🌊 A Race Against the Tide: The Search for Katie’s Rings 💍
I received the following text
*“Hi, my name is Katie. I found your info on Google saying you try and find people’s lost wedding rings? I lost mine today on York Beach, Maine , Long Sands right before high tide.
We tried to go look but couldn’t find it or our exact spot. Was wondering how your services work and if you might be able to help me. My husband and I have been married for almost 9 years… we walked down the horrible steps and then sat on the wet sand before high tide, in between the bad set of stairs and the ones just south of them. There’s a house across the street, its number is **, and it has little buoys that kinda look like popsicles.” 🗺️
Along with the message, Katie sent a Google map with a pin drop and GPS coordinates. Excellent.
⏱️ The 5:30 AM Game Plan
After looking at the location and the tide charts, we knew our best chance of recovery would be early in the morning on July 5th. Gary and I arrived at Long Sands Beach in York Beach, Maine at 5:30 AM. 🌅
With low tide at 9:31 AM, we had plenty of time to search for her wedding and engagement rings, which were soldered together. With two of us on the job, we could cover the entire area without worrying about the incoming water.
Katie had lost her platinum wedding set when she took them off to apply lotion to her children. 🧴 She placed them in the cupholder of her beach chair. As the family enjoyed their beach day, the rings slipped her mind. When they packed up, the rings fell out of the cupholder as the chair was carried away to the truck.
One big concern I had was that they had set up on the hard-packed wet sand. If the rings fell there, they wouldn’t sink right away. They would sit on the surface until the tide came in and buried them—meaning anyone walking by could have easily spotted them and picked them up. 😰
🔍 Cruising the Grid
Gary and I hit the beach as planned. Gary started up in the dry sand, working his way toward the water. 🏖️ I started on the hard-packed wet sand, working toward the shore. If we didn’t find them here, our backup plan was to search their walking path to the “Horrible Stairs.”
The area was a little larger than I thought. Our grid search was yielding nothing but a few coins and the usual beach trash—pull tabs, foil, and bottle caps. 🗑️
As we neared the end of the section, Gary stopped so I could finish it off. He was about to move to the walking path. I didn’t have a good feeling about that path because the Beach Cleaning Rake had gone through the area just before we arrived. If the rings had been there, the machine could have dragged them anywhere.
I was starting to lose hope. We were running out of real estate, and the rings were still missing. 📉 I had maybe two or three passes left before I was completely done.
* First pass: Nothing.
* Second pass: Almost finished, and then…
💥 BANG!!! The Sound We Needed!
I received the exact target tone I had been waiting for! 🔊 A loud, low tone, repeatable and just 0–2 inches below the surface. The Target Identification (TID) screen showed a low-conducting metal reading 18-19. Definitely platinum.
I yelled over, “Gary, I think I found them!” 🗣️
The target was so loud I knew it wasn’t deep. Once I used the pinpointer, I didn’t even need to dig. I could actually see the outline of the ring right through the wet sand. I brushed a little sand away with my finger, and there was Katie’s precious wedding set! 😭✨
UNBELIEVABLE!!! Just one more pass and we would have walked away. This is exactly why we never break a grid search. You just never know where a lost ring will be.
🎁 The Big Surprise
I took a video to surprise Katie. I started the video making it look like an unsuccessful search, only to quickly pan over to Gary with a massive smile, holding up the rings!
👉 “Check out the video Reel on our page to see the exact moment we surprised her!!!
Within a couple of minutes, Katie called us. Hearing the pure excitement in her voice was the absolute best. She told me she and her husband Klayton were just down the road and would be right there.
Within ten minutes they arrived. Just watching her walk down the street was incredibly rewarding—you could see the “bounce” in her step, and her smile said it all! 😊
As Katie received her wedding rings back, the relief was unmistakable. The anxious voice from the night before was completely gone, and the rings went straight back onto her finger where they belonged. Life was good once again! 💖
Gary and I truly have the best job in the world. We love what we do.
Remember: “If It Matters To You, It Matters To Us.” 👋🕵️♂️
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