Dennis, MA Wedding Set Lost, Found and Returned
August 31, 2024
On my way home from some hobby detecting; not looking for anything specific, just enjoying the afternoon sun and sea swells, and waiting for another call for help in locating a lost object. I was less than a mile from home when my wait was over. A neighbor, Barbara, was calling to request that I respond to a woman in distress over a missing marriage ring set of 36 years this month. Sure, I am on my way was my answer as I pass the road to my home. Next I called home to tell my wife I would be a bit longer, put dinner on hold, I had to go and find 2 rings.
Within twenty minutes I was ready to start the search. While being escorted to the area on the beach where the rings were lost I was told that another detectorist had found the engagement ring but had no success in locating the wedding band. Maura had removed her wedding band and engagement ring at the beach to apply sunscreen. She put the two rings in the cup holder of her chair, but forgot to put them on afterwards. A few hours later she folded up her chair and left the beach. Back at the house she realized she didn’t have her rings and knew instantly what happened. Returning to the beach and sifting through sand with hands. There were also many interested people all wanting to help. Unfortunately the only help to find the wedding band came from the call to my phone. One woman helping – Barbara told Maura about a world wide group TheRingFinders, that she had a connection, and then called Richard 1 of some 600 TheRingFinders.
It took me about a dozen swings of my coil before I located the wedding band. My advantage over the other detectorist was in the quality of the detector being used and some 40 years experience with detectors. I passed a few detecting tips on to the new detectorist, Thank Yous were passed among all the helpers and I left for the waiting dinner.






On day one of the vacation, what is the number one priority for most at the Jersey Shore ? You guessed it, head to the beach. And thats exactly what Eric and his family did. What almost ended in tragedy, ended up being a memory that will last forever. Eric was playing with his daughter down where the waves push up onto the beach, when things took a turn for the worst. His absolutely stunning wedding ring slipped off his finger and into the water, and within seconds disappeared out of sight. they searched for what seemed like hours, without any luck. Thats when Eric figured he better call for some help, knowing it may be his last chance of ever seeing his wedding ring again. He gave me all the details, and I agreed to be on location ASAP, as the tide was going to turn, and start coming in. Eric also marked the exact location with google maps on his cell phone, which is a huge benefit, especially when he was not able to meet me on the beach. I quickly searched down the slope to about knee deep without any signs of his ring. The water was ice cold, so rather than using my wetsuit, I ran back to the truck and threw on my waders. I knew it wasn’t that deep, as Erik assured me he was holding his daughters hand when the ring slipped off. I made a few more passes going just a bit deeper. Eric showed up just about then, and we confirmed the mark was right on the spot he was sitting all day long. Just a few more passes and the ring was in my scoop. Nothing better than turning tragedy, into memories.









