#Wells Maine Metal Detector Rental And Service Tag | Page 2 of 2 | The Ring Finders

Gold Wedding Ring Lost In The Moody Beach, Wells, Maine Sand, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Sunday, August 10th, Cheryl a I were headed to Casco, Maine, to attend our Great Grandsons first birthday celebration. As we were driving on the Maine Turnpike, I received a phone call from, a caller who identified himself as Andy. Andy was staying in Moody Beach in the Wells, Maine area, on vacation with family and friends. The previous evening, he was walking on the beach, with his family and friends, heading to Moody Point, to watch the sunset. As the group were walking down the beach, Andy and his 13 year old son were tossing a football back and forth. At one point the had stopped to see who could throw the football the furthest. They spent some time in the area, just throwing the football. Once they continued to Moody Point, the group hung around the area, to see the sunset. Once the sun set, they walked back down the beach, to where they were staying. After getting inside, Andy realized his wedding ring was missing. Andy and his wife, Jennifer, grabbed a flashlight and walked the beach, in the dark,looking for the wedding ring. Unfortunately, they did not walk a straight path to Moody Point but were zigzagging, as they were tossing the football around. They just didn’t know when they zigged and when they zagged. The wedding ring could literally be anywhere, along a 1/2 stretch of the beach. WOW!!! What are the chances the wedding ring can be recovered, over a 1/2 stretch of beach, while the tide is halfway out? That is a very large area.

I told Andy that I would arrive at 5:00am, as the tide was going out, giving me more time to search the wet sand area. Andy’s wife had taken a photo of Andy, tossing the football with his son and it was in front of a house that he could remember where it was. The photo shows that Andy was still wearing his wedding ring, at that point. He also spent time, in front of the house, in a competitive long distance throwing match, with his son. This would be a great place to start searching as Andy made boundaries for me, within the area of the competition, with his son and we know the ring was still on his finger. As I searched, within the boundaries, I wasn’t finding anything but the usual beach trash and 13 cents. As I grid searched, towards the water, I came to the east boundary line, without finding the wedding ring. Andy and I had arrived at the beach, pre dawn, in the dark. Now a beautiful sunrise was unfolding, before our eyes, as we finished searching this area. Andy and I then headed to Moody Point, where the group could watch the sunset. Unfortunately, Andy didn’t walk there in a straight line and all I could do was search as we walked to the area where he had next stopped.
Once we arrived at Moody Point, Andy looked over the area and said the water wasn’t any higher than where we were standing and I could start searching at this point. I look at the rocks and seawall to the north. I would grid this area, up to the rocks, turn around and head back, to the south, where Andy had set a southern boundary line. On my first grid line, I found a fishing sinker and nothing else. I then reached the rocks, turned around and went to the south. Still no ring. Heading north again and once again, still no ring. Heading south again and approximately 1/2 way back to the southern boundary, I received an incredible signal, showing a 33 on my VDI screen and my depth meter was showing the ring 0 to 2 inches under the sand. I immediately stopped and told Andy to come on over, because “this one is different”. I couldn’t guarantee Andy that this was his wedding ring, but I was very confident it was gold. After 25 years of metal detecting, you know a good sounding gold target and this was that combination of tone and VDI number of 33. I then took my pinpointer and ran it over the sand, as Andy looked on. Once the target was located, I just used my fingers to remove the sand, on top of the target. As I removed the sand, THERE IT WAS, a White Gold Wedding Ring. I was stunned that we found the ring in such a large area. Andy was also very stunned but smiling from ear to ear. He took a photo of the ring and sent it to Jennifer. We then were talking about how lucky we were. Andy told me that he knew it was an extreme long shot but he just had to try and get his wedding ring back. Andy told me that he had recently celebrated his 20 Wedding Anniversary and this ring was 20 years of wonderful memories with his wife and family. I totally understood what he was saying. You at least give it a shot and try to recover it. Andy was still beaming all the way back to the house. As we walked back, I asked Andy how he had heard of me. He told me Jennifer had posted a story on the Facebook Page, Moody Beach Appreciation Association , asking for people to be on the lookout for the wedding ring. She then had people commenting, on her post, to contact me. Once Jennifer and Andy saw my many stories and photos of past recoveries, they called me with nothing to lose. Andy just had to do everything in his power, to try and get his 20 years of wonderful memories back.
So every ring has a story and this ring has 20 years of stories and now a new chapter has been added, to Andy’s very sentimental wedding ring. Here’s to another 20 loving happy years to Jennifer and Andy❤️🙏

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Tiffany “Smile” Bracelet And Pendant Lost In The Limington Maine Grass, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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On Friday August 8th, I received the following text message

“Hi Dennis, I am reaching out as I lost my gold bracelet in my lawn yesterday evening while playing with the dog. We searched last night with a flash light with no luck and was wondering if you would be able to come out and help? We live in Limington, so wasn’t sure if you come out this way. It is a thin rose goal bracelet with diamonds. I can send a picture. Our address is: *** Cape Road., Limington, Maine. This was a wedding gift so would love to try to get it back. Thank you!!”

I called and was able to talk with Carly. Carly told me that not only did she and her husband, Taylor, search last night, they also searched again this morning. They just can’t find the bracelet. Carly was worried that when he dog jumped on her, the bracelet may have been eaten, by the dog or became stuck on the dog and ended up in a totally different area. She explained that it was a very thin chain with just a very small pendant, in the shape of a smile and the smile contained small diamonds. Carly also told me the bracelet was a Tiffany & Co. Bracelet. I told Carly that I would be happy to help and explained a few concerns. Very thin gold bracelets and necklaces are extremely difficult to metal detect. There just isn’t a lot of gold on them and is one of the two most difficult gold pieces of jewelry to metal detect. The other one is gold stud earrings. These very low conductive, non ferrous, metals that will barely register on a metal detector. As an example, Sterling Silver will ring up in the 90’s, loud and clear. A Men’s Gold Ring will come in and show up, as a 20 into the 60’s, depending on the size and shape. Gold stud earrings and very thin chains will only register in the 01 to 03 range and just as a whisper. In order to metal detect these items, you must set up your detector properly, to find these items. You must have the proper technique also. You have to cover an area as slowly as you can. I do not walk through the area, swinging the coil. I take one step swing the coil, low and slow, take a half step, swing, low and slow, repeating this for the entire search. If you are walking through the area, swinging, you may not find it. You must also use the proper coil, as small as possible. I have 4 coils that I swap out, depending on the job. For this search, I went with my most sensitive and smallest coil, the 8” elliptical coil. We agreed that I would search, first thing in the morning, at 8:00am
Because I was not certain on how large of an area, would need to be searched, I enlisted the help of Gary Hill. Gary and I arrived promptly at 8:00am and were greeted by both Carly and Taylor. We were shown the area in which the dog had jumped on Carly and where she thought the Tiffany Bracelet would be, if the bracelet hadn’t ended up on the dog and moved to another area. Gary and I decided that we would split the area, in half. Gary would search the lawn area, closest to the road and he would work his way towards the house and I would start near the house, working my way towards the road. As I slowly walked towards the corner of the house, I received a few low conductor targets in the 12 to 15 range. Not low enough to be the Tiffany Bracelet and the depth, of the targets, were anywhere from 2 to 6 inches, in the ground, according to the depth gauge, on my Minelab Manticore. As Gary and I continued to search, I received the best target of the morning. A target reading 01 – 02 and exactly the reading I was looking for. I looked down and didn’t see the bracelet. I ran my fingers through the grass, hoping to snag the bracelet, but nothing was found. I told Taylor, who was very close to me, visually searching, for the target and he came over. As I was reaching for my pinpointer, Taylor started running his fingers through the grass and pushing the grass back. All of a sudden I hear him say, there it is and when I bent down, he showed me the Tiffany Bracelet , all balled up, deep in the grass. No wonder it wasn’t visually found, it was blending in with the grass and hidden by the grass, on top of that. Carly came running over and couldn’t be we had found it, thanking Gary and I. As Carly and Taylor looked at the bracelet, they could see one of the links had broken, when the dog jumped up on her. She and Taylor would be bringing the bracelet to a jeweler, to be repaired and it should be as good as new. Carly and Taylor thanked us again as were preparing to leave, telling up that they were amazed we found it and that they never would have found it, down deep in the grass like that. Gary and I thanked them for having the faith and trust, in us to find their sentimental piece of jewelry. When I asked Carly if the Tiffany Bracelet had been a gift or anything else special to it, she told me that she and Taylor had bought it together, the week they were married, a few years earlier. Thankfully we were able to find the Tiffany Bracelet and put the smiles back on their faces. Funny how finding a Tiffany “Smile” Bracelet put a smile on all of our faces. Who doesn’t love putting smiles on peoples faces ❤️🙏

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Titanium Wedding Ring Lost In The Wells Beach Maine Ocean Surf, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received the following voicemail, on Thursday August 7th, 2025.

Hi, This is Pat *******. I’m in Wells Beach, for the week. The tides going out, um, I was just in the water and I lost my wedding ring. My wife says she’s been following you and you’re really good at finding rings. So I was just wondering if you would be able to help with tips or tricks for us. Again, my name is Pat ******* and my phone number is 860-***-****, This is my wife’s, Michele’s phone. Thank you.

I immediately called Pat back and told him I would get there asap. Low tide was at 4:23pm and it was now 1:35pm. This means that Pat lost his wedding ring at approximately midway, between high and low tide. If I could get to Wells Beach by 2:30pm, I would have two sold hours of searching the wet sand, as I followed the tide out.
Cheryl and I got the equipment loaded and headed to Wells, Maine. We actually made good time, as we missed the heavy summertime traffic. We arrived at 2:15pm and were on the Beach with Pat by 2:25pm. Pat showed me the area he had been in, when he lost his ring. He also told me his wedding ring was made out of Titanium. Less than a week earlier, I had found a Titanium Wedding Ring, for a client, on Drake’s Island , Wells Maine. I made a southern and northern boundary and started grid searching from south to north, then north to south and repeated this pattern as I made my way towards the water. I was finding a few coins and pieces of aluminum but not the Titanium Wedding Ring. At one point, a young woman approached me and Pat. She told me that her husband had just lost his wedding ring, out in the water, earlier in the day. Pat explained his circumstances and she understood I was already searching for Pats ring. I gave her my business card and told her if I find Pat’s ring quickly, I would come over and help her and her husband. Unfortunately there was only a little over an hour left, before the tide shifted and would start coming back in. If I couldn’t search for her today, I told her to call me and I would come back tomorrow. She agreed and thanked me and I resumed the search for the wedding ring.
I had covered quite a large area and it was now only a half hour before low tide. Pat and I wondered if the ring could have made it this far down the slope of the beach. I was quite a bit further out, from where Pat thought he was, when the ring disappeared, in the surf. Perhaps because Titanium is a light metal, the ring got pulled out, with the surf. The Titanium Wedding Ring I found less than a week earlier had done exactly that. I found the ring, 60-80 feet further out towards the water, than where it was lost. Was history repeating itself? So, with just a half hour left before the tide turned, I jumped over about 20’ or so and headed into the shallow surf. This would allow me to stay ahead of the incoming tide, by now working my way towards shore, opposite of what I had been doing. After about 10 minutes, I was out of the water and just the waves would run up and over my feet. As one of the waves swept over my ankles and feet, I received a very loud signal. The best sounding signal of the day. As the water rushed back out to sea, I looked down to where the signal had been detected. The water was now past my feet and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I could actually see the top of the ring. It wasn’t even totally under the sand. I raised my arm and made a celebratory fist, pumping it up and down. UNBELIEVABLE. This is the first time in my 25 years of metal detecting that I could visually see a ring, that was lost hours ago, in the water. I was and still am completely at a loss of words at this sight. Since the waves were coming back over my feet again, I immediately stepped on the ring, so it wouldn’t move. I saw Pat running down the sloping beach towards me, as was Cheryl. When Pat arrived I told him I had found the ring and that I could visually see it. I then lifted my foot, Pat saw the ring and quickly grabbed it. It’s just the craziest thing. Pat’s wife, Michele, had gone up the house, so Pat called her with the good news. Cheryl and Michele had been sitting and watching me for two hours and Michele really wanted to be there when I found the ring, because she follows me and loves reading my stories. Now, unfortunately, she has missed the recovery. But, because of her following me, Pat now has his wedding ring back and that is the important thing. Pat and Michele were extremely happy to have his wedding ring back. Michele told us that she and Pat would be celebrating their third anniversary, in October. Even bigger news, is that the happy couple are expecting their first child, in December and they are very happy and excited about this. Thankfully Pat has his wedding ring back in time for his anniversary and the birth of their child. Smiles were on all our faces and Cheryl and I are just so happy to have been able to help them, in our own way😀❤️🙏

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Extremely Sentimental Gold Wedding Ring Lost In The Ogunquit Maine Sand, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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After finding and returning a lost necklace, with two pendants, in Ogunquit, Maine, Cheryl and I returned home. It wasn’t a half hour after returning home, when I received the following message, that also included three photos,

“I lost a gold knot ring on Ogunquit Beach yesterday. It is inscribed inside with 4/13/1975. Here are pics where we were sitting.”
I immediately replied,

“Hi Kristine, I am so sorry to hear this.
“I literally just returned from Ogunquit, Maine. I found a lost necklace and pendants, for a young lady.
Were you in the water or dry sand? I can’t tell where this is, from the photos. I have only been down near the Norseman Resort. Is this near the Norseman Resort?
Kristine replied,

“Hello. The ramp going down to the beach from parking lot just before the handicap spaces. We were in the left of the ramp a few feet in front of the rocks. It was the dry sand. In the pic with the women in white looking at the sand was where we were located We were far right if the Norseman off the parking lot. Is this enough info? If you plan on going back I can meet you there. I am here another night but will be going back to Mass sometime tomorrow
Kris”

I then sent Kristine a photo and I circled two ramps and asked her to identify which ramp is the one she was at. She replied that it was the one I had circled in red. I asked her if she could meet me there and that I would leave right now. Kristine said she would meet me there. Now when a ring is missing, in a public space, time is of the essence. Especially in the dry sand on beaches. The area Kristine had been in is very heavily metal detected and I was praying no one had found it yesterday, or this morning. Any beach goer could also have found it already, also. I needed to get there, asap. I also asked Kristine if she saw or felt the ring coming off. Her reply

“I think it was when I took it off to put lotion on and then place it in a pouch. The odd thing was I also had 2 other rings that I took off and they made it into the pouch. I did not feel it fall. Yes been praying to St Anthony 🙏?”

As I arrived back, to Ogunquit Maine, I called Kristine and told her I had just arrived, she told me that she was stuck in traffic and was still 10 minutes out. I told Kristine that I would start searching, without her and if I was in the wrong location, she could let me know, when she arrived. Cheryl and I immediately went down the ramp and the area was still packed with people. There was an area no one was in and it looked just like the photo, that Kristine had sent me. As I was getting my detector ready, I explained to the people, in the area, that I was searching for a very sentimental lost ring. Everyone was very understanding and asked if I needed them to move. I told them they didn’t need to move just yet, as I would search the area, no one was in. If I was unable to find the ring, I would have Kristine show me the exact area, once she arrived in approximately 10 minutes. As I started my search, I found a dime, on the first grid line. I took a half step towards the parking lot, I started my grid line search. About 3 steps in, I heard a very loud target, through the headphones. I took my pinpointer out of my pouch and located the target. As I brushed the sand away m I saw a Big Gold Ring, with a knot design on it. I couldn’t believe I just found Kristine’s ring as everyone in the area started clapping and cheering for me. Unbelievable. The only area I could search and I had the ring, before Kristine had even arrived. I asked everyone not to say anything to Kristine when she arrived because I wanted to surprise her. They all agreed.
Kristine arrived a few moments later and I asked her if I was in the right area. When Kristine turned around, to survey the area, I pulled the ring out and held it up. When Kristine turned around she saw the ring and her hand went to her heart and I could see her eyes getting watery. Applause broke out from the surrounding people and smiles were everywhere. Kristine explained that her husband had passed away 7 years earlier and that she had taken her wedding ring, her husband’s wedding ring and had them melted together. The jeweler then designed the Knot Ring, with their wedding date engraved, on the inside of the ring, 4-13-75. This meant that they would be entwined for eternity. Now Cheryl, myself and others around us were getting teary eyed. Kristine’s friend told us that Kristine was just sick to her stomach about losing this ring and had not slept much, the night before. Kristine even talked to her husband, through prayer and told him she was sorry to have lost their wedding rings. Wow, What a story and I am so happy to have been able to find this extremely sentimental ring. As I always say, every ring has a story and now I am part of the story. I could not be happier or more proud, to have been able to be there for Kristine. 😀❤️🙏

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Platinum Wedding Ring Lost In The Drakes Island, Wells Beach, Maine Surf, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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Cheryl and I arrived home, from a successful recovery and return, in Eliot, Maineat approximately 11:00am. At just prior to 1:00pm, I received a call from Megan. Megan told me that earlier that morning, at around 9:30am, her husband Craig had been throwing a football around, with their son. They were in the water, on Drakes Island, Maine, in Wells, Maine, when on one of Craig’s throws, he saw his Platinum Wedding Ring come flying off and land in the surf. After searching for the ring, in the water, they gave up. Megan told me that they were on vacation at Drake’s Island and live in Connecticut. She had placed a Facebook post about the lost ring and asked that anyone who found it, to please contact her. Once the post went live, Megan said that many of the comments said to contact The Ring Finders of Maine. Megan and Craig had never heard of me, so they investigated my Facebook Page and saw all the successful recoveries. That is when they decided to call me and give it a shot.

I told Megan that I could go down, asap but was a little concerned about the correct area to search. I texted her a photo, of Drake’s Island Beach and broke the beach up into 4 sections. I asked her which section the ring was lost in. She replied section 3. I told her I was on my way and if someone could meet me there to pinpoint the location. She told me they weren’t there at the moment, but Craig would meet me there, as soon as as he could get there. Perfect!!! Once I arrived at 1:40pm, I took a few photos and texted them the location I was at. At this point, Craig called me and told me It looked good and that he was just to the left, of the Lifeguard stand and his son was to the right of the stand, while throwing the football. He thinks the ring would be to the right of the stand and may be in the rocks, but more likely just outside the rocks, going towards the water. Craig also told me that he was on his way to Drakes Island but was coming from Freeport, Maine, where he was visiting family. There was also an accident on the Maine Turnpike, slowing traffic down and he didn’t expect to arrive at Drake’s Island, for at least a half hour. No problem. I would start the grid search a little further out from where he thinks the ring would be. I would grid horizontally,to the water and shore, work towards the shore. The length of the search was approximately 75’ long as I worked the grid line, I was only finding mostly trash targets. After approximately a half hour of searching, I turned to start a new grid line, towards the north. After a few steps, I received the low tone that I was looking for and the VDI screen was reading, 17-18. Definitely in the Platinum range, as my own Platinum Ring will come in at a 19-20. I took one scoop of sand and threw it up on the hard packed. I then used my pinpointer to locate the target, by scraping the sand away, until I saw a silver colored ring. I cleaned the ring off and saw “Plat” on the inside of the band. Definitely Platinum, but I saw an inscription on the inside of the band also. No one had mentioned an inscription. I then sent a photo to Craig, of the ring on top of my sand scoop
“Think I have it. What is the inscription?”
Craig replied, “Looks right. The inscription is 05-10-08”
I replied, “Congratulations. That is it. Plat 5-10-08”
Craig replied with a thumbs up 👍 and told me he was still 10 minutes out and he would meet me at the house. I walked back up to his vacation rental and waited a few minutes for Craig to arrive. Once I showed him the ring, he was amazed I had found it and so fast. He was also very happy, smiling and thankful as he shook my hand. Thankfully I was able to locate the ring, as not all rings, lost in the ocean are recovered. A few things in his favor were that he lost it closer to high tide, than low tide. When you lose a ring, in the water at low tide, those are difficult recoveries. You now have less time to search, because the water will be coming back in, covering the area, in deeper water. Craig also gave perfect directions as to where he thought his ring would be and he nailed it on the head. I have had multiple searches, where I was given the wrong location to search. Those don’t usually end well. But, this did end well and I was so happy, to have been able to help Craig recover his lost wedding ring. There is no better feeling, than to return a lost item, unless you return two lost items, in the same day, which I just did. Two smiles 😁😁, on the same day is an incredible day and I won’t forget it, any time soon. ❤️🙏

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Engagement Ring Lost In The Old Orchard Beach, Maine Sand, Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received the following text, from Amanda, at 4:16pm, on Monday, July 14, 2025

“Hi Dennis, Unfortunately I lost my engagement ring on Old Orchard Beach Maine just outside of On The Beach Motel. I was wondering if you would be able to help? Thanks, Amanda”

I didn’t bother to text Amanda back, I immediately called her to get more details and information of what had happened. As it turns out, Amanda lost her Engagement Ring, the way a lot of people lose their rings, at the beach. Amanda had taken her Engagement Ring off, to apply sunscreen to herself and her children. Amanda had placed the engagement ring, on top of her beach bag and forgot about it. Amanda and her family were enjoying a beautiful beach day and when it was time to leave, her husband picked the bag up and they returned to their room, at the oceanfront motel they were staying at, called “On The Beach Motel”, located at 61 W Grand Ave., Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Once back in the room, at “On The Beach Motel”, Amanda remembered the engagement ring. Stephen searched through her beach bag and the room. She retraced her steps, back to their location, on the beach. She scoured the soft sand, where they had been set up for the day. No engagement ring was found. She went to “On The Beach Motel’s” office, to see if anyone had turned the ring in. No one had turned it in. The ring has now been lost for 2 hours and this is when Amanda contacted me. Once I had all the details, I told Amanda that I would leave instantly and be there in approximately 20 minutes. I just needed to change into my beach detecting attire and get my equipment, off the charger and into the vehicle. Amanda told me that when I arrive m she would meet me, on the beach, approximately 100’ to the right, of the “On The Beach Motel’s” beach access path.
When I arrived at the beach, I could see a woman standing out on the beach, looking down at the sand, in the area that Amanda said she would meet me. As I reached her she introduced herself and showed me the area she thought the ring would be in. I took a White Gold test ring and threw it into the sand. The ring quickly disappeared out of sight, into the very fine soft sand. Once I located the gold ring, I told Amanda that that would be the sound/tone that I would be listening for. I then showed her I would pinpoint the location, with my pinpointer. This always seems to reassure my clients that if the ring is there, they will also hear what I hear. They also seem comforted, knowing my detector and I know what we are doing.
I told Amanda that I would start my grid search, at the top of the banking, leading down the the water. This is also called “The Towel Line” to us metal detectorists because it is the first area people place their towels, when they arrive at the beach. It is the most sought after location, on the beach and this is where Amanda and her family had set up for the day. So, I started at the towel line and headed south, parallel to the water. I received a few very nice low tone signals and they both turned out to be just foil peel offs, from juice containers. Once I reached approximately 30’ or so, I stopped and turned around, heading back towards where I started, but not until I took a 1/2 step to my left. As I was heading north, on my new grid line, I received another very low tone and it was a VDI reading of 09 to 10. Definitely in the small gold ring range but also the dreadful foil targets. I felt confident on this one though. Just sounds a little better than foil. I took my pinpointer and located the target. I started carefully removing the sand m from atop the target. As I had removed 2 or 3 inches of sand, a White Gold Ring with Diamonds appeared, before me. I picked it up and showed Amanda and she very loudly stated, “That’s it, that’s my ring”. After a congratulatory fist bump, I handed Amanda the ring and also got a nice hug and a very big smile, from her. She was smiling ear to ear. From the time of her text to me, to me driving down to Old Orchard and me finding the ring, a total of just 34 minutes had past. Not to bad.
It is such a beautiful thing to see all the people go from down, despondent,anxious, etc., to smiling, hugging, laughing and just feeling great. I also feel great that I get to see and experience this quite often. There is no better feeling or job in the world.
As a side note I would like to address the importance of getting The Ring Finders of Maine to your location, asap. The area where the ring was lost in, “The Towel Line” is an area that many, many metal detectorist’s first go to, in the evening, after the beach goers, leave for the day. If Amanda hadn’t called me asap, the engagement may have been found by someone else and who knows if she would have ever gotten it back.
“The Towel Line” is also in the path of the “Beach Cleaning Machine”. If the ring was still there, in the morning, the “Beach Cleaning Machine” would definitely have gotten the ring and the ring would be gone forever. Time is of the essence, when you lose something, in a public space, like the beach or a park. Get us there asap by calling us as soon as you realize your item is missing. Don’t chance it by waiting to call because it may be to late to recover your item ❤️🙏

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Limited Edition Watch Lost In The Wells Beach, Maine Sand,Found With A Metal Detector

  • from Old Orchard Beach (Maine, United States)
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I received the following message, from Mike at 11:00pm, last night. I didn’t see the message, until this morning, when I promptly replied, at 5:43am.

“I recently lost a watch on Wells Beach is this something you guys might be able to find?

Somewhere in the red circle the blue is the beach entrance.”

Mike also sent me  a photo, of the area, he thinks he lost the watch in.

My reply to Mike.

“Good Morning Mike, I am so sorry to hear this. I can certainly attempt to find the watch and have found watches, in the past. A few questions first, if you wouldn’t mind.            

1)   How long ago was the watch lost?

2)  This area that the watch was lost in, did you see or feel the watch come off in this area? Just trying to figure out why you think this is the area, the watch was lost in.                                                       

3)   Does the watch have a metal band or other material? What king of watch, Apple, etc.?                                                                                                                                                     

       “Thank you, Dennis”

Mike immediately replied along with a photo of the watch!

“Hey! Thanks for responding Sunday afternoon i lost it, and no I didn’t feel it come off I was with my 2 kids messing around in the sand wrestling around and we took a photo after we started walking off the beach and it wasn’t in the photo. I have a wrist band on the same wrist and had a long sleeve on so must not have felt it. And yes it’s all metal heavy watch Oceaneva is the brand it’s all black. I’ve searched everywhere but the beach dude, to me not living near by there”

My reply to Mike

“Ok, A few concerns. 1) My 25 years experience is that unlike a ring, watches do not immediately disappear under the sand. They usually fall on top of the sand and are visible, until someone steps on it, the wind blows sand over the top, etc.. 2) I am not familiar with the cleaning schedule, of the beach, in Wells. I have been told that Wells Beach has a dedicated beach cleaning machine. Not positive but  it’s likely that tractor-towed sand cleaning machines or smaller, self-propelled machines are used, along with manual cleanups by volunteers. With Memorial Day weekend this weekend, I would assume the beaches are being cleaned, before the rain starts tomorrow. Do you know if the beach cleaning machines have been out yet?

If you are interested, I can certainly search for it this afternoon or very early in the morning, around 7:00am. I am already booked this morning and not sure how long it will take me.. I may even be able to get another detectorist to go with me, to cover a larger area, quicker. I do not charge for my time or service but do require a $25.00 Transportation Fee to Wells Beach and that includes my buddy, at no extra charge, as he will ride with me. The Transportation Fee is to cover my Gas, Tolls, Wear and Tear, etc.. Let me know if this is acceptable and I will get on it today or tomorrow morning.”

As I started to think of the situation, I just knew I had to get to Wells Beach, right now, this morning. So I contacted my client, in Cape Elizabeth and explained the Emergency situation, concerning a missing watch, in a public place, where a beach cleaning machine, could sweep it up and be gone forever. My client was in complete agreement and we rescheduled the search for her property marker, until tomorrow morning, early, before 2-3 days of rain arrive.

I then contacted Gary Hill, to see if he was available to help me search, the fairly large area. Gary was available and on board with helping me. My estimate was a 3-4 hour search, by myself and Gary would help me cut that time in half, by helping me.

So Gary and I set out to Weels Beach, to search for the watch, which had been lost, three days earlier. Once we arrived, the parking situation was very dire. Atlantic Ave is a “No Parking, Either Side of the Street” area. Understandable as the area is extremely busy in the summer and the Avenue is not very wide. The beach entrance, we needed to use, to access the beach, is almost directly across from Seaside Cottages, a summertime favorite of vacationers, visiting the area. I went to the office and met Pauls, the owner and explained the situation and Paula recognized me and enthusiastically, without hesitation, agreed to  let me park, on her property. A BIG SHOUTOUT TO PAULA. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Gary and I then got our gear and headed the the beach. We decided to grid search the area, horizontally to the water. Gary would start up near the beach entrance and I would start down at the high tide mark, in the wet sand. We also decided to expand the search, to the north and the south, by approximately 25-30 feet, just in case the watch was lost, outside of where Mike thought it would be. Back and forth we went, finishing a grid line and then taking a 1/2 step over, turning around and heading back to the area, we had started. The 1/2 step over would also let us overlap our swings, making sure we don’t miss any areas. Neither one of use were finding much of anything at all, a penny, a few pull tabs and some small pieces of foil. After 40 minutes,  I sent a message to Mike , telling him we weren’t having any luck, locating the keys The beach seemed to be too clean and I started to worry the beach cleaning machine may have already gone through. Truthfully, I am not even sure Wells Beach has a beach cleaning machine but assumed so, because other major beaches, in the area, do have them. As time passed Gary and I were getting closer and closer to echoer and the real estate between us was shrinking. Time was running out when I finally heard a strong signal, to my right. I swung my coil back to the area, looked down and could see something black, partially covered in sand. The Watch? Keys? As I took a couple steps over and looked down, I could tell it was a Black Watch. I had found Mike’s watch. I took a few photos of the watch, as I found it and the picked the watch up and yelled over to Gary, “ARE YOU READY TO GO HOME”.? Gary smiled and laughed and came right over.

As we are standing there, I get a message from Mike,

“Ok, maybe someone picked it up already.”

Mike’s message was perfect timing and I replied to Mike

“NOPE! I just found it”

Mike replied

“Nooooo Wayyy. Oh my God. You guys are the best. That’s so crazy

I’ll leave work right now and meet you guys somewhere.

I honestly can’t thank you guys enough.”

We then made plans to stay put and Mike would meet us at the location, we had found the watch. Because he works at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in Kittery, he told us he would be there at 12:25pm, approximately 30 minutes later. Gary and I then went and thanked Paula again, for letting us park, on her property, while we searched. Paula was also amazed we ad found the watch and extremely happy, for Mike.

Mike arrived as planned and was extremely happy and in disbelief, the watch had been found. Mike explains to Gary and I the significance of the watch. The watch was a numbered watch. Only 1,000 were made and he had #58/1000. The watch is also a diving watch, filled with helium and able to withstand the pressure, up  to 9,900 feet down, not that he would.The watch was also presented to him, by a family friend, a former Navy Seal. WOW!!! This watch has so much sentimental value to Mike. So much, that he immediately left work, to come and get the wash, right then and there.

It looks like the pin, holding the watchband together, had broken and that is probably why it fell off. This most likely happened as he and his two boys, as they were wrestling and running around the beach. Mike said he has spare parts, for the watch at home and would try to fix it himself, after a thorough cleaning.

It was a pleasure and honor to find and return Mike’s very precious and sentimental watch. To see his beaming smile, when he received the watch back, is so rewarding for Gary and I. Now, Mike can sleep easier tonight, knowing his watch is home, where it belongs.

 

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