#CapeElizabeth Tag | The Ring Finders

Two Sterling Silver Rings Lost In The Ocean Water, Found With A Metal Detector, At Casino Beach, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

๐Ÿšจ UNBELIEVABLE RESCUE AT CASINO BEACH! ๐Ÿšจ

It all started with a voicemail on June 30th at 12:08 PM…

โ€œOh, hi, I’m looking to reach somebody from The Ring Finders of Maine… I lost a ring about a day and a half ago at Casino Beach in Cape Elizabeth, Maine… Please give me a call back. The name is Meg.โ€ ๐Ÿ“ž

๐Ÿ•’ Lost for 3 Days in the Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine Ocean waves
When I called Meg back, she told me a heartbreaking story. Two very sentimental Sterling Silver rings were gone. ๐Ÿ’”

She, her husband, and their young daughter had been enjoying a beautiful day at Casino Beach. When it was time to leave, Meg took her rings off, tucked them into her shirt pocket, and went to wash her hands in the surf. ๐ŸŒŠ

As she got back to the beach blanket, she bent over to grab somethingโ€”and saw one ring fall out of her pocket! She snatched it up, but when she checked for the other two, her heart sank. They were gone. ๐Ÿ˜ญ

She and a friend searched the dry sand and the water’s edge for two days straight. Nothing. That is when her friend told her about us! ๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™‚๏ธโœจ

๐ŸŒ… The Strategy: Beating the Morning Tide
Gary and I knew we had to act fast. We looked at the charts and determined Meg had been in the shallow water around mid-tide.

๐Ÿ“ˆTo stand a chance, we needed to hunt at the absolute lowest tide. We met Meg at the beach at 6:00 AM on Wednesday, July 1st. โฐ ๐Ÿ’จ

She showed us the setup area and the path she took to the water. We had a massive grid to cover:

* Gary started on the dry sand where the blanket had been. ๐Ÿ๏ธ

* I started at the water’s edge, planning to work my way up toward him.
* The Goal: Meet in the middle, then jump out further as the tide dropped!
โ€œAlright, now let’s go find some rings!โ€ ๐Ÿš€

โšก Metal Detecting Science & A Sudden Storm
Almost immediately, Garyโ€™s machine screamed with a high conductor reading in the 80s! He dug… a quarter. ๐Ÿช™

For those wondering about the science:
* Sterling Silver is highly conductive. It rings up between 70 and 90+ on a Target ID (TID).
* Quarters & Dimes ring up in that exact same silver range.
* Gold & Nickels are lower conductivity, ringing up much lower.

To make things harder, this beach was loaded with iron trashโ€”likely rebar from old storm repairs on the concrete seawalls. ๐Ÿ—๏ธ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ

After an hour of digging pull tabs, the sky opened up. ๐ŸŒง๏ธ Gary and I had to take shelter under an overhanging deck for 20 minutes until the storm passed. ๐ŸŒฉ๏ธ

๐ŸŽฏ Double Target! The “Eureka” Moment
As soon as the rain stopped, we got right back to it. The tide had dropped another 20 feet, exposing brand-new ground. ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ’จ

On my third grid pass along the wet sand, my detector went crazy. It wasn’t just one loud beepโ€”it was a double target! ๐Ÿ”Š๐Ÿ”Š

One registered in the 80s, the other in the low 90s.
I yelled across the beach: โ€œGary! I think I found them!โ€ Two silver targets, two missing silver rings. What else could it be?! ๐Ÿคž

๐Ÿ’ The Miracle in the Sand

Gary ran over with his pinpointer. I scooped a massive chunk of wet sand and threw it onto the beach.

Right there in the hole… a glimmer of silver. AWESOME!!! ๐ŸŽ‰

Gary grabbed the first ring!

But the hole was empty when we checked for the second one. My heart skipped a beat. I swung my detector over the pile of loose sand I had just dug up.

Right there on top of the pile, staring back at us, was the second missing silver ring! YES!!! ๐Ÿฅณ ๐Ÿ™Œ

Gary took them down to the surf, washed off the salt and sand, and they shined like brand new. โœจ

โค๏ธ An Unforgettable Family Reunion
I snapped a quick photo of the rings resting on some seaweed and texted it to Meg. No responseโ€”she was rushing to get ready for work! ๐Ÿ“ฒ

When I called her and told her the news, she went dead silent in pure disbelief, then exploded with excitement! ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐ŸŽ‰

Gary and I drove straight to her house 10 minutes later. Meg and her husband, Tom, came running out, smiling from ear to ear.
Meg told us her young daughter had been heartbroken because she loved those rings and hoped to inherit them one day. They were special gifts from birthdays and Christmases past. โœจ๐Ÿ‘ง

Seeing those rings back on Meg’s fingers where they belong is exactly why we do this. ๐Ÿ’โค๏ธ

๐Ÿ’Œ A Final Message from Meg

Later that day, Meg sent us the sweetest text:

โ€œYou guys are amazing! Thank you again! Have been spreading the word! Thank you thank you!!โ€ ๐Ÿฅน

Gary and I love our jobsโ€”we truly have the best job in the world. ๐ŸŒŠ ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

Remember: If it matters to you, it matters to us. ๐Ÿคโš“