Three Property Pins, Markers, Lost In York, Maine, Found In The Snow, With A Metal Detector
I was contacted by Deanna, concerning finding some long lost property pins/markers, on her York, Maine property. Her neighbors had recently sold their home and Deanna would just like to find the pins, dividing the properties. Deanna has lived at her current home for 15 years and has the most recent survey prints, from just before she bought her home, 15 years earlier. Deanna told me that she herself had pulled one of the pins, out of the ground, because it was in the way of her mowing. She now regrets that decision. There are two pins, in particular, Deanna would like us to find. The first, must find pin, is along the road and approximately 380’, from a property pin, in the front of her house, next to a fence. Pin #1 isn’t vital to find, but would make this job much easier. The pin is no longer visible, so we will need to find this pin #1, in a very confined corner, then measure 380’, down the road and search for pin #2, that Deanna wants us to find. If and when we find Pin #2, we will need to measure approximately 102 feet, out into the field, and find the Pin #3, that needs to be found, for Deanna. Deanna would also like to find a 4th pin, but it wasn’t as important as pins #2 & 3. For a job this big, area wise and measurement wise, I called in Gary Hill, to assist. Gary was happy to go with me and I set a date and time with Deanna.
This morning, December 11th, 2025, Gary and I headed to York, Maine. We arrived at just before 8:00am and was promptly met by Deanna. She showed us the area and then had to head into work. Gary and I immediately got to work and went to find Pin #1, in the front of the house, along the fence. This pin was found within 1 minute and we now had a property pin, to measure from and down the road, 380’, to Property Pin #2. This is one of the must find pins, that Deanna wanted us to find. So, Gary and I retrieved the 300’ tape measure and looped it around Property Pin #1. I then walked it down the road 300’ and marked it, at that point. Gary brought the tape up to the 300’ mark and we measured out another 80’. We should now be able to locate Pin #2, in the vicinity. Using a tape measure isn’t as accurate as GPS, now used by surveyors but it will put us very close, to within a foot or so. Gary and I started searching and our first target looked promising. A definite piece of iron, ringing up in the ferrous range. As we dug it, it turned out to be a large spike, from a long, long time ago. As we continued the search, our second target was also a ferrous target and after digging it, we had found what we were looking for. Property pin #2, had been found. Deanna had given us some orange stakes, to place next to the property pins. This pin was a pipe, as was Pin #1 and we placed the orange stake, right into the pipe. This Pin #2 was within a foot of where the 380’ measurement came to. I love it when it works out like this. Now on to Property Pin #3. A must find, for Deanna. Gary and I then measured approximately 102’, into the field and Gary noticed an iron rebar rod, sticking out of the ground, at just about the area, we would be searching in. We dug around the rebar and saw that the rebar had actually been placed, inside a pipe, like the one we had just found, up near the road. This was to easy, so we searched the area, for anymore property pins, but found absolutely nothing. Fantastic!!! Property Pins #1,2 and 3 had been found. Now let’s see if Pin #4, is findable. Deanna had told me that she thought Pin #4 may be in amongst some trees. Only one way to find out, Gary and I measured the 85’ and because it is being measured, at an angle and not a straight line, from Pin #3, we had a slightly larger area, to search. Some of the area, as you got close to the trees, were difficult to search, because the hay was fairly tall and we couldn’t swing the metal detector, very well. This area also has what looks like some sort of small path, for farm equipment or ATV’s. The path area was frozen and difficult to dig. The area also was producing a lot and I mean, a lot of large ferrous targets. We were digging up large iron pieces of old farm equipment. Could these pieces of iron, be masking out, the much smaller iron Property Pin? We did find a large iron Pin but we are not sure if it is the Property Pin. It was found 4’, short of where it should have been found. Gary and I think it may have been part of a fence, at one time. We had been finding fence wire in the area, so kind of makes sense. We decided to call it a day, due to the difficult circumstances and return, in the spring, once the ground thaws, on the path and the hay will be flattened, from this winters snow. I am sure we will find Pin #4, in the spring. I sent Deanna a message about finding 3 of the four Property Pins and two of the pins, were the ones, she really wanted, to have us find. Gary and I were happy to have found the three and were really happy to be getting out of the brutal windy conditions. We now have something to look forward to, this sprig and Deanna is extremely happy to finally know where the Property Pins are.
As a side note, I am not a licensed surveyor. I am just a metal detectorist trying to help others out. I informed Deanna and all my clients that I may find their property pin but I cannot guarantee that the pin is in the correct location. I have no way of knowing if the pin has actually been moved, in the past, or not. Only a licensed surveyor can guarantee the pins are in the correct spot.
Another adventure with property pins and this was a first for Gary and I. We searched fo, the pins, in the snow. We had never done that before and we were actually surprised at how much fun it was. Ok, not that much fun! Thankfully, not all of the ground was frozen and the snow was only an inch or two deep. This up coming spring, Gary and I will head back to York and hopefully find Property Pin #4. Who doesn’t love helping others out. Gary and I are happy, Deanna is happy. A win, win for everyone and smiles all around. We have the best job in the world😀❤️🙏
