GOLD ENGAGEMENT RING LOST IN THE GOOSE ROCKS BEACH SAND, FOUND WITH A METAL DETECTOR IN KENNEBUNKPORT MAINE
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐!๐
It was August 1st when the phone rang. On the line was Kaitlin, sounding completely anxious. Her sister, Kelly, had just lost her precious engagement ring somewhere on the beautiful, massive expanse of Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport Maine.
As a detectorist with ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐, I immediately went into investigative mode. ๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ I started asking my usual checklist of questions to narrow down the search grid:
* Did she lose it in the water or the dry sand?
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* Did she see or feel the ring slide off?
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* Was there a specific area where she spent most of her time?
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* What kind of metal is the ring made of? (I always bring a matching test ring to calibrate my detector and show the client exactly how it works!)
*
What Kaitlin told me next was a scenario I won’t soon forget! ๐คฏ
Earlier in the day, Kelly had been swimming, which naturally shrinks fingers. Later, while relaxing peacefully in her beach chair, a bee or hornet suddenly landed right on her! ๐โ
Total panic set in. Kelly jumped up, took off running, and began wildly flailing her arms to swat the stinging threat away. She bolted around her family’s beach setup and ran toward the water until the bee was finally gone. ๐โโ๏ธ๐จ
It was only when she sat back down in her chair that her heart sankโher engagement ring was gone. To make matters worse, her wedding was just two months away in October! ๐ญ๐
Kelly was fairly certain the ring was somewhere in the dry sand. But with her running in circles and flailing her arms, that ring could have flown off her finger in a 360-degree radius, landing anywhere up to 30 or 40 feet away! The search grid was going to be massive.
Kaitlin mentioned that the whole family was still out on the beach actively searching. I immediately gave her some crucial advice: ยซย Please hold off on disturbing the area as much as possible! Whatever you do, don’t dig any holes.ย ยป When helpful searchers dig and refill holes, they can inadvertently bury a shallow ring too deep for a standard detector to scan. ๐โณ
At that exact moment, Cheryl and I were actually over on Mackworth Island in Falmouth, Maine. We were in the middle of searching for a lost diamond stud earring. Unfortunately, that specific hunt turned up empty.
As soon as the earring search wrapped up an hour later, we packed up our gear. With all the wild details of the bee-panic engagement ring loss fresh in our minds, there was only one thing left to do: hit the road and get to Kennebunkport Maine as fast as possible! ๐๐จ
I called Kaitlin back to let her know we were about 45 minutes away. She told me her father would meet us at the beach access path to guide us directly to the spot. Sure enough, the moment Cheryl and I arrived, her dad was right there waiting for us. He escorted us straight down to the scene of the ยซย bee incident.ย ยป
That is where we met Kelly. With her wedding coming up fast in October, the stress and anxiety coming from her were palpable. I knew we needed to find this ring, and fast. โค๏ธ๐ช
Kelly pointed out exactly where her beach chair had been when the bee landed on her. Then, she walked me through her frantic flight path as she tried to escape it. At first glance, it didn’t look like a massive area. But knowing how far a ring can fly when someone is violently flailing their arms, the potential search zone could easily extend 40 feet on either side of that path.
I decided the smartest move was to start scanning the dry sand between their family beach setup and the nearby dune restoration project. As I looked around, two major worries crossed my mind. First, I prayed the ring hadn’t flown into the protected dune grass, which is strictly off-limits. Second, the beach was packed! There were crowds of people with towels, blankets, and beach bags lined up just past the high tide mark. If that ring took flight, it easily could have landed right on someone else’s towel or bounced straight into a stranger’s beach bag. ๐ฑ๐
With the stakes higher than ever, it was time to turn on the detectors and start swinging.
I started with a tight grid search in the area behind their beach setup and right up to the edge of the dune grass. After about 30 minutes of careful sweeping, my detector picked up only a few stray coins and the usual beach trashโbut no engagement ring. ๐ช๐๏ธ
Next, I moved into their beach canopy. I spent about 10 minutes checking inside, but the metal frame from the canopy makes a thorough search difficult because it interferes with the detector’s signals. It wasn’t a perfect sweep, but I knew I could always come back and try a different approach inside the canopy later in the evening if the primary search areas turned up empty.
Having now cleared the interior of the canopy, the north side, and the west side, it was time to change direction. I shifted my focus to the south side of the canopy and began working my way toward the front, closely tracing the path of her frantic flight to safety. ๐บ๏ธ๐ค
Almost immediately, my headphones lit up with that beautiful, low tone I was hoping to hear! ๐ง๐
I pulled out my handheld pinpointer to narrow down the target, then carefully brushed through the soft sand with my hand. I felt the familiar shape of a ring. Before I even had it pulled completely out of the sand, Kelly and Kaitlin caught sight of it and started jumping up and down in pure joy! ๐โจ
Their father and other family members erupted into applause, and the cheering and excitement instantly spread to nearby beachgoers who had been watching the drama unfold. It was an absolutely fantastic moment, seeing so much happiness wash over everyone on that beach! ๐ฅณ๐
Kelly and Kaitlin immediately rushed over to give me giant hugs, followed by a firm, grateful handshake from their father as the cheers continued. Kelly couldn’t stop thanking me, flashing one of the biggest, best smiles I have ever seen. ๐โค๏ธ
As Cheryl and I packed up and walked away, I was floating on cloud nine. Helping Kelly recover her engagement ring just weeks before her big October wedding is exactly why we love doing this work. There is no better feeling in the entire world. I truly have the best job, and I love what I do!
ยซย ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐.ย ยป ๐โจ
[๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐!]
Cheryl managed to catch the whole reveal on camera! You absolutely have to see the exact moment Kelly realizes her ring is safe, and listen to the beach crowd erupt into cheersโit will honestly bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face. Check out the very first comment below to watch the magic happen! ๐๐๐
๐จ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐? ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐จ
If you or someone you know loses a ring, keys, or jewelry on the beach, ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐!
Stop what you are doing and call Dennis at ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐
๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ right away at ๐๐๐-๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐.
The sooner you call, the faster we can get you your own happy ending!
