🔍 THE ONE-IN-A-THOUSAND SHOT! Why a beach bag beat my metal detector at Ogunquit Beach…🏖️💍
The Case of the Flying Platinum Wedding Ring! 😲💍
Late Friday afternoon, June 19th, I received a call from Gina. Her husband, Bryan, had just lost his platinum wedding ring at Ogunquit Beach.
Gina told me they knew the area and had been searching for it but couldn’t find it. I asked her if the ring had been lost on the beach or in the water.
She told me the ring had been lost on the beach, in the vicinity of where they had been sitting around, and definitely not in the water. They were just to the left of The Norseman Resort as you walked onto the beach. 🏖️
I told Gina I could leave as soon as I loaded my equipment into my vehicle and it would take me approximately an hour to get to Ogunquit Beach , depending on the traffic. I agreed to give her a call when I arrived, and she or Bryan would meet me at the Norseman and walk me to their location.
Cheryl and I loaded the vehicle up and jumped on the turnpike, heading to Ogunquit. Once we arrived, Cheryl and I were promptly met by Gina. 🚗💨
As we walked to their location, Gina told me that she and Bryan were having a “no kids” weekend getaway, with the children spending time with their grandparents. She also told me Bryan was still searching the sand but had still not found his wedding ring.
When Bryan and Gina first started searching for the ring, many people around them had recommended that they call me—including Michele, a woman whom I had recovered three rings for last summer in Ogunquit! It always makes me feel good that people think highly enough of me to refer me. 🙌
Anyways, as we approached the area, I could see Bryan on his hands and knees searching for his wedding ring.
Bryan told me that earlier in the day he had taken his platinum wedding ring off to go swimming. He had placed the wedding ring in the cupholder of his beach chair.
As the day progressed, Bryan had forgotten about his wedding ring in the cupholder. As they prepared to leave the beach, Bryan folded up the beach chair, flipped it over to carry it, and walked off the beach, heading back to their room. 😮
Within five minutes of leaving the beach, Bryan realized he wasn’t wearing his wedding ring. He and Gina rushed back to where they had been set up for the day and immediately started searching the area where Bryan had flipped the chair.
It had to be in that very small area, but the ring was nowhere to be found. ❌
If you have been following us long enough, you have heard this story more than once. Rings in cupholders are one of the two most common ways—if not THE most common way—that a ring is lost in the dry sand.
The other culprit is removing your ring to apply lotion, placing it on your lap, and forgetting it. Once you get up, the ring disappears into the sand. ⏳
Okay then, I now knew the area and I threw my own platinum wedding ring into the dry sand, watching it disappear (not a ritual that Cheryl enjoys watching!).
I then swung my metal detector’s coil over the area, and my platinum ring made that loud, low tone you would expect. Next, I took my pinpointer and located the ring in the sand.
I like performing this ritual for my clients. The demonstration allows them to “hear” what I will be listening for. Once they hear that tone, they will be listening for it right along with me. It gives them a sense of relief that the metal detector is going to work and that I know what I’m doing. 🎧✨
(You can see the focus in the photo as I got to work, with everyone watching anxiously to see if the detector would pick up a signal! 🕵️♂️🏖️)
The entire area that needed to be searched was maybe 15’ x 30’. (Take a look at the diagram in the photos to see exactly how the grid was laid out next to their gear! 🗺️)
I started with a North-to-South grid search. If I didn’t find it, I would then search the area again, this time performing an East-to-West grid search. This would ensure no area was left untouched.
As I started searching, there were very few targets, and the ones I was receiving were ferrous targets, when we were hoping for a low-conducting, non-ferrous target. 🧭
I covered the entire area in under 10 minutes, and the ring was not found. One thing I always do is plan my next move.
As I was searching, I was thinking that the ring could have also become stuck on the chair and been carried out of the area on the way back to their room. The ring could have fallen out anywhere along Bryan and Gina’s path off the beach.
I was also thinking that the ring could still be stuck in the chair, or possibly in the beach bag next to the chair. I just run all kinds of scenarios through my mind as I search. 🤔🧠
As I started my East-to-West search, I kept looking at the beach chair and beach bag. Nothing on my first East-to-West pass.
I then walked closer to where Bryan really thought the ring would be and resumed my search. Then, I asked Bryan and Gina if they had searched the beach bag and chair.
Bryan said, “That’s a good point.” 💡
As I was heading east toward the water, Gina and Bryan started removing towels and other beach items from the beach bag.
Cheryl and I then heard Gina say, “Oh my god, there it is! I can’t believe it. I thought I looked in there once.” 😲🎉
I walked a few feet over to the beach bag, and at the very bottom was Bryan’s platinum wedding ring.(You can see exactly what we saw in the photos—nestled right there among the beach clothes and sand! 🧺💍
Smiles were immediate and across everyone’s faces. Handshakes, hugs, and smiles were everywhere, and the mood was now joyous. 🥹❤️
WOW!!! The wedding ring must have flown out of the beach chair, landing right in the beach bag that was sitting right next to it. A one-in-a-thousand shot for sure, and a first in my ring-finding career! 🎯
It just goes to show you that you have to think outside the box. If it wasn’t in the sand, it had to be along their path to the room or among their beach items. It pays to ask a lot of questions.
(And yes, if you look closely at the photo of Bryan, his shirt says “RELAX YOU’RE IN OGUNQUIT MAINE”—a little easier to do once the ring is back where it belongs! Check out the final photo to see the beautiful “GMY to BTF” engraving inside! 😍)
Now Bryan and Gina will be able to enjoy the rest of their “no kids” getaway weekend without a lost wedding ring hanging over their heads. They were very thankful for our quick response to help them, and Cheryl and I were very happy to do it.
As you know, “If it matters to you, it matters to us.” I have the best job in the world. I love my job. 🏝️💍
📞 Lose something valuable? Don’t wait! Call or text Dennis at (207) 423-3027.
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