Gold And Diamond Wedding Ring Lost In The Atlantic Ocean Water, Found With A Metal Detector, in Camp Ellis, Saco, Maine
ย ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ: ๐ ๐๐-๐๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ
ยซย ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ…ย ยป
That was the emergency text that came in from Mike. He was down at Camp Ellis Beach, playing catch with a football in the surf the afternoon before when his ring slipped off into the ocean.
When Mike messaged me, he was already back at the beach, frustrated and stressed. As a Ring Finder, I know that time and tides wait for no one. I immediately asked Mike what exact time the ring was lost so I could calculate the tides. It was lost between 3:00 and 4:00 PM the day before. Looking at the clock, I knew right then: ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐ข๐ง.
I told Mike to save me a parking spot on Pearl Ave. Cheryl and I grabbed our gear, jumped in the truck, and headed straight out. Camp Ellis is just about four miles down Ferry Road from our home, so we pulled up to the beach in less than 15 minutes. When it comes to recoveries in the surf, every minute counts.
I grabbed my gear and headed onto the sand. As I arrived, a local detectorist told me that he had already been searching for two hours but wasn’t able to find it. He also mentioned he hadn’t searched the water or the wet sand. I thought to myself, โOk then.โ My first instinct was that the diamond wedding ring was lost in up to two feet of water, and that is exactly where I was heading.
Mike and his family noticed our arrival and flagged us down. He walked me through the exact events of the previous day and pointed out the small, specific area where they had been throwing the football.
Then, Mike told me something that broke my heart. He said that when he lost the ring, he was so completely devastated that he just wanted to call the remainder of their vacation off right then and go home to Massachusetts. His wedding ring meant everything to him. He couldnโt stand the thought of being on the beach, knowing his ring was buried under the water and sand, assuming he would probably never see it again.
Once I heard that, I looked at him and told him I would do everything humanly possible to find his extremely sentimental wedding ring. I explained the game plan to the family: with the tide already turning and starting to come back in, I would start right at the water’s edge, work my way south for about 25 feet, turn around, and head back northโslowly and meticulously gridding the entire area.
I turned on my detector and thought: ๐ถ๐, ๐๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
I took exactly two steps into the wet sand and water when my headphones lit up. I had my very first target. It was a beautiful, loud, low tone registering a ๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง (๐๐๐) ๐จ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐จ๐ซ๐. The machine was telling me that whatever was down there was shallowโjust 0 to 2 inches beneath the surface.
I dug a quick scoop of the sand, threw it just outside the reach of the incoming water, and looked down. Shining right back at me was ๐๐๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐!
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐!!!!
Having just left Mike’s side less than a minute earlier, I knew how completely heartbroken he was, and I wasn’t going to make him wait another single second. I looked back up at the family, waved them down, and shouted: ยซย ๐๐ข๐ค๐, ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐. ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ .ย ยป
Mike and his family came running right down to me at the water’s edge, and an immediate wave of hugs, handshakes, and thank you’s ensued. You could visually see the heavy knot in Mike’s stomach and the crushing worry in his mind completely vanish in an instant.
๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐:
A week or so after the recovery, I received a text from Mike that reminded me exactly why Cheryl and I do this.
He wrote:
ย ยซย ๐ฐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐. ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐ฐโ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐. ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐! ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐!!!!ย ยป
I told him there was no better feeling than being able to help others get their lost history back. For me, it was all in a day’s work. Based on how he described losing it, I knew the ring would be in the shallow surf. Since the waves were minor, rings don’t move muchโso I trusted my gut and went straight for that spot.
Mike replied: ยซย ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฑ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.ย ยป
Vacation saved. 26 years of marriage history restored. This is exactly why we do what we do at The Ring Finders of Maine!ย
If you or someone you know loses a ring, keys, phone, or jewelryโdon’t wait, and don’t try to sift the sand yourself. Time is of the essence. Call Dennis at The Ring Finders of Maine: 207-423-3027
ย We love a happy ending!
