How To Find Keys In the Snow Tag | The Ring Finders

Key Fob and Keys, Lost In The Limington, Maine Snow, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

I had just returned home from a successful Heirloom Ring recovery and return, in Acton, Maine, when I received the following text

“Hi I’m hoping to get in contact with Dennis of Ring Finders of Maine. My name is Tim and I live in Limington Maine (about 45 minutes from Saco, Maine). I’ve been missing my keys since yesterday morning, and my wife and I have torn our house apart looking for them. We believe they may be under a couple inches of snow along the edges of our driveway, I wanted to know if you were able to offer your metal detector services to help find them”

I immediately texted Tim back and told him that I could certainly help him, to try and find his keys. I sent the following text message back to Tim

“A few questions
1) what makes you think they may be in the driveway area?
2) Are these actual keys, a key fob or both?
3) How big and long, is the driveway? I could bring an extra detector, if you or your wife would like to help search.”

Tim replied

“The driveway is about 5-6 car lengths long and 2 cars wide.
There is a fob, but there’s also 4 or 5 metal keys, and it’s on a carbon fiber key organizer.
We think they’re in the driveway because I usually keep keys in one coat pocket and my wallet in the other, and I last had them Wednesday when I went out and came back. I was staking our driveway for our plow guy since we had some snow coming Wednesday night into Thursday and when I went to use my car yesterday my wallet was still in my coat pocket but my keys were not, and between staking the driveway and taking a couple patio chairs off the deck the only explanation for not finding them in the house anywhere is if they fell out of my pocket while outside.
I’m happy to help search if you can teach me what I need to do”

I replied
“Ok, are you available now? I can come up now, if this is ok.
What is your full name and address, I would need to go to? I will bring the spare detector”

Tim said he was home and I told him I would be there shortly. After being home less than an hour, after returning from Acton, Maine, I was out the door, to Limington, Maine. I arrived at Tim’s home, approximately 45 minutes later and was promptly met by Tim. I asked Tim to show me the areas, he thinks the keys may be in. Tim said the keys could be on either side of the driveway, where he had placed some stakes and cleaned back a little snow. They could be out back, where he had moved some patio furniture. The could also be along the walkway, to the front door, coming from the driveway.
I then retrieved both of my detectors, set them up and tested them, with my set of keys and key fob. After placing my set of keys, under the bank of snow, along the driveway, I showed Tim, what he would need to do and listen for, as he helped me search. The detectors were picking up the test keys with no problems, at approximately 10-12 under the snow bank. After watching Tim swing the detector, over the test keys, I asked him which side of the driveway would he like to search. He chose the right side, as you faced the house and I would start on the left side, of the house. As we were searching, we were receiving plenty of targets but definitely not in the key range. As we were finishing up the sides of the driveway, I heard Tim say, “Got em” and I looked up and Tim had found them, at the intersection of the driveway and walkway, to the front door. Tim was very excited and happy, with a smile from ear to ear.He surmised that they fell out of his pocket, while placing a stake, in the area and disappeared, under the surface of the snow and then more snow arrived, covering them even more.
Tim said he had been extremely stressed about his keys and key fob being lost. The key fob was extremely wet, from the snow and Tim was going to place it in a bag of rice, hoping to dry the fob out. Hopefully, it works.
So it’s not always jewelry that The Ring Finders of Maine help recover. Sometimes it’s Keys, Key Fob, Property Markers, Water Shutoff Valves, Cell Phones, etc.. Whatever the item is, I love being able to help people like Tim out, in their time of need. It’s such a great feeling when I am able to return a lost item and add another face to my “Book of Smiles”

Gold and Sapphire Ring Lost In Falmouth, Maine Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

On Sunday October 15, I finished up mowing our lawn and my neighbors. I checked my phone and I saw a message from Jordan. Jordan’s message said,
“Hi there. My mother lost a ring 2 days ago and she did a bunch of gardening and cut down a few trees. She lives in Falmouth. Would you be able to help us look for it”.
I immediately sent a message back to Jordan and told her yes I could and would she please call me. A few hours later Jordan called and we discussed the lost ring. Jordan then told me her parents , Bobbi and Dennis had also taken a few loads of the brush and garden items, to the dump. My heart sank a little, knowing that it was possible the ring very well could have ended up in the dump, 2 days ago. Jordan then gave me her father’s phone number and I immediately called him to set up a time to travel to Falmouth and search for his wife’s ring. A date was set for today, Tuesday October 17th.
I drove the approximately 25 miles to Bobbi and Dennis’s home this morning and they were both there to greet me as I parked in their driveway. After a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries, I ask Bobbi to go over the events of 4 days ago, which led to the ring going missing. She told me exactly what had been already explained and pointed out some of the areas she had been working. I asked her if she had been wearing gloves, while working and if the gloves had been checked. She had been wearing gloves and they had been checked. She did tell me that she had taken the gloves off several times while working on the property. Bobbi and Dennis also realized the ring very well could have ended up at the dump but were hoping that was not the case. A positive was that the lawn had not been mowed, since the ring went missing. This meant that it would not have been thrown somewhere or damaged by the mower.
Bobbi then took me to the garden to search 1st. It wasn’t a large garden and I completed the search in about 10 minutes. Nothing but a dime, nail and a small piece of foil. She then took me to an area where some of the shrubbery had been cut down. Still no ring. Then another area of cut down shrubbery and my detector wasn’t going to work over the cut down shrubbery so I took out my pinpointer and stuck it down and between what was left of the shrubbery. Still No luck with locating the ring. Bobbi then pointed to another area of cut down and removed shrubbery. Within a minute I received a signal that wasn’t repeating but I liked the sound of it. I looked down but saw nothing but shrubbery clippings, small twigs and leaves. I started pushing the debris aside, with my coil, still hearing a signal but still no target was visible. I pushed some more debris to the side and I saw a beautiful gold ring with a Blue Sapphire starring back at me. I reached down, picked it up, turned around and told Bobbi that the ring had been found. Bobbi looked stunned and was just so thankful to have it back. For a second, I believed her eyes swelled up a little and her smile was ear to ear. Seeing faces like Bobbi’s is exactly what drives me to help people out, when they need my Metal Detecting Services. This ring would never have been found with a visual search. Bobbi and her family had performed a couple visual searches of the area without finding it and I never would have seen it, without a metal detector.
After the fact, I learned that the Gold and Sapphire ring was a 45th Wedding Anniversary gift, to Bobbi, from her husband Dennis. Later that day, Dennis texted me and stated  the following,                             “Hi Dennis. I gave the ring to Bobbi as an anniversary present (#45 I think). I believe that it is a sapphire stone. We can’t thank you enough for getting the ring back to Bobbi. She’s thrilled! We will certainly follow you on Facebook. Thanks again”.                                                                                                    I just love being able to return extremely sentimental items back to the owners. It is a true blessing to be able to help people like Bobbi and Dennis out, whenever I can.

 

Apple AirPod Found With A Metal Detector on A Beach In Southern Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

On Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023, I found an Apple AirPod, as I was Metal Detecting a local beach. I didn’t see it at first because it was among the White Sea shells and blended right in with the shells, but the detector kept going off. Once I saw it, amongst the shells, I scooped it up and looked around, hoping to see someone who may have just dropped it. Absolutely no one in the area. The Apple AirPod was not wet at all and must have been lost earlier in the morning.

I then started a grid to see if I could find the other AirPod. I was unable to find the matching AirPod and thought that the owner, may have only lost the one. Now I needed to find the owner.
Once I got home, I placed several posts on Facebook asking if anyone had lost an Apple AirPod. I placed the post on Lost and Found – Maine, and a couple of the local community sites. I had asked if anyone had lost their AirPod and if they had, where did they lose it. I had a few people contact me but the AirPod was no where near the areas that they had lost theirs. Then, on Sunday October 8th, I saw a message from Rita. Rita had lost her AirPod’s and it was exactly where I had found it. Now I had found the rightful owner. Unfortunately Rita had lost both of her AirPod’s but was happy to be getting one of them back, as she could still use the one I found. Rita thinks she lost them while walking her dog on the beach. The dog had broken away from her and she put the AirPod’s were placed in one of her shallow pockets, to chase after the dog. They must have fallen out of her shallow pocket as she chased the dog.
We made plans to meet up a few days later, so that I could return the AirPod. Today, October 12th, we met and I was able to return her AirPod. Now, I will be on the lookout whenever I go to the beach.

Lost mens wedding ring

  • from Lincoln (Nebraska, United States)

I was contacted to help locate a beautiful gold band with diamonds of only 6 months old. They thought for sure it was lost outside the wedding reception venue they were music mc’s at. It was really cold and he took off his gloves to work the key fob. After we talked about some of the events of the evening I detected the outside with no results.  We then went into the building and scanned all the trash bags, no results. We scoped in the cracks of the old barn floor with no results. We continued to rehash the events, finding another area to detect,  no results. We kept talking and discussing things that went on that night.  I told them that I was certain it was not outside or in the building, and the car and bags should be checked, based on him throwing a jacket in there, Boom, success. Because of our team work and relentless search of possible areas the ring was found.

 

 

Lost Key Summerlea Neighborhood, Edmonton Alberta

  • from Edmonton (Alberta, Canada)
Contact:

 

  

Devon contact me requesting my service to locate his lost key to his car which he explained that he parked his car in his parking spot and dropped the one and only key to his car! 2 days ago somewhere between his car and house. Devon searched but he was unsuccessful in locating it in the snow.

I met Devon at his house he showed me where his car is parked and the area he walked to his house I found his key about 6 feet from his parked car! Devon was very grateful to have his one and only key back in his had. I asked Devon why does he not have an extra key cut? he told me that his car is discontinued and its a big hassle from GM to get a new key cut and programed.

Thank you Devon.

Found Keys In Burlington VT

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
Contact:

This is my Winter for finding keys for people!
Got a call last night from a woman in Burlington who had lost keys to both their cars and the house. She was shoveling after a huge snowstorm and later realized her keys were missing. She searched all her pockets, the car, all through the house and in the snow as much as she could. I went up tonight after work and began by surface scanning all the snowbanks, and got no good signals. Then I got out my all-plastic shovel and we started digging through all the snow piles. She would dig and I would scan each shovel full. After about an hour, I could sense that she was getting discouraged and getting a sore back. So, I started digging, and she scanned. We were nearing the end of digging out all the piles when we found the keys. What a scream of relief! Those keys were going to cost a bunch of money. Now they have around $800 to spend on their 3 year old daughter, instead of buying 2 car keys!
Another awesome search ending!

Lost Keys Found In Ski Area

  • from Barre (Vermont, United States)
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Got a message from a student at Vermont Technical College last night…..Go Green Knights! He had been snowboarding at the college’s ski area. I went down this evening, knowing that it was probably his only set of keys, and knowing how much they cost these days to replace. He needed his car so he could go to work this Sunday. He turned on the trail’s lights and I thought oh no, this could be a very long hunt! Also, the weather was getting cold and windy fast. I planned on going back Saturday to hunt more if needed. After about an hour of searching and many false signals, luck panned out! He was so relieved and I was very happy.