#old Orchard Beach metal detector rental Tag | The Ring Finders

Lost Well Cap, Found In Freeport, Maine, With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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It isn’t always that I am called out to find someone’s lost ring. I have searched and found other items, such as keys, property markers, water shutoff valves, phones, etc.. Today was a first for me, a Well Cap needed to be located, in case the Well Pump failed.
I received a message from Karen. She and her husband had purchased their home 8 years earlier but had never been able to locate the Well, because the Well Cap was not visible, but buried somewhere, on the property. Now, I have never had a well so I knew absolutely nothing about them. I asked Karen some questions and she replied, with the following

“We are in Freeport, Maine. The well cap would be thick metal and approximately 5 inches diameter attached to metal piping. Most well caps stick out of the ground several inches so we think ours was buried possibly under our flower bed when the house was built. We know some parameters such as where the line comes out of the house and how far it has to be from the septic tank and leech field (which we know the exact locations of). Our yard isn’t terribly big”. Karen also sent a photo of a cast iron Well Cap.

I told Karen that I shouldn’t have any problems, finding the well cap, as long as it wasn’t too deep and out of the range of my detectors. We then agreed to meet at her home, today, at 10:30am. I arrived at 10:30am and was greeted by Karen. Her husband had run an errand and would be back shortly. Karen took me to her neighbors homes and I saw two Well Caps, above ground. I then tested the Well Caps, on my detector and they both rang up as ferrous metals, ringing up in the 90’s, on my Minelab Manticore. As I was finishing up my testing, Karen’s husband, Andrew arrived home.
Andrew explained that the Well Cap should be a minimum of 100’, from the leach field and Andrew knew where the leach field is. So we grabbed my 300’ tape measure and measured out 100’ from the leach field. This put the search area, near the flower garden, with bark mulch and a little of the lawn. Since it is supposed to be a minimum of 100’, Karen and Andrew also thought it could be on the other side of the driveway. We decided to start the search, at the 100’ mark and perform a grid search of the lawn, leading up to and including the flower garden. I was finding many ferrous targets, but in my mind, I didn’t think they would be the Well Cap. The targets didn’t seem big enough to be the Well Cap, but we need to check the targets out anyways. If it was a ferrous target, we dug it and on every occasion, the ferrous targets turned out to be many different sized nails. After I finished the flower garden area, I started grid searching the lawn, from the garden, to a tree, next to the road drainage gulch. After 15 – 20 minutes I received a strong signal, in the ferrous range, but reading much lower on my VDI screen, than the test Well Caps, at the neighbors homes. The target was very large, in area and Andrew started digging. At about 5” down, we still couldn’t see anything but my pinpointer was still picking up a large target, just another inch or so, in the hole. Andrew put the shovel, back in the hole and he hit something hard. As he scraped the soil away, the white cover of the Well Cap appeared. We had found it, and both Andrew and Karen were elated. After 8 years of living there, they finally knew where the Well Cap was. No more worrying about a Well Pump failure, they couldn’t fix, because they didn’t know where the Well Cap was. It turns out the Well Cap is just under 100’, from where we measured from, in the leach field and we started searching about 10’, from where we thought it would be. Andrew isn’t sure if we measured from the right location, in the leach field but we were put in the general location. That’s why when you don’t find your target, you just keep expanding the search, until you find it. If we hadn’t found the Well Cap, in this area, we were going to search the other side of the driveway. Thankfully that search was not needed.
Karen and Andrew measured out the Wells Cap location, from an area on their porch and now know the location, whenever they will need to access the Well Cap. Andrew is also going to check into seeing if the Well Cap could be modified, so that it is slightly above ground, rather than buried, 6 or 7 inches deep.
Karen and Andrew’s smiles were big and very satisfying to see. So, even though this wasn’t a wedding ring, engagement ring or another piece of sentimental jewelry, the satisfaction for my clients and myself, was just as great. It’s always a great feeling to be able to help and make people happy 😃

 

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Tungsten Wedding Ring, Lost In A Durham, Maine Yard, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received the following text, from Kelly, on Easter night.

“Hello, Can you help find a ring in my yard in Durham? I believe it is Tungsten”.

“I replied, “Hi Kelly, So sorry to hear this. I have found dozens of Tungsten Rings, over the years. When was the ring lost”?

Kelly replied, “Yesterday. I had it on my hand while I was weeding, it fell off, I found it and put it in my pocket. Did a couple of other things in the yard came inside and went to get the ring out of my pocket and it wasnt there.

I am guessing I put my phone in that same pocket and when I checked my phone at some point the ring came out”.

I then agreed to help Kelly and would meet her, at her home. I told Kelly it would be late morning, as Gary Hill and I had a previous commitment.

I was extremely confident the ring would be found, knowing Kelly knew exactly where she was, when the ring went missing. I just didn’t know how long it would take, because I didn’t know how big of an area, needed to be searched, on her property.

Monday morning, Gary and I finished up our commitment,  I phoned Kelly and told her we would be at her place, shortly. Kelly said she was home and would be waiting for us. Once Gary and I arrived, Kelly was already outside, talking to her neighbor. After brief introductions, I asked Kelly to go over the details of 2 days prior, when the ring went missing and if it was her ring. Kelly told us the ring was actually her husband’s, who had recently passed away, approximately 4 weeks ago. She had been wearing the ring, since his passing and the ring was big on her finger. WOW, Gary and I just glanced at each other and we knew we couldn’t leave until we found this very sentimental and emotional ring.

Kelly then told us the rest of the story.  Kelly was performing some weeding, around the property and after losing the ring once and finding it, she put the ring, in her pocket, for safe keeping. She continued weeding and working around the property. When she finished and went inside, the ring was missing, from her pocket. She said she also had her phone, in her pocket and had removed the phone a few different times, while working outside.

Kelly then showed us the areas, she had worked in and we could see the clumps of weeds, still on the ground.  Kelly also had gone into the tool shed, towards the backyard and she also had gone into the backyard. So it was a fairly good size area that Gary and I would have to search. We wanted to find this ring fast and get it back to Kelly. I would start grid searching the front of the house and Gary would start outback, near the tool shed.

As we searched, Kelly continued to visually search and answered all the questions that Gary and I were asking her. We were finding lots of targets but they were all in the ground, not above the ground, where the ring would be. I finished the front of the yard and now would be grid searching between the house and the raised flower bed and tree. Gary had finished the area near the tool shed and was now searching the lawn, on the side of the house. After 30 minutes of searching, still no ring. It’s amazing how rings just blend in the grass. After approximately 5 minutes of searching between the flower bed and house, I received an extremely loud signal. I looked down, towards the coil and didn’t see anything, for a few seconds and then, BANG, the ring came into focus. It was slightly pressed, into the ground and I suspect that the ring had been stepped on, by Kelly, the previous day. No one had walked in that area, while we were there.

Kelly was standing a few feet, to my right and I took my phone out, set the camera, to the video and then looked at Kelly

I said, “What if I told you I found it”? Kelly replied, “I would be ecstatic”. I then proceeded to tell her that the ring was right in front of her and yes, she was ecstatic, as she saw the ring, in the grass. I could sense the emotion overcoming her and I was so happy for her, to be getting her late husband’s ring back. Gary and I then gave her a hug and her tears of joy and all the other emotions of the last month, just overwhelmed her. Kelly was overcome with emotion and just went inside to deal with everything that had just happened.

Gary and I were also touched by all her emotions and we are so grateful that we are able to help others, like Kelly, in their time of need. There is no better feeling than seeing the happiness and joy we bring to others.

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Gold Wedding Ring Lost in Portland Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I started receiving many notifications, from Facebook. Someone had posted in the Portland, Maine Facebook Page, about their husband losing his Wedding Ring, somewhere along The Eastern Promenade Trail System or at an Irving Gas Station, in South Portland Maine and I was being tagged, to help find it. I reached out to Lauren, the originator of the post, and told her if there was anything I could do to help, just contact me.

I then received the following message on Wednesday, 4/9/25, from Lauren,

“Hello! You come highly recommended! 🙂 I posted earlier about a lost wedding band in portland. Do you charge per hour for your services? Thank you!”

I replied
“Good Morning Lauren, I am so sorry about your husband’s wedding ring. So I do not charge anything at all for my time or my services. I do however require a Transportation Fee, to cover my Gas, Tolls, wear and tear, etc.. A few questions and observations first, if you don’t mind. 1) When was the ring lost and which location do you think it was lost at? 2) My metal detectors wouldn’t be of any help, at the Irving Station. Just to much metal and the area is paved. This would be a visual search only. Have you and or your husband performed a visual search at the Irving and on the trail? 3) The City of Portland, Maine has a strict “No Metal Detecting” policy, on the Eastern Prom, Portland, Maine, Deering Oaks and other areas, across the city. If I do search, I would need to receive permission, from the Portland Maine Police Department, before any search could take place. 4) If you do decide to hire me to search, I will not be available to search today, Saturday or Sunday, due to previous commitments. Please let me know your thoughts, Dennis”

Lauren replied
“Thank you for the information! The ring was lost on Friday night 4/4 so its been a while. I think it was most likely lost along either the soft trail or paved trail along eastern promenade – we walked both but more so on the soft gravel area. We did do a visual search at both Irving and the trail. If you get permission from the police department, would you be able to do a search either Thursday or Friday of this week? I think if you can get permission through the portland PD to do a search of that trail, i think we would definitely like to have you try.🙂”

I immediately contacted Portland Police Department and I was given permission to search, with my metal detector, but I could not dig any of the grounds. That wouldn’t be a problem, since the ring would still be above ground. I then contacted Lauren and told her I would search first thing in the morning (Thursday) and I would bring my friend, Gary Hill to help me. It was such a large area to search, over a mile long and both sides of the trail would need to be searched. It’s an extremely large area, for one person.
I also told Lauren my concerns about the ring being lost, in a public space, for 6 days, by the time I searched. Depending on where the ring was lost, there was a good chance that someone has already found it. The trail was asphalt and some areas are hard packed gravel. The ring would be easily seen, if it landed on the actual trail. Our only hope was that the ring was hidden in the grass, along the trail, near the picnic tables or in the grass, near the swings.
Gary and I arrived at The Eastern Promenade Trails, near the East End Beach and immediately started searching around the picnic tables, overlooking the water. After 15 minutes, no ring was found. We then started searching along the actual trail. Gary would search the right side of the trail and I would search the left side of the asphalt paved trail. The grass area, along the asphalt was not very large and the grass was extremely short and matted down. If the ring landed on this area of the grass, there was a good chance someone may have seen it already. Only about a mile to go, before we reach the parking lot, where Lauren and her husband had parked. As we searched, we also always perform a visual search, just in case it was on the trail and no one had seen it yet.
As Gary and I searched, the trail switched from asphalt to hard packed gravel and then back to asphalt . As we were approaching the parking area, we were not hopeful the ring would be found. We we running out of real estate, to search. The trail near the parking lot was closed, due to construction and the trail temporarily runs along a railroad track. There is no grass at all in this section, just asphalt and railroad tracks. The ring would have been found already, if lost in this area. Not looking good at all, as we entered the parking lot. There were two separate areas of grass to search, in the parking lot. The first section of grass has two swings on it and you can sit on the swings and enjoy the views of Portland Harbor and Bug Light Lighthouse, in the distance. I saw Gary had already started grid searching the area, horizontally, to the water. I decided to grid search the area, vertically to the water. After 4-5 minutes of searching and directly behind the first swing, I heard a slight low tone, in my head phones. As I looked down and slightly in front of me, I saw a gold ring. WOW, I couldn’t believe it. I yelled over to Gary and informed him of the good news. I had found Lauren’s husband’s wedding ring. Gary came over and we discussed how lucky Lauren and her husband were, to have lost the ring, in an area that isn’t as heavily trafficked and one of the only areas, where the grass was tall enough, to semi hide the ring.
I then took some photos and a video and sent the video, to Lauren. Her response was

“Omg!!!!! I cant believe it!!! Thank you so much!! I’ll call you in just a minute! Im
Going to step outside from work 🙂”

Lauren called me a few minutes later, as we were walking back down the trail, to our vehicle. She was so very happy and in disbelief. After 6 days , she knew it was a long shot to be found and was just so grateful, we went out and searched for her. Lauren then told me that her husband is out of town on business and they live in New Hampshire. We agreed to meet on Monday, in 4 days, when she would be in South Portland, for a business meeting. Approximately an hour later, Lauren sent me the following text

“I can’t stop smiling today! I shared the great news with all my coworkers and they were so happy to hear such a great ending to this story too 🙂”

Gary and I couldn’t stop smiling either. We love helping people like Lauren and her husband. The is no better feeling, than to be able to return something so sentimental and see their smiles and happiness.

On Monday April 14th, I had an 8:30am Dr’s appointment, for my 3 month Knee Replacement Surgery. Lauren would be in town at approximately 11:30am and I would return the wedding ring, at that time. My appointment went extremely well and my wife, Cheryl, and I decided to walk from The Eastern Promenade and around Baxter Boulevard. This would be a good test on my knees and we would also use this walk as a way to wisely use the time and really test my knees, with a 6 mile walk. The walk was completed in approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes and it was almost time to meet Lauren. Lauren arrived and was just beaming, from ear to ear. She immediately thanked me and she was still in disbelief, that the ring was found. Now Lauren’s husband, Daniel, is out of town, on business and still does not know that his Wedding Ring has been found. Lauren is going to surprise Daniel, on Friday, when he returns home. Unfortunately I won’t be there to see his face but if it is anything like Lauren’s face, when I handed her the ring, it will be incredible. Congratulations to the still newlyweds ❤️🙏

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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 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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Engagement Ring Lost In A Pile Of Hay, In Shapleigh, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Friday morning, January 17, 2025, my phone rang but because of my recent knee surgery, I was unable to reach it quickly. When I did reach it, I had the following voicemail

“Yes, Hi Dennis, this is Nick ****** calling. I found your information on the Internet that you are able to find rings. Anyways, my sister has lost her ring, in the hay. My parents have a farm and I was wondering if that was something you’d be able to help us with If it is, if you wanna give me a call back 207-***-****, thank you very much…”

I immediately called Nick back and he explained that the previous night, his sister, Rebecca , had gone out, to feed the cows, at the farm, in Shapleigh Maine. After throwing a bunch of hay down, in front of the cows, Rebecca had noticed her Engagement Ring was missing. It was extremely cold and she thinks her fingers had shrunk, just enough, that the ring came off. I was a little concerned that the cows had already eaten the ring or the ring was lost, somewhere else, on the property. Nick said his sister wasn’t positive about the exact location, the ring was lost in but that the hay, would be the first place to search. They had all visually searched the area, last night, but the ring was not found. The search would expand to other areas, if not found in the hay.
I also let Nick know that I would be unable to personally search, because my left knee was replaced 10 days ago and it just isn’t healed or ready to get back out there, just yet. I told Nick that I have a friend, Gary Hill, that goes out and searches for me, when I am unable. I immediately called Gary and he said he would head right out, to the farm, in Shapliegh, Maine, from his home, in Hollis Center, Maine.

Gary arrived in Shapliegh, at 9:20am. Once shown the cow feeding area, and hay on the barn floor, Gary saw just how difficult this search could end up being. There was a lot of metal, all over the barn, which may interfere, with the Emergency Metal Detecting Search. Gary got to work. Steve, Rebecca’s husband was there to help Gary, by using a pitchfork, to remove some hay, as Gary searched with his metal detector. The hay was quite high and when Gary searched an area, Steve would then remove a foot or two, of the searched hay, exposing new hay below, for Gary to search. Because of all the metal, in the barn, Gary had to use his small 8” coil, so as not to pick up as much iron targets, keeping the White Gold Ring, isolated and given a better signal. After approximately 40 minutes of Steve taking layers of hay off the pile, Gary received a very promising 16-17 on his Minelab Manticore’s, VDI screen. Definitely in the gold range and certainly not a nail. As Gary searched through the pile of hay, with his pinpointer, he saw the ring, at the bottom of the pile of hay. Gary was extremely relieved the cows hadn’t eaten the ring and now Gary wouldn’t have to check the cows dung. A great day indeed.
Steve was extremely happy that his wife’s engagement ring had been found, as was Nick. What they all thought would be an extreme long shot to find, ended up with smiles on everyone’s faces.
The Ring Finders of Maine, take great pride, in being able to get to a local as soon as possible. Today is another example of me getting a call at approximately 8:10am, calling Gary and Gary arriving on scene, in just over an hour, at 9:20am. This includes the drive, out to the farm, in Shapliegh.
This was literally a ring in a haystack and thankfully, Gary was able to make the recovery. There is no better feeling, than to be able to quickly help people like Rebecca, Steve and Nick. It is also a great feeling knowing that Gary has my back, when I am unable to search. Thank you Gary, from all of us!👏👏👏

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50+ Year Old College Class Ring, Lost In Ogunquit, Maine Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received a phone call, from Diane, on Friday January 3rd, 2025. Diane explained to me that 2-3 days earlier, she and her husband Jerry had come up to Maine and were staying at The Beachmere Inn, in Ogunquit, Maine. They had come up with friends, to celebrate the New Year and had attended a New Year’s Eve event, at Jonathan’s Ogunquit, which included dinner and a show. After enjoying the dinner and show, they all went back to The Beachmere Inn and proceeded to sit around one of the fire pits, outside. It was cold and a little wet outside, so they all called it a night and retreated back to their rooms. Once back in their room, Jerry realized that he was no longer wearing his 1973 Boston University Class Ring. As Diane told me, Jerry was heartbroken and they searched the room, to no avail. To place a timeline on when Jerry may have lost the ring, he and Diane looked at some photos, from that evening, to see if they could pinpoint when he had the ring on and again, when he didn’t have it on. They found one photo, of him wearing the ring. The photo was taken at the Beachmere Inn, just prior to them leaving, to go out to Jonathon’s Ogunquit. This means that the ring could be anywhere on the premises of The Beachmere Inn or Jonathon’s Ogunquit.

Once Diane finished telling me the events leading up to the ring being lost, I asked her a few questions. Did they search or notify The Beachmere Inn or Jonathon’s Ogunquit? She replied that both businesses had been notified and had actively searched for the ring but had not found it. Both businesses would continue to search and would notify Diane, should the ring be found. Diane also told me that they notified The Ogunquit Police Department , just in case someone found it, at one of the businesses and turned it in. The Ogunquit PD had not seen the ring, turned it.
I then asked Diane if it could have been lost in one of the parking lots, as Jerry entered and exited the vehicle and if the parking lots were asphalt or gravel. She replied the parking lots were asphalt. I told her that after 2-3 days, the ring would have been found, on the asphalt lots and those would be a visual search only. The asphalt parking lots would not be searched, with a metal detector. So, since I can’t search the inside of the businesses or the asphalt parking lots, with my metal detector, I told Diane that the only area that makes sense, for me to search, was around the outside fire pits, at The Beachmere Inn. Diane agreed this would be the only place to search, with my metal detector. I also told Diane that if I didn’t find the ring, around the fire pits, I would walk the parking lots and give it a visual search, just to be thorough.
Once I arrived at The Beachmere Inn, I let the front desk know why I was there. Paul actually escorted me to the fire pits and I assured him I would not be digging up the lawn, as the ring would still be on top of the ground, not under it.
As I stood there, surveying the area and deciding how to approach this search, Sarah, the owner of The Beachmere Inn, stopped by and introduced herself and told me that she follows my Facebook Page and loves my stories. She also was offering any help I would need, in the event I needed to move any of the furniture or the heavy fire pits themselves. I was very appreciative and told her I didn’t think I would need any help, but would let her know, if I changed my mind.
I decided to search the fire pits, starting with the one, on my left side first, as it was the closest to the building. The grass area wasn’t very large and even moving the 5-6 chairs, out of the way, it only took me 6-7 minutes to search that area. Unfortunately, Jerry’s ring was not found. I then started searching the grassy area around the second fire pit and nothing was found on the left side of that fire pit. I replaced those chairs, to where I found them and went to the other side of the pit, and moved those chairs out of the way, so I could see and get up nice and close, to the fire pit, with my metal detector. Once I started searching, the right side, I had taken 2-3 steps and BANG, there was a large gold ring, laying in the grass. I actually saw it, before I could even get my coil, over it. It was just sitting there, in the grass. I couldn’t believe it. It’s been sitting out there for almost 3 days, in the grass area, near the fire pit. I took a few photos of Jerry’s ring, right where I found it and then picked it up, to verify it was a Boston University Class Ring and yes it was. I then sent a photo of the ring, to Diane and just said “Congratulations”. Once Diane saw the photo, she replied

“OMG!!!! NO WAY!!!!
“It says BU???!!”

I then sent her a second photo, showing the Stone and crest, of the ring. She replied once again

“THATS IT!!!! YOU EFFING ROCK, BABY!!!
If the weather isn’t bad tomorrow can we drive down to pick it up??
WE ALMOST JUST PASSED OUT!!!
He wants to know if his handwriting is still on the inside….. LOL”

I then took a photo of the inscription, on the inside of the band and sent it to Diane and Jerry. The reply came back

“OMG!! Jerry just said “thank you so much” (he’s chocked up)
We will be in touch later after we hear the weather report for tomorrow, etc
You must be touched by God”

I then went back inside The Beachmere Inn and let the front desk and Sarah know that the ring had been recovered. I also let them know that Jerry and Diane had been notified and were in disbelief and would be driving back up to Maine, in the next few days, so I could return Jerry’s precious Class Ring. Sarah and I then had a photo taken, with the ring, in front of The Beachmere Inn’s Christmas tree. I couldn’t help but think that Jerry was to be getting a belated Christmas present.

We in fact did talk later that evening and we made plans to meet, on Sunday, January 5th, at 1:00pm, to return the ring. Cheryl and I met Jerry and Diane, as planned and Jerry was extremely happy to have his very sentimental ring back. He has been wearing it, for more than 50 years and is extremely proud of his accomplishment, of graduating from Boston University. Both Jerry and Diane mentioned that they thought the ring was gone forever and are so grateful for me driving down to Ogunquit and finding it for them. Now Jerry has his ring, back on his finger, where it belongs and no longer has to worry, if he will ever see it again. There isn’t any better feeling than seeing the smiles, on the faces of people getting their lost items back. It truly is a blessing, to be able to help people like Diane and Jerry. They will now be in my growing, “Book of Smiles”, for eternity.

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