Gold and Diamond Wedding Ring Lost In The Drakes Island Beach Sand, Found With A Metal Detector In Wells, Maine
๐จ ๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! ๐จ
“Hi there! I believe I lost my wedding ring on Drakes Island Beach today and heard about your services. Are you available?”
With that incoming 6:46 PM text, the clock instantly started ticking. A frantic search for a lost ring was officially underway! โฑ๏ธ๐๏ธ
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
Because it was now almost 7:00 PM and daylight would soon be a distant memory, I knew there wasnโt a single second to waste. Instead of typing out a reply, I immediately called the number back. When time is working against you and the dark is rolling in, calling the client directly will always expedite the process much faster.
When the call went through, I identified myself and “Molly” thanked me for getting back to her so quickly. Molly explained that she and a group of family and friends had spent the day at Drakes Island Beach in Wells, Maine. Once the group finally packed up, left the beach, and Molly arrived home, she looked down and noticed her wedding ring was missing.
๐ช ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
Molly explained she had taken her wedding ring off at the beach to apply lotion. Wanting to keep it safe, she had placed the ring into the cupholder of her beach chair.
We all know this story too well, don’t we? And we all know exactly what happened next. Molly forgot about the ring, picked up the chair, flipped it over to carry it, and walked off the beach! ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
๐บ๏ธ ๐๐๐ “๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐” ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
She was incredibly stressed, but I reassured her that if it was dropped right where they were sitting, there was a great chance we could track it down. I hung up, quickly loaded my gear into the vehicle, and prepared to head out. But first, I needed a plan to find the exact location on an empty beach in the dark.
I asked Molly if she would be able to meet me down there to point out the grid area. Unfortunately, she was already at an out-of-town event and couldn’t make it back. Thinking fast, I told her I would send over an aerial satellite view of the beach and have her mark up the rough area where they had set up. She agreed, and within minutes, I had my map marked with the target zone.
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐
Before heading out, I asked one more critical question: “What metal is the ring made of?”
“Gold, with diamonds,” she replied. Knowing it was a small woman’s ring meant it wasn’t going to be a massive, booming gold signal. It was going to be a delicate, low-to-mid conductor on the machine, meaning I would need to listen very closely to the faint, crisp tones to avoid missing it in the sand.
I told Molly that because of the heavy summer traffic, it usually takes me about 35 to 40 minutes to get down to Drakes Island Beach. I promised to leave immediately and told her that once I arrived, I would take a few photos of the beachfront house she had mentioned they were set up in front of to confirm we were looking at the right spot.
As any experienced detectorist knows, it is always best to have the client show you personally where they had set up. I have been on far too many searches where the client isn’t available, only to find out later that they sent me to the completely wrong section of the beach. Let’s be honestโin the dark, or even the daylight, beaches all look the same, right? ๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ
๐ฏ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
With the house description in mind, Molly’s marked-up map on my phone, and the knowledge that I was looking for a small, delicate gold ring, Cheryl and I hit the summer traffic and made our way down to Wells.
Once Cheryl and I arrived, dusk was settling in, but there were still a few lingering beachgoers enjoying the late evening air. I quickly scanned the coastline and spotted the house Molly had described. To ensure we didn’t waste a single swing on a false lead, I snapped a few photos of the property and sent them over to her. Molly replied almost instantly, confirming that it was, in fact, the exact house they had set up in front of.
With the location locked in, the correct beach zone verified, and the daylight almost entirely gone, it was time to turn on the machine and start the grid search for that small gold ring.
My game plan was to start at the southern end of my grid area and work my way north, parallel to the Atlantic Ocean. I would search the entire width of the house footprint and then head back south from where I had started. If I wasn’t able to locate the ring there, I would then expand outward.
โก ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!
On my first grid pass heading north, I found nothing but a few pieces of aluminum trash. I turned around and headed back south. Just a few steps into the return pass, a loud, clear, low tone rang through my headphones. As I swept my coil back over the target, I looked down and could actually see the outline of a small gold ring with stones sitting right there in the sand.
๐๐๐!!! I had found Molly’s wedding ring in under 60 seconds of actual search time! Molly had put me spot-on the exact location and it paid off ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐!!! ๐๐ฅ
I brushed off the sand, took a few photos of the beautiful ring, and texted them over to Molly to share the good news. She replied almost immediately: “Yes! Thatโs it. Thank you so much. Incredible โจโจโจ”
๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
I then asked Molly if we could meet up somewhere so I could safely return the ring to her. Because she was still stuck out of town at her event, she told me, “You can just leave it on the porch doormat.”
As a professional, that just didn’t sit right with me. I replied, “I really donโt want to leave it. My reputation is everything, and if by some chance it goes missing, I would just feel terrible. I can drive it back down to you tomorrow sometime if you like if youโd rather not have me come out to Kennebunkport, but Kennebunkport really is on my way home. Itโs not a problem.”
Molly texted back, “Are you sure? Weโre in a super safe neighborhood! You can totally just leave it at the doormat.”
Understanding my perspective, Molly then suggested an alternative option: leaving it with her friend Becca, who had been at the beach with them earlier in the day. Becca lived right on Drakes Island, meaning Molly would easily be able to pick her wedding ring up from her the next day.
Perfect. I received Becca’s address, and Cheryl and I drove it right over in the pitch-dark. Although I wasn’t able to meet Molly in person, Cheryl and I left Becca’s house smiling once again. ๐๐
A short while later, I received one final text from Molly that made the whole rush worth it:
“๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ .๐ป๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐!!! ๐พ๐๐ ๐ฐโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ”
We truly have the best job in the world, and we love what we do.
Remember, “๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐.” โค๏ธ
๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐? ๐๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐!
Beaches, yards, parks, or snowbanksโif you lose a ring, keys, or a priceless heirloom, time is of the essence. Like and Follow our page right now so our contact information is always at your fingertips whenever you or a loved one needs our services!
