Dennis Boothby, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 5 of 8

Key Fob Lost In Standish, Maine Found Visually, While Searching With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Saturday morning , May 25th, 2024, I received the following voicemail
“Yeah, my name is Stephanie. I called you yesterday but I’m not sure that I actually got the right number because the number that comes up on my phone is a six. Six number. I’ve lost a Key fob in Standish, probably about a half an hour from Saco. I know it’s a holiday weekend, so maybe this isn’t possible but if you could Let me know if it’s a possibility for us to get together I’d appreciate it you can text me, at your convenience. My number is 2 0 7- ***-**** .
Thanks bye-bye…”

I was driving back from Portland, but immediately called Stephanie back. I told Stephanie that I did not receive her voicemail, from the previous day, but that I would certainly be able to help her. It was now approximately 9:30am and I told Stephanie I would be there at approximately 11:00am, just needing to get to my home, in Saco, Maine and pick up my Metal Detecting equipment and drive to Standish, a suburb of Portland, Maine and Windham, Maine.
I arrived at the location, where the Key Fob had been lost, at 11:20am. Stephanie and her husband Tom, arrived 5 minutes later. Stephanie explained that 4 days earlier she had driven to this location and parked next to the walking and ATV trail. Shen then proceeded to walk down the road, stopping at certain locations, on both sides, of the road, to view and smell the many flowers. When she finished her walk, she noticed the Key Fob was no longer, in her pocket. She retraced her steps, on both sides of the road, including down in the ditch, along rock walls, in areas she had traversed, to see the flowers. She could not find the key fob. She then walked 3 miles home and then back to the car, with the spare key fob. Over the next few days, Stephanie returned and searched the area again, this time, getting down into the ditch and searching through the many leaves and brush. Still not successful, Stephanie was telling a friend what had happened and the friend told her to contact me, The Ring Finders of Maine.

Stephanie and Tom took me a few steps up the road, to where Stephanie thought the key fob, may be. It was down, in the ditch and covered with leaves and twigs. As I was searching, I was finding the usual road side trash, of bottle caps, vape pens and cans, but no key fob. As I came out of the ditch, I was walking at the top of the ditch and searching along the path, Stephanie had walked, days earlier. Stephanie was visually searching near me and her husband, Tom was visually searching, about 75 feet ahead of us. I was still only finding road side trash, when we heard Tom yell out to Stephanie to come meet him, up ahead. I continued my search and saw Stephanie and Tom, walking back to me. When they reached me, they showed me the key fob. TOM HAD FOUND THE KEY FOB, while visually searching, about 75 feet, up the road. Nothing like dual optical scanners (Eyes 👀) to successfully find the key fob. Tom had left the road side and saw them, laying next to a rock wall, approximately 10-15 feet from the road. Outstanding job Tom and he was then rewarded with a big kiss.
Another team effort, in locating Stephanie’s key fob. It may not have been found by a Metal Detector but Stephanie doesn’t care. She has it back and didn’t need to replace her Key Fob , at a cost of $325.00. We all left, very happy. And great day and story for my “Book of Smiles”

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Championship Ring Lost In The Old Orchard Beach, Maine Water Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Saturday May, 11th, I started receiving multiple notifications, from Facebook, for my The Ring Finders of Maine page, an Emergency Metal Detecting Service. People had seen a Facebook post about a lost ring, on the beach, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Four or five people had commented on the post, to contact me, to search for the ring.

I then saw a message, from Nicole, stating,

“Hello! My daughter just informed me that she lost her Championship Ring, in OOB, today. She didn’t want to tell me sooner, because she was embarrassed, by it. I was told to reach out to you.”

The message came in at 5:49pm. I immediately replied with

“Hi, glad to help. It’s a very large beach, does she know which area?”

Nicole then sent me a photo of the Cheerleading Championship Ring and a photo of the area, her daughter had been in, earlier, in the day, with some of her friends. Nicole also told me that her daughter, Alyssa,  said she was on the right side of the pier, when facing the water. I could tell, from the photo that she had been in front of Palace Playland, an amusement park. She then sent me a video of two boys, running down and jumping into the water, for greater clarity and direction , on where her daughter and friends, had been, on the beach.

Alyssa lives in Sanford, Maine, about 25 miles from Old Orchard Beach. She and her friends had stopped in OOB, on their way to a cheerleading competition, in South Portland, where her team was competing, in another Championship competition, this very night. Alyssa is a member of Port City Athletics and competes in their All Star Cheerleading group. Alyssa would not be able to perform, this night, due to an injury to her knee, which will require surgery. Alyssa was very upset about losing the ring, thinking it would bring bad luck to her teammates, that night.

I then asked Nicole if her daughter, had also gone in the water. Yes she had. I then sent a photo to Nicole, showing the beach and asked, which section of the beach she was in? I had broken the beach up into 4 different colored quadrants and Nichole’s daughter said section #3, was where they were laying on the beach. From the photo and video sent to me, I’m thinking it was quadrant #4, not section #3. I then asked if someone could meet me there and pinpoint the area, her daughter had frequented the most. Nicole and her daughter agreed to meet me there and I told her that I would load my equipment up and be there in approximately 30 minutes, at 6:30pm.

I arrived at 6:30pm and Nicole hadn’t arrived yet. I decided to start a horizontal grid search, of the dry sand, in quadrant #4. I had been searching, with my metal detector, for maybe 15 minutes, when everyone arrived. I asked Alyssa, if I was in the general area. Yes and she showed me some of the holes that she had dug, just about 15 feet from where I was.

I continued the search and was finding nothing, but a vape pen, bottle cap and a few rusty nails. While I was searching, Nicole, Alyssa, her father and her friend, were performing a visual search, mostly down in the wet sand, near the water. Nothing was found by them. After I had been searching for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Nicole and the rest of them had to leave. I told Nicole, I would search for another 1/2 hour or so, as it was getting dark and I was getting closer to the water. I continued grid searching, the wet slope of the beach, down to the water area. If I didn’t find it, I would be back, in the morning, for low tide and search the wet sand, that was now underwater. As I was making my way down the slope, I was finding nothing at all. I was approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of the way, down the slope, when I received my 1st and only Non-Ferrous target. It was ringing up a 12-04, on my CTX-3030 and the screen was telling me about 4 inches deep. I dug a couple times and the target was still in the hole. I dug a 3rd time, and as the saying goes, 3rd times a charm. I pushed some sand aside and I saw Alyssa’s Cheerleading Championship Ring. A big smile, broke out, on my face. Now getting dark and approximately 2 hours of searching, has resulted in more smiles, for my “Book of Smiles”. A good day.

I then messaged Nicole and told her I had just found Alyssa’s ring, along with a photo. Nicole replied,

“OMG, Thank you so much. That’s insane. I will message you tomorrow and we can grab it! Thank you sooo much.”

Sunday, Mother’s Day became to hectic and I received the following message from Nicole

“Thank you Dennis!  Mother’s Day was a bit crazy and I ended up with a sick bunny and cheerleading watching!

Finding the ring ended up being good luck as her team WON another ring yesterday!!!  ( she’s superstitious and though losing it would hurt them) She has an injury that wouldn’t let her compete but she’s excited for them!

We can pick it up on Wednesday evening if possible???

Thank you again!!!”

We all met up on Wednesday , May 15 and I returned the ring to Alyssa. Just a few days earlier. Alyssa was upset and crying, about losing her Championship Ring. She also thought she would bring her team bad luck, because she had lost last year’s Championship Ring and her team was competing for another Championship,on Saturday night, the same day she lost her ring. Well, no bad omens here! Her team WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP AGAIN, incredible. Congratulations to all the cheerleaders, once again. Well done!!!

Alyssa is having the surgery on her knee, tomorrow, Thursday, May 16th. Prayers and well wishes go out to Alyssa. 🙏🙏🙏

Every ring, truly has a story behind it and what a great story this ring has. I absolutely love helping people like Nicole and Alyssa.

 

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Gold Wedding Ring, Lost and Found, in Westbrook, Maine Field, With a Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received a text on Wednesday May 1st, that stated

“Hello. I have a lost wedding ring in Westbrook Maine. It was lost last fall doing some work in my field. I do think I know the areas it may have been lost. Is this something you could help with”?

I immediately called, the phone number, that the text came in on. Chuck told me he had lost his Wedding Ring, last September, while doing work, on his 20 acres of fields. WAIT, WHAT, 20 ACRES? WOW! This would be interesting.

Chuck told me he thought he had lost it when is tractor became stuck, in some mud. He had gotten off the tractor to get it unstuck and thinks, his wedding ring came off in that area, of the fields. If the ring wasn’t there, it may be where he roto tilled, after getting the tractor unstuck.

Chuck then told me he was also cutting some brushes, bushes, etc., with his Bush Hog. While cutting the bushes back, Chuck had to change the blades and he was also hit, in the face, by a branch. This caused a good sized cut on his forehead, with blood streaming down his face. Chuck’s wife was out of town, so Chuck went up to the house and was cleaning up the cut and blood. Chuck decided to take a photo, of the cut, in the bathroom mirror and send it to his wife, to show her what happened. Once Chuck was cleaned and bandaged up, he went back and finished his field work.

The next day, Chuck realized his ring was missing. He looked around the house and wasn’t able to find it. He looked at the photo, he had sent to his wife and he did not have the ring on his finger, the day before. He then realized that he must have lost it, out in one of the areas, he had been working.

We agreed to meet in 2 days, on Friday, May 3rd. Knowing this was going to take a miracle to find, over such a very large area, I asked Chuck, if he would be willing to search along side me, with my backup detector. I would set the detector up, for the search, and show him how to use it. I would also be close by, if he had any questions. I also told Chuck, if we didn’t find the ring, on Friday, I could leave the backup detector, with him so he could search, the next day, when I would be in Massachusetts. Chuck readily agreed and we ended the call. I then received the following text, from Chuck

“On a side note the 26th of this month will be my 40th wedding anniversary. If I had it back for that would be extra special”.

Ok, Now we had to find the ring and asap.

I arrived at Chuck’s house and he immediately took me down to the corner of the field, where the tractor had become stuck, in the muddy conditions and where he really thought he had lost the ring. I gridded the entire area, both up and down, the muddy incline. Nothing but trash.

We walked to the section of the field that Chuck had roto tilled, searching the path, he had driven the tractor on, as we were going to the roto tilled area. Still nothing.

As we were grid searching, the roto tilled area, Chuck went to start searching around the bushes, that he had been cutting back, the day he lost his ring. We had now been searching for about 1 1/2 hours, with nothing but trash. Approximately an hour later, as I was just finishing up the roto tilled area and 2 1/2 + hours, in the search, I heard Chuck yelling down to me from atop a small hill, in the field. I then heard what he was yelling, “I FOUND IT”,  holding the ring up. “WOW, THATS AWESOME”, I screamed back. As I made my way to Chuck, and he to me, I could see the big smile on his face. When we met up, I asked Chuck, how it felt to have his wedding ring back, after 8 months. “Good, really good”. As I was congratulating Chuck on getting his wedding ring back, I kept thinking that he, in fact, would be wearing his wedding ring again, for his upcoming 40th Wedding Anniversary. I couldn’t have been happier and I also was grinning ear to ear.

Chuck then took me to where he found the ring. It was near his trailer, not far from the house and it was exactly where he was, when he was changing the blades, on his Bush Hog. Just an incredible feeling, knowing Chuck had found his own wedding band, with my backup detector.

With a search area, this large, it was going to take teamwork, to find, Chuck’s ring. Without his help, I would have been there for another day or two. Thankfully Chuck was more than willing to help search and it couldn’t have had a better ending. What a great hobby to have, where I get to help people, get their very sentimental items back.

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Gold Ring, Lost In The Snow, in Bath, Maine Found 3 Months Later, With A Metal Detctor

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Saturday, April 20th, I received a text, from Sandra. The text said,

“Hi! I saw that you do metal detecting. A few months ago I lost my mother’s ring. She passed away last month and I’d like to try to find it”.
I replied to Sandra, by asking a few questions,

“Sorry to hear this. A few questions.
1) Do you know where it was lost?
2) Is this private or public property and do you have the authority to let someone metal detect at the property?
3) What kind of ring is it and the metal it is made of?
4) Where are you located?
Thank you,
Dennis”
Sandra replied by telling me,
“Hamilton Audubon sanctuary in the parking lot. I don’t think it would be an issue to check there. I’m not 100% sure that’s where I lost it. But if it’s findable it’s there. Probably along the edge in the grass. It was winter. I am unsure what type of metal. It may have been sterling silver. I am in the Bangor area. Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary is near Bath. I don’t have any time to come down in the next few weeks. I also don’t have anyone in the area. I think I lost the ring out of the parking lot within 5-10 feet of the edge. So hopefully it didn’t get plowed. Also if it’s in the grass hopefully no one else found it”.

I then told Sandra that I would Contact the Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary, a division of Merrymeeting Audubon and Maine Audubon, to receive permission to metal detect, on their property. Metal detecting, on someone’s property, without permission, is illegal and you take the chance of being arrested and having your detector confiscated.
I called the Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary and sent an email, as well. With it being a Saturday, I told Sandra that it would most likely be Monday, before I heard anything back from them. She concurred.
I did hear back from Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary, on Monday, April 22nd, and they granted me permission, to search for the ring. Maine Audubon was also very helpful and supportive of my efforts, to try and recover the lost ring. They even told me the plow may have moved it, further back from the parking lot. I communicated with many people from The Maine Audubon Society, Merrymeeting Audubon and, of course, Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary. They were all, incredibly kind, in granting permission and were really hoping for a successful recovery, for Sandra.
I let Sandra know about the permission and told her that my wife and I would travel to Town of West Bath, about 60 miles, from our home, in Saco, Maine and search for the missing ring on Friday, April 26th. Sandra was happy and hopeful that her ring would be searched for and found.
On Friday, my wife and I traveled to Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary and pulled into the parking lot, at approximately 8:45am. Only one other car, was in the small parking lot and I parked on the far right side of the lot, and decided to start my search on the grass, near the right side entrance. Not certain of the metal, the ring was made of, I would be checking out lots of different targets.
I had searched for about 10 feet, when I received that sweet low tone of gold. Unfortunately, foil, pull tabs, and other low conductive metals can also give me that low tone. Another good sign, was the 12-13 reading, on my Minelab CTX-3030 detector. The 12 would represent a Non-Ferrous metal and the 13 would represent the conductivity, of the metal. Definitely in the gold range, but I really didn’t think I would find it, in under 2 minutes. After all, it was next to the parking lot and road, where lots of trash could have accumulated. As I brushed back the leaves and grass, with my hand. I came across a White Gold Ring, with a Blue Center Stone and 2 small diamonds, on each side of the blue stone. I couldn’t believe it. Not even 2 minutes, my 1st target, turned out to be Sandra’s Mothers Ring, or at least I thought. After all, Sandra was unsure of the metal, the ring was made of and she had never told me if the ring was a band or had any stones. I decided to text Sandra, to let her know I arrived at the location and would like a description of the ring, not telling her I had just found a ring. Sandra texted me right back and told me the following
“Silver with a blue center ring and 4 small diamonds”. Well the color is silver but the metal is definitely white gold and is stamped as such, on the inside of the band. I then texted her back saying, “Awesome. I found it”. I then sent her a photo of her ring. She replied, “Omg that makes me so happy! Thank you so much! It means so much that you found it. It’s been keeping me up after she died so thank you”. I just love being able to help people, like Sandra.
I was able to call and talk to Sandra, Friday night, after she got home, from work. She was extremely happy and thankful, about getting her ring back soon. Sandra detailed the events, leading up to her losing the ring. She had traveled to Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary, on that day, in January, from Portland, where she was visiting and staying, in a hotel. When she arrived at the Sanctuary, she was leading a group of birds watchers, through the Sanctuary. As the walk started and still in the parking lot area, she noticed her ring was no longer on her finger. The group was standing in snow, just outside the parking lot. She wasn’t sure if she lost it in the snow, or had lost it in Portland, that morning. She searched the snow, but it was useless, as she could not see anything, below the top of the snow. As the days, turned to weeks, which turned into months, Sandra was still thinking of her Mother’s lost ring and then,her mother passed away, in March. This really made Sandra, determined to find the ring. She then performed a Google search and found me. At this point, she contacted me and the rest, as they say, is history.
Although we won’t be meeting up, in person, to return the ring, I could just feel her excitement, on the phone. I will be mailing the ring back to her, on Monday. We live just over 3 hours from each other and neither one of us will be traveling near each other’s town, anytime soon.
I just love being able to help people out in their time of need.

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Wedding Ring Lost And Found, In A Gorham, Maine Potato Field, With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received a text from Jenn, on January 21, 2024, with the following message

“Curious as to what you charge? My son lost his ring in our potato field this fall “.

I explained to Jenn that I do not charge for my time or service. All I ask for is a Transportation Call Out Fee, to cover my gas, tolls, wear & tear, etc. I then told her for me to travel to Gorham, ME, my Transportation fee would be $25.00, and that’s it.

Jen replied with

“I know an approximate area. We were digging a row when he stopped by to help. I probably don’t know the exact row now but general area. I would say it covers maybe a half acre but probably less. I would think early spring when snow is gone and I can see where rows were would be best in narrowing things down. “I used a metal detector one day and found some very large nails, but did not find the ring. “That could be do to operator error”.

I replied,    “Absolutely willing to help”.

Jenn replied,

“Great, his ring is tungsten. I will reach back out when I can see the ground and narrow down the search area. How “deep” do the detectors go? The day we were working, we would run the old potato digger down thru the row. We would then pick up these large clumps of weeds and dirt and throw in the previous row, then run the potato digger back down the row to uncover more potatoes.  So there is the possibility it came off while throwing weeds and dirt and be buried that way or just buried from the digger”.

Jenn then told me she would reach out to me in the spring, after the snow melted and the ground wasn’t frozen. Jenn and I did communicate, in mid April. Because of our individual schedules. We booked Tuesday, April 23rd as the day I would go to her farm, and search for her son’s wedding ring.

I arrived at her farm, in Gorham, at approximately 8:30am. We made small talk and she told me the story of her farm. The name of her farm is Findview Farm and has been a generational working farm, since 1820.  WOW, a farm serving the local community for over 200 years. I love supporting these farms and local businesses. 

I then started searching for the wedding ring, after Jenn showed me the approximately 1/2 acre potato field. I decided to perform an East/West grid, across the width of the field. I searched for approximately 3 hours that day with my CTX-3030 detector, with a 17 inch coil, to cover as much of the field as possible. I ended up finding 4-5 spent shell casings, other small brass items, nails, pieces of old farmhouse equipment, etc.. Unfortunately, no wedding ring.

I told Jenn I would return, in the next week or so and this time, I would bring a smaller coil, to see if I could get better depth, in the deep troughs, of the potato rows. My 17 inch coil couldn’t get down into the actual rows, that had been plowed and would just glide over the top.

On Sunday April 28th, I returned to Findview Farm and resumed my search. While I was searching, Jenn’s son Tom, came over. It was Tom’s ring, that was lost. Tom explained that he felt the ring coming off, as he was throwing some of the potato plants, out of the rows, after harvesting the potatoes, themselves. A visual search was not successful. Tom also pointed out the area, of the field m he thought the ring would be in. Unfortunately the field had been plowed, last fall and the ring may have been moved or pushed down deeper, into the fertile farm soil.

I then went to the area that Tom pointed out. I would perform a North/South grid today. I wasn’t finding many targets at all. After approximately an hour and 45 minutes I received a nice, repeatable tone and a 12-32 on my detector screen, indicating a non-ferrous target, which I was hoping for. The target was in one of the deep troughs of the potato rows. I dug about 4-5 inches down and couldn’t see anything. I took my pinpointer and located the target, in the hole. I started to wipe away some of the dirt and I saw the ring, I had found it. I the called Jenn and She and Tom, came right over, from the corn field, out back that they were working in.

I showed them the hole the ring was located in and they were both extremely happy. After approximately 7 1/2 months, Tom was wearing his wedding ring again. I absolutely love reuniting people with their lost items.

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Property Marker Found With A Metal Detector, In Cape Elizabeth, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Tuesday evening, April 9th, I received a call from Angie. She and her husband, Adrian, had purchased a home in Cape Elizabeth, last fall. They now wanted to put a fence up, in their backyard. The fence would run from the back right side of the property, to the back left side of the property, only. No fence would be put up alongside the home, or in the front. Unfortunately, they were unsure where the exact property line was, in the backyard. They had been quoted $3000.00 for a survey of the property, but if we could find the markers, they could save the $3000.00. They had a map of the property, showing the distances between the property markers but were not exactly sure how to start.

Now, property markers can be tricky because of many different factors. Are they even made of metal? There are lots of granite and rock property markers, here in New England.

I once was called to search for property markers, when a neighbor was caught, moving them. All I found was a lot, and I mean a lot of nails.

Another time, I searched for 4 property markers, finding just two. The other two, had been moved or washed downstream, in a flood, which also changed the direction of the stream. The same flood caused road damage and a new culvert was put in, either moving the marker or burying it, with all the fill that was used for the new culvert. I also know that people have removed property markers, because they were in the way, when mowing the lawn. So, as you see, property markers may be a hit or miss proposition.

I arrived at Angie and Adrian’s home promptly at 8:00 am. I was told that a neighbor had a property survey performed , a few years back and the neighbor had a property marker put in, on the left backside of the backyard. As we walked to the right backside of the property, Adrian also showed me a granite marker, in the ground, on the left front side of their home. Adrian was not sure if it was an actual property marker or not. Once we arrived at the right backside of the property, Adrian told me that the telephone pole on the far side of the property, was supposed to line straight up, to the right backside property marker. As I lined up the telephone pole, to close to the street, where the right backside marker should be, I received a strong Ferrous signal, on my Minelab CTX-3030 metal detector. After digging the target m it turned out to be a rather large and old nail. As I started swinging again, I received another strong Ferrous signal, less than a foot from the nail. I dug the target and SUCCESS, we had found the metal rod property marker. I then told Adrian, that I would like to measure the distance between the property marker, I just found and the granite marker, on the right front side of the house. The distance should be 103.67’. I then secured one one of my 300’ tape measure and walked it down, from the granite marker, to the metal rod marker, I had just found. When I looked at the measurement, I had to smile, as the measurement was exactly what it was suppose to be, 103.67’. We just verified the granite marker was, in fact their property marker, for the right front of the house.

I then wanted to measure from the marker, I had found, to the marker that the neighbor had put in a few years back, and near the telephone pole. The measurement should be 207.87’. As I arrived at the neighbors marker, near the telephone pole, I looked at the tape measure and we had another match. The measurement was 207.87’, just like it was suppose to be. Now, just one more marker.

I walked the tape measure down to the left front of the house, from the neighbors marker, in the back left of the property. The measurement should be 103.67’ and when I got to 105 feet, I stopped and started searching, with my metal detector. I found another 5-6 nails, but no marker, in the area, it should have been. The area has been disturbed, as there is a culvert, telephone pole, looking fairly new. There is also a rock wall that looks fairly new and could have been built over the marker.

Angie and Adrian were extremely pleased that I was able to find their one metal rod properly marker and then measure it out, to the known neighbors marker and the granite marker, in the left front of the property. They can now use the $3000.00 they didn’t spend on a property survey and put it towards their new fence. 

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Lost 1982 Class Ring Found in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, with a Metal Detector. Returned to Owner

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Friday , February 9, 2024, I decided to brave the cold windy beach conditions and take advantage, of the negative low tides , here in Maine. We have had some big winter storms in the last month and a lot of sand has been moved.

I found lots of crusty coins, a Milwaukee Electric Saw (crazy things under the sand) and a 10K 1982 Class Ring. As soon as I got home, I got the magnifying glass out and determined the ring was from Billerica Memorial High School, in Billerica, Massachusetts. Billerica is approximately 90 miles from the resort town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, that I found the ring in.

The ring is very small and most likely a woman’s ring. I then searched the inside of the band, saw a 10K mark and the initials of JMG. I then performed an internet search and to my amazement, I found an online yearbook, for the 1982 school year. I found two different students, with those initials. One was a male and the other a female. I just knew it had to belong to the female, because of the very small size.

On Monday, when the school reopened, I sent an email to the principal, of the High School and explained I was trying to return the ring and if they could help with contact information. His reply was that they do not have contact for past students, but the Alumni Association, may be able to help. I contacted the Alumni Association but they would not respond, other than one time and never responded back to me again.

I then posted the found High School ring on many of the local Billerica Facebook groups, including Billerica Memorial High School Class Of 1982. I received lots of comments and everyone knew that the ring must belong to Jean, a 1982 graduate. I was able to get a phone number and when I called, I was able to speak with Jean’s Husband, Bill. I explained to Bill what was going on and he wasn’t sure if Jean had ever lost her ring, but he would ask her when he got home.

Bill called back and yes, Jean did not have her ring, as it wasn’t in her jewelry box. As a matter of fact, Jean didn’t even know that the ring was missing. When I told them the ring was found in Maine, Bill told me the only place it would have been lost in Maine, was in Old Orchard Beach, where they often went to, on vacation. When I mentioned I found the ring with my metal detector, down in the wet sand, at low tide, I was told they the family would always lay on the beach, in front of Palace Playland, an amusement park, right next to the Old Orchard Beach Pier. Well, that is exactly where I found it. As far as Jean not knowing the ring was missing was easily explained. Jean’s daughters would often wear the ring and also a granddaughter. They were allowed to wear it but were to put it back, when not wearing the ring. Although, none of the daughters or granddaughter will admit to it, It most likely was being worn by one of the girls, when it was lost, as they swan, in the water. The ring was most likely lost sometime between 2012 and 2019, as the family hasn’t been back to Old Orchard Beach, since Covid started.

On Saturday, March 16th, my wife and I drove to Billerica to return the ring. Unfortunately, something unexpectedly came up and Jean could not be there to get her ring back personally. She instead, sent her Husband, Bill and youngest daughter, Katie. Although it was disappointing not to meet Jean, I was extremely happy to have returned the ring to her family.

There is no better feeling than to return these precious items back to the rightful owner.

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1948 High School Class Ring, found with a Metal Detector, in Maine, returned to family, after 3/4 of a Century

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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Back in 2013, I found a 1948 SJHS High School Class Ring, while Metal Detecting, in the ocean, in Old Orchard Beach Maine.

I knew of a St Joseph’s High School (SJHS), in Biddeford, Maine, which closed, back in the 1960’s. I wanted to return the ring, but trips to local libraries and an email to an Alumni Association for St Louis and St Joseph’s High School, all came up empty. Online searches also yielded no clues. I soon found out there were hundreds of SJHS high schools across New England, Mid Atlantic States, Canada and the rest of the U.S.. Old Orchard Beach is a summer resort town in Maine with 100’s of thousands of tourists from all over, every year and the ring was approximately 65 years old, when I found it. . How would I ever find and verify, which school, the ring came from? Could the SJHS be a St Joseph’s, St John’s, St James, etc..? After researching, on and off for 1 1/2 years or so, with no results, I put the ring into my safe and forgot about it .

Fast forward to February 9th, 2024. I found another class ring, while metal detecting, in Old Orchard Beach, after some recent winter storms. This was a 1982 Billerica Memorial High School class ring, from Billerica, Massachusetts. I knew that this should be an easy find and return ring, but that’s another story, for another day. But, finding the 1982 Billerica ring, jogged my memory of the 1948 ring, in the safe. I thought I would give it another go and see if there was anything new online, to help identify the school, from which the ring came.

I posted the ring on many Facebook Pages, including Class Rings – Lost and Found and St Louis High School Biddeford Maine. The Class Ring Facebook Page has an incredible research team that without hesitation, started to help me locate the correct school. The research team, includes employees of Josten’s, the rings manufacturer. Josten’s found the 1948 blueprint for the ring, in approximately 1 week. The ring was absolutely from St Joseph’s High School, Biddeford, Maine. The now closed school is approximately 6 miles, from where I found the ring, in the ocean.

While Josten’s was researching the ring, Chuck, the administrator for The St Louis Facebook Page, forwarded me a newspaper photo of the 1948 St Joseph’s Graduating Class, of 19 women. The initials RGH, engraved on the inside of the ring, matched one young woman and I just knew it had to be hers. Her name is Rita and

I performed an online search, but unfortunately, I found Rita’s obituary, from 2021, just 3 years prior. I was able to contact one of her children, Mary Ann, mentioned in the obituary and she lives only 3 miles from me. Mary Ann answered all my questions about her mother, and they matched exactly, with all the facts I had. Her mother had graduated in 1948, from St Joseph’s High School, in Biddeford, Maine. Her mother’s middle name, starts with a G and ended with a H, just like the ring. Mary Ann told me she was very surprised and excited and couldn’t wait to call her other siblings. Mary Ann told me she would call me back and set up a time, where I could return her mother’s ring and some of her siblings, could also be there. When she called back, we made Saturday, March 9th the date to return the ring.

I met 4 of Rita’s 7 children, at their mother’s and their childhood home. Mary Ann, Joan, Kevin and Michael were there to greet me and were very excited and happy to see their mother’s high school ring, which none of them had ever seen, before today. After all, the ring has been miss for approximately 3/4 of a century.The siblings related the story that their mother had lost her ring, in her late teens or early 20’s, most likely between 1948 and 1952. Their mother had told them about losing her ring, way back then and wasn’t even sure where she had lost it.

It is such a privilege to be able to reunite such a precious piece of someone’s life, to their family. There is no better feeling, than returning rings like Rita’s, to family members that will cherish it forever. Although Rita is no longer here, with them, the siblings all felt her there today.

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Men’s Wedding Ring Lost In The Snow, While Ice Fishing On A Maine Lake, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Sunday January 21, 2024, I saw a text, on my phone, that had come in at 10:44am. It was now 12:40pm, 2 hours later. The message stated

“Hey, I lost my wedding ring yesterday while ice fishing in east waterboro. I am relatively certain that it is somewhere on this approximately football field sized patch of ice underneath an inch or two of snow. I found your number online. Do you have the opportunity and ability to search for it at some point”?

I immediately called back and told Luke that I was available to go search and could be there around 2:00pm. He had lost his ring, he thinks on Little Ossipee Lake, in East Waterboro, Maine. This was about 20 miles from my home. Luke told me he was home with his infant daughter and would not be able to meet me at the location until his wife, returned home , in the late afternoon. Luke sent me a photo of the area he had been ice fishing in, along with the address, of his friends lakefront camp, they had been at.
I arrived at the address right at 2:00pm, after a 30 minute drive. I saw the tracks and ice fishing holes, on the ice, that were in Luke’s photo. I texted Luke and let him know I had arrived and with such a large area to cover, should I start on the right side of the area or the left. Luke said the drilled holes on the right side 1st and drilled more holes to the left. The area may have contained 10-15 ice fishing holes, plus all the tracks going from hole to hole. I decided to start where Luke had started and detected the tracks, to the holes on the right side, of the area. Being a frozen lake, with approximately 2 inches of snow on it, I was moving along quickly, with my 17 inch CTX-3030 coil. Being above the lake, I was receiving absolutely no signals at all and this expedited the search.
After approximately a 1/2 hour, I received the unmistakable low tone sound of gold, along with a VDI reading of 12-19. Definitely a great Non- Ferrous target, in the gold range. I took out my Garret Pinpointer and located the target. I started wiping the snow away with my pinpointer and I saw the outline of a Gold Wedding Ring. I had found Luke’s Wedding Ring.
I sent Luke 2 photos of the ring and his reply was “You Are The Man”. I then asked Luke if he lived local because I could bring him the ring, where his wife was still not home. Luke provided his address, about 10 miles away and I drove right over and gave him his ring back. Luke was smiling ear to ear and said his wife is going to be so excited and happy.
I just love being able to help and return such sentimental and precious items to people. Although the temperature was only 16 degrees and I was detecting in the wide open, in the shade, I warmed up really fast when I saw the ring. Another happy day, all around.

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Wedding Ring Lost In The Leaves, Found With A Metal Detector, In Standish, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Saturday evening, November 11, I received a Facebook PM, from Steve. The message said

“I am David * ******** **** brother and I live in Standish. I lost my wedding ring in my driveway and unable to find it. can you help and how much would you charge”?

I immediately message Steve back and told him I had worked with his brother and would be willing to to help him but that I was unable to search, because of my knee replacement surgery, just 5 days earlier. I asked Steve if he or someone else could search, using my detector. I told him that I would get the Minelab CTX-3030 all charged up, programmed for what we were searching for and all someone would need to do is slowly swing the coil over the ground. I also asked Steve, where the ring was lost, and how?Steve messaged me right back and said he could do the actual search. He also said that he was moving some wood, from the side of his home, to just outback of his house and when he finished, he noticed his ring was missing. He said it would be along the driveway, to the pile of wood outback. Not very much of an area and the ring would definitely be in amongst all the fallen leaves, in or along the driveway.
We then made plans to meet at his home, in the morning, around 8:00am. My wife would drive me and I would just make sure Steve has a properly working metal detector and my guidance. My wife and I arrived at approximately 8:20am as the 40 minute drive was longer than I expected. Steve was there to greet us and the three of us exchange pleasantries and small talk for a few minutes. I then asked Steve to show me where the ring was lost and the route he was using between the wood piles. When Steve showed me the area, I knew it should be a fairly quick search, as the area was not very large. I then turned my detector on, got it ground balanced and gave Steve a quick tutorial. I also put my wedding ring amongst the leaves and Steve was able to hear the tone and see the screen.
As Steve stated the search, he almost immediately received a signal, which sounded good but the VDI screen was saying it was 5 inches deep. We did ou due diligence and checked the leaves and the top of the soil, with my pinpointer. It was not the ring and we did not dig the target to find out what it was. Steve stated swinging again and within 2 minutes had a very good target. My wife put the pinpointer into the leaves, found the target and pulled out Steve’s Gold Wedding Ring. The entire search lasted just 3-5 minutes. Steve was extremely happy and grateful to have his ring back. I just love finding people’s lost items and seeing the looks of happiness across their faces.

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