#Maine Metal detecting expert Tag | The Ring Finders

White Gold Wedding Ring, Lost In Springvale, Maine, Found Visually, While Searching With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I was contacted by Christina about her wedding ring. She had lost it on Friday, April 4th, while helping her husband, move a refrigerator, into their home, in Springvale, Maine. Christina told me that she had taken her Engagement Ring and her Wedding Ring off, and put them in her pants pocket. She was nervous about damaging them, while moving the refrigerator. When they finished moving the refrigerator, Christina reached into her pocket to retrieve her rings but only the Engagement Ring was there. The Wedding Ring was missing. Christina asked me how much my service was and I told her that I did not charge for my Emergency Metal Detecting Service or for my time. I just required a Transportation Fee, to cover my gas, tolls, wear and tear etc.

When I arrived at her home Christina met me promptly. After a few pleasantries, I got down to business, by asking her many questions, about the day the ring went missing. I asked about where she was when the rings were put into her pocket and where was she when she reached in to take them out. I asked her the path they took, with the refrigerator. Have they done a visual search of all the areas that she had been in.
Christina told me she couldn’t remember if she was in the bed of the truck or in the house, when she took her rings off, but she and her husband had visually searched the truck and inside there home. They had removed the refrigerator from the truck and brought it into the home, through the front gate and down the walkway. They had also searched all of these areas. Once they were done with the refrigerator, they went for a walk, heading down the middle of the street and while walking, Christina reached into her pocket, to retrieve the rings. It was at this point, she realized her wedding ring was no longer in her pocket. She and her husband retraced their steps, in and along the street, but the ring was not found.
I told Christina I would search the entire lawn, on both sides of the walkway and on the outside of their fence, along the street. The area wasn’t very large and the search went quickly. I then asked Christina how far they had walked, down the street. I would search the grass, along the street and hopefully find it in the grass or gravel and Christina was walking down the middle of the street, as she had done, 5 days earlier. As I finished up in front of her house, I was halfway done searching in front of her neighbors house. I stopped and asked Christina where she was exactly, when she took the rings out of her pocket. She said “Actually, right in this area” and made a motion with her hand, outlining the area, in the street. As she was saying that, she said, Oh My God, there it is”. Christina was pointing into the street and THERE WAS HER WEDDING RING. She couldn’t believe it and mentioned that they had searched the street a few different times. She then texted her husband and he came out to see where it was found. I took some photos and we were all extremely happy that the ring was found. I really couldn’t believe the ring was in the street for 5 full days. Just crazy!

I try to ask my clients all kind of questions, concerning the circumstances of the ring going missing. It just might trigger something that helps in locating the ring. I would like to think that me asking her where she was, when she pulled the rings out made her stop and look at the area. Either way, when I am searching, many of my clients like to visually search, along side of me. As far as I’m concerned, it takes a team to be successful and today the Teamwork worked out just fine. Christina was extremely happy to have her wedding ring back and we both had big smiles.

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Two Lost Property Markers Not Seen In 33 Years, Found With A Metal Detector, in Saco, Maine

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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It’s not always jewelry that I am contacted to find. I can help locate Property Markers, Water Shutoff Valves, Well Caps, etc. if it is made of metal, I can find it, as long as it isn’t to deep and out of the metal detector’s range.

I was contacted by Ted, last fall about trying to locate his two front property markers. He had purchased his home in 1992 and at that time he had been able to see the property markers. They were flush to the ground in 1992 but today, no longer visible. Ted ask if I could help him locate the markers, in the spring. Absolutely I will help him. Knowing he had actually seen them, at one time, I figured it wouldn’t take to long to locate.

So. On Sunday March 16, I walked down to Ted’s house. Yes, Ted and I live on the same street and just two houses separate our properties. I love helping a neighbor. When I arrived, Ted took me out to the front of the house and showed me the area where he had last seen the right front marker, 30+ years earlier.

I fired up the Minelab Manticore and started searching the grassy lawn area. I was not finding anything that should have rung up as a ferrous metal, like a steel property marker. I dug a penny, a bottle cap and a piece of foil. Nothing much at all on the lawn. Ted suggested we head to the left front of the house and search for that property marker. Let’s go.

We walked down to the other end of the property and when I started swinging the metal detector, I almost immediately received a ferrous signal that got me excited. The problem was the ferrous signal was partially under the asphalt sidewalk. As I started digging the lawn, next to the sidewalk, I realized the marker was approximately 5 inches deep, on the border of the grass and paved sidewalk.

Ted and I removed enough soil, to expose and verify that the property marker had been found. We decided that Ted would get a City Lot Map and once we had the exact lot dimensions, we would measure the distance from the market we had just found and I would bring my 300’ tape measure and measure out the distance.

Monday was a rainout. On Tuesday, I walked back down to Ted’s house and we measured 100’ from the left front marker and I immediately received a great signal, right on the 100’ foot mark, from the other marker. The lot dimensions said 100’ apart and we had a ferrous signal, at exactly that distance. Unfortunately the signal was not on the grassy lawn, it was completely under the paved asphalt sidewalk. There were no other signals, anywhere near the 100’ mark, that the property dimensions called for. We marked the sidewalk where I found the signal and Ted will contact the City of Saco Government, to see why the property markers were paved over. Until then, we did not dig up the sidewalk. This was the first time I have ever found property markers, under pavement. I have always found them, under grass. I will now start thinking about the sidewalk, whenever I can’t find them on the lawn.

Our next goal is to search the back of his property for 1 more marker. Ted has never seen the marker but would like to try and find it, if it’s there. First Ted will remove some of the overgrown trees that have popped up in the area. Once that area is cleared, we will search around.

Even though Ted didn’t lose any jewelry, he still had a big smile and was happy to have found his property markers, after 30+ years.

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Key Fob and Keys Lost During Snowstorm, In Portland, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On February 9th, I received the following text message, from Kim

“Hello, I was wondering if you could share more info on your services such as cost/availability? We had a mishap with snow removal today and a set of house/car keys are most likely in a snow bank. I’m wondering if this might be an option vs waiting until spring! Thanks”!
I then replied
“Hi Kim, So sorry to hear this. So I do not charge for my time or my Emergency Metal Detecting Service. I do however require a Transportation Fee, to cover my gas, tolls, wear and tear, etc.”
Kim replied
“Thanks for the quick reply! Have you had much luck with finding keys in the past? I wasnt sure if stainless steel would be tougher to find”.
I then sent her a few photos, of previous key fobs and keys, that I have recovered, in the past year. I also told her my detectors would pick up the metal that the keys and fob were made of. We also set a date for me searching for the lost keys and key fob. I would search on Wednesday February 12th, 3 days from now.
I asked Kim if the fob & keys were lost in the snowbanks of their driveway or the street snowbanks. She replied

“That is part of the challenge, not sure when it got lost so it could be in our side/back yard or near the end of the driveway along the street. it’s possible we’re too late if it was at the end of the driveway with the snowplows. fingers crossed it’s in the yard”!

When I arrived on February 12th, Kim and Pat were there to meet me and showed me the area, Pat thinks the key fob had been lost, at the end of the driveway, near the street. Pat told me that he actually had two sets of keys and fobs go missing. One set was for his vehicle and house keys and the other set was Kim’s. He had both sets because as he was snow blowing the driveway, he was moving the vehicles around. Once he realized both sets were missing, he started searching the driveway, end of driveway and street, along with his backyard. Pat was able to locate Kim’s key fob & keys, in the backyard. Unfortunately, Pat was not able to locate his set. Pat really thought his set was lost at the end of the driveway, where it meets the street. If this were the case, the key fob and keys could have easily been plowed by the City of Portland, Maine, all the way down the street. Pat was extremely concerned that if someone found the key fob, along the street, they could easily start pressing the lock/unlock button and listen to where his car was. They would then also have keys, to gain access to their home. We needed to find this set of keys and fast.

The snowbanks, along the street were extremely high and wide. Conceivably, the keys could be buried in the middle of these absolutely huge snow banks . Their property also had extremely deep snow. I told Kim and Pat that the snowbanks may be too big and if I wasn’t able to find the keys today, I would be coming back, as the snow melted. After all, metal detectors do not detect small items in feet, but in inches.
I was confident the detector would pick up the keys at a depth of somewhere between 8-12 inches but the snow banks were approaching 4 feet high and 3-4 feet in width. If the keys and fob were in the middle of those snow banks, we wouldn’t find them today and would need to return, as the snow melted.
I decided to search the snow banks , along the street first, hoping to find it, before someone else, with bad intentions did. Pat accompanied me and would dig the items I had found, along the street and we encountered many metal items. No keys were found. I then detected the snow banks, along the sidewalks, on the way back to Pat & Kim’s home, on the outside chance the keys were pushed on that side of the snow bank. Still no keys found.
I then started detecting the driveway, towards the back yard and back door, including the area, where Kim’s keys were found. Still no keys found, in the extremely deep snow. I then searched the other side of the house, where there is a walkway, to the backyard. Still nothing. At this point, I had searched for approximately 1 1/2 hours, in the deep snow. I told Pat that I would need to come back, as the snow receded, from the melting. Unfortunately, in the week or two that followed, we received more snow and then rain. Even if I found his fob, would it even work? Replacement fobs can become very expensive.
I did check out the street and yard, a few times, after getting out of Physical Therapy, to see if the snow was melting. Very little melting, the first 2 1/2 weeks. Then the melting really picked up and I messaged Kim, I would swing by on Tuesday March 11, and bring my detector with me. Kim replied that there was definitely less snow. Just what I wanted to hear.
So, after Physical Therapy, I traveled the 1 1/2 miles to their home, from my Physical Therapy facility and started visually searching and Metal Detecting, the little snow left, along the street and sidewalk. No keys found. I then searched, the same way, as I went down the driveway, towards the back yard. Still no keys. I decided to search the backyard itself, in the event the keys were thrown by the snowblower or shoveled up onto the lawn, during the cleanup. As I was swinging the detector back and forth searching, I actually spotted the keys and fob, still intact, near some birch logs, along the fence. They were approximately 20 feet from where Kim’s keys were found. I highly doubt they went through the snowblower and must have been thrown that far, when Pat did some shoveling , during the cleanup.
I then sent a photo of the keys to Kim and told her that I had found Pat’s keys. She replied, “That is fantastic news!! Thank you. Did you leave them there or elsewhere”? Since neither Kim of Pat were home, I hid them in the backyard and told Kim, where they could find them. We also agreed to meet in two days, when Pat would be home, so I could add his photo, to my “Book of Smiles”
When I met with Pat this morning, he was extremely happy to have his fob and keys back. Amazingly, after a full month of being in the snow, ice and being rained on, the key fob still worked perfectly. As Pat hit the lock/ unlock button, on the fob , the car would beep and you could hear the vehicle locking and unlocking. This brought a nice big smile to Pat’s face. What a great feeling it is to help people, like Kim and Pat and see the smile on his face. No better feeling than to see their smiles.😀❤️🙏

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Gold Signet Ring Lost In The Portland, Maine Snow. Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Monday evening, February 17th, 2025, I received the following voicemail transcription.

“Hey how you doing. My name is Ethan M***. I got your number off of Facebook, for the finding thing you do. I am just calling to see if I can get your help I just lost my ring in the snow and can you call me back at 910-***-****, thank you…”

I immediately called Ethan back and he explained that he was shoveling his driveway, when he slipped on a patch of ice and fell to the ground, hard. As he was falling, he could feel his ring coming off, he thinks. Everything happened so fast and he was bracing himself for impact, but he thinks he felt the ring coming off.
Thankfully, he was not injured, in the fall. Once he had composed himself he searched for his ring, in the driveway and immediate area, without any luck. The snow was deep, on each side of the driveway and mostly hard packed snow and ice, in the driveway itself. After not locating the ring, Ethan went inside and called me for help. He told me that the ring was not his wedding ring, but a very special Signet Ring, that was a gift from his wife and is extremely sentimental.
As fate would have it, I had a Physical Therapy appointment at Orthopedic Associates, in Portland, Maine at 8:30am, the next morning and it was only 10-15 minutes, from where Ethan lived, in Portland Maine . I told Ethan that I could arrive at his home at 7:00am, before he left for work and he could go over the events, just prior, to losing his Signet ring. I would be able to search for an hour, before I had to leave for my PT appointment. If I wasn’t able to cover the entire area and find the ring , prior to leaving, I would return immediately after my PT session had ended.
I arrived at Ethan’s home at 6:50am and was promptly met by Ethan. He showed me where he was, in the driveway, when he slipped and fell, on the ice. Ethan also told me that he thought the ring would have flown off directly in front or behind him, into the snow.
I decided to start out near the street, searching the driveway and snow along the driveway, including the area in front of Ethan, where he thought the ring may be. Absolutely nothing.
I then turned around and went down the other side of the driveway, searching both the driveway and snowbank, along the driveway. No Signet ring was found. Once I had ended up back at the street , I searched the snowbanks at the end of the driveway and still no ring. At this point, Ethan needed to leave for work. If I found the ring, I could give it to his wife, who was inside, getting ready for work.
After Ethan left, I kept expanding the search area. I got up in the deep snow of the lawn, in front of the house and still no signals. I then went to the other side of the driveway and searched that lawn and into a thick bush, as best I could. Still no ring. I then researched the entire area and still nothing. Thankfully it is a small area and it wasn’t taking me long to cover the areas Ethan thought the ring was in.
I then decided to search the walkway leading up to their front door. Still no ring. As I was heading back towards the driveway, I decided to search as close to the parked car as I could but couldn’t get very close to it, because all the metal kept setting my detector off. I decided to just swing the coil very slowly, and as close to the vehicle as possible. I was still getting some targets but it was always the car setting the detector off. As I tried one last time, I did get a separate signal, aside from the car. It was definitely a non ferrous target but the conductivity reading on the VDI screen was 55. A much higher reading than I would expect for gold. Gold is considered a low conductor and the reading is usually in the 03 to low 30’s. Since it was such a good sounding target and definitely non ferrous, I just had to check it out. I took my pinpointer, scraped the snow down and then I saw the outline of a Gold Ring. I had found Ethan’s Signet Ring. It had taken me approximately 50 minutes and with the temperature at -2 degrees, with the wind chill, I was ready to leave. My feet and fingers were freezing and the warmth of the car was calling me.

I knocked on the front door and Ethan’s wife answered. I showed her the Signet Ring and she was so pleased. She told me Ethan had been very distressed all night, wanting to find his gifted ring very badly. I told his wife I would send some photos of the ring to Ryan, at work, so he could stop worrying.
I sent two photos of the ring and the following message, to Ethan, at work.

“How does it feel to have your ring back”?
Ethan replied
“You are a life saver!!!!”
I told him that his wife was now in possession of his very special ring and asked if he could have a picture taken, with him holding the ring. He quickly agreed and said he would send it to me, when he returned home, this evening. It is always such a great feeling and pleasure to be able to help people like Ethan out in their time of need. I love putting another smile, in my “Book of Smiles”.

Ethan later, in the evening , sent me the following text message .
“Thank you for all of your help, definitely a weight off the shoulders”. How can I not feel good, after a text like this.

It was also a great feeling to get into a warm vehicle. I’ve had enough of the cold and snow. Bring on the spring 🌻🌸❤️

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Gold Wedding Ring Lost While Snow Blowing, in Gorham, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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As I was watching The Super Bowl, on Sunday night, I received the following Facebook PM, at 9:00pm, from Ryan.

“I Lost my ring, in the snow”.

I replied,
“Hi Ryan, So sorry to hear this. When did you lose it, how and where”?

Ryan replied,
“I was using my neighbors snow blower brought it up to his house in front of his garage and used my hand to clean out the snow from the inside. Then shoveled it to the side as it was in front of his garage door . I looked down at my finger and it was gone”.

Ryan and I continued our conversation and he was 99% sure, his wedding ring would be in his neighbors driveway, underneath the hard packed snow or in the snowbank, along the driveway. With 11 inches of freshly fallen snow and another 6 inches forecasted to fall in a few days, I wanted to get to Ryan’s, asap. The longer, we waited, the better the chance the ring could be moved by the snowblower or the plow, making the ring, that much more difficult to locate. Ryan said he lived near University of Southern Maine, in Gorham, Maine, approximately 20 miles, from my home in Saco, Maine. Ryan asked if I could come out, the next day, Monday, at 3:45pm, when he would be home. I agreed to meet him and now I just needed to charge my equipment up.
I arrived at 3:45pm and Ryan immediately took me to his neighbors driveway and showed me the area he had cleaned the snow out of the snowblower and the area he had shoveled the excess snow , on the the snow bank. The driveway was very hard packed snow. I took out a 14K test ring and buried it in the snow bank . I then started my detector up and showed Ryan what the ring sounded like, on the detector and the VDI reading, on the detector’s screen. The ring let out a nice loud low tone that was crystal clear.
I decided to grid the fairly small area, starting in front of the garage doors and working my way towards the snowbanks, on the side of the driveway. My 1st pass resulted in a few targets but they were under the ice and asphalt. I turned around and headed back towards my original starting point and again, a few targets, but no ring. I turned and started back towards the snowbanks and about 3/4 of the way there, I received a very loud low signal, in the 42-43 range. It sounded great but I thought the VDI reading was a little high, for a gold ring. I took out my pinpointer and located the target, in the hard packed snow of the asphalt driveway. I then started scraping the hard packed snow away, with my pinpointer and all of a sudden, I saw a Gold Ring. I immediately said “There it is” and Ryan said “Thats amazing “. I picked up the ring and handed it to Ryan, who shouted over to his wife, in their driveway, “He found it“ and held the ring up, so she could see it. I could see her smile and another smile broke out, on my face. The entire search only took approximately 7-8 minutes and the ring was exactly in the area, Ryan thought it would be.
I am just so fortunate to be able to help people like Ryan out, in their time of need. There is just no better feeling than to be able to put a ring, back on someone’s finger and a smile on their face. ❤️🙏

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Engagement Ring Lost in The Sabattus, Maine Snow, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received the following text, on Friday, January 31st, 2025

“Hello. My daughter lost her engagement ring in our driveway under snow. Can you help to locate? What is approximate charge?
I live in Sabattus Maine. I have the area near my driveway and lawn about 10×30 area identified. No trees Or obstacles”.

I replied

“Hello, So sorry to hear this. When was the ring lost?
I do not charge for my time or service. I do however have a Transportation Fee. This is to cover my gas, tolls, wear and tear etc..
I will tell you that I am not available today. I will be able to go up there, 1st thing tomorrow morning.
I have 3 appointments today, including a Physical Therapy session, after my recent left knee replacement”.

His reply
“Ring lost Wednesday two days ago. We sifted thru the snow, melted it in house tub but found nothing. I would like your help to check area by car in driveway? Tomorrow is fine”.

I then asked for some more information, his name, address and what the metal was that the ring was made of.
Gary N****** is his name and the ring was 14K White Gold. I told Gary we would be up around 9:00am and I would bring some test rings, to set the detectors up with and to show them how metal detecting works.

Saturday morning, Gary Hill picked me up at 7:45am and we made the approximately 1 hour drive to Sabattus, just a little northeast of Lewiston, Maine and Auburn, Maine. I still have not been cleared to drive, after my recent Total Left Knee Replacement and with Gary driving, it was all good. I am very close to being cleared and hopefully be driving again, soon. Until then, I’ll follow Dr’s orders. It was still snowing as we drove to Sabattus and with the stiff winds, the temperature was only 4 degrees. So glad we have all of our cold weather gear as who knows how long we will need to search.

Once we arrived at the search area, in Sabattus, Gary Hill and I were met by Gary N. and his daughter, Samantha. Gary Hill had already turned his detector on, and searched the driveway, as we walked, up the driveway. I was talking to Samantha and her Father and they were
Explaining that Samantha had been cleaning the snow, off of her car, Wednesday morning, after the overnight snowstorm. Samantha was standing next to her car , shaking the snow, off her hands, when she felt the ring go flying off her finger. She was uncertain, as to which way the ring went flying but was confident the Engagement Ring, was somewhere, on the front lawn, not to far from the vehicle, she was cleaning off.
As Samantha was telling me the circumstances, leading up to the ring being lost, Gary Hill had been searching the area, approximately 6 feet out from the car and as he took a step closer, to the car, Gary had a very nice signal on his VDI screen, reading 12. A definite low conductor and Gary said the tone sure sounded like gold. As we watched on, Gary moved some snow away, with his hands and pinpointer. Then, THERE IT WAS, the engagement ring was clearly visible to all of us. Smiles broke out, happy tears were flowing and all in less than 5 minutes. I never even turned my detector on and the ring was back with Samantha, where it belongs.
Samantha then told us that she recently became engaged, back in October, while on a trip to The Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming. Samantha’s fiancé had even had the proposal videotaped, under the guise of videotaping some animals. Samantha was totally surprised and unaware of the proposal and it was all caught on camera, to watch over and over again. Samantha also told us that her fiancé, designed, this very special ring.
Gary Hill and I are extremely happy to have been able to help Samantha, in her time of need and to see her smile and happy tears as she put the ring, back on her finger. There is no better feeling than to see the smiles on the faces of our clients. Samantha will now be in The Ring Finders of Maine, “Book of Smiles”, forever. Gary and I wishing Samantha and her fiancé a wonderful wedding and marital blessings ❤️🙏

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