๐จ THE IMPOSSIBLE DOUBLE RECOVERY AT Range Pond State Park! ๐จ
Cheryl, Gary, and I love our jobsโwe truly have the best job in the world. ๐
It all started on July 8th when I received a phone call from Vanessa, a Ranger at Range Pond State Park in Poland, Maine … ๐
๐ A Tourist Stranded & A Rental Car Stuck
The day before, a tourist from Texas had been enjoying the beautiful, serene lake while floating around on an inner-tube style flotation device. ๐๏ธ
Suddenly, disaster struck. His rental car key fob and keys slipped out of his swim trunk pocket and vanished into the water! ๐ญ
To make matters worse:
The Search Area: Vanessa warned me the area he had been swimming in was massive.
๐บ๏ธThe Stakes: The rental car was still stranded at the park because that was the only set of keys the agency had given him! ๐๐
I told Vanessa I would be there as soon as I could pack my gear and drive the one hour to the park. I immediately called Gary Hill for backup, and his response was instant: โOn my way, Iโll meet you there!โ ๐๏ธ๐จ
๐ The Plot Thickens: A Second Missing Treasure
When I arrived, the booth attendant was expecting me. She told me Gary had just arrived, but then she dropped a bombshell question:
โWere you told that a few weeks ago, someone lost their silver engagement ring in the lake?โ ๐ฎ
I had no idea! She told me the park staff still had the owner’s contact info. If we found it, they could return it.I smiled and thought, โAlright then, let’s go find a key fob and an engagement ring. A two-for-one type of deal!โ ๐ฏโจ
๐บ๏ธ The Grid: Searching a “Football Field” in deep water
When we met up with Vanessa down by the shore, we realized the true scale of the challenge. The search area was larger than a football field! ๐
Covering an area that size on dry land is tough enough, but doing it in water feels impossible. We knew we would need a miracle to find either item, let alone both. Fortunately, the water was extremely clear with a beautiful sandy bottom, and the lake was nice and warm. โ๏ธ๐โโ๏ธ
Because a large group of local city summer camp kids was playing near the tourist’s entry point, we had to adjust our boundaries. We used a large tree and a water fountain up on the shore as our east and west markers:
I started out deep near the buoys. ๐ฆบ
Gary started mid-water, working eastward slightly to my right.
We began making our grid passes. No keys or engagement ring on the first pass, but the lake was already giving up secrets!
I found a small sterling silver ring with CZ stones, while Gary dug up coins and typical beach trash like pull tabs and foil.๐๏ธ
After a few more passes, I found another ringโthis one stainless steelโalong with an earring and more coins.
Gary was finding plenty of coins, but no jewelry yet. ๐ช
๐ฅ The Miracle Double-Strike!
We had been in the water for about 45 minutes and were almost finished with our first section. As I swung my detector, something about 7 to 8 feet ahead caught my eye. ๐
Amidst the stark white sand, there was a strange black object resting on the bottom. A tree branch? Bark? Trash? ๐ชต
I kept swinging my coil and advanced toward it. The moment the coil passed over the object, my machine screamed! ๐
I leaned over in the stomach-deep water to get a closer look. I squinted through the ripples, and my heart stoppedโIT WAS THE KEY FOB AND KEYS! Are you kidding me?! ๐ญ๐
I scooped them up, held them high in the air, and yelled over to Cheryl and Gary. Gary rushed over, grinning from ear to ear as I handed them to him. ๐๐
We stood there celebrating for a moment. As we were about to turn and leave the spot, I gave my detector one last casual swing over the exact same area.
BEEP! ๐จ
Another targetโless than a foot away! I plunged my scoop into the sand, lifted it, and let the white sand sift through the holes, in the scoop. Staring up at me from the bottom of the scoop was a beautiful engagement ring! ๐โจ
Seriously!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I hadnโt even taken a single step forward, and I pulled the lost engagement ring from the depths of the lake! I checked inside the band, saw the “925” stamp, and knew instantly it was the sterling silver ring lost weeks prior.
Talk about being lucky! The two missing items had ended up less than a foot apart in a massive lake. What are the absolute odds of that? As the saying goes, “Better lucky than good!” ๐๐
๐ Grateful Rangers & Happy Owners
Once out of the water, we met up with Vanessa and another ranger named Walter. I actually met Walter the previous year when I recovered a gold ring at the same park!
Walter is a massive fan of The Ring Finders of Maine Facebook page and keeps my business card right in his wallet. He promised us that whenever anyone reports a lost item to the park staff, we will be the very first phone call. Thank you, Walter! ๐ชช๐ค
Vanessa took the recovered treasures straight to the front office to notify the incredibly relieved owners. Later that day, she sent me this wonderful message:
โThank you so much for coming so promptly. They picked up their keys this afternoon and were very happy and incredibly thankful for your service. It is a great service you provide. So… Thank you and Gary for all you do.โ ๐ฅนโค๏ธ
Remember: If it matters to you, it matters to us. ๐คโ
(NOTE: The ring is right in front of the Croc – that is why they are so hard to find)
