#Portland Maine Metal Detector Service Tag | Page 3 of 3 | The Ring Finders

Tungsten Wedding Ring Lost In A Maine Lake, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Monday, July 15th, I received a phone call from Dan. Dan told me he had lost his Tungsten Wedding Ring, 2 days prior, on Saturday. His in-laws had rented a house, on Little Ossipee Lake, in North Waterboro, Maine. They had also rented a pontoon boat for the week. On Saturday, they decided to take the pontoon boat, to a very small island, approximately 1 mile, straight across the lake. The water around the island had very clean and clear water. The sandy and rocky bottom, ideal for swimming, for the kids. As the pontoon boat, pulled up to the island, Dan’s 3 year old son was trying to get out of the boat and into the water. Since the water was still too deep for the children, Dan struggled to get his three year old, away from the side of the boat. Once he had that situation under control, Dan jumped into the lake, to pull the pontoon boat, closer to the island and the shallow water, so he could anchor the boat, to the sand and rock bottom. Dan said the struggling with his son, made his ring move about on his finger and as he was swimming, to the shallow water, he could feel the ring, sliding down his finger. He reached down with his left hand and was able to touch the bottom, but it was to late, the ring was gone. Dan had his father in-law throw him a pair of goggles and Dan scoured the bottom, for his ring, to no avail.

After having no luck, others tried find his wedding ring over the next few days. Snorkeling, moving rocks and sand, all proved to be fruitless. It was at this point, Dan found me online and called me. Since it was Monday, mid morning and I was on the road, we made plans to meet up, the next day, at 11:00am, at the lake house. We would take the pontoon boat, over to the island and search for his ring, with my waterproof Minelab Excalibur ll metal detector. His in-laws only had access to the lake house and pontoon boat, until Thursday morning. We had to find the ring today!!!

Cheryl and I arrived early at 10:30am and Dan a few minutes later. Dan’s father in-law, immediately started up the boat and we headed to the island. It only took about 10-12 minutes to arrive, at the island and Dan, like he did on Saturday, jumped out of the boat and secured the anchor. I then jumped in and Cheryl passed me my metal detector and scoop. As Dan walked me towards the area, he thought his ring would be in, I was swinging and searching, with the detector. No targets on the walk over. Once at the spot, I almost immediately received a signal, but it did not sound, like tungsten. I need to check it out anyways, just to be sure. It turned out to be a beer bottle cap. I resumed swinging and two steps later, a nice loud low tone, the sound I was hoping for. Looking down, into the very clear water, provided no visual indication as what it may be. I then bent over, as far as I could and my face, ended up in the lake. I brought the hand held scoop up and no ring, but lots of small rocks. I then took out my pinpointer and located the target. I held the pinpointer on the target and had Dan check the target out, with his goggles. He couldn’t see the ring but he then scooped up the area, where I held the pinpointer. Nothing but more rocks. I tried relocating the target, but it had moved, on Dan’s last attempt, to scoop it up. Once, relocated, we both attempted to scoop it up and nothing but rocks. I relocated it once again and this time, Dan disappeared below the surface, with the scoop and came up with a good size scoop of rocks. Would the ring be in there? I could no longer find the target, on the bottom of the lake. Whatever it is, it’s in the scoop. As Dan was removing the rocks, I saw a very big smile, come across his face. I looked into the scoop and Dan was pulling out his ring. We had found it, in about 2 minutes but it took us another 7-8 minutes to get it off the bottom of the lake.
After loading all the detecting equipment, back up on the boat, Dan told us he hadn’t bought a new ring yet and was extremely happy to be able to tell his wife, that he wouldn’t need a new ring after all. It was a great ride back to the lake house. The entire trip, from leaving the dock, searching and recovering the ring and docking, at the lake house took a total of, 36:44. Less than 40 minutes, really surprised me. A beautiful day for a boat ride, in Maine and it ended with another client, in my “Book of Smiles”.

Later, in the afternoon, I received the following text, from Dan,

“Dennis, I am truly the thankful one! Honestly I couldn’t have imagined a better experience or outcome for my lost ring resolution. Would easily and without a doubt recommend your expertise to others. Appreciative is an understatement and I cannot thank you enough”.

I absolutely love being able to help people out, like Dan, in their time of need. It’s the best feeling in the world ❤️🙏

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Gold and Diamond Ring Lost in Bridgton, Maine Lake, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
Contact:

Recovery and Return #46

As I raced, from the kitchen, to my living room, to answer my phone, it stopped ringing. I then saw a voicemail had just been left. The transcription read, as follows

“Yes, hi Dennis, my name is Judith H***. I live on Highland Lake in Bridgton, Maine and a friend of mine was visiting and she lost her ring. She was in the water at my property and its waist deep. It’s about a 12 x 12 area and we are calling you to see if you might be able to come and rescue her wedding ring. It’s a very sentimental ring. It was her mothers. My number is 9 0 4- ***-****, again Dennis this is Judith H*** and I’m hoping to hear back from you with a return call thank you bye…”

I immediately called back and Judith answered. She explained that her lifelong friends Anna and Maureen, have been visiting her, at her lakeside home. Anna had lost her very sentimental ring, when she jumped, into the lake, from the wharf. Anna could see the ring, in the very clear water and reached down to grab it, but it disappeared, into the sand and rocks. Judith and Maureen then joined Anna, searching for the ring, that was no longer visible. Then neighbors from surrounding homes, joined in. Still no one could find the ring. It is my experience that once many people start searching for a ring, in the water or sand, there is a good chance of moving, said ring, outside the search area or deeper into the sandy bottom. When I mentioned this, to Judith, she told the searchers, to stop searching, so they wouldn’t move the ring any further. Even though Anna had gone into panic mode, over her mother’s wedding ring, it was the right thing to do. No need to possibly make the ring, much more difficult to find, by moving it around or sending it deeper, into the sand.

Since it was now going on 8:00pm, I told Judith, I would leave my home, in Saco, around 7:00am and make the nearly 1 1/2 hour drive, to her home on Highland Lake, hoping to arrive at approximately 8:30am. This would allow me to get my Minelab Excalibur ll onto the charger and get a full charge, for this water search. I also would get the rest of my equipment, towel,change of clothing, etc., and load the vehicle up tonight and leave, 1st thing, in the morning, right after loading the Excalibur ll, into the vehicle.

Cheryl and I left the house as planned and arrived right at 8:30am. It was explained to us, by the three friends, that yesterday they were very hot and decided to jump into the lake. They had put lotion on and jumped. When in the water, Anna actually saw her ring, come off and down, down, down to the bottom it went. Once it landed, on the bottom, of the lake, she could still see it. When attempting to retrieve the ring, it moved deeper into the sand and rocks, out of sight. The resulting search was fruitless. They were certain, the ring was in a 12’ X 12’ foot area.

I entered the water, approximately where they thought the outside limit would be of about 12’. I decided to start there and grid my way, towards the wharf. After about 7-8 minutes, still no ring. I had found and scooped up a brass shell casing, a small lead fishing sinker and a penny.
As I got closer to the wharf, while facing the shore, I got the unmistakable low tone, that I thought could be gold and the ring. My waterproof Excalibur ll does not have a VDI screen, to give me any type of a reading. It is all by tone and sound. This tone got me excited and I told the three friends that if this is the ring, it is not silver, but gold. Silver is a much, much higher sounding tone.
I pressed the scoop, into the sand and rocks, checked the scoop and saw nothing. I checked the target again, lined up my foot with the target, scooped more sand and rocks and started shaking the sand out of the scoop. It was then I saw Anna’s ring, in the scoop. Once Anna realized I had found her ring, she became extremely emotional, to the point, she was visibly shaking. She was so emotional because her ring, is actually 3 rings, put together, to make one ring. The rings consisted of her own engagement and wedding ring, along with her mother’s wedding ring, which was passed down to Anna, after her mother’s death. Anna was just so distraught, that she no longer had possession of her mother’s wedding ring that she was visibly shaking, during and after the search. WOW, I am just so fortunate to be able to help people, like Anna, not only get their rings back, but the memories that come with those rings. Every ring has a story and Anna now has her story back. ❤️🙏

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Gold Wedding Ring, With Diamonds, Lost In The Sand, At Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
Contact:

Recovery and Return #43

I saw a missed call and voicemail, on my phone, from 11:42am. It was now 12:11pm and 29 minutes had passed, since the missed call. I immediately checked the voicemail and this was the message,

“Hi good morning my name is Chris M***** and I was on Goose Rocks Beach yesterday. I took my wedding ring off and put sunscreen on and I never put the ring back on . I realized, when we got back to the hotel, that it was gone. We went back to look for it , but I’m sure it kind of fell off my lap and chair and went down into the sand . I kinda know exactly where I was when I was sitting. The trouble is where we have to be on the road at 2: 30 PM today to head towards the Portland airport to go home , we live in Ontario, California . A couple of people suggested I give you guys a call and see if maybe we could find my wedding band. My number is 9 0 9- ***-**** and my name is Chris Thank you…”

WOW! Chris had to be on the road, in just over two hours, to catch his flight, to California. This was going to be a challenging search. I need to drive, from my house, to Goose Rocks Beach, in Kennebunkport, meet up with Chris, to find out where he was on the beach and I still needed to contact Chris. I immediately called Chris back, but the call went straight to voicemail. The pressure was on to get this ring, in 2 hours and I don’t know where it was lost.

I decided to just start driving to Goose Rocks Beach and I would continue attempting , to contact Chris. As my wife and I pulled out of the driveway, I called again, straight to voicemail. It was now, 12:23pm. Another call, about 5 minutes later, straight to voicemail. I was now approximately 10 minutes from GRB , when my phone rang. It was Chris. Chris asked me how this works and I told him that I was already on my way to GRB and would be arriving in 10 minutes. Chris was ecstatic knowing, I was already on my way. Chris told me he and his wife would leave their Hotel, immediately and be there in 20 minutes. He and his wife would meet us, in front of The Tides Club, a Restaurant and Beachfront Hotel.

My wife and I arrived and parking, as usual, was a nightmare. I decided to ask Goose Rocks Beach General store, if it would be alright to park, in their lot. I told them the circumstances and they were totally on board, for me to find the ring, and fast. THANK YOU! The store was a 1/3 of a mile from The Tides Club and I had to move fast to get there. Chris called me and told me they were there. I told Chris, I was walking there at the moment and would see him shortly. I saw Chris standing at the beach access entrance and we started towards the area he had lost the ring in. It was now 1:05pm and less than 1 1/2 hours before he had to leave and catch his plane. I started my Minelab CTX-3030 metal detector up, as Chris showed me the general area. I started performing a grid of the area and then a heard a nice low tone signal. I tried checking my VDI Screen but couldn’t see it in the extremely bright sun. I ran my coil over the area, once again and a nice signal was still there. At that point, my coil had moved the sand, just enough, for me to see a small piece of a silver colored ring. I turned around, and asked Chris to come over. When he arrived, I pointed the the shiny object and Chris reached down and pulled out his stunning White Gold Wedding Ring with Diamonds. I had found Chris’s ring. Chris clenched the ring in his had and threw his fist, into the air. YES, YES, he said out loudly. He couldn’t believe it. It was now 1:08pm. It took just 3 minutes, to find his ring, with 1 hour and 22 minutes to spare. PHEW! Chris felt so out of place, without his wedding ring, he actually had purchased a ring, the night before, just so he would not feel naked, without his wedding ring. Chris was extremely happy and was in disbelief that the ring was found and found that fast. He continued to express his gratitude to my wife and I, as we walked off the beach. I felt so relieved to have found it, before his flight. The stars were aligned!
A lot of things came together, to make this happen. Being retired, gives me the ability to just up and leave, whenever I get a callout. GRB General Store allowing me to park there, to help Chris. Chris telling me that multiple people told him about me and to call me. Chris had no idea that such a service existed. So, a big shoutout to Retirement, GRB General Store and to all the people, who referred me and encouraged Chris to call me.
At 2:18pm, I received a text from Chris. It said

“Thank you again Dennis for today. I went back into town and told several shopkeepers about the good news. I’m still stunned we found it.
Sincerely,
Chris and Julie M*****”

I just absolutely love being able to help people, like Chris. Have a safe flight home.

This was my 2nd recovery today. I will have the details of the 1st recovery, this morning, at 6:00am, as soon as I return the ring to the owner. We are in the process of setting up the time.

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14K Gold Pendants, Gifted By Great Grandmother Lost In Tall Grass, in Westbrook, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
Contact:

Recovery and Return’s #38 & 39

On Friday Night, June 14th, I received a text at approximately 7:40pm. It said

“My daughter was playing outside and lost her gold cross and a small gold basketball off her necklace I’m located in Westbrook, Maine what do you charge thanks Jon”

I replied,

“Hi Jon, sorry to hear this.

“I do not charge for my time or for my service. I do require a $25.00 Transportation Fee, to cover my gas, tolls, wear and tear, etc.

Where did she lose it? Your property? Private property? Public property?”

Jon then proceeded to tell me

“Yes my property we have a picture of her with it on 5 mins before she went inside changed her shirt and the pendants are gone. She said-early in the day chain got caught on her bike and didn’t think anything of it. The chain and cross were given to her when her great grandmother died.”

With it now being almost 8:00pm and raining slightly, I told Jon I could be there 1st thing in the morning, after charging my detectors, overnight. Jon and I agreed to meet in the morning and start searching.

I arrived at Jon’s home, in Westbrook, Maine at 7:15am and was promptly met by Jon and his daughter, Jaelyn. Jaelyn told me that she was next to the house, next door and ran home and went in the front door. A total distance of approximately 75+- feet. Jon and Jaelyn had performed a visual search but it was useless. The grass was fairly tall and something as small as the pendants would easily fall out of sight, into the tall grass. I asked Jaelyn where the picture of her, with the pendants, still on the necklace was taken. Jaelyn took me to the spot and told me that as soon as the picture was taken, she ran home. I decided to start the search there and asked Jaelyn to walk the same path, as she had run the previous night and I would follow her, very slowly, with my Minelab CTX-3030, with a very small 6 inch sniper coil.
About 10 minutes into the search, I received a very, very, very, low sounding chirping noise. I looked into the deep grass, but couldn’t see anything. I removed my handheld pinpointer and stuck it into the deep grass and received a nice loud signal. Pushing the grass aside, I saw the top of the 14K Gold Cross, Thank God! Jon and Jaelyn couldn’t believe it and Jon said that the cross, is the more important pendant. The cross had been given to her, after her Great Grandmother had passed away.

Now, to find the very small 14K Gold Basketball Pendant. I finished searching the path that Jaelyn had taken and no basketball pendant. We all talked about the possibility of the pendant, flying off her, as she ran and into the hedges, in the front of the house. I was also thinking the basketball pendant was smaller than the cross and decided to search the path again. This time, I would search with only the hand held pinpointer, by bending over for the length of the search. Still no basketball pendant. Did it bounce, into the hedges? Out towards the street? Don’t know, so I decided to grid search the entire lawn. I started at the lawn, near the front door she had gone in. No luck. I then moved to the lawn in front of the house and started searching there. As I came up to the light post, I received a nice strong signal, about 2-4 inches, from the light post. Could I be picking up some metal associated, with the post and wires below? I looked closely, into the grass but still didn’t see anything. As I put my pinpointer, into the grass, it received a signal and as I moved the grass with the pinpointer, I could barely make out something, gold in color. As I reached down and grabbed the item, I could see a very small Gold Basketball. I finally found it, after just under 2 hours of searching. The pendant was just a few feet, off of the path that Jaelyn had run , the previous night.

I then texted Jon and told him I had found the pendant. A few minutes later, Jon and Jaelyn came outside and I asked them if they could see the pendant, in the grass. They could not see it and I passed my coil over the pendant and showed them where it was. The pendant would never have been found, with a visual search.

Jaelyn and Jon told me they didn’t think I would find either pendant , but now they were both smiling ear to ear. Jon had told me that the previous night, Jaelyn was inconsolable and just crying and crying, because she had lost her Great Grandmother’s Gold Cross. Jaelyn is now feeling much better, knowing she has both pendants again. I am so grateful that I am able to reunite people with their extremely sentimental items.

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Tungsten Ring Lost In The Old Orchard Beach, Maine Sand, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I was upstairs, putting my PJ’s on, after getting out of the shower. As I was getting dressed, I could hear my phone, ringing downstairs. When I retrieved my phone from the charger, I saw a voicemail had been left, a few minutes earlier, at 7:04pm. The voicemail message said,

“Hi there, I was told to call you. I lost my ring and I’m hoping you can help me. Eric said to call you. I’m right on Old Orchard Beach. If you get this message through just call me or my fiancé at 9 7 8- ***-**** please thank you…”

Now, Eric is the owner of The Waverly Store, a beachfront store, at The Waverly Condo Rentals and right next to The Brunswick Bar – The Largest Patio On The Beach, beachfront bar and nightclub and very close to Palace Playland Amusement Park and The Pier at Old Orchard Beach Maine. Eric is a big booster and a Facebook follower, of The Ring Finders of Maine and he personally has referred me 3-4 times, in the last year, with three recoveries made, because of his support and referral. A great guy and if you are in OOB, stop in his store and get some nice cold drinks, sunblock, umbrella or any of your day at the beach needs.

I immediately called Eric back and he told me there was a gentleman that had just lost his ring on the beach and had come in, looking to see if The Waverly Store, had a metal detector. Eric told him he didn’t but to call me instead. As Eric and I were talking, the gentleman that lost the ring, came back in the store and Eric hand him the phone. The gentleman’s name is Kaymel and he told me he knew the area the ring was in and had placed his large cooler, next to where he thought the ring had come off. A very, very, smart move by Kaymel. I told Kaymel, I could be there in 20 minutes at the most. I told my wife that I had just received a callout and would get changed, get my equipment, in the vehicle and be off. Since a steady rain was coming down, I decided to take my Minelab Excalibur II, a totally waterproof, diving detector, good for 200 feet under the water. Not knowing how long that I would be in the rain, this was my best bet and is a great beach detector.

My wife and I arrived at The Waverly Store at about 7:25pm and I saw someone, on the beach, watching the street, next to Eric’s, Waverly Store. I yell up, “Are you the one that lost a ring”. He replied yes and came down to meet me. Kaymel walked with me, to where he had placed his cooler. I asked him where he thought he lost the ring and he told me in “this area”, as he waved his finger in a circular motion. I turned on the Excalibur and started walking on the right edge of the area and about 5-6 feet, from the cooler. Not even 30 seconds into the search, I received a great, loud, low tone signal. I grabbed my pinpointer, placed it in the sand, found the target, put my hand, into the sand and pulled out Kaymel’s beautiful Tungsten Ring. Doesn’t get much easier than that and all because Kaymel had the foresight, to place his cooler, where he thought the ring had come off. I cannot tell you how important little things like this, help in recovering lost items. The smiles, on our faces, were ear to ear.
Kaymel told me that he and his girlfriend were packing up, when it started raining. As he was taking the tent down his ring flew off his finger , due to the rain, making his hands all wet and cold. As I was giving Kaymel, a ride to his vehicle, with his cooler and tent, he thanked me over and over. It’s so great, to be able to help people, like Kaymel, when, they feel helpless, not knowing if they will ever get their lost ring back. Kaymel not only has his ring back but will also be in my “Book of Smiles”.

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Gifted 14K Gold Wedding Ring, Lost In The Ocean, in Crescent Beach State Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
Contact:

Recovery and return #35, in the past year. Should you ever lose a ring, keys, phone, jewelry or anything metallic, contact The Ring Finders of Maine, for a chance to get your item back, that you thought was lost forever.

On Wednesday, May 29th, 2024, I found a Men’s Wedding Ring and posted it to Facebook, in the hopes, the owner would recognize it and I would be able to return it. One of the comments, on my post was from Samantha. She commented, “My son lost a Gold Wedding Ring, at Crescent Beach, last weekend, if you ever find anything there”.
I replied that I was sorry to hear this and could she send me a Facebook private message, which she did. I replied with an aerial view of Crescent Beach State Park, Cape Elizabeth, ME, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. I marked off 5 sections of the large beach area and asked Samantha if her son had lost the ring in one of the 5 sections. She sent back my photo, with an area, circled in yellow and told me it was lost in that area. She then sent another PM and stated

“ He lost it in the water, a little bit, but the tides were in between. He’s only 9 and it was my Dad’s ring, that he gave to him. He was super sad, when it fell off”.

I replied with,
“So not to deep. I am not familiar with this beach but I can certainly give it a try. I do have waterproof detectors. You say the tides were in between, so he wasn’t way out there”.

Samatha replied, “He wasn’t way out! Dry sand was a very short distance behind me. The beach that day was pretty clear as well, so we could see the bottom. Just couldn’t find the ring”.

I then told her that I had a previous commitment, the next morning, Thursday, was going to be out of state, on Friday and if Crescent Beach State Park, would grant me permission, I would search on Saturday, when the tide was advantageous. I told her if I could make it Thursday, I would, but it would be tight, with the tide coming in. With the ring, already lost for 5 days, in the water m I really didn’t want to wait until Saturday.
Samantha replied, “Aww ok! No pressure at all! Thank you”!
I knew there was pressure because when something is lost in the water or, the tides and waves could potentially make it lost forever. I had to get there asap.

The next morning, I finished up with my commitment and it was 10:30am. Low tide was at 11:09am. If I left right then and drive the approximate 25 30 minutes, to the State Park, I could get 2-3 hours of searching completed, before the incoming tide would overtake the search area.

I arrived at Crescent Beach State Park and started searching at 11:10am, low tide. The tide was now coming in. I started searching about a 1/3 of the way down, to the water and performed a grid search, horizontally to the beach and the ocean. Back and forth, searching approximately 100 to 125 feet and then turning around heading back to the starting point. I had made 4 such passes, digging the occasional non-ferrous target. At approximately 35 – 40 minutes, into the search, I received a mixed signal, on my VDI screen, that would not repeat. I would sometimes get a ferrous signal and sometimes a nonferrous signal. It could be two different metals, next to each other, throwing the detector off. I had enough of a good nonferrous signal, that I couldn’t, not dig it. The detector was telling me it was 3 inches under the sand and I slid the scoop, into the hard packed sand. Ran my coil, over the pile of sand and the target, was in the pile of sand that I had just dug out of the beach. I pulled my pin pointer out and stuck it in the pile, I had just dug. The pin pointer located the target and as I removed the sand, around the target, I saw the unmistakable color of GOLD. I removed a little more sand and saw the complete ring. I had found the ring.

I then sent a photo of the ring, on my scoops handle, to Samantha and she replied, “OMG, That’s right in the area we were in. You are so amazing. I’m sending the photo, to my Dad, real quick, to confirm. I believe it is”. A couple of minutes later, “Yes it is!!!”

I then told Samantha to give me a call at 1:00pm, when I arrived home, so we could make plans to return the ring.
Samantha the sent another PM, “My son is going to be so happy. He cried and cried and said he would give anything, to have the ring back. You are quite possibly, the best person on earth.” Well, her son will be getting the ring back soon.

When she called, Samantha told me she lived in Gorham, Maine and was getting out of work at 3:30pm. We would meet at the Hannaford Supermarkets, on Rt 1, in Saco Maine, at 4:00pm.

We met at 4:00pm and Samantha brought her son Jacob, with her. It is Jacob’s ring and it fell off, of his finger, in the cold North Atlantic waters, 5 days earlier. Jacob was extremely happy to have his ring back. His ring, is actually his grandfather’s ring, that was gifted to Jacob and his mother told me that Jacob had to tell his grandfather that he had lost the ring, which was very hard for Jacob to do. Now Jacob gets to tell his grandfather, that he now has it back. Jacob also will NEVER EVER wear his ring to the beach again. I just love seeing people happy and smiling, like Jacob is now.

 


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Gold Wedding Ring, Lost and Found, in Westbrook, Maine Field, With a Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
Contact:

I received a text on Wednesday May 1st, that stated

“Hello. I have a lost wedding ring in Westbrook Maine. It was lost last fall doing some work in my field. I do think I know the areas it may have been lost. Is this something you could help with”?

I immediately called, the phone number, that the text came in on. Chuck told me he had lost his Wedding Ring, last September, while doing work, on his 20 acres of fields. WAIT, WHAT, 20 ACRES? WOW! This would be interesting.

Chuck told me he thought he had lost it when is tractor became stuck, in some mud. He had gotten off the tractor to get it unstuck and thinks, his wedding ring came off in that area, of the fields. If the ring wasn’t there, it may be where he roto tilled, after getting the tractor unstuck.

Chuck then told me he was also cutting some brushes, bushes, etc., with his Bush Hog. While cutting the bushes back, Chuck had to change the blades and he was also hit, in the face, by a branch. This caused a good sized cut on his forehead, with blood streaming down his face. Chuck’s wife was out of town, so Chuck went up to the house and was cleaning up the cut and blood. Chuck decided to take a photo, of the cut, in the bathroom mirror and send it to his wife, to show her what happened. Once Chuck was cleaned and bandaged up, he went back and finished his field work.

The next day, Chuck realized his ring was missing. He looked around the house and wasn’t able to find it. He looked at the photo, he had sent to his wife and he did not have the ring on his finger, the day before. He then realized that he must have lost it, out in one of the areas, he had been working.

We agreed to meet in 2 days, on Friday, May 3rd. Knowing this was going to take a miracle to find, over such a very large area, I asked Chuck, if he would be willing to search along side me, with my backup detector. I would set the detector up, for the search, and show him how to use it. I would also be close by, if he had any questions. I also told Chuck, if we didn’t find the ring, on Friday, I could leave the backup detector, with him so he could search, the next day, when I would be in Massachusetts. Chuck readily agreed and we ended the call. I then received the following text, from Chuck

“On a side note the 26th of this month will be my 40th wedding anniversary. If I had it back for that would be extra special”.

Ok, Now we had to find the ring and asap.

I arrived at Chuck’s house and he immediately took me down to the corner of the field, where the tractor had become stuck, in the muddy conditions and where he really thought he had lost the ring. I gridded the entire area, both up and down, the muddy incline. Nothing but trash.

We walked to the section of the field that Chuck had roto tilled, searching the path, he had driven the tractor on, as we were going to the roto tilled area. Still nothing.

As we were grid searching, the roto tilled area, Chuck went to start searching around the bushes, that he had been cutting back, the day he lost his ring. We had now been searching for about 1 1/2 hours, with nothing but trash. Approximately an hour later, as I was just finishing up the roto tilled area and 2 1/2 + hours, in the search, I heard Chuck yelling down to me from atop a small hill, in the field. I then heard what he was yelling, “I FOUND IT”,  holding the ring up. “WOW, THATS AWESOME”, I screamed back. As I made my way to Chuck, and he to me, I could see the big smile on his face. When we met up, I asked Chuck, how it felt to have his wedding ring back, after 8 months. “Good, really good”. As I was congratulating Chuck on getting his wedding ring back, I kept thinking that he, in fact, would be wearing his wedding ring again, for his upcoming 40th Wedding Anniversary. I couldn’t have been happier and I also was grinning ear to ear.

Chuck then took me to where he found the ring. It was near his trailer, not far from the house and it was exactly where he was, when he was changing the blades, on his Bush Hog. Just an incredible feeling, knowing Chuck had found his own wedding band, with my backup detector.

With a search area, this large, it was going to take teamwork, to find, Chuck’s ring. Without his help, I would have been there for another day or two. Thankfully Chuck was more than willing to help search and it couldn’t have had a better ending. What a great hobby to have, where I get to help people, get their very sentimental items back.

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Property Marker Found With A Metal Detector, In Cape Elizabeth, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Tuesday evening, April 9th, I received a call from Angie. She and her husband, Adrian, had purchased a home in Cape Elizabeth, last fall. They now wanted to put a fence up, in their backyard. The fence would run from the back right side of the property, to the back left side of the property, only. No fence would be put up alongside the home, or in the front. Unfortunately, they were unsure where the exact property line was, in the backyard. They had been quoted $3000.00 for a survey of the property, but if we could find the markers, they could save the $3000.00. They had a map of the property, showing the distances between the property markers but were not exactly sure how to start.

Now, property markers can be tricky because of many different factors. Are they even made of metal? There are lots of granite and rock property markers, here in New England.

I once was called to search for property markers, when a neighbor was caught, moving them. All I found was a lot, and I mean a lot of nails.

Another time, I searched for 4 property markers, finding just two. The other two, had been moved or washed downstream, in a flood, which also changed the direction of the stream. The same flood caused road damage and a new culvert was put in, either moving the marker or burying it, with all the fill that was used for the new culvert. I also know that people have removed property markers, because they were in the way, when mowing the lawn. So, as you see, property markers may be a hit or miss proposition.

I arrived at Angie and Adrian’s home promptly at 8:00 am. I was told that a neighbor had a property survey performed , a few years back and the neighbor had a property marker put in, on the left backside of the backyard. As we walked to the right backside of the property, Adrian also showed me a granite marker, in the ground, on the left front side of their home. Adrian was not sure if it was an actual property marker or not. Once we arrived at the right backside of the property, Adrian told me that the telephone pole on the far side of the property, was supposed to line straight up, to the right backside property marker. As I lined up the telephone pole, to close to the street, where the right backside marker should be, I received a strong Ferrous signal, on my Minelab CTX-3030 metal detector. After digging the target m it turned out to be a rather large and old nail. As I started swinging again, I received another strong Ferrous signal, less than a foot from the nail. I dug the target and SUCCESS, we had found the metal rod property marker. I then told Adrian, that I would like to measure the distance between the property marker, I just found and the granite marker, on the right front side of the house. The distance should be 103.67’. I then secured one one of my 300’ tape measure and walked it down, from the granite marker, to the metal rod marker, I had just found. When I looked at the measurement, I had to smile, as the measurement was exactly what it was suppose to be, 103.67’. We just verified the granite marker was, in fact their property marker, for the right front of the house.

I then wanted to measure from the marker, I had found, to the marker that the neighbor had put in a few years back, and near the telephone pole. The measurement should be 207.87’. As I arrived at the neighbors marker, near the telephone pole, I looked at the tape measure and we had another match. The measurement was 207.87’, just like it was suppose to be. Now, just one more marker.

I walked the tape measure down to the left front of the house, from the neighbors marker, in the back left of the property. The measurement should be 103.67’ and when I got to 105 feet, I stopped and started searching, with my metal detector. I found another 5-6 nails, but no marker, in the area, it should have been. The area has been disturbed, as there is a culvert, telephone pole, looking fairly new. There is also a rock wall that looks fairly new and could have been built over the marker.

Angie and Adrian were extremely pleased that I was able to find their one metal rod properly marker and then measure it out, to the known neighbors marker and the granite marker, in the left front of the property. They can now use the $3000.00 they didn’t spend on a property survey and put it towards their new fence. 

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Gold Ring With 3 Diamonds Found On A Maine Beach, Returned To Owner In California

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On October 9th, 2023, I received the following PM, from Wendy,

“I lost a gold ring about two-three weeks ago somewhere between the tennis courts (GRB Assoc) and the entrance of the beach in front of the Tides – at GRB. Had I known of your service I would have contacted you immediately.

I live in CA – if you think you could help – I would greatly appreciate it. If you think it is a lost cause – I totally understand”.

I immediately replied and told Wendy I would be happy to help. Wendy replied with the details of what transpired, leading up to the ring being lost.

Wendy had been playing tennis at the Goose Rocks Beach Association tennis courts and had taken her ring off and put it in her pocket. After chasing a few errant tennis balls and walking over to a utility shed, Wendy then walked a 1/2 mile to the beach and once there, climbed over the boulders at the entrance to the beach , that the town of Kennebunkport had placed there, in preparation for Hurricane/Tropical Storm Lee, which was scheduled to arrive the next day. Once Wendy climbed over the boulder and got to the beach, she realized her ring was missing. That’s right, the ring could be on Goose Rocks Beach Association property, anywhere along the 1/2 mile walk to the beach and the beach itself. On top of all that, the ring had been lost 3 weeks previously. Wendy had retraced her steps all the way back to the GRBA Property, without any luck. Well, I do love a challenge and this was certainly a challenge.

Two days later, I went to GRB, in Kennebunkport and thought to myself, “How am I going to find her ring that was lost on September 14th, almost 4 weeks ago. Well, start where she found the ring to be missing and work your way up to GRBA property, a 1/2 mile away.”

I decided too start at the Edgewood Avenue beach entrance , which is where Wendy said she climbed over the boulders, then go up to Wildwood Avenue, Community House Road and then to the Association tennis courts. This is the route Wendy said she took. I finished up at the beach entrance 1st and no luck. As I went up Edgewood Avenue, I detected the lawns, as I stood on the side of the roads, reaching onto the lawns between 3 and 5 feet. After approximately 3 hours, I had completed all of Edgewood and Wildwood, up to Community House Road. As I walked back to my car, I also checked some lawns on the opposite side of the street, in the off chance the ring had rolled/bounced across the road, or even thrown by a lawnmower, sometime in the last 3+ weeks. Nothing even close to being gold was detected, but there was still a lot of detecting to do and ground to cover.

The next day, October 12th, I went back and detected the GRBA property. All the walkways, around the tennis courts , out near the shed and the lawns. Again, 3 hours and nothing. All I had left was Community House Road. I wasn’t able to get back there until October 20th. When I did, I decided to try detecting around the entrance, across from The Tides Club. Wendy had originally mentioned she entered the beach there and it was 1 block south of Edgewood Avenue entrance. Well, no luck there either, so I drove back up to the GRBA property, parked and worked my way down Community House Road to Wildwood Avenue. Still no luck. I the crossed the street and searched that side of Community House Road, back up to GRBA property. Absolutely nothing.

On October 26th, after watching the news all day, about the Mass Shooting, in Lewiston, Maine, just 45-50 miles away from my home, I just had to get out of the house. I decided I would go detecting at GRB and a negative low tide was enticing. I would also check a few spots on Edgewood and Wildwood, that were on the opposite side of the road Wendy had been walking. I detected the low tide 1st with only a few coins found. As I was searching the beach , I found myself about to exit the beach at Proctor Avenue, when, BANG. A very solid low tone and a 12-20 repeating on my Minelab CTX-3030’s VDI Screen. Definitely got excited on this target, as it was definitely in the gold range. I removed my pinpointer and stuck it into the sand. I found the target and hand dug out the item that was 4-5 inches deep. The last hand of scooped sand revealed a gold ring with 3 diamonds. YES, I had found Wendy’s ring, by accident, or had I?  Wendy never mentioned she entered the beach across from Proctor Avenue. She had only mentioned Tides Club entrance, which was 2 blocks north and Edgewood, one block north. Could Wendy have gotten her street names mixed up. She was after all back home in California.

I texted Wendy and had her accurately describe the ring and telling her I had found a ring but not in the area she described. Wendy immediately texted back gold ring, 3 diamonds and a spring clasp on the inside of the ring to fit her finger better. I had never seen a ring with a spring clasp and the ring I found, had one Wendy described the ring perfectly. When I told her I had definitely found her ring after being lost for 6 weeks, to the day, her response was “OMG!!!! Where and how did you find it”? After going over the details, Wendy agreed she most likely had gotten her streets mixed up. She then told me

“Bless your heart. I am so happy! I never, ever thought I’d see that ring again”.

Now the only thing left to do is to mail Wendy her ring, in California, which I did, asap.

Wendy received her ring, in California on 10/30/23 and texted me the following, “Thank you so much Dennis! So thrilled to get my ring back”! Wendy also sent me a photo of her holding her ring for the 1st time in almost 7 weeks.

I just absolutely love helping people like Wendy. There is no better feeling than to help people in need.

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Gifted Necklace From Grandfather Lost On A Beach In Saco, Maine. Found with a Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received a message from Gary, a friend and fellow detectorist. Gary told me about a lost necklace and it was just 3 1/2 miles from my home, that he had seen on a Facebook post. Would I be willing to look for it? Of course, a lost necklace in my hometown is a given. I took the information and contacted Ashley, the originator of the Facebook post. Ashley told me the necklace belonged to her daughter, Kalleigh and Kalleigh was upset she lost it because the necklace was a gift from her Grandfather. Ashley described the events leading up to the necklace being lost on Bay View Beach, in Saco, Maine. I sent a photo of an aerial view of the beach and asked Ashley, if the areas I had marked, on the photo, were where she thinks the necklace was lost. Ashley replied yes but they had also been about another 100 feet, further south and she sent me a photo with an area marked off. In total, I was looking at an area of approximately 250-300 feet long, running parallel to the shore and about 30 feet deep, from the high tide mark to the dune grass. I then Told Ashley that I would go down to Bay View, 1st thing in the morning, when the sun came up.
I arrived at the Beach at 6:30am and admired the sun, which was just starting to rise. A beautiful scene, as always. I decided to start my search where they had been on the beach and work my way towards the lifeguard station, where Kalleigh realized the necklace was missing. I performed a grid search, starting parallel with the water. I broke up the approximately 250-300 feet by breaking the area down to 4 quadrants and slowly gridded each area. Not many targets either. Other than a quarter, there was nothing else, other than an occasional pull tab and the metal handle of a few sparklers. As I was about to finish up my 3rd quadrant, I received a signal that kept bouncing between 12-45 and 37-47. The first set of numbers indicated a non-ferrous item, most likely a dime or quarter. The second set of numbers were definitely a ferrous target. Depth on my CTX-3030 was indicating 4-5 inches deep. I then took my scoop and pulled out the sand. The target wasn’t in the 1st scoop of sand. I took out my pinpointer searched the hole with it. Once I found the target, I scooped a handful of sand and there it was, the gold necklace. I had found Kaleigh’s lost necklace. I immediately took a picture of the necklace and sent it to Ashley. Her reply was, “OMG, Thank you so much. She is going to be so happy “. Ashley and I then made plans to meet up a little later and return the necklace.
When Ashley and Kalleigh arrived at my home, I could see Kalleigh’s very large smile just beaming, as the walked across the street, towards me. Those smiles are the reason I absolutely love doing this. There is no better reward that to see pure joy and happiness on someone’s face. I then learned that Kalleigh’s grandfather had personally made the necklace and gifted the necklace to Kalleigh for Christmas, 2 years prior. This is the absolute best job in the world and on top of all the smiles, I got to see a beautiful sunrise.

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