Massachusetts Tag | Page 4 of 4 | The Ring Finders

Lost Wedding Band at Bass River, South Yarmouth, MA Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 12, 2023 was one of the best beach days with bright sun, mild breeze and full parking lots. It was a definite beach day for Dennis and his family. It was also a must go detecting day for Leighton (another RingFinder) and myself. As we made our way around the seaweed patches we saw Dennis, whom we had met the previous weekend having fun in the surf. We stopped and chatted for a minute or two before continuing down the beach, never looking back. Our bad, because we were being hailed to go back as Dennis had just lost his wedding band to the surf.

About an hour later on our return homeward bound trip we were told why Dennis had not left the water in the past hour. He was standing were his ring had slipped off his finger. We did not need to be asked to help, we just went into the searching grid mode and within a couple of minutes the ring was found and returned to Dennis’s finger.

Dennis’s son, Peter, did an excellent job at taking pictures and recording information so I could contact his family to put this blog together and forward it’s link when published. Timing was perfect, otherwise the return would not have been so rapid. We hope to see the family our next time we have such a nice day at the beach. As an aside: Further down the beach I also met up with another couple who’s engagement ring I found and returned eight of years previously at the same area on the beach.

Barnstable, MA: Cape Cod Beach, Wedding Band Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 6, 2023 was what began as a great afternoon of boating on Cape Cod Bay turned into a fretful time of searching for a wedding band that had slipped from Zach’s finger after only 2 months of being worn. Zach tried diving in 9 feet of water to find the ring but lacked the ability to hold his breath long enough to do much searching under water. When the tide went out and the area was void of water he and others tried using a metal detector and “eye-ball” searching with no success.

One of Zach’s friends suggested he call J&E Enterprise, a metal detector dealer for suggestions. Eleanor offered up my name and number. Zach then called me. The tide was about ¾ full and I knew I could not detect in the 9 foot deep water and made arrangements for an early morning meeting when the tide would be down to only waist deep.

The morning came with storm alerts on the NOAA radio. High winds, heavy rain and possible tornadoes were on the horizon for Cape Cod area. The sky was a bit overcast at 7:30AM but otherwise it looked like the beginning of a wonderful day. I took a chance and left the safety of my home and was off to meet up with Zach, After the introduction and being shown were the over-size ring slipped from his finger I was in the water searching in a grid pattern. About 45 minutes of searching with only one other signal I located the wedding band.

I left the ring in my detecting scoop and headed out of the water, back to where Zach had been standing. He thought I had given up searching and I said yes, there is no need to search any further. I then put the scoop in front of him so he could see the ring in the scoop and retrieve it for himself. I love the emotions people show when their lost item has been found and is being returned. Even bystanders are amazed and become elated as they watch and add congratulations.

Zach’s wife was home and had offered up a bit of advice when she was told of the “loss”. That was “do not tell your mother until after TheRingFinder does his search.” While Zach was talking to Kelly I texted her a picture of the return. Yes, it was a wonderful feeling to be part of this story that ended with smiles that spread between Zach on Cape Cod and his wife several states away.

OH, I must add that the weatherman was correct. Two hours after I arrived back home the NOAA alerts started coming in every few minutes, Then the wind, rain, and lightening engulfed our area. There were two tornadoes in our area. One EF1 touched down about 30 miles and the other an EF0 was only 5 miles away. There was physical damage to homes and property but no human injuries. Both Zach and I were among the lucky ones this morning.

Centerville, MA 3 Lost Rings Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

August 1, 2023 was to be Brian’ third lucky charm day. He had lost his ring two years ago and I found and returned it. About two weeks ago he call to ask for help in finding his daughters ring. As I was leaving for the beach the phone rang again. This time to tell me not to bother, the group had found the ring in the sand. Today another call from Brian was to tell me his friend Patrick had just lost his ring in the surf.

Ten minutes later I was on my way as was Leighton. What a team member. He was on the way from the west and I from the east of the point of ring loss. On the way, while stopped at a stop sign I saw Leighton coming down the road. He passed and I followed him. We stopped, set up a plan. and were off to a private club. We were greeted at the front door of the club and were escorted to the beach boardwalk. On the beach we met up with Brian and Patrick, covered the usual questions and headed for the water. Detector and scoop at the ready I headed down the slope, heard a target, stopped to dig the target, some 30 feet from where Patrick was standing acting as a point of reference for the lost ring.

One scoop in the soft sand and I had a wedding band in my scoop. I walked out to were Patrick was standing. After giving the ring to him I saw a puzzled look on his face. He was a bit unsure thatt it was “the ring” lost. The lost ring had been his great-great-great-grandfather’s and at first Patrick did not see two identifying dents on the ring’s edge. The ring had been removed from the deceased by cutting and the repair left the two small marks. Thinking it might not be “the Ring” Leighton and I continued to search the area. While searching I thought about time and tide. The ring had been lost for almost two hours and the tide was going out. That was the reason for the difference in distance from where I found the ring and where Patrick was standing. Further inspection of the ring the indents were visible and there was no karat marking, an indication of the ring’s age and lastly, there was no inscription on the ring. Yes it was Patrick’s ring.

Another Lost ring had been found, returned and it’s story entered into the “Book of Smiles”.

 

Earle Beach in Harwich, on Cape Cod MA: Sentimental Items Found and Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

July 23, 2023 was Christine’s last vacation day at Earle Beach in Harwich, on Cape Cod, and she lost a very sentimental necklace, and two charms. She knew that a metal detector was the correct tool to find the “lost” items. In search of a rental detector Christine contacted J&E Enterprise and talked with Eleanor. Due to the time restraints and objects needed to be searched for, Eleanor suggested calling Rick Browne of TheRingFinders.com. He would bet he best way of “finding” the items before leaving Cape Cod in the morning.

I answered the call and assured Christine it should be no problem finding and returning the 3 items before she left for home the next morning.

My wife and I headed out to the beach right away. At the beach I went straight to the location Christine described to me. Within 5 minutes I had found the three items, still connected together. I called Christine and told her of the search results. The family was out at dinner and would not be home for an hour or two. Then, per Christine’s instructions, I placed her items in a plastic bag and then under the wiper blade of her sister’s car.

A couple of days later we exchanged a few text messages. Christine concluded with a few words I have copied int the Comment Section below. It is what my hobby is all about; the return of a sentimental item that can not be replace, but only found and returned thus ensuring everlasting smiles.

Hardings Beach, Chatham, MA Held a Lost Ring Overnight. Ring Found and Returned.

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

On July 21, 2023 a wide wedding band was lost at Hardings Beach. Ethan, a town lifeguard knew of TheRingFinders and had fellow lifeguard Jamieson call me and relay information about Ethan’s great-grandmother’s wedding band being lost the previous evening by great-granddaughter Katie. I was later told by Katie that “My great-grandmother, Margarita, wore the ring since the 1970s until her passing when it was passed down to my mother who was gracious enough to let me wear it. Of course I was careless one time and the one time it slipped right off my finger into the ocean. Thankfully Jamieson got in touch with you.”

Forty-five minutes after receiving the call I was at the beach getting ready for a quick search. First the slope to the water’s edge was covered until a signal was heard, dug and a ring was retrieved. Unfortunately it was a gold plated ring with a fake diamond. Ethan called Katie’s mother and it was confirmed the ring was not the one I was searching for. Back to the search…

I finished detecting over the slope with no other targets and proceeded into the water. Again no results. I increased the search areas both along the face of the slope, down into the water a bit further from the shore. Again no results. Another conversation with Ethan revealed that he and Katie had swam to the buoy and back. That was a bit of bad news as the tide was coming in and I could not wade too much further away from the beach. But I did manage to get out to shoulder depth and worked the tide back in. On the third pass I had a good signal, dang, a screw off bottle cap. About another five feet and another great signal. This one gave me a bit of challenge getting it into my scoop. I had to prevail over the cloudy water and increasing wave action which I did before seeing what had to be the object of my search. This time it was the ring of my search!

Back on the beach it was decided that I would follow Ethan to Katie’s home. What a beautiful facade awaited us. At the entrance way I met Katie. her mother and father. What a story going back 3 generations. Not sure if I would get all the facts correct I turned on a new cell phone app to record the story. I gave it a go and I think it all went well. The smiles, pictures and thanks made for a perfect ending to this return.

 

Harwich Port, Massachusetts gold ring, lost, found and returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Jeff was enjoying the yearly family get-to-gather on Cape Cod and a football catch in the water of Nantucket Sound. The inevitable happened. His left handed toss of the football was fallowed by his flying wedding band.

After several hours of searching by Jeff and his friends without any sign of the ring. A call to a newly renewing member, Leighton Harrington, help was on its way. The time of day and tide was such that a search could not be started until 6am. Leighton and I often detect together and keep each other company on the trip to the search area, during the search and ride home.

In the water and looking, two rings were found on the first morning’s search, neither were the object of quest. During the day Jeff marked the area with a few coins before Leighton and I returned to search the second day. Leighton found a few of the coins and I found the ring in the same area we had searched over the previous day. If you miss it by an inch, you have missed it. That is why we don’t give up after the first search and crisscrossing the area.

Back at the house, pictures were taken and the return was made. Big smiles and the thought of a tear was observed. After a few stories were exchanged, Leighton and I were on our way for coffee and to set up a meeting time for the next day’s detecting experience. We were feeling great about putting a smile on another person’s face.

Palladium Ring Lost Covell’s Beach, Craigville, Massachusetts: Found & Returned

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Beyond belief is my take on this return, but you will have to decide for yourself.

I was called by Alec in hope that I could find his ring. I was on my way out to find a diamond engagement ring and did not take the usual information that I should have from Alex. That being said I was on my way to search for both rings. After successfully finding the ring first in fresh water I was on my way to the sound side of the Cape. I could not talk my way past the gate guard so I saw two women talking in front of two empty parking spaces in a private residential area. I asked if I could park in their area. After telling them about TheRingFinders.com they agreed and saved me the $25 parking fee.

I searched for about an hour and half before finding a wedding band. I did not pay much attention to the ring, put it into my pocket and started to leave the beach. An the way out I chatted with a lifeguard and told her I had found the ring I was looking for. She then told me that there was a silver ring in the lifeguard house. We chatted with the gate guard and two other lifeguards. The gate guard said he would let me in without charge the next time I needed a parking space.

Believe it or not I left the ring on the wall were we all were talking, At the car I realized what I had done, ran back to meet one of the lifeguards coming toward me with the ring. Back again at the car and I was on my way home. At a stop light I re-read the little information I had from Alec. It was then I realized I had found a ring that was not Alec’s. Alec’s ring is Palladium, not Gold. Dang, the ring is the lifeguard shack must be Alec’s. But the lifeguard had mentioned Len as the person they had tried to call.

It turned out Len is Alec’s uncle and it was he that left contact information with the lifeguards two days after the ring had been lost. I went back to the beach the next day, confirmed via a picture and e-mails that the Palladium was indeed Alec’s. They gave me the ring and I will give it to Alec’s father on Saturday when he returns to the Cape for the week. The ring will be carried back to Alec when his brother returns home on Sunday. I will then be sent a big, wonderful smile in picture form as the ring goes back on Alec’s finger. All this just one month before Alec’s 5th anniversary.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
Rick

Wedding Band Lost 16 Years Ago Found and Returned. Chatham, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

16 years ago a young sea-goer’s wedding band was pulled off his finger while trying to secure a friend’s boat to a buoy. Searching the surrounding seaweed covered area was unsuccessful in locating the ring. It was to remain hidden for the next 16 years.

While detecting, enjoying my hobby, and avoiding the Corvid-19 virus I found a wedding band with the initials of T.L.F. and a date of 1989 inscribed on the inside of the band. As usual, as I have never been able to find the owner of a wedding band with that information, I was about to put the ring into my pouch for safe keeping when I noticed a name on a large mooring buoy about four feet from me. The name began with an « F ». Could there be a connection between the « F » in the ring and the “F” on the buoy? I had to do some web searching when I got home.

I searched Zillow for street names in the area, the town assessor’s online data base, and other personal information locators for a family name beginning with an “F” and contact information. The search first lead me to a disconnected phone number, several distant possibilities, and a Trust Fund name and finally to a Financial Group, its name was Odyssey. The name was exciting enough, I had to contact them. Of course the financial specialist, Kim, could not give me any information, other than she knew the family. Do to the privacy laws Kim could only promise me she would inquire of someone in the family that may be able to help and have them contact me. A call came back from Kim with bad news…no one with the initials of T.L.F. was know to the contacted family members. Well I tried. But…wait…

About an hour later I received another call, this time it was from Trish. Yes…Trish had some information, but the owner’s initials were not T.L.F. as they were not the owner’s initials, they were an abbreviation for True Love Forever. The owner, Brian, was and still is a close friend of Trish. An arrangement was made for the return of a long missing wedding band. The return sequence of leading to a wedding band’s return was a first for me, all thanks to a coincidence, hunch and the internet.

Lost and Found Ring Returned on Cape Cod, MA

  • from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States)

Lost Ring / Found Rind / Returned Ring … It is as easy as that my 19th return of 2011!

      I was on my way to a metal detecting club picnic when I turned on my cell phone and was alerted to a missed call. When I was safe at the picnic I made a return call. Don said he had lost his wedding band while tossing some pine needles into the woods and asked if I could help look for the ring. Don had left his metal detector in Florida and needed help. I said sure, but I have to partake of the picnic food and I would stop by afterwards.

I arrived at Bob’s and with my ATPro set to located platinum and gold I was ready to help and fellow retired US Navy shipmate. First I used one of Chris’s tips of giving Don a ring on a ribbon. I let him toss the ring just as he has tossed the pine needles. I started a grid search to one side and then the other side of where the test ring landed and worked forward. After finding a few targets with too high a ID reading and too deep including some kind of manifold or liquid valve the ATPro’s ID reading locked in at 64. I pushed a few leaves and pine needles away and then asked Don if this was his ring? Still on the ground and shining upward was enough for Don to confirm it was his ring and then he picked it up and returned it to its proper place, on his finger.

Don’s wife, Janet, was the person who located me through The Ring Finders. She was very grateful for my efforts and presented me with a beautiful home made candle decorated with sea shells that I gave my wife for her patient waiting in the car while I did the search and recovery.

Yes another picture for the Book of Smiles. What a wonderful hobby, helping others!