#MaineMetalDetector Tag | The Ring Finders

What started as a beautiful summer day at Gooch’s Beach in Kennebunk turned into a race against the Atlantic Ocean.

John was visiting Maine from Massachusetts for a friend’s bachelor party weekend.

The group set up high on the dry sand, but with negative low tides exposing a vast expanse of hard beach, they were playing football and swimming all day.

By evening, John’s white gold wedding ring was gone. After a futile search with friends, John headed back to Massachusetts and called The Ring Finders of Maine.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟏: 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡

I arrived at Gooch’s Beach in the pitch black at 4:00 AM to catch a -0.8 low tide. For three hours, I ran a tight grid along the low tide line, trying to stay ahead of the incoming surf. I dug up beach trash, a few coins, and even a stainless steel ring—but not John’s.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐: 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟒𝐭𝐡

Back at it again at 4:00 AM! This time, chasing an even lower -1.1 negative tide. I grid-searched the moving shoreline, eliminating a massive section of the waterbed, but John’s ring remained hidden. With a Wednesday commitment keeping me away, the clock was ticking.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟑: 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟔𝐭𝐡 (𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞)

Thankfully, Gary Hill returned home from South Carolina just in time. This was the day of the lowest tide of the entire month of July: a massive -1.2 negative low tide at 7:13 AM. We needed to take advantage of every second.

We arrived at 5:00 AM to double-team the beach. Gary started a grid high up in the dry sand, working his way down a distance longer than a football field. I picked up right where I left off two days prior, following the receding tide line out.

By 6:45 AM, we had found nothing but trash and coins. Knowing the tide would turn back in just 30 minutes—and that the upcoming days wouldn’t bring tides this low again—I made a tactical decision. I waded out into the knee-deep water and began a grid working my way back toward the shore.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟕:𝟏𝟎 𝐀𝐌 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭

After 20 minutes in the surf, I was ankle-deep. It was 7:10 AM—just three minutes before the absolute lowest tide of the month. You can actually check out the video I recorded right there in the surf on our main Facebook video tab to see the exact timestamps of the find!

Suddenly, the detector gave off the sweetest tone I had heard in three days. I plunged my sand scoop into the rolling surf and lifted it. As the water and sand sifted out, a sliver of silver-colored metal caught my eye.

I pulled it out. It was a white gold milgrain wedding band, matching the photo John had sent me perfectly. After three intense searches, at the absolute limit of the ocean’s reach, we won the lottery!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝟓-𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲

When John called me back after seeing the message, he was in absolute disbelief. This wedding ring meant far too much to him to wait even a single day to have it back.

As soon as John and his wife Sarah got out of work that evening, they jumped straight into the car. They made a 2.5-hour drive all the way up to my house here in Maine, grabbed the ring with massive smiles, and then turned right around for the 2.5-hour drive back to Massachusetts. That is how much this sentimental ring meant to them!

John recently let me know that he has since had the wedding ring safely resized and fully cleaned. It’s officially back where it belongs, looking brand new. We are so honored we could bring this story to such a perfect ending.

𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬.

Lost a ring or valuable item in the Maine sand or surf? Don’t panic, don’t dig blindly, and don’t share the location online. Call or text 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟕-𝟒𝟐𝟑-𝟑𝟎𝟐𝟕. Our metal detecting service is a community effort to get your treasures back where they belong!