side of the snowbank, still nothing. Could Terrie have thrown the ring over all the snow and into the brush and wooded area? I didn’t think so, as she was sitting in her vehicle, on the opposite side of the road, while sitting at the stop sign. So, I searched the snowbank once again, on both sides. Still no ring. I went up into the wooded area and performed a grid search, along the entire area, even expanding the area, just to be safe. Still no ring. The bushes and overgrown thorned bramble was my next victim or was I going to be the victim of the thorns. I put my smallest coil on my detector, for this area. I may be able to get the smaller coil deeper into the horned bushes. After approximately 30 minutes of carefully prodding the bushes, still no ring and I survived with only a few pricks of the thorns. At this point, I decided to start all over again and went back out to the snowbank and searched once again, even expanding the search up Friar Tuck Road and down Kings Highway. Still no ring. I went back up into the woods and bramble and once again, no ring. I was now thinking the ring ended up, deep in the bushes and there is no way to get a metal detector in there because the bushes were extremely thick. They would need to be cut down and I certainly wasn’t going to cut down anything that wasn’t on my property. I texted Mike and sent him a photo, of the bushes and he agreed that he wasn’t going to cut them down either. Mike told me he was on his way and would be there around 5:00pm. I told him I would wait and I searched one last time, still no luck. While searching, a woman walked by with her dog and I asked her if she walks this area often and that I was searching for a lost ring. She told me that she walks her dog multiple times per day, on this route and hadn’t seen a ring. She also told me that many residents of Friar Tuck Road walk their dogs, around the Friar Tuck Loop and that more residents walk the look for their daily walk. Wow, could someone have found Terrie’s engagement Ring already? It was now 4:40pm and Mike would be here shortly.
Once Mike arrived, I showed him the area and detected the snowbank, a fifth time and still no ring. I even put a test ring, in the snowbank and showed him the detector picks it up every single time. Terrie’s ring just wasn’t in the snow bank. Mike then texted Terrie with the news and a photo of the areas I had searched. Terrie replied that the snowbanks didn’t look as big, as she remembered. She then told Mike that maybe she had been at the other end of Friar Tuck Road. So, Cheryl, myself and Mike drove down Friar Tuck Road Loop a a few minutes later, arrived at the other end of Friar Tuck and Kings Highway. The first thing I noticed was that the snow banks were higher, so let’s go. Mike was performing a visual search of the road and snowbank. I was metal detecting the snow bank along Friar Tuck and the around the corner of Kings Highway. No Ring was found. I climbed over the snowbank and stated searching that side of the snowbank. Nothing found, as I made my way to the corner of Friar Tuck Road. Mike was still visually searching maybe 30 feet up Friar Tuck Road. I made it to the corner, swinging the coil and as with every search, I was also searching the area, with my Twin Optical Scanners. As I approached the telephone line, I finally heard the tone, I had been waiting for. A very loud low tone, that got my attention and I quickly glanced at the VDI Screen. It was showing 18-19. A low conductive number and right in the gold and platinum range. I looked down at the top of the snowbank and there it was. An engagement ring, Terrie’s ring. I looked over at Mike and said, “I got it”. Mike said something I couldn’t quite make out but I could certainly make out the very large smile, on his face, as he hurried over. I had left the ring alone, so Mike could see it, for himself. He thanked me, shook my hand and after a video and a few photo’s were taken, Mike picked the ring up and thanked me again, for staying to search both areas and for sorry it had taken so long, because of the mixup, on locations. Hey, it happens and this is why I prefer the client be there and show me the exact area, they had been in. Unfortunately, it just can’t happen the way we would like. Anyways, the ring was recovered and returned, after just a 5 minute search, at the correct location. Cheryl, Mike and myself had great big smiles on our faces, another ring would soon be back on the finger. I love my job. It’s the best job in the world.
Once home, in Saco, Maine, Mike sent me a final text
“Dennis, thank you again and am sorry about the 1st spot and almost didnt even bother trying the second spot but so glad we did. Once she said something about the banks were higher I had a feeling.” Not the first time I have been given a wrong location and I’m sure it won’t be the last time.
Because of the ring being lost, in the manner it was lost, Mike asked me not to use their real names or use any photos of himself. I always will honor the wishes of my client and will not use any photos or their real names. I don’t judge people and neither should you. People throwing rings, happen all the time. Much more often than you would think. Mike did tell me that Terrie regretted throwing the engagement ring, as soon as she threw it. Hopefully tempers have cooled and the ring will stay on her finger, where it belongs.
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Gold Wedding Ring Lost In The Portland, Maine Snow, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Monday, March 9th, I received the following voicemail

“Hey, my name is Patrick. I got your telephone number off of your Facebook page for finding rings. I was hoping you’d be able to find mine. I mean, Portland. If you give me a call. Um, I’d appreciate it. My cell phone number is 860-***-****. Thank you
I called Patrick back immediately after listening to his voicemail, at 2:15pm. I asked Patrick what had happened and he relayed the story that he was building a new porch and front stairs , in Portland Maine. About 45 minutes earlier he noticed his wedding ring, of almost 10 years, was no longer on his finger. He stopped what he was doing and searched the sidewalk, in front of the area he had been working. Patrick had been cutting wood, , building the porch/stairs and walking back and forth to his work van, parked on the street. The ring was not seen and that was when Patrick called me. Patrick had to leave and be in Waterboro, for 3:30pm, to pick his children up, when they got off the bus. It was now just after 2:30pm and I told Patrick I would load my metal detector up and head right right in. My concern, as well as Patricks was that anyone walking past the house, would be able to see the ring and just pick it up. Time is of the essence, when jewelry is lost in public spaces.
As Cheryl and I were driving in, Patrick texted me and told me , “Ive got someone to get the kids off the bus so I’ll be here when you get here. Thank you!” Perfect!!! Cheryl and I arrived a short time later and Patrick showed me the areas of a few snowbanks, some leaves and under the new set of stairs. I asked Patrick a bunch of questions, as I always do. Patrick wasn’t 100% sure he had the ring on, when he left the house, but was pretty sure. He thought the ring may be under the porch, in all the leaves. So, now I just need to grid search the area, snow banks, along the house and under the porch. I grabbed my Manticore and started at the snow bank, to the left of the porch and on the other side of the sidewalk. Nothing found, in the snow. I then moved across the sidewalk and started searching the leaves, along the house. Still no wedding ring but lots of the usual trash. I then was searching underneath the porch but wasn’t getting any targets. Patrick was removing the remaining leaves from underneath the porch, with a rake. As Patrick was still removing leaves the leaves, I went to the small area of snow, just to the right of the porch. Still no ring. I turned towards the street and started searching the snow bank, on the other side and along the sidewalk. As I started searching I received a nice sounding target , ringing up between 32-34, on the VDI screen. As I looked closer, I could see the partial shape of a ring, in the snow, but hidden by a leaf. I looked at Patrick and told him that I had found his ring. He looked stunned and walked over to me. I then reached down, moved the leaf, picked the ring up and asked Patrick if that was his ring. Patrick verified it was his ring and a big smile broke out across our faces.
Patrick then told Cheryl and I he’s had the ring for almost 10 years. He will be celebrating his 10th anniversary on March 21st. WOW!!! He lost his wedding ring just 12 days before his 10th Anniversary. Thankfully we were able to find this extremely sentimental wedding ring and fast. Patrick and his wife will now be able to celebrate a milestone anniversary without any stress of trying to find his ring. This is a perfect example of why I love doing this. This ring meant everything to Patrick and I just get the best feeling, to be able to find these special pieces of jewelry. There is no better feeling, in the world, than to see the joy, happiness and smiles on people’s faces, when they get their ring back.
Another smile on the pile and another ring back on the finger. I love my job, it the best job in the world 😀❤️🙏

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Platinum And Diamond Anniversary Ring Lost In The Snow At Ice Fishing Derby, In Monmouth, Maine Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
Contact:
I received the following voicemail, late Saturday afternoon, February 21, 2026
“Hi, this is Justin L******. I’m calling uh, because I live in North Yarmouth, Maine , and uh, earlier this morning, it seems like my wife lost her ring. We have an idea of where it could be as a general area, but wasn’t sure if uh, you could provide any services to help us locate it. Now, if you could please give me a call back. My number is 207-***_****. Thank you. Bye.”
I immediately called Justin back and after asking him what happened, Justin gave me all the details. Justin, his wife Jackie and their children, had traveled to Cochnewagon Lake, in Monmouth, Maine . The family was attending the “Jacks Traps Youth Ice Fishing Derby”, which is an annual event, attended by literally hundreds and hundreds of people. Anyways, just before arriving to the lake, Jackie took her 10 year Anniversary Ring off and placed it, on a hat, that was in her lap. The very sentimental ring was a gift from Justin and is a Platinum and Diamond Ring. Jackie took the ring off to apply sunblock on her and her children’s faces. They would be out, on the lake all day, with no shelter, from the sun and as I always say, safety first. Once she finished applying the sunblock and they arrived, she exited the vehicle, helped unload all the equipment and then the family went a couple hundred yards, out onto the lake, where the children, enjoyed the fishing derby, around the drilled fishing holes. Towards the end of the day, the family went over to the Awards Ceremony and watched that for a while. While at the awards ceremony, Jackie took her gloves off and her stomach knotted up, her heart skipped a beat, as soon as she noticed her beloved anniversary ring was no longer on her finger. Jackie and Justin immediately going through the days events and thought the ring must have fallen into the parking lot, when she got out of the vehicle or possibly, still in the vehicle. Since they were way out on the lake, they decided to start searching the immediate area of where they were standing. Unfortunately, there was too much snow and to many people, in the area. If the ring was there, it was beneath the packed down snow. They then went back to the area, where the family had been ice fishing. Again, they did not find the ring, in all that snow. They also checked the parking lot and did not see the ring but the parking lot was full of vehicles and people. They went home with a very distraught Jackie thinking of nothing but her missing anniversary ring. Once home, Justin remembered seeing an article on The Ring Finders of Maine, from a few years earlier. Once he searched Ring Finder Maine, he saw many of my posts and that was when he contacted me.
I told Justin that being so late in the afternoon, I could meet him first thing in the morning, at 7:00am, right around sunrise. I would also see if Gary Hill was available to assist, in such a large, potentially, search area. I would also bring a backup metal detector, for him to use, if he would like. Three of us searching, what could be an area of a couple of football fields, large, would definitely be better than just me. Time is of the essence, in all lost ring recoveries. The ring was lost in a public area and someone may have seen it in the parking lot or out on the ice already and picked it up. The other big concern was the upcoming blizzard, in just 36 hours, on Monday morning. If we didn’t find it soon, it may be gone forever or damaged beyond repair, by a snowplow, in the parking lot. Justin signed right up for using my backup metal detector, without hesitation. Justin was closer to Monmouth Maine and he was actually heading back up there to search the parking lot, once everyone had dispersed. He would let me know if he found it. An hour or two later and now dark, Justin called me with the news of the ring still lost. He and Jackie told me the parking lot was very slushy and snow was packed, from everyone driving and walking on it, during the day. As the sun was now gone, they were worried the ring would freeze , in the slush and asked if the metal detectors would be able to find the ring, if it was frozen in the slush or snow. I told them yes, absolutely. I also told them I would bring test/set up rings, including a platinum ring to set up, calibrate the detectors and show Justin what he would be listening for, as he swung a metal detector.
So the next morning, Sunday February 22nd, Gary and I left our homes, at 5:35am, for the approximately hour and twenty minute drive to Monmouth, Maine. Once we arrived, I sent Justin a text , letting him know we were there and he replied he was only 5-10 out, from arriving. Gary and I looked out at the lake and were praying we didn’t have to go out there and search, such a very large area. As we were getting our equipment out of the car, Justin pulled in. After a few pleasantries, Justin pointed out the area they had parked, yesterday and the route Jackie had walked down to the lake. Once we calibrated the machines and Justin was shown how to use the detector, we headed towards the area where we were all hoping the ring would be.
Since our metal detectors will interfere with with other, if they are to close to each other, Gary started going up along the snowbank, towards the area, where they had parked. I asked Justin to search the area, between the two parking lots, but closer to the second lot, so as we wouldn’t interfere with each other . I would follow Gary, in the area he had skipped over. Nothing was found along the snow bank other than a dime and a few targets, in the ground. Justin had come over to see what the targets looked like as I explained why some of the targets could not be a platinum ring. Gary and I would now search the area, closest to the lot Jackie had been in. I would start on the right side, along the snow bank, Gary would be about 8-10 feet behind me, and a few steps to my left. We call this the snowplow grid search. It’s like the snowplows, on the Maine Turnpike. One plow will be in the far right lane, one in the center lane and one in the passing lane, each plow covering ground, the other plows don’t get. After a few steps, Justin had a target and I went over to see what it was. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Jackie’s ring. I i returned to where I had left off and as I arrived, Gary said to me, “Hey, I’ve got a really good target, 14 on the VDI. It’s down in the ice and snow. I grabbed my detector and checked the signal and it sounded really great, but was it the ring? Gary got his pinpointer out, located the target and very carefully, chiseled the ice and snow away. Gary really didn’t want to damage the target. As he was removing the ice and snow, we caught a small glimpse of a silver colored ring, with diamonds. Gary has found Jackie’s anniversary ring, YES!!! I looked over at Justin and shouted out, “We got it, Gary found the ring”. Justin came running over and Gary pointed to the ring still buried in the ice and snow and gave Justin the honor of removing the ring. Once Justin removed the ring and took a photo, he sent a text to Jackie. Justin then called Jackie, with the good news Jackie was pleased, over the moon happy and I can’t be certain but I thought her voice cracked a time or two. Gary and I also noticed a few happy tears coming down Justin’s face. He was extremely happy and he was wearing his emotions, on his sleeve. When I congratulated Justin and stuck my hand out, for a handshake. Justin wouldn’t have it and gave me a big hug with a smile, ear to ear
A beautiful moment for Jackie and Justin. Gary and I do this, for exactly these reasons. There is no better feeling in the world than to be able to help return such sentimental items. As we always say, every ring has a story and now Jackie’s anniversary ring has a new chapter. Gary and I were on cloud nine, as we said goodbye to Justin. Another ring back on the finger. We have the best job in the world. We love our job!!!
Once home, I received the following message from Justin
“Thank you so much Dennis, I am eternally grateful for your help finding my wife’s ring. I’m still taken aback about your willingness to come and help at a moments notice. In today’s world, it makes you remember that there are still so many good people out there, and you stand out.”
Also, Please check out the video of Justin removing the ring, from the snow and ice and Jackie and Justin’s conversation , over the phone.
We have the best job in the world. We love our job!!!❤️🙏
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