Wallet Lost On Bryant Pond, Maine, While Skating, Found Years Later, In The Water, With A Metal Detector




I received a call on Wednesday May 6th, at 5:30pm, from Amy. Amy told me that two days earlier, on Monday she had lost her White Gold Wedding Ring, while at work. Amy is a teacher and the Assistant Director, at The Appletree School, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The Appletree school is a preschool for children ages 3-6 and is a unique preschool experience, embracing the outdoor classroom for the children. Being in a “nature-based atmosphere”, Amy is outdoors for most of her day. Amy had her Engagement and Wedding Rings in the pocket of her vest, so as not to damage them, while working with some tools. After finishing the project, involving tools, Amy attempted to put her Engagement and Diamond Wedding Rings on her finger. Unfortunately, Amy’s knuckles were swollen and she couldn’t get the rings on. Amy then put her rings back in her vest pocket and would put them on in a few hours, when the swelling on her finger subsided. Approximately 2-3 hours later, Amy went to put her rings on but only the Engagement Ring was in her vest pocket. The Wedding Ring had gone missing. For the 2-3 hour time frame that the rings had been in her vest pocket, Amy had literally traveled all over the schools property, even indoors. Amy had taken the children down a short nature trail, in the woods. She had also performed yoga, near a large tree, read to the children, near the nature trail, had a sing along time, around a gathering circle and other areas, all over. Amy had the children help her look for her wedding ring. Another teacher had a metal detector and they searched the area, with the metal detector. The ring was not found that first day and the next day, the search continued with the metal detector, children and staff members. Again, no ring was found. On Wednesday, someone told her that they were surprised that Amy hadn’t contacted The Ring Finders of Maine. Amy now had our contact information and she called me, once she got out of work.
We agreed that I would meet her first thing the next morning, at 7:30am. With the entire search covering somewhere between an acre and an acre and a half, I told Amy that I would be bringing Gary Hill with me. A search area that large, could take all day by myself. With Gary’s help , the search of the school’s property would go much faster. Because the search was so large, with lots of open field area, I decided to use my 15” coil and Gary opted for the 11” coil, on our Minelab Manticore metal detectors. These coils would cover the open areas, much quicker and efficiently. The drawback would be that these coils were not as good, when close to metal objects, in the area. The metal could actually mask the gold wedding ring and we wouldn’t be able to hear the ring. There were fences, sand boxes, flower boxes, metal boats, playground , metal toys, etc.. If the ring wasn’t found today with the larger coils, we could always come back the next day, with the much smaller coils and search those areas, much more throughly. The open field areas were probably 80-90% of our search area and the ring had a better chance of being there than in the 10-20% area of the metal objects.
So, Thursday morning, Gary and I were met by Amy and she took us out back where the children spend most of their day and where Amy “thinks” the ring would be. Our concern was that one of the children had already found the ring and put it somewhere, outside the areas, in their pocke, backpack, thrown it into the woods, etc.. This has happened to me twice, in the last three years, where a young child had ahold of a parents ring and placed it where the ring wouldn’t be found for up to a year, on one of the rings. The decision was made to break the search area up into 4 areas and each area would be grid searched , North to South. We would start in zone #1 and finish in zone #4. Gary and immediately knew zone one would be very tough. Very little open area and just loaded with above and below ground metal. Zone #1 turned up nothing but coins, which we didn’t dig and lots of foil, I suspect came from lunches and snacks. The larger metal objects were’t moved at this time. The has a metal row boat that we would only move, if the ring wasn’t found, in one of the other zones.
Zone #2 included much more open areas but still lots of metal, above and below ground. It also included a short hiking trail, for the children, that goes into the woods, for a short distance. There was also a very small brook running along the border, with zone #3. There was a bridge over the brook, along with wood pallets and planking. The brook itself, which I searched had a large piece of metal, that ran along the bottom, possibly a culvert pipe, not sure. I know I couldn’t get any reading in that area of the brook. Zone #2 also included the yoga area and the reading area. along with a fence that borders zone #1. There was also another metal row boat. The searching was much easier and open, than zone #1, but still had difficulty in some of those metal areas. Once Gary andI finished zone #2, we headed over to zone #3.
Zone #3 had lots of challenges also, including multiple fences, including one fence that housed a garden and small building. The fence was also marked with each child’s name, where their backpacks, extra shoes, boots and other personal items were hung and laid on the ground. There was also a wood pile, a third metal row boat and the sing along gathering area, with lots of log stools. We did the search of the area the best were could but didn’t want to touch or move any of the students belongings, to search under them. This was also a very difficult area and still no ring.
Zone #4 was by far the easiest area to search. Although Amy had not gone into zone #4, we had to search it, just on the outside chance one of the children had picked the ring up and dropped in zone #4, while playing. Unfortunately we did not find the ring in zone #4 either. It was now going on 11:00am and Gary and I had been searching for 3+ hours. Where was the ring? We met with Amy and told her the ring was still missing but we would come back, in the morning. I wanted to search, the fence area, where the children’s belongings were, before they arrived for the day, I also wanted to move the boats, benches, picnic tables, toys and anything else that needed to be moved, while the children were not using them. I would also switch mu coil from the 15” to the 9”, in order to get closer to some of the large metal objects. Gary and I would also grid search the area, not North to South but East to West. This would give us a a true gid search.
This morning Gary and I arrived and got right to work. I searched the fence area that I wasn’t able to search yesterday because of the children’s backpacks, et.. The ring was not found in that area. Gary and I were now in zone #1 and we stated emptying the wheelbarrow to move it, emptied the toys, the metal cooking utensils from the toy box. We moved the picknick tables and the metal boat. All for naught as the ring still wasn’t found. Gary said he woulfd go search the wooden pallet sitting area, near the woods and trail, while I finished up zone #1, around the swings and then the flower box. Nothing found in the wood chips, around the playgroung. I searched inside the flower box and still no ring. Gary was finishing up near the reading area and he was also empty handed. I then started down the narrow path between the metal boat and the flower box when all of a sudden, I receiced a loud, repeating, low tone, registering 18-19 on the Target Identification Screen (TID). This was exactly the tone and TID i had been looking for. Definately in the gold range. I looked down but all I could see was pine needles and grass. I used the pinpointer to locate the tatget and as I removed the pine needles, I saw the outline of a ring. Amy’s wedding ring had been found. I motioned to Gary that I had found it and he came over to me. I told him I wanted to surprise Amy with it and to play along. Amy was just 15-20 feet away and I called her over. I told her Gary and I were done in zone #1 and I wanted to know if she had been near the metal boat and bridge in zone #2. on Monday. She said she had and she then turned her head, to look at that area. When she turned back towards me, I was holding the ring up and as Amy saw her wedding ring. I could see her eyes welling up and in a slightly cracking voice, “You found my ring. Where was it”, as I could now see a few happy tears , in her eyes. I showed her exactly where it had hidden, under the pine needles and grass. I also told Amy that “I told you yesterday, we don’t give up.” Amy was just estatic, saying “I need to tell my husband.”, all the while smiling ear to ear and telling all the parents and staff members, in the area that her weding ring had been found. Just a great moment to see.
So, the ring was very close to the flower bed that had metal through out and it and was very close to the metal row boat also. We had just moved the metal boat to check aound it and quite possibly we created enough space that today the ring wasn’t masked by all the metal. I am positive that the choice of using a much smaller coil, around all the metal also played a big role in finding it. Perhaps it was because we searched East to West and not North to South. We will never know for sure. Two days, Two Ring Finders and approximately 4.50 to 5.00 hours of searching had come to a successful ending. We don’t like to give up until we feel comfortable that we did everything, in our power, to find the missing item. Never give up and “If It Matters To You, It Matters To Us.”. Another smile on our clients face, another ring back on the finger and we have the best job, in the world. We love our job💍❤️🙏


I received the following voicemail, on Friday evening at 7:15pm.
“Hello, my name is Kaelly ****. I found your page on Facebook. We have a lost wedding ring at Drake’s Island Beach in Wells Maine. So just seeing if you have any availability to come out and help us find it with a metal detector. My phone number is 443-***-****. Thank you.”
I immediately called Kaelly back. She and her husband Mark were still at the beach searching for the ring. Unfortunately, once a ring gets under the sand , they are extremely difficult to find. Kaelly explains that they had a very good idea where the ring was and they had even marked the area. That is exactly the correct move I was so happy to hear this. Keely then passed the phone to Mark and he told me the same thing about the area the ring was lost in. He was very sure of the area because as he, Kaelly and their two young children, walked onto Drakes Island Beach, from the municipal parking lot, they had just exited the blue mat, that is on the access path. As each parent was holding a child, as they walked onto the beach, Mark moved his child from one arm, to the other. When he repositioned his child, he felt his ring snag on something and felt it coming off. He looked at his hand and sure enough, his platinum wedding ring was no longer on his finger. Mark and his family were only 40-50 feet off of the access path and they immediately stopped. Since Mark only felt the ring coming off his finger, he didn’t see where the ring had fallen to. He knew it couldn’t be far but the sand had swallowed it whole and after a family search, Kaelly gave me a call. I told Mark I would leave immediately and it would take me about 40 minutes to arrive. It was now approaching 7:30pm and Mark said he would take Kaelly and the children back to where they were staying, so the children could start getting ready for bed. Mark would then drive back to Drake’s Island , Wells Maine and meet there around 8:00pm. Sounds like a plan.
Once I arrived a Drake’s Island, I called Mark and told him I was only two minutes out. Mark was already back at the lot and would meet me at the access path, with the blue mat. After a few pleasentries, Mark walked me down the path to the area he had marked up. Mark told me it wasn’t a large area and he was certain the platinum wedding ring, would be within the marked area. When we arrived, Mark showed me the approximately 10 foot radial circle he had drawn, in the sand. Inside the circle was a ball of seaweed. Again, great thinking on Mark’s part. I thought to myself that if the platinum wedding ring wasn’t within the circle, I would just grid search, back to the access path. Facing the water, I could see the absolutely beautiful , orange in color, Full Micro Harvest Moon, just starting to show itself, as rose out of the Atlantic Ocean. After admiring the rising moon, for a minute, I decided I would start on the left side of the circle and make my way towards the water. No targets at all on that first pass. I turned and headed back towards the shore and when I arrived at the top of the circle, I heard the unmistakable sound of a low conducting non ferrous metal target. My Target Identification (TID) was a solid 30. Exactly where I thought a men’s platinum wedding ring would ring up as, on the TID screen. I even said “Mark, I think that’s going to be it.” Mark replied “That would be awesome.” I the started searching the sand with my pinpointer and I saw it and said “There’s a ring.” I reached dow and picked the ring up. I passed it to Mark and he verified the ring by looking at the inscription. Mark said “That’s awesome.” with a nice big smile and thanked me for coming out so quickly and helping. Mark told me he is in town, from Western Massachusetts , near Springfield, Massachusetts, to run the Maine Coast Marathon, the next morning. Mark would be running the Half Marathon and I wished him well. My running days are over but I know what this race means to runners, such as Mark. GOOD LUCK MARK🏃♂️🏃♀️🏃
So, a few things helped Mark get his platinum wedding ring back. He didn’t panic, gently searched the area, without digging or moving any sand, out of the area. He also didn’t post it on Social Media, where anyone could have come down looking for it. As Law Enforcement and myself recommend, do not post the location of a lost piece of jewelry, on Social Media. Mark and Kaelly also knew to call someone to help, that they could trust. All great moves by them, made this an easy recovery and another ring back on the finger. Remember, “If It Matters To You, It Matters To Us”. I love my job. It’s the best job in the world.


This property pin recovery actually started last December. Deanna had contacted me to find three pins, in particular and possibly a fourth, on her York, Maine property. Her neighbors had recently sold their home and Deanna would just like to find the pins, dividing the properties. Deanna has lived at her current home for 15 years and has the most recent survey prints, from just before she bought her home, 15 years earlier. Deanna told me that she herself had pulled one of the pins, out of the ground, on her property because it was in the way of her mowing. Thankfully, that pin is not included in our current search. She now regrets that decision. There were two pins, in particular, Deanna would really like us to find and last December, with snow on the ground, Gary Hill and I did just that. We found the two property pins, without much trouble at all and a third pin, in the front of her house. The fourth pin however was behind her neighbors home in an area that the hay and bamboo was very thick and tall. The area was also very wet and had frozen, unlike the drier soil in the field itself. We had a difficult time swinging our detectors properly and with that area of the property already frozen, we decided to come back in the spring, when the ground would be thawed and the tall hay would be matted down, from the winters snow,
So, When I received a call from Michele to help find her bracelet, in York Harbor, Maine, I decided to give Deanna a call. Deanna was all for me returning and trying to find the fourth property pin, behind her neighbors home. After a successful recovery of Michele’s bracelet, I drove the 4.50 miles to Deanna’s house. The snow was gone, ground thawed and hay had been matted down, to a more manageable height. The property pin I was searching for would be exactly 85’, from property pin #3 Gary and I had found a little over 4 months ago. With my 300’ tape measure, I secured one end to Pin #3 and measured out the 85’. As you all know I am not a licensed surveyor and this pin had a degree of angle from pin #3 and I don’t have the tools to measure that angle exactly. I knew I could get close to it, but not exact. All this would mean is that my angle, over 85’ may put me off 5 or 10 feet from where the actual pin is. No prowl as I would just search the entire 10 feet or so of the area. Once I had the 85 feet measured out, I started to search. I received a strong ferrous target but it ended up being a piece of farm equipment. Another strong ferrous target turned out to be a very old and large square nail. Target #3 was something large. As I dug it up, it turned out to be a large chunk of concrete, WITH A METAL PIPE in it. This had to be the property marker. It was EXACTLY 85’ from pin #3. I also remembered from the property survey, there was at least one other pin that said “CONC. BND”. Concrete boundary? It appeared the pipe, running through the concrete and the concrete itself had broken. Just to be safe, I searched more area around the concrete pipe but nothing els was found. It had to be the pin, at exactly 85’. I took some photos and sent them to Deanna. Her response made perfect sense. She replied, “Likely got hit by the tractor mowing the field at some point. Great to have them all located, thank you!” Great point. The tractors had been cutting the hay in the field, for decades, if not longer. I am only guessing but because the ground is very wet, in that area, the property pin was placed in concrete, to keep it standing upright, until a tractor hit it anyways.
So I had a busy morning, with it starting in York Harbour, finding a Sterling Silver and Gold Bracelet, in a burn pit and ending in York,Maine, just 4-5 miles away with property pin #4, being found. Both Michele and Deanna were happy, as was I. We have the greatest job in the world. I love my job.
As a side note, We can help you locate your property pins BUT I am not a licensed surveyor. I am just a metal detectorist trying to help others out. I informed Deanna and all my clients that I may find their property pins but I cannot guarantee that the pin is in the correct location. I have no way of knowing if the pin has actually been moved, in the past, or not. Only a licensed surveyor can guarantee the pins are in the correct spot.

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I received the following message, at 7:30am, Monday January 27th,
« Hello, my name is Marissa B****. I’m located in Newmarket, New Hampshire . Um, I was just calling, um, to see if someone could come out and help me potentially very quickly. Um, I was getting snow off my car and my ring fell off my finger and it’s somewhere in the snow and I’ve just been searching for it and I didn’t know if someone just could come and help me. I live in an apartment building and they’re gonna come plow soon. Um, so I was just wondering if you could help me out, my number is 603-***_****. Thank you very much. »
I immediately called Marissa back and I could tell she was upset by her cracking voice and what sounded like sobbing. Marissa explained that as she was cleaning her vehicle off, her White Gold and Yellow Diamond Engagement Ring had come off and landed in the snow. Marissa and her fiance’ had searched the snow where the ring had fallen but they couldn’t find it. To add even more pressure, the snowplows, that plow the large apartment complex, were just a few buildings away and would be at her building, within two hours. She asked if I could come down there, ASAP, and search. Without hesitation I told Marissa, I would load my equipment up and be there as soon as I could. I also asked her to not have the plows, plow where her car was parked, until I could get there. I knew Newmarket, was just a little SW of Portsmouth New Hampshire and was an hour away, from our home in Saco, Maine, on a good day. This morning the roads were still slick, with black ice and the plows were still out. Hopefully, The Maine Turnpike would be all clear. Marissa agreed to talk with the plow operators, should they arrive, before I do.
Once I was on the road, I called a still emotional Marissa and told her I was already on the Maine Turnpike and gave her an ETA. As soon as I told her that, I could hear a little relief, in her voice . Just knowing someone was on their way to help her, calmed her down. As Cheryl and I made our way down to New Hampshire, the traffic was flowing smoothly, although a little slower, than normal. We arrived at her apartment complex in approximately 1 1/4 hours, about 15 minutes slower, than usual. Once we got out of the vehicle, a cold stiff wind hit us. Temperature at the arrival time was 10 degrees with a feel like wind chill temperature of -2 degrees, brrrrr🥶🥶🥶
We were met by Marissa and she showed me where her car was parked, when her engagement ring came off. It was a very small area and I could see all the disturbed snow, where Marissa and her fiance’ had been searching, without any luck. After throwing a gold test ring, in the snow and showing Marissa how the metal detector works, I got down to business. I performed an east/west grid search. A few targets were heard but I knew they weren’t the engagement ring. I then searched the area again, this time in a north/South grid pattern. Still no engagement ring was found. I had only been searching for 10 minutes and already had searched the very small area, twice, with no luck. I then expanded the search, to just over the piles of snow and within a few minutes, I received the tone I was listening for. A nice low tone, reading 15-16 on the detectors VDI screen. A classic gold target, for a small ring. I grabbed my pinpointer and located the target, in the snow. Once located , I could see the outline of a ring, with some stones but couldn’t make out the color of the stone. I wanted to surprise Marissa so without telling her I had found the ring, I asked her about the color of the stone and she replied “The diamond, yellow”. I then reached down, picked up the ring, from the snow and asked, “Is this it?’ As Marissa walked towards me I could see her eyes welling up and she then thanked me, as she turned away from the camera. Marissa then gave me a hug and I could see the happy tears. What a great feeling it is to be able to help people like Marissa. She was possibly an hour away from having her diamond plowed and lost forever or even damaged, beyond repair. As the weather was brutally cold, Marissa then went back inside her apartment and Cheryl and I quickly jumped back in our vehicle and turned the heat up.
Being retired came into play today because if I was still working, a regular job, , I would not have been able to leave immediately and who knows what might have happened, with the ring. As I always preach, time is of the essence and this was a situation that proves that’s saying. So Cheryl and I went hunting for a HOT Dunkin” coffee for her, for our drive home. Once she got a little coffee in her, Cheryl became a happy camper. I was a happy camper, as soon as I saw Mariss’s engagement ring, in the snow. Another ring, back on the owners finger and I truly have the best job, in the world.❤️🙏


I received a call from Dave, just after noon on Monday, November 24th. Dave lost his wedding ring, of 15 years, while moving a vehicle. Dave works at a local auto dealer and repair shop and has asked not to mention the establishment or use his photo, in the story. I will absolutely follow his wish. Anyways, Dave had shook his hand, approximately an hour before calling me, as he was getting into a vehicle, he had to move, in the lot. When he shook his hand, his wedding ring went rolling across the lot and was headed towards an embankment of leaves and rocks, leading down, to a small brook. Dave said the ring was rolling very slowly and thought the leaves and rocks would stop the ring, as soon as it reached the end of the pavement. So, as the ring slowly rolled towards the leaves, Dave moved the vehicle and would come back to retrieve the wedding ring, in just a minute or so. Once Dave came back for his ring, he couldn’t find it. He visually searched the leaves and rocks, along the parking lots edge. Dave could not find the ring. Dave also used an inexpensive metal detector, to search the area. Again no ring was found. This is when Dave called me and asked for help. I told Dave I would be right there in approximately 5 minutes, as I live near Saco Main Street less than two miles, from where the ring was lost.
Once I arrived, Dave showed me where he was, when the ring came off his finger and rolled towards the embankment. Dave told me he actually saw the ring rolling and was certain it would be along the edge of parking lot, in an area just 25-30 feet in length. I looked at the area and thought the ring should be right there, as it was slowly rolling and not flying off his finger. I started the detector up and took out a gold test ring and showed Dave how my detector sounds and works. Dave thought his ring was either Tungsten or Titanium but couldn’t remember. Not a problem, the detector will find it, if it is made of metal. Once the detector was set up and running, I worked my way from the east end of the parking area, to the western end of the lot. Nothing found but small pieces of foil were found. I then took a step down the embankment and headed back to the east side of the lot. Again, nothing but trash. I repeated these steps, all the way to the bottom of the embankment. I even searched the brook, at the bottom and the wedding ring still had not been found. Dave was in disbelief and flabbergasted, as was I. I then started searching the area again, only this time I was searching north and south, up and down the embankment , from the parking lot to the brook, up to the lot, back to the brook. Still nothing and at this point, I told Dave that I would switch from my 11” coil, to my 8” sniper coil. I was thinking the ring may have gotten into a crevice and the smaller coil would get into the crevice, easier than the 11” coil. I also asked Dave if he had possibly run the ring over, moving the car and moving the ring, out of the area. No way possible, I was told . The ring was almost to the embankment when he last saw it. No way the wedding ring was near the moving and or parked cars. I then asked Dave if he had looked under the parked cars and he told me that he hadn’t. I asked if he had a flashlight and if he could search under the parked cars, while I performed my third search of the embankment and brook.As I was once again searching, Dave searched under the parked cars, with the flashlight, without finding the ring. I also struck out, for the third time, on the embankment. As I stood talking with Dave, we just couldn’t comprehend how a ring rolling slowly towards the embankment, could just disappear. I told Dave that it just had to be under one of the parked cars and that the cars should be moved, while I once again, for the fourth time, search the embankment. I was also concerned that if the vehicles weren’t searched underneath and moved, the ring may be hit, the next time someone just got in the vehicle and drove off. Moving the vehicles now, in a more controlled environment would be much better. As I was searching, the vehicles were moved and the ring still wasn’t found. When I finished the fourth search, I told Dave that I would return, in the morning, with a leaf blower and blow all the leaves, from the area. But first I wanted to try a little closer to the road, although I did’t think it would have rolled that far, I had to do my due diligence and search it. Still nothing was found and as I was walking back, I heard Dave say, “Oh my God, it’s right here.” As I looked over towards him he reached down and picked up his wedding ring. He found it right where one of the cars had been parked but Dave didn’t see the ring, with the flashlight. Dave also missed seeing it, once the vehicles had been moved. It just blended in with asphalt, pine needles, etc.. It appears that the ring had done a complete 180 boomerang, from the last time Dave had seen the ring. Did the ring hit a pebble of something else and turn around? We will never know. What I do know is that after searching the embankment four times, I just knew the ring wasn’t there. It just had to be under one of the parked cars and once the vehicles were moved, there it was. So, another smile on the face and another ring, back on the finger. I have the best job, in the world.😀❤️🙏


On Monday evening, October 13th, I received the following text, from Tony
“hello there I wanted to reach out my wife lost her wedding ring and band it’s 3 rings in total we were able to find 2 of them but the one that is still missing is very dear to us as it has my moms diamond in it who passed away when i was a child and we just are lost on what to do so we wanted to see what it would take to get your services we live in Buckfield, Maine”
I replied , a short time later
“Hi Tony, So sorry to hear this.
A few questions first, if you don’t mind
1) How long ago was the ring lost?
2) Where was the ring lost?
3) You said you have found two of the three rings. Were they all lost at the same time, same place?
4) Did your wife see or feel the ring coming off?”
Tony replied
“The ring was lost yesterday in our yard. I found two about 15 feet apart. We bought a metal detector that found them, but the most important ring to us we haven’t been able to locate. She didn’t feel them come off, she was playing outside with the kids and doing hard work.”
Wow, His deceased mother’s Diamond Ring is lost. We need to find this extremely sentimental ring and fast. Thankfully, the ring is on their property, so no one will be able to find it, before we arrive.
Tony and I agreed that I would travel to Buckfield, Maine and search for his mother’s Diamond Engagement Ring, now worn by his wife, Ashley. I told Tony that I would give Gary Hill a call and see if he could help me search, the area on Tony and Ashley’s property. Gary was available to help me search and I told Tony, the next day, that Gary and I would be at his property, on Thursday morning, between 7:00am and 7:30am. That was agreeable to Tony and the search was scheduled. Tony told me he wouldn’t be home but that Ashley would be and she would show us the area they thought the Engagement Ring would be in.
Gary and I arrived just after 7:00am, this morning and Ashley immediately came to the door. Ashley walked us through the events, of last Sunday, when she had lost all three of her ring. Ashley told Gary and I that she had been outside, playfully running around, trying to catch her children as they played in the yard. She had also been throwing a ball back and forth, with the children. When they finished playing, Ashley realized all three of her rings were missing. A visual search yielded no rings and Tony then went and bought a metal detector. They were able to find two of the rings , but not the Heirloom Engagement Ring, that was his mother’s. Unable to find “the important ring“ and becoming frustrated with the metal detector, constantly making “noises”, Tony gave up and sent me the text.
One of the rings, that had been found, was found close to the middle tree and the second ring Tony had found, was found about 15 feet away, between the middle tree and tree #3. Gary and I decided to start our grid search, at the two far trees, of the three trees, in the area. We would work our way towards each other, as we grid searched from the driveway, to the fence, along the hayfield. As we grid searched the area, we were receiving a few non ferrous targets but they were all deep, in the ground. There was also a lot of ferrous items, in the area, but we just ignored them. These ferrous targets are what was driving Tony crazy. If you don’t have any metal detecting experience, these constant noises will drive you crazy and you end up checking every little ferrous noise out, where Gary and I can skip over these ferrous noises and focus on the non ferrous targets, that would include all the precious metals, that rings are made of. To complicate the matter, the fence, at the edge of the hayfield, was barbwire and there was another wire, laying on the ground that was constantly making our detectors off and was registering as a low conductor, non ferrous target, just like gold. Gary and I really needed to slow down and listen intently, when we were up near the fence and wire.
As Gary and I were getting closer, to each other, Gary told me he would stop at the fence, to the hayfield. He would start searching, at tree #3 and work his way towards the road, and I could finish the small area left to search. This was because if Gary and I get to close to each other, our metal detectors will interfere with each other. It’s better to keep a distance. As Gary was grid searching towards the road, I arrived at the open gate. I was receiving many non ferrous low conductor signals. The signals being detected, were mostly coming from a thin wire, heading towards the road. I slowed down my swing speed, so I could hear and differentiate different tones. While doing this, I did get a repeating target about a foot or two, just off of the wire. I just knew this was a great target and a good chance it was the ring, we were looking for. I took my pinpointer out and searched the tall grass, until I found the target. As I pushed the grass around, I saw the ring, all the way down, on the ground. It was completely hidden, by the tall grass and it would never been found visually. Gary then went and got Ashley and when she arrived, we had her watch, as Gary relocated the ring, with his pinpointer. As she looked on, anxiously, she suddenly saw the ring appear and said, “It’s right here. Thank you guys so much. Oh my goodness, thank you guys so much. I really appreciate it, thank you so much. We looked everywhere and it was right there.” I told Ashley that “You never would have seen it. It was under the grass.” As Ashley now wiping away a tear, from the corner of her eye, she replied, “No, That means a lot, thank you guys.” It feels so great to see smiles, happy tears and happiness , when we are blessed to find these very precious and sentimental pieces of jewelry. As we left, I wished that Tony had been there to see the recovery of his mother’s Diamond Ring. Unfortunately, He had to work, so I sent him the video of Ashley see the ring, for the first time, since it had been lost. Tony replied
“Thank you Dennis so much!! It is a blessing we couldn’t be more thankful you guys are awesome again thank you for your time.”
You know you’ve had a great day, when you can put a smile on their face, a happy tear, in their eyes and a ring, back on their finger. We love doing this for others and I will say it again, “We have the best job in the world”😀❤️🙏




I received a phone call from Joe. Joe explained that 4-5 days earlier, he and his wife, Andrea, had returned from a 10 day trip, to Scotland. Upon arriving at Logan Airport, in Boston, Joe and Andrea then drove to their home, in Saco, Maine. Once in Saco, they got in Joe’s truck and drove to Greenwood, Maine. Joe and Andrea own a camp, in Greenwood Maine and while they were in Scotland, their dogs were being watched at the camp. Once they arrived, at their camp, the dogs were extremely excited to see Joe and Andrea. The dogs were jumping up and down on them and running all around them, in the driveway area, of their camp. Once the dogs were in the truck, Joe and Andrea started the long drive back to Saco, Maine. As they were driving home, Joe noticed that his Gold Signet Ring, with the family crest on it, was missing. This wasn’t just any Signet ring, this was a 25th Anniversary Gift, to Joe, from Andrea. Joe and Andrea have now been married for 45 years and Joe has been wearing the ring, for the last 20 years. Joe immediately turned around and drove back to their Greenwood camp. The entire front of the camp, where Joe was greeted by the dogs and was playing with them was searched. The area consisted of a mixture of gravel driveway, some grass, pine needles, etc.. Joe and Andrea could not find the ring. Over the next few days, the search continued but the ring still wasn’t found, in the vehicles, luggage, house, etc.. Joe was 90% sure he had it on, when he arrived at the Greenwood Camp, but not 100%. He contacted Delta Air Lines to report it lost and to see if anyone had turned it in. Delta had not found the ring either. At this point, Andrea suggested to Joe, that he should call TRFOM. Joe had never heard of us and told Andrea the he was doubtful that we would be able to find the ring. Then someone else recommended us told Joe and told Joe to just call us. This is when Joe reached out to me, as a last resort. Joe and I planned to meet Sunday morning, August 24th, at 8:00am, to search his camp property, with our metal detectors. Since I really didn’t have any idea, of how large an area would need to be searched, I asked Gary Hill to accompany me, if available. Gary agreed to ride up to Greenwood, with me and search, for Joe’s extremely sentimental ring.
Gary and I arrived approximately 15 minutes early and Joe and Andrea, a few moments later. As we were making small talk, Andrea asked if I had graduated from Thornton Academy, in 1974. Why yes I did! Andrea then told me she graduated, from Thornton Academy, in 1976, the same year as my sister. Well, what a small world.
Joe showed us the area that he had been in, a week ago now, when he thinks he lost the ring. It was basically the entire front of the property and as I looked it over, I thought Gary and I could cover the entire area,in approximately an hour. Gary would start grid searching the right side of the property, as you faced the building and I would start on the left side, working our way, towards each other. Joe was walking the area, with his eyes peeled, to the ground. I could see, on Joe’s face, just how badly, he wanted his Family Crest Signet Ring back. My first grid pass, from the road area, to the corner of the house, resulted in just a few pieces of trash. Gary was finding a few pieces of trash also. As I turned around and started searching, back up to the road, I realized I had forgotten my pinpointer, in the car. When I reached the end of my grid line and went up to my car, to get my pinpointer. As I was at the car, I hear Gary say, “Dennis, I got it. I found it”. I looked over and Gary was bent over, look at something. Joe was in the house, at this point but Angela immediately let him know and when Joe came out of the camp, he was stunned but was smiling like he just won Powerball. As I made my way to Gary, Gary was still looking at the ring and when I arrived, I could see just a small area of the ring. Gary told all of us that he heard the detector go off and when he looked down, he could see just a small piece of the band. Joe arrived and he couldn’t believe that much of the ring was buried, in the hard gravel driveway. Gary and I believe that the ring most likely was knocked off, by the dogs, after jumping, on Joe. The dogs, or Joe then moved some of the loose gravel, up and over the ring, partially obscuring it, just enough so that no one could see it. For the last week, the ring just sat there, blending in with the gravel, sand and dirt. Joe was just overjoyed to get his very sentimental ring back, a ring that his wife Andrea had custom made for him, 25 years ago. After a round of handshakes, hugs, fist pumping and of course, smiles, Gary and I congratulated Joe and Andrea one last time. As we drove off I tooted the horn and we could see Joe looking at his ring, back on his finger, just smiling ear to ear. It’s such a great feeling to be able to help others, when they need our services and I don’t think we will ever get old of that feeling. We love our jobs😃❤️🙏

