#Scarborough Maine Metal Detecting Service Tag | The Ring Finders

Engagement Ring Lost, When Thrown Out A Car Window, Found In Saco, Maine, Visually, While Searching With A Metal Detector

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

On Sunday morning, August 25th, 2024, I noticed I had a missed call and a voicemail, from just a few minutes earlier. The transcription is as follows

“Hello, my name is Wendy. I lost my engagement ring, literally in the most smallest area of yard and. My grandson has thrown it, and I can’t find it And I’m a wreck because of it and it was somebody gave me your information so I really hope that there’s some way you can help me My number is 207- ???-????  thank you…”

I immediately called Wendy back and she told me she had recently become engaged and while, in the car, her 4 1/2 year old grandson had asked, to see her new ring. As he was looking at the ring, he threw it out the window, of the moving vehicle. Wendy told me the area that the ring had been thrown out of the window, was a very small lawn area and some shrubbery. She also told me it was just 2-3 houses down, from her home. Wendy told me her address and I  knew the area well, as it is literally less than 1 1/2 miles, from my home, in Saco, Maine. I told Wendy I could be there in 5 minutes. After I hung up, I couldn’t help but think of the anguish, that I could hear, coming from Wendy’s voice. She was really upset and I needed to help her find her recently received Engagement Ring.

I arrived at Wendy’s home a few minutes later and was met by Wendy and Wendy’s mother. Wendy and her mother, walked me down the street, to the area, they thought the ring had been thrown into. It was a very small grass lawn area and some shrubbery, as Wendy had described. Wendy and her mother proceeded to tell me that they had searched the area, last night, with flashlights and again this morning, in daylight. No ring was to be found and they thought the ring would be found, in the shrubbery.

Wendy then told me that she had to leave and her mother would stay with me and continue to search. After Wendy left, I showed her mother how my detector works and demonstrated the detector, with a Gold test ring. I then told Wendy’s mother that I would search the small grass area first and either find the ring or eliminate that area as a possible hiding spot, for the ring. As I searched the area, Wendy’s mother kept visually searching, under the bushes, with my pinpointer, that I had shown her how to use. When I didn’t find the Engagement Ring, on the lawn, I focused my attention to the bushes. As I was searching the bushes, Wendy’s fiancée, Justin,  drove up and asked if we had any luck, in locating the ring. Unfortunately no, I replied. Justin also thought the ring would be somewhere, in the thick shrubbery and started looking in the bushes, pulling leaves out , etc. I then gave Justin the pinpointer, to see if he could reach some areas, that hadn’t been searched yet. After 5 – 10 minutes of searching the bushes, still no ring. I then started asking Justin some questions, such as , “Were you in the vehicle, when the ring was thrown, out the window? He replied “Yes”. Could the ring possibly have been thrown, but hit the inside of the vehicle and was still in the vehicle? Justin replied that Wendy had searched the vehicle and it wasn’t in the car. I then was thinking out loud, as I was asking questions and told them that if the ring had ended up on the sidewalk, any walker by, could have found it last night. I was told that they had searched the sidewalk, last night and this morning. I then said that the ring could have hit the curb and bounced, to another area. Justin and Wendy’s mother agreed and then I heard Justin loudly proclaim, “I see it, I got it”. As I turned around, I saw Justin walking out into the street and then he reached down and picked up Wendy’s Engagement Ring. The Engagement Ring had been in the street, all night and it wasn’t damaged. Amazing. As Justin was walking back towards us, he said that because of my questions, about the ring possibly hitting something and bouncing or ricocheting to another area, he decided to look, into the street. Just unbelievable.

Wendy’s mother had called Wendy, to report the good news and I could see Wendy hurriedly coming down the sidewalk. You could see the stress and strain of the situation immediately subsided and everyone was just so happy and relieved.

I may not have found the ring with my metal detector, but assisted the Team effort by asking questions and possibilities of what could have happened, one the ring, was thrown, by a 4 1/2 year old. It doesn’t matter, how the ring ended up in the street. Allen that matters is that as a group, we found the ring and Wendy will sleep much better tonight.

Tags:
Category:

Gold Wedding Ring, Lost Surfing At Scarborough Beach State Park, Maine, Found 3 Days Later, With A Metal Detector

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

On Tuesday evening, July 30th, I received the following text at 8:20pm.

“Hi, I lost my wedding band this evening surfing at Scarborogh Beach. Given the story you have on your website, it looks like this kind of thing happens out there. Please let me know next steps and what your fees are, as I’d be very interested in having you help out.
And fyi I was surfing roughly in front of the beige locker/structure about 200 yards north of the lifeguard stand. I can take a picture of the approximate location tomorrow morning.
Thanks,
John”

I replied to John, with the following,

“John, So sorry to hear this. Let me see if I have a photo.
I will say, that the rough seas and rip currents won’t help. It could actually move the ring, some distance. Fortunately the sand at Scarborough Beach State Park, is extremely hard packed and it won’t sink very deep, in the next week or so, but could be moving, as I mentioned.
I don’t charge for my time or my metal detecting services. I do require a Transportation Fee, to cover my gas, tolls, wear and tear etc..
The tides will also have to come into play as the searches go much better, at low tide, so I can cover more ground”.

John agreed and I sent another text, with some questions, for John and he replied,

“1) yes, I was diving off my board and diving through a wave and it came off somewhere in that process
2) about 6:30pm tonight
3) I wasn’t very far out since it was about an hour from peak high tide so waves were breaking close to shore. I bet I was somewhere around where your scoop is in that photo, considering that it was high tide and I was mostly surfing in front of that beige locker.
4) Gold on outside, I believe white gold on inside, inscribed on underside with “forever”

I then looked at my scheduled commitments, tide charts and weather forecast. It looked like Friday 8/2/24 was the best day for me. Low tide would be at 4:15pm and I would arrive at Scarborough Beach State Park at 1:00pm and follow the tide, out, until 4:15pm. This would be almost 3 full days, since the ring was lost. Thankfully SBSP has a very hard packed sand, with lots of rocks and shells, just under the sand. This condition will not allow the ring to sink, out of range, for a few weeks. Unlike areas, in Old Orchard Beach, where the sand, in some areas is almost like quicksand and jewelry will be out of range of my detectors, in days, not weeks.
Cheryl and I arrived at 12:45pm and the line to get into the park was backed up, out onto the Black Point Road. The line moved quickly and once on the beach, we looked around and it was extremely busy, on this 90 degree day. We then walked down to the surfing area and set up our chairs and umbrella. Cheryl would have a front row seat, to watch me grid the surfing section.
I decided to perform a horizontal search, to the water and just follow the tide out. The tide wasn’t a very low, low tide, but from John’s description, I thought the tide should expose enough of the wet sand, to expose the ring.
After approximately an hour and twenty minutes, I caught up to the receding tide and decided to swing back up and start searching, via the same grid pattern, a little higher up on the sloping beach. I made one north and one south grid search and started my third one, when I received a very promising signal. A low tone and 12-13 on my VDI screen, signaling a non ferrous, low conductive metal. A great combination for gold, but also a nickel, foil and a few other common metals, could be under the sand. I plunged my scoop, into the wet sand, dug a hole and threw it up onto the surface. I couldn’t see the ring but something caught my eye, as the sun was hitting it. I wiped some sand off of the item and I saw a gold ring. Could it be John’s? I picked the ring up, rinsed it off and saw that it was both White and Yellow Gold, as John described. I looked at in inside of the ring, for an inscription. I saw an inscription of “FOREVER”, again, just as John described. I had found John’s Wedding Ring, in approximately 1 1/2 hours.
I then made a video and took a few photos and sent them to John. His reply,

“Incredible! Thank you so much. Just left you a message so look forward to connecting when convenient.”

We made plans to meet at the Saco Hannaford at 7:30ish. It was now just about 3:00pm and I was able to sit in the beach chair, under the umbrella , with Cheryl and enjoy this fine summer day.
Cheryl and I met John and his wife Jennifer at Hannaford’s and an extremely happy John, emotional Jennifer both gave me a big hug. They have been married for 21 years and they were just so happy to have John’s wedding ring back. John did tell us that he has surfed hundreds of times and this is the first time his ring has come off. John also told me it will also be the last time, as he will not wear it while surfing anymore. As we were about to leave, an overjoyed, teary eyed, Jennifer, presented me with a coin. From the DNA DOE PROJECT, the coin represents Innovation, Compassion, Integrity, Transparency and Service. I couldn’t be any prouder and happily accepted the coin, from Jennifer.
As Cheryl and I left, John and Jennifer were still standing, next to their vehicle, hugging and emotional. Knowing just how much the wedding ring means to John and Jennifer, I am extremely grateful that I am able to help people like them out, in their time of need.

Tags:
Category:

Sentimental, Inherited Gold Wedding Ring Lost, In The Water, At Sebago Lake State Park, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

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

On Friday, July 19th, I started getting some Facebook Messages and I was also being tagged m in a post, about a lost ring, at Sebago Lake State Park, in Casco, Maine. I replied to my followers, on the lost ring post, that I would try and contact her, to see if she needed The Ring Finders of Maine help. A few hours, after I had left her a message, I received a message back, from her.

“Hi this is Mary D****👋🏻
I don’t have a picture of the ring. I know where ish in the water where we were. I believe it got covered in sand. Are you familiar with Sebago Lake Park?
My dad would always bring us to the East area beach”.

Mary and I started texting each other and she was definitely interested in getting her ring back. She asked me how The Ringfinders of Maine thing worked. I told her that I do not charge for my time or service, but do require a transportation fee, thats it. This is to cover my gas, tolls, wear and tear, etc.. Mary then agreed to use my services.

Mary also told me that the lost ring, was actually her Father’s Wedding Ring and really wanted to find it. Mary’s father had passed, fairly recently and in fact, she had just received his ashes, a few weeks prior. Mary then explained that she had inherited her father’s wedding ring and wore it, sort of as a fidget ring,always touching and turning it around her finger. Mary had always taken the ring off, prior to entering the water, because it is to big for her. However, this time she forgot and while in the water, she felt it come off, dropping into the sand below. Mary, and a few others spent an hour, with snorkeling masks, looking and searching the sandy bottom, but no luck.

I then sent Mary an aerial view of the beach area and asked her what section she thinks she lost the ring in. Her reply, Section 5, was the section she was in. We then made plans to meet at 8:50am, near the entrance to the park. I would make the, just over an hour drive, from my home in Saco, Maine. The park opened at 9:00am and we wanted to be there, for the opening, of the park. We met at the prescribed time and I followed Mary, into the park and down to the parking area, next to the beach. I got my equipment and followed Mary, to the beach. Mary showed me the approximate area of where she thinks the ring, fell off her finger. It was approximately a 100’ X 100’ foot area and the bottom of the lake was nice and sandy. No vegetation or muck, just the way I like it.

I told Mary that I would go out, into the water, about mid stomach deep and perform a grid search, horizontal to the shore. I would complete the approximate 100’ length, take a 1/2 step over and search, going back towards the area, I had started in. I would continue searching this way, while working my way towards the shore. I had made 5 or 6 such passes, thinking to myself that this beach was extremely clean. I hadn’t had any targets of either Ferrous or Non Ferrous, other than a few, barely audible ferrous items, I didn’t bother digging. About 15 minutes, into the search, I finally received a very loud, low tone and it was a repeatable target. A very solid low tone. I immediately smiled, plunged my pinpointer into the water and sand and found the target. I scooped up a handful of sand, but nothing appeared. I grabbed another handful of sand and this time, I spotted Mary’s ring. Mary was in the water, with her Father’s sister, her Aunt. They were approximately 10 feet, further out in the water, from me, watching intently. As I brought my hand out of the water, I held the ring up and said, “I have found your ring “. Both Mary and her Aunt, rushed right over and I received a big hug from both of them and a high five, from Mary. They were both in a mild shock, that I had found the ring. Mary’s Aunt is her Father’s sister and she was very happy and may I say, a little emotional, that I had found her brothers ring. Mary was also very emotional, as I could see it, in her eyes and on her face.

Rings like these are worth so much more than money. These rings are family and blood. Nothing can replace these very sentimental items and now Mary can continue fidgeting with her father’s wedding ring, once she gets it resized. The ring was made, for her father, by someone that he knew. Mary said she would take it to that person and see about getting the ring resized.

I am also on cloud nine. There is no greater feeling, than to return a lost item, seeing the emotional reaction and the smiles. As we say, “Every Ring Has A Story “. Now Mary’s ring has just had another chapter, added to the story.

Tags:
Category:

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.

Tags:
Category:

Gold and Sapphire Ring Lost In Falmouth, Maine Found With A Metal Detector

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

On Sunday October 15, I finished up mowing our lawn and my neighbors. I checked my phone and I saw a message from Jordan. Jordan’s message said,
“Hi there. My mother lost a ring 2 days ago and she did a bunch of gardening and cut down a few trees. She lives in Falmouth. Would you be able to help us look for it”.
I immediately sent a message back to Jordan and told her yes I could and would she please call me. A few hours later Jordan called and we discussed the lost ring. Jordan then told me her parents , Bobbi and Dennis had also taken a few loads of the brush and garden items, to the dump. My heart sank a little, knowing that it was possible the ring very well could have ended up in the dump, 2 days ago. Jordan then gave me her father’s phone number and I immediately called him to set up a time to travel to Falmouth and search for his wife’s ring. A date was set for today, Tuesday October 17th.
I drove the approximately 25 miles to Bobbi and Dennis’s home this morning and they were both there to greet me as I parked in their driveway. After a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries, I ask Bobbi to go over the events of 4 days ago, which led to the ring going missing. She told me exactly what had been already explained and pointed out some of the areas she had been working. I asked her if she had been wearing gloves, while working and if the gloves had been checked. She had been wearing gloves and they had been checked. She did tell me that she had taken the gloves off several times while working on the property. Bobbi and Dennis also realized the ring very well could have ended up at the dump but were hoping that was not the case. A positive was that the lawn had not been mowed, since the ring went missing. This meant that it would not have been thrown somewhere or damaged by the mower.
Bobbi then took me to the garden to search 1st. It wasn’t a large garden and I completed the search in about 10 minutes. Nothing but a dime, nail and a small piece of foil. She then took me to an area where some of the shrubbery had been cut down. Still no ring. Then another area of cut down shrubbery and my detector wasn’t going to work over the cut down shrubbery so I took out my pinpointer and stuck it down and between what was left of the shrubbery. Still No luck with locating the ring. Bobbi then pointed to another area of cut down and removed shrubbery. Within a minute I received a signal that wasn’t repeating but I liked the sound of it. I looked down but saw nothing but shrubbery clippings, small twigs and leaves. I started pushing the debris aside, with my coil, still hearing a signal but still no target was visible. I pushed some more debris to the side and I saw a beautiful gold ring with a Blue Sapphire starring back at me. I reached down, picked it up, turned around and told Bobbi that the ring had been found. Bobbi looked stunned and was just so thankful to have it back. For a second, I believed her eyes swelled up a little and her smile was ear to ear. Seeing faces like Bobbi’s is exactly what drives me to help people out, when they need my Metal Detecting Services. This ring would never have been found with a visual search. Bobbi and her family had performed a couple visual searches of the area without finding it and I never would have seen it, without a metal detector.
After the fact, I learned that the Gold and Sapphire ring was a 45th Wedding Anniversary gift, to Bobbi, from her husband Dennis. Later that day, Dennis texted me and stated  the following,                             “Hi Dennis. I gave the ring to Bobbi as an anniversary present (#45 I think). I believe that it is a sapphire stone. We can’t thank you enough for getting the ring back to Bobbi. She’s thrilled! We will certainly follow you on Facebook. Thanks again”.                                                                                                    I just love being able to return extremely sentimental items back to the owners. It is a true blessing to be able to help people like Bobbi and Dennis out, whenever I can.

 

Tags:
Category:

Handmade 14K Wedding Ring with Diamond Chip Lost While Bodysurfing in Scarborough Maine, With A Metal Detector

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

On Sunday night 9/3/23, which is also Labor Day Weekend, I received a call from Ric. Ric told me that while Bodysurfing at Scarborough Beach State Park, in Scarborough, Maine, his wedding ring fell off, into the very rough surf water. Ric said he was referred to me by members of the lifeguard crew, including Greg, the supervisor.
As it was already closing in on 4:30pm and the State Park closes at 7:00pm, I told Ric that because I wouldn’t be able to make it from my current location, to the State Park until close to 6:00pm, I would go down 1st thing in the morning and perform a grid search, at low tide. Ric was not going to be available to show me the location of where the ring was lost, but gave me a very detailed description of the location. He was just to the left of the webcam pole and approximately 50-60 feet out into the water, approximately “mid chest deep”.
I arrived at Scarborough Beach State Park the next morning at 8:00am and was greeted by Greg. Greg told me that he didn’t see Ric lose the ring but that it was in the general location described by Ric. I decided to overshoot the area by about 30 feet on each side of the Webcam pole, in case the ring was moved by the rough and strong surf. Starting down near the low tide line, I slowly gridded the hard packed sand, up towards the shoreline. I was finding a few trashy targets, like lobster trap bits and small pieces of aluminum, mostly likely from discarded cans. As I worked my way up towards the shoreline, I finally received a great sounding low tone. Looking down at the CTX-3030’s VDI Screen, I saw a reading that put a smile on my face. I had a great sounding low tone and a 12-19 on the VDI screen. Definitely in the gold range. I pressed my scoop into the sand, with my foot and dumped the sand out next to the hole. I ran the coil over the dug up sand and got the signal. I still couldn’t see it so I pulled my pinpointed out and ran it through the sand. Once I found the target, I put my fingers into the wet dug up sand and pulled out a large chunky ring with a small diamond chip in it. I had Ric’s ring. I called Ric and then sent a photo to him. He replied “That’s it, 100%”. We then made arrangements to meet in 20-30 minutes at a local restaurant, on my way home. The exchange was made and Ric explained that the ring was actually handmade, by a friend, and presented to him for his wedding. As The Ringfinders say, “every ring has a story “ and this one has a very sentimental story. Another great happy ending.

Tags:
Category:

Lost Engagement Ring Lost And Found on Ferry Beach Scarborough Maine

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

After a long but rewarding day (I have already recovered and returned 2 gold wedding rings), my wife pulled up in the car,  to pick me up and I was ready to go home. As  I was loading my detecting equipment in the car, my phone rang and I saw a voice mail had been left approximately 6 minutes earlier. The voice mail stated that the callers name was Robin and that she was with a group of people at Ferry Beach, in Scarborough, Maine and that an engagement ring had been lost in the sand. Robin had performed a “google” search and had come across my name. Robin was wondering if I were available to help them with my metal detecting service. I immediately called Robin back and told her that I absolutely would be willing to help. Robin proceeded to tell me they were out on the Point, at Ferry Beach. Ferry Beach is approximately 12-15 miles north from where I was in Old Orchard Beach, Maine and 10-12 miles south of Portland, Maine. With summer traffic is full swing, along the southern coast of Maine, I told Robin that I would be there in 30 minutes. Once my wife and I arrived, at Ferry Beach, Scarborough, Maine,  we saw Robin waving us down.
There were a group of people there and I learned the person that was missing the ring was Emily. Emily explained that she had applied lotion to herself and that 2 of her rings had slipped off and had fallen into the sand. One of the rings had already been found by the group but the engagement ring was still missing. The group had already marked an area off as being the most likely spot that the ring would be in. As I started a grid of the area, I found a nail and then a pull tab. I then received a nice signal on the CTX-3030. I pulled my pin pointer out, found the target and put my hand into the sand. Out came Emily’s Engagement Ring and when I held it up for the group to see, Applause and Cheers filled the air. I was again very relieved to have been blessed to have found and returned Emily’s Engagement Ring. Emily and her group of family and friends were also relieved and extremely grateful to The Ring Finders.
After finding Emily’s Engagement Ring, and the 3rd recovery of the day, I was ready to go home Wow, it was a day I will never forget. I am so blessed to be able to help people out, in their time of need.

Tags:
Category: