On Saturday morning, Saturday, June 14, 2025, my wife and I went up to Norway Maine, to visit her sister, who had surgery, earlier in the week. It was raining out and I didn’t think I would have any call outs, today. At approximately 10:25 am, I received the following text
“Hi! We lost a wedding ring on Old Orchard Beach, Maine and were wondering if we can get any help in finding it? Somewhere between The Brunswick and the OOB Pier. We will be checking for it in the morning- please let me know if you are available to assist at all!! Thanks!”
I replied
“Hi Rae, So sorry to hear this. I am in Norway, Maine, until late this afternoon. If you haven’t found it, I would be happy to help, once I get back.
Was it lost in the dry sand or wet sand/water?”
Rae replied
“Sounds great thank you so much!! We will definitely let you know if we find it. It was in the dry sand- thankfully it was also high tide so we don’t think it got washed away. I pinned our location when we noticed it was gone so it should be around this area”
With the text, she sent a photo, of the area to be searched.
She then sent me her husband’s name (Ben) and phone number.
Once I returned home, I gave Ben a call and told him I could be at the search area, around 4:00pm. I just needed to change clothes and get my equipment, into my vehicle. Ben told me he would meet me at The Brunswick and point out the area he thinks the ring would be in. I also conveyed a few concerns I had. 1) If the beach cleaning machine, had gone through the area, the wedding ring would most likely have been scooped up already. 2) Hopefully another detectorist hadn’t been through the area, as they may have found it already.
Once in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, parking was at an extreme premium. I ended up parking, down near Waves Motor Inn, close to a 1/2 mile from the search area and walked the beach, down to The Brunswick Old Orchard Beach.
I then met Ben, at The Brunswick and told him that the beach cleaning machine had not gone through the area. A definite positive for us. I then proceeded to ask him many questions, including why he thinks he lost his wedding ring, in this area and what metal is the ring made from? Ben told me that the ring was made of Tungsten and that he and his wife had been enjoying an evening at The Brunswick Nightclub . They left at approximately 12:30am, just before closing. They then walked down the beach a little bit and decided to take a swim. Ben took off his Shoes, Shirt, Watch and Wedding Ring, prior to going into the water. Ben had placed his watch and ring, inside one of his shoes and placed the shoes, on the beach. Once out of the water, Ben picked up his shirt and shoes, forgetting his ring and watch, we’re in the shoe. Before he knew it, the ring had fallen out, somewhere between where his shoes were, to where he now was, walking towards the street. Luckily he had the watch. He and his wife walked the area but could not find his ring, inside the extremely dark beach. They decided to come back and search, in the daylight, the next morning. Unfortunately, they still couldn’t find his ring and contacted me.
I told Ben that I would start, the grid search , at the top of the banking and grid search back and forth, working my way down towards the wet sand. After a couple of grid lines, I couldn’t go down any further, on the banking, because there were a group of people there. I told Ben I would go back up the banking and search that area, until the group of people left and if I didn’t find the ring, up in the dry sand, I would resume the search, down lower on the banking. Up on the dry sand, I was finding the usual pull tabs, foil and miscellaneous pieces of aluminum. I was also find some coins, but no wedding ring. I then saw the group of people had left and went back down, to where I had left off. As I was approaching the area, the group of people were in, I received a fantastic sound, from my metal detector and a VDI reading 30. I looked at Ben and told him that I really liked this target. I couldn’t guarantee it was his ring but it just sounded so good and definitely in the Tungsten range, with that VDI screening of 30. Ben came over closer to me, as I was searching the sand, with my pinpointer. I located the target with the pinpointer and as I searched the sand, with my fingers, I felt a ring. I pulled it out of the sand, looked at Ben and showed him the ring as I told him, “Congratulations, I got your ring”. Ben just looked at me with a big smile and said, “ Amazing, Thank you so much”. I had asked Ben earlier about how long has he and his wife been married. He told me a little under one year. Awesome, still newlyweds and I just recovered his wedding ring, just in time, for their first anniversary. I was smiling ear to ear myself. I absolutely love being able to provide this service to people who have lost very sentimental items. It’s such a great feeling and very addicting.
Here’s wishing Rae and Ben a very happy first anniversary, with many more to follow ❤️🙏🍾🥂💞
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