#portlandmainemetaldetectorrental Tag | The Ring Finders

Engagement And Wedding Rings Lost In The Ogunquit Beach Surf, Found In Footbridge Beach, With A Metal Detector

October 1st, 2026 by Dennis Boothby
from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

Contact:

1-207-423-3027
Call or Text

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚: 𝐀 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 🌊💍

Imagine watching a video of your family playing in the ocean, only to realize you captured the exact millisecond a family heirloom vanished into the sea…

It was a picture-perfect, hot Maine summer day at Footbridge Beach in Ogunquit, Maine: Beautiful Place by the Sea . Brett, his wife Kaitee, and their two young children were playing in the ocean, laughing, and enjoying some quality family time together.

Kaitee and her oldest daughter were out in the water, splashing around and jumping over some decent-sized waves while Brett and Kai were near the shore, filming the happy memory.

But in a split second, the ocean changed everything. 🌊As a big wave rolled in, Kaitee lifted her daughter up high to clear the crest. The moment she put her daughter back down, she felt that sickening emptiness on her finger. She immediately pointed to her hand, looked toward Brett on the shore, and mouthed the words every married couple dreads hearing:

“𝙈𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜.” 💔

Her beautiful wedding and engagement rings, which were soldered together into one precious piece, had vanished into the surf. In the video, you can see Kaitee immediately looking down into the water, frantically trying to search through the waves. But as anyone who has been to the beach knows, it is virtually impossible to find anything in churning sand and crashing waves. 🌪️🏖️

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐎𝐧 🔍

Devastated, they knew they needed help. While the video didn’t show any landmarks or depth to prove exactly how far from the shore they were, it did provide one crucial piece of evidence: 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐩.

With that exact time locked in, we could calculate the exact state of the tide. Armed with that vital piece of data, Brett jumped on the phone.

At around 𝟏:𝟑𝟎 𝐏𝐌 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟒𝐭𝐡, my phone rang. 📞

As I listened to Brett’s story, I quickly checked the tide charts. My heart sank a bit when I saw that high tide wasn’t until 3:47 PM. Because the tide had already been coming in when Kaitee lost the rings an hour and a half earlier, the water in that area was already way over my head. Searching right then was physically impossible.

I gave Brett the honest reality of the situation: our absolute best bet was to wait for the morning low tide. I told him I could be on the beach by 𝟕:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌 to follow the receding water out.

But I also had a major concern. Because Kaitee was already deep out in the water when the rings slipped off, and with the rough ocean waves pounding the shore, I wasn’t sure if the morning tide would recede far enough for me to safely reach the spot.

Still, we had no choice but to try. We agreed on the plan: meet at 𝟕:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌, chase the tide out, and hunt as much beach real estate as humanly possible. 🤝

To make sure we didn’t waste a single second of precious low-tide time, I pulled up a satellite map. I marked up an aerial view of Footbridge Beach and sent it over to Brett. He looked it over and confirmed the exact grid section we needed to target. Now, we had a localized game plan. All we could do was wait for morning. 🗺️

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐝𝐞 ⏳

The next morning, Gary Hill and I arrived early at 𝟔:𝟒𝟎 𝐀𝐌

. Knowing we had a massive area of beach real estate to cover, we wanted to get a serious jumpstart before the tide fully bottomed out. Brett was scheduled to meet up with us around 𝟕:𝟑𝟎 𝐀𝐌, but there was no time to waste. It was time to get going!

Gary and I decided to divide and conquer to max out our chances. Using the beach access path way up on the shore as our central halfway point, we split the area in two.

Gary took the north side, executing a tight grid search 100 feet to the north of the path, parallel with the water. I took the south side, mirroring his 100-foot grid search to the south of the path.

Our strategy was simple: start closer to the shore on the wet sand and tightly follow the tide as it receded, fully prepared to grid right into the surf if the conditions stayed safe. With our detectors fired up and our scoops ready, we began swinging. 🔍

The beach itself was very clean of targets. We dug a coin here and an aluminum pull tab there, but as our first hour on the sand came to a close, the rings remained elusive.

Around 7:30 AM, Brett arrived on scene. We paused to bring him up to speed on our progress. Looking out at our patterns, he confirmed we were spot on for the location. Our 100-foot grid lines to the north and south had the primary target area completely covered.

With the plan validated, Gary and I fired our machines back up and returned to the grid. Brett stayed close by, visually scanning the shifting sand along the moving tide line.

A few hours later, we finally approached dead low tide. The window of opportunity was shrinking, and despite our best efforts, the rings had still not been recovered.

Desperate to reach the deeper drop zone, I stepped directly into the churning ocean surf. Unfortunately, the sea wasn’t making it easy. The rough, pounding waves made it incredibly dangerous to push too far out. 🌊💥

With Brett looking on anxiously from the shore, Gary and I pushed as hard as we safely could, but the water simply wouldn’t let us get past knee-deep. Realizing we were out of beach real estate and at the mercy of the conditions, we had no choice but to call the search.

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 💔

Brett was deeply disappointed, and honestly, so were we. Gary and I carry this kind of disappointment hard. When something precious is lost to the endless moving energy of the ocean, there are simply no guarantees. We give every single hunt everything we have, but sometimes, heartbreak is the outcome—temporarily anyways.

I broke down the reality of the situation for Brett before we left. I let him know that Gary and I would absolutely come back to search again, but we were fighting the upcoming tide cycles. Over the next few days, both the high and low tides were going to be higher up towards the shore. We simply wouldn’t be able to get out as far as Kaitee had been standing.

Our next real window would be a week or so later when the negative tides arrived. Those ultra-low tides would expose much more of the beach and give us the access we needed. 📉

Brett was very dejected, but I gave him my word that we weren’t giving up. I promised him we would be back, and reassured him that heavy rings generally don’t move very far on the ocean floor unless a major storm hits the coast and makes the surf much rougher than it already was. I reminded him that we have successfully made recoveries many, many days after a ring went missing.

I promised Brett I would contact him directly before we headed out for our next attempt. The three of us walked off the beach together—down, but definitely not out. 🧗‍♂️

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐝𝐞 📉📱

True to my word, a week later, the tide charts lined up perfectly. I fired off a text message to Brett:

“𝑯𝒊 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕, 𝑮𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆, 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 5:00𝒂𝒎. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒂𝒕 -0.9. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.”

Brett fired right back with a text that read, “𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉!!” 🙏

Gary and I arrived in Ogunquit pre-dawn the next morning and immediately got down to business. It had been 𝟖 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬

since our first attempt, and 𝟗 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 since Kaitee’s rings had vanished into the sea.

The 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 -𝟎.𝟗 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐞 opened up an incredible amount of the ocean floor. It was finally time to put the coils to the sand! 🪙🤠

We tightly followed the receding waterline, sweeping carefully. For the first stretch, it was just the usual beach trash and a few more scattered coins. But we kept our focus.

After about 50 minutes of searching, my detector let out a very low, solid tone. I didn’t hesitate. I scooped up a heavy load of wet sand and threw it up onto the beach to sift through it. 🛡

𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐄?! 🤯🚨

I stared down at it. I could instantly see the diamonds flashing—it was the wedding and engagement rings, beautifully soldered together, exactly as Brett had described.

𝐖𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐄’𝐒 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒! 🥳🎉

Ring hunting AFTER nine days in the relentless Atlantic Ocean, and there it was. Gary and I immediately traded high-fives and burst into those huge, stress-releasing laughs that only happen when a high-stakes hunt finally pays off.

Instead of a standard text message, I decided to show him. I pulled out my phone and recorded a video. I started by showing him the vast expanse of beach we had been gridding, and then I slowly panned the camera down to the rings, still resting perfectly in the wet sand. 🎬

𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕?” I said into the camera. “𝑾𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑨𝒍𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍.”

I hit send. Because it wasn’t even 6:00 AM yet, I knew it might take some time for him to wake up and see it. But we didn’t sit around waiting. With a rare negative low tide like this, you just never know what else might be hidden in the sand, so Gary and I kept right on metal detecting to make the most of the morning.

𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 ✨🥂

Sure enough, about an hour later, my phone lit up. ⚡️

Brett and Kaitee were both on the line, and they were completely in shock to wake up to the unbelievable news. They were over-the-moon happy and bursting with excitement, thanking Gary and me from the very bottom of their hearts. 🥺❤️

Then, Kaitee dropped one more mind-blowing piece of information on me. She realized that the exact day we found her rings happened to be the 𝟏𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞! Talk about a true anniversary miracle!

Standing out there on the beach, Gary and I were just beaming. Hearing the pure joy and relief in their voices is exactly why we do this. Bringing that kind of closure to people is simply the best feeling in the world.

Because Brett and Kaitee live three states away in Connecticut, they had already headed back home from vacation. But as luck would have it, Kaitee’s friend and co-worker, Erica, was currently vacationing just down the coast in York Beach, Maine!

We quickly coordinated a plan, and Erica and her family drove up to my house in Saco, Maine to pick up the precious rings. When they arrived, we all talked about just how completely improbable this whole story really was.

After Erica left to safely escort the rings back to Connecticut, I received a wonderful message from her: 💬

“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒔! 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 & 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔! 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒋𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔! 😂

I couldn’t help but smile and replied:

“𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔! 😀 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐 ❤️🙏”

A few days later, I received a beautiful family photo from Kaitee with her rings finally right back where they belong, resting safely on her finger. 📸

Gary and I truly have the best job in the world, and we love every single second of it.

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬. 🤝

🚨 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 🚨

Have you lost your wedding ring, keys, or valuable jewelry at the beach, in the grass, or on your property? Don’t wait—time is of the essence when dealing with shifting sands and tides! Call right away to get experienced metal detecting professionals on the job.

📞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝟐𝟎𝟕-𝟒𝟐𝟑-𝟑𝟎𝟐𝟕

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Thirty Year Gold Anniversary Wedding Ring Lost In Sebago Lake, Maine, Found With A Metal Detector

August 27th, 2026 by Dennis Boothby
from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

Contact:

1-207-423-3027
Call or Text

? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ????’? ??????? ????! ?

As Cheryl and I were leaving Old Orchard Beach, fresh off a successful recovery, my phone rang. On the other end was Jennifer, and she was looking for some urgent help from The Ring Finders of Maine.

I asked her what happened, and she explained that her husband, Paul, had just lost his wedding ring at Point Sebago. The tricky part? He wasn’t entirely sure where it came off. It could have been in the dry sand around their beach setup, or it could be somewhere out in the water.

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Here is what we knew: Paul had been lounging around his beach chair, but he had also been out in Sebago Lake Maine, throwing a football around with his sons. Around lunchtime, as the family gathered to grab a bite to eat, Paul looked down and realized with a sinking feeling that his ring was gone.

The family immediately sprang into action. They searched all around their beach chairs and waded through the water where the football game had taken place, but they came up empty-handed.

When Jennifer told me the story, my immediate thought was that the ring had to be in Sebago Lake. In my experience, rings don’t just fall off your finger while you’re lounging around in a beach chair. They come off when you are active and doing something with your hands—like catching or throwing a football in the cool lake water!

? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?????
Knowing this was likely going to be a water search, I told Jennifer I would absolutely get up there, but I needed to make one quick stop at my house first. If I was going into the lake, I needed the right tool for the job: my Minelab Excalibur II. This machine is a beast for water recoveries—fully waterproof and submersible up to 200 feet deep, it’s the same detector used on heavy-duty dive sites.
Once I retrieved the Excalibur and made sure we had every piece of gear required for a thorough water hunt, I called Jennifer back. I let her know we were officially on the road and that it would take about an hour to get there, aiming for a 3:30 PM arrival.
With the vehicle loaded up and a plan in place, Cheryl and I hit the highway, heading straight for Point Sebago.

⛳ ??? ??????? ?? ????? ??????
Once we arrived, we were promptly met at the main gate by Jennifer and her son, who got us checked in with visitor passes. From there, they drove us right down to the beach and lake in a golf cart. Wow, I really like this place—no walking required, lol!
Down at the water, we were met by Paul. He showed us their exact beach setup and pointed out the area of the lake where he had been standing while tossing the football around. I got my gear on, fired up the Excalibur, and walked straight into Sebago Lake with Paul leading the way to his exact spot.

? ??????????? ??? ???? ??????
Once I could see the entire layout of the area, I told Paul my strategy: I was going to start my grid search just a little further out and deeper in the water. I always over-grid an area to make absolutely sure I don’t miss a single spot where a ring could possibly be hiding.
That’s when Paul gave me one more piece of information—he mentioned that he had actually swum out to retrieve the football a few different times, and on those swims, the water was over his head. There wasn’t much I could do about those deep-water spots at that moment, but I could certainly search every single inch of the rest of the area.
I set up my grid lines vertical to the shore, locking my eyes onto an onshore landmark—a specific tree at the back of the beach area. Keeping my focus on that tree would ensure I walked in a perfectly straight line.

⚡ ??? ??????? ?? ?????!
With the plan locked in, I waded out until the water was approximately armpit deep and started making my way back toward the shore. I hadn’t even been searching for two minutes when I reached belly-deep water and a strong, clear signal hit my headphones. My first target! Could this really be Paul’s wedding ring already?
I plunged my long-handled beach scoop deep into the sand, lifted it up, and dumped the contents into the floating sifter I use out in the water. As the water cleared and I looked inside, I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES.
A gold ring was sticking right out of a clump of sand!
I turned, looked right at Paul, and said, “I got it.”

? ??????????? ?? ??? ?????
Paul immediately made a beeline to me, and Jennifer and one of their sons rushed right out behind him. I told Paul he could have the honors of removing his ring from the sifter himself. As he grabbed it, the sheer relief on his face was incredibly evident.
Suddenly, everyone in the family was smiling, shaking hands, and hugging. But the magic didn’t stop there. Once the other vacationers in the area realized what had just happened, a massive wave of applause, clapping, and cheering started filtering out to us from the shore and from people in the water. It was an absolutely awesome moment to experience!

?️ ? ???? ??????????? ?????
As we were walking out of the lake, Jennifer let me in on a huge secret: she and Paul would be celebrating 30 years of marriage this upcoming October! Recovering Paul’s wedding ring was an unbelievable relief for their massive upcoming anniversary.
Jennifer and Paul continued to praise me for making the trip out to help them, and as we stood there talking about 30 wonderful years of their lives together, my phone rang yet again.

? ??? ?? ????????????? ??? ??? ??? ?????!
The next call was for a lost wedding ring down at Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport Maine. Paul and Jennifer were incredibly generous and offered to buy Cheryl and me a round of drinks to celebrate the win, but we had to politely decline. A wedding ring had to be found, and as we always say:
“If it matters to you, it matters to us.” ❤️
So, with two successful ring recoveries already under our belts today, Cheryl and I hopped back into the vehicle and headed straight to Kennebunkport Maine. Let’s see if we can make it a hat trick! ?☘️??? ?

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Sterling Silver Engagement Ring AND Key Fob Lost In Range Pond State Park, Found With A Metal Detector In Poland, Maine

July 25th, 2026 by Dennis Boothby
from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

Contact:

1-207-423-3027
Call or Text

? THE IMPOSSIBLE DOUBLE RECOVERY AT Range Pond State Park! ?

Cheryl, Gary, and I love our jobs—we truly have the best job in the world. ?

It all started on July 8th when I received a phone call from Vanessa, a Ranger at Range Pond State Park in Poland, Maine … ?

? A Tourist Stranded & A Rental Car Stuck

The day before, a tourist from Texas had been enjoying the beautiful, serene lake while floating around on an inner-tube style flotation device. ?️

Suddenly, disaster struck. His rental car key fob and keys slipped out of his swim trunk pocket and vanished into the water! ?

To make matters worse:

The Search Area: Vanessa warned me the area he had been swimming in was massive.

?️The Stakes: The rental car was still stranded at the park because that was the only set of keys the agency had given him! ??

I told Vanessa I would be there as soon as I could pack my gear and drive the one hour to the park. I immediately called Gary Hill for backup, and his response was instant: “On my way, I’ll meet you there!” ?️?

? The Plot Thickens: A Second Missing Treasure

When I arrived, the booth attendant was expecting me. She told me Gary had just arrived, but then she dropped a bombshell question:
“Were you told that a few weeks ago, someone lost their silver engagement ring in the lake?” ?

I had no idea! She told me the park staff still had the owner’s contact info. If we found it, they could return it.I smiled and thought, “Alright then, let’s go find a key fob and an engagement ring. A two-for-one type of deal!” ?✨

?️ The Grid: Searching a “Football Field” in deep water

When we met up with Vanessa down by the shore, we realized the true scale of the challenge. The search area was larger than a football field! ?

Covering an area that size on dry land is tough enough, but doing it in water feels impossible. We knew we would need a miracle to find either item, let alone both. Fortunately, the water was extremely clear with a beautiful sandy bottom, and the lake was nice and warm. ☀️?‍♂️

Because a large group of local city summer camp kids was playing near the tourist’s entry point, we had to adjust our boundaries. We used a large tree and a water fountain up on the shore as our east and west markers:

I started out deep near the buoys. ?

Gary started mid-water, working eastward slightly to my right.

We began making our grid passes. No keys or engagement ring on the first pass, but the lake was already giving up secrets!

I found a small sterling silver ring with CZ stones, while Gary dug up coins and typical beach trash like pull tabs and foil.?️

After a few more passes, I found another ring—this one stainless steel—along with an earring and more coins.

Gary was finding plenty of coins, but no jewelry yet. ?

? The Miracle Double-Strike!

We had been in the water for about 45 minutes and were almost finished with our first section. As I swung my detector, something about 7 to 8 feet ahead caught my eye. ?

Amidst the stark white sand, there was a strange black object resting on the bottom. A tree branch? Bark? Trash? ?

I kept swinging my coil and advanced toward it. The moment the coil passed over the object, my machine screamed! ?

I leaned over in the stomach-deep water to get a closer look. I squinted through the ripples, and my heart stopped—IT WAS THE KEY FOB AND KEYS! Are you kidding me?! ??

I scooped them up, held them high in the air, and yelled over to Cheryl and Gary. Gary rushed over, grinning from ear to ear as I handed them to him. ??

We stood there celebrating for a moment. As we were about to turn and leave the spot, I gave my detector one last casual swing over the exact same area.

BEEP! ?
Another target—less than a foot away! I plunged my scoop into the sand, lifted it, and let the white sand sift through the holes, in the scoop. Staring up at me from the bottom of the scoop was a beautiful engagement ring! ?✨

Seriously!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I hadn’t even taken a single step forward, and I pulled the lost engagement ring from the depths of the lake! I checked inside the band, saw the “925” stamp, and knew instantly it was the sterling silver ring lost weeks prior.

Talk about being lucky! The two missing items had ended up less than a foot apart in a massive lake. What are the absolute odds of that? As the saying goes, “Better lucky than good!” ??

? Grateful Rangers & Happy Owners

Once out of the water, we met up with Vanessa and another ranger named Walter. I actually met Walter the previous year when I recovered a gold ring at the same park!

Walter is a massive fan of The Ring Finders of Maine Facebook page and keeps my business card right in his wallet. He promised us that whenever anyone reports a lost item to the park staff, we will be the very first phone call. Thank you, Walter! ??

Vanessa took the recovered treasures straight to the front office to notify the incredibly relieved owners. Later that day, she sent me this wonderful message:

“Thank you so much for coming so promptly. They picked up their keys this afternoon and were very happy and incredibly thankful for your service. It is a great service you provide. So… Thank you and Gary for all you do.” ?❤️

Remember: If it matters to you, it matters to us. ?⚓

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Gold Diamond Hoop Earring Lost In The Sand, Found With A Metal Detector In Old Orchard Beach, Maine

July 8th, 2026 by Dennis Boothby
from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

Contact:

1-207-423-3027
Call or Text

? LOST GOLD & DIAMOND EARRING IN THE SAND! ?

I received a frantic text on Tuesday evening at 5:50 PM.

“Hello. I’m staying at the ‘On The Beach Motel’ in Old Orchard. I lost a gold hoop diamond earring… My husband gave them to me. He passed away two years ago, so this is more upsetting than it may have been otherwise. Is this something you can try to help with?” ?

I immediately replied:

“Hi, this is Dennis from The Ring Finders of Maine. I’m on the road but will be back in the area around 6:30 PM.

Do you still have the matching earring for a photo? Small gold earrings are very difficult to find.

Do you have a specific area on the beach to search, or do you think it’s in the water?”

She texted back:

“I did step into the water. We are out getting dinner right now, but we had a beach setup and I know exactly where it was.”

⏱️ The Race Against Time

I texted back right away:
“Ok, I want to search tonight as soon as you get back. My main concern is that another detectorist might find it, or the beach-cleaning machine will scoop it up at 5:00 AM. If it gets scooped by the machine, it will be gone forever.

”Claire later told me that the incredible office staff at the motel were the ones who told her to call me. ?

? An Emotional Plea

Through tears, Claire explained to Cheryl and me that this earring was a precious gift from her husband, who passed away two years ago.

She told us these earrings weren’t just jewelry; in a sense, they were her husband. She was physically sick not knowing where it was. ?

Her family had already torn the hotel room and the car apart. They even searched the dry sand by hand. Nothing. It had to be on the beach.

My primary mission tonight was the dry sand. We had to clear the area before the 5:00 AM beach cleaner arrived.

Alright, let’s go find this earring! ??️?

The Search Begins
Claire took us down to the exact spot where her family had set up for the day. She knew the area perfectly.

Once the boundaries were set, I started grid searching parallel to the water, moving from south to north.

Claire continued searching the dry sand by eye, constantly staring out at the ocean waves, praying it wasn’t out in the deep water.

At the end of my first pass, I only found a crusty old dime.

?✨ A Shocking Low Tone

I turned around and headed south, keeping an eye on Claire as she watched the waves.

Suddenly, a loud, low tone blasted through my headphones! ?J

Just what I was hoping to hear.

The Target Identification (TID) read a solid 07. That is exactly in the small gold range.I carefully brushed the sand away, and there it was: the glittering gold earring! ✨

? The Setup & Surprise

Claire hadn’t noticed me finding the earring because she was still looking out toward the ocean.

I glanced over at Cheryl and mouthed, “I’ve got it, get video!” ?

With Cheryl’s video rolling, I pretended to continue searching as I walked closer to Claire.”

Can you point to exactly where you were standing in the water?”
I asked her.

As she turned toward the ocean and pointed, I held the earring up right in front of me, waiting for her to turn back around.

? The Floodgates Open

It worked perfectly!

When Claire turned back to face me, she saw her beloved earring dangling right in front of her. The floodgates completely opened.?❤️

She walked slowly toward me, crying tears of pure happiness and relief.

As I placed the earring back into her hand, she gasped, “I can’t believe it. I really can’t believe you found it.”

She wrapped me in a massive hug, the happy tears still rolling down her face.

What an emotional return! She finally had both of her precious earrings back together. ?‍❤️‍?

Just then, her son Mickey walked onto the beach.

Claire proudly yelled to him, “He found it! Can you believe it?!

“Mickey broke into a huge smile and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

?Claire then admitted to me, “I almost didn’t call you. I thought it was gone forever.” Thankfully, she did!

? The Best Job in the World

As Cheryl and I walked off the beach, Claire was proudly telling everyone around her that she got her earring back. She had the biggest smile on her face.

I truly have the best job in the world. I love my job!

Remember: “If it matters to you, it matters to us!” ?✨

? LOST SOMETHING VALUABLE IN MAINE? Don’t wait! Time is of the essence before the tides or beach cleaners get to it.

? Call or Text Dennis: (207) 423-3027

? A Note on Client Privacy:Claire requested not to use photos or videos of herself on social media, and I always completely honor my clients’ wishes. Her comfort and trust mean everything to me. However, her son Mickey happily agreed to pose with the found earring for this post! (See photo below ?)

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DeMolay Ring Lost in Cumberland Maine, Found With A Metal Detector, In Tall Grass

October 18th, 2023 by Dennis Boothby
from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)

Contact:

1-207-423-3027
Call or Text

I received a voicemail from Derrick. I actually know Derrick as we had worked together years ago but I haven’t seen him in 5-6 years. Derrick’s voicemail stated

“Hi Dennis this is Derrick. I left you a message also I sent you a personal message and I am in need of your ring finding service, sir. I live in Cumberland just past Skilling’s Greenhouse . My son was outside and his DeMolay ring which is kind of like a Masonic ring fell off his hand. We have a metal detector but it’s a low end one so I’m trying to find it with that but I’m not having any good luck. The ring is a Black polished stainless steel. I was kind of hoping that you could help us with it. We definitely Would be greatly appreciative. Derrick Jr is very distraught and he very dearly for everything that he’s going through with the DeMolay. If you could get back to me my phone number is 207-***_****. Hopefully we can set up a time over the next few days and hope you are able to help us. I very much appreciate it Dennis thank you…”
I immediately called Derrick back, after seeing that my schedule was full the next two days. I told Derrick that my wife, Cheryl, and I would would drive up to his place immediately. It is about 25 miles and I told him I would be there by 3:10pm.
Once I arrived, we made small talk and caught up with what is going on in our lives. Then, I asked Derrick Jr what happened when the ring went missing. He told us he was trying to clean his hands of dirt, after digging a hole. He was brushing his hands off, by slapping them up against the sides of his pant legs, when the ring went flying off towards the tall grass and or woods.
I went down the small slope and started searching the beginning of the woods and found absolutely nothing. I then started up the slope and asked my wife to get my backup detector and I would let Derrick Sr use it. Derrick Jr was using his detector, I was using my CTX-3030 and after a quick lesson , Derrick Jr was my Minelab E-trac. With Derrick Jr in the woods , Derrick Sr on the left side of the slope of me heading down the right side of the slope.
I don’t think I took 5 steps when I heard my wife say, WE FOUND IT. Derrick Sr had received a signal. My wife Cheryl took out the pinpointer and stuck it into the tall grass , at the top of the slope. She moved some grass to the side and saw the Black DeMolay Ring. A true team effort and the entire search only took about 20 minutes
Derrick Jr was very very happy to get his ring back and his father says he will get a clear silicone ring sizer so this doesn’t happen again. Best of luck to Derrick Jr in his DeMolay endeavors.

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