Yarmouth Tag | The Ring Finders

My Last Recovery For About A Month, Sea Gull Beach, Cape Cod, MA

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July 8, 2026

I was prepped for a month without detecting for a lost item. My bag was packed for the trip to the hospital and with a cup of coffee, and the 6:30 news about over and I was relaxed. Not to be, the phone rang and a distressed caller told me how he and a few friends from his wedding party, just 22 hours before he was left on the beach to FIND HIS RING. As you can guess his wife was not too pleased with her husband. Now I am only theorizing on just how that might have gone.

I remembered the one time I “lost” my ring. I did not tell my wife as I was sure I left it in my tool box at work. With “helpful” suggestions such as “just buy one on the way home, your wife will never know. Well 11AM I could not anguish over it any more, I called home to “find out” if anything was found around the house…silence…did you loose something like a wedding band. 59 years married and we still can laugh over that.

I told Mark of another Ring Findger that probably could come from the end of the Cape to help him out of his situation. And I hung up. the phone. When I went to put the scratch paper away it hit me, Sea Gull beach was only 5 minutes from my house. I immediately called Mark back and said I would be there in 5 minutes.

Well seven minutes and I was at the beach, drew a 5X5 foot square area in the sand. The area looked more like the crators on the moon. Yes, the wedding party had the right idea, the right location but not the correct equipment. All their searching only cause the ring to sink down into the sand by a good 8 inches. One minute later and I was headed home and told my wife not to let me go out again, until I healed and got the OK from my doctor, hopefully on July 20th.

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South Yarmouth Ring Returned By Rick Browne, Smuggler’s Beach

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July 8, 2026

This was to be my last search until I healed from a pending surgery. I sounded like a leisure walk in the sand. Finding a parking space in the hotel’s narrow parking lot was my first challenge then the door to the beach without shutting a door on the detector shaft or scoop. Now knowing the location of the beach a quick tip toe around other hotel stayer. Yes, the last obstacle behind me, a puzzled guest asks if I was looking for the women that had lost a ring. Of course, with that said, Kelley stood and waved.

After a few questions determined the best possible area. Six feet later one shallow scoop and the ring was on its way back to Kelley’s finger. A few pictures and a bit of information for the posting and I was on my way back home to rest up for tomorrow’s ordeal.

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Unusual Engagement Ring Lost In Hyannis, MA, Found and Returned By Rick Browne

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July 5, 2026

Fourth of July was over, but not the need for some help in finding an heirloom stone in a personally designed engagement ring. Ken put it in words that I could not match, so please read on.

“My wife Annie’s engagement ring was lost after we went in the ocean to throw a football around after the extremely hot Fourth of July fun run in Hyannis Port. We only noticed a few hours later, and Annie was distraught.
Other background information: I proposed to Annie with the ring on a beach in southern England four years ago, and we got married three years ago in Hyannis Port. We live in London, but come to the Cape every year. 
It’s not your usual engagement ring – the sapphire stone was from Annie’s mom’s engagement ring, and it was passed onto me. We then designed the ring together in London, adding two diamonds alongside.”

My drive down a one lane road and wedging into a parking space were challenging. Annie, Ken and Margie met me, showed me to their private beach with two lines drawn on the sandy slope and told me the particulars of the loss. I then drew my markers about one quarter of the distance in from each of the original marks. And started a perpendicular pattern.

I heard a very deep signal and having been told of a class ring, lost about 20 years ago, I had to dig it. It was neither of the ring but rather a melted aluminum can. I kept on detecting and by the sound of the next signal in my headphone I knew I had a ring, Yes, a ring but one that I have never seen the likes of for an engagement ring. I had to go to Ken and ask if it was the engagement ring. Silly me for not asking what it looked like in the first place, before starting to search. I’ll have to remember that for future searches. Yes, it was the ring. I am so pleased I could live up to Ken’s expectations of performance.


 Rick, again thank you so much. 
We cannot express our gratitude enough. 

We found your details on The Ring Finders, and could not believe our luck that a shallow water specialist for Cape Cod was based so close by. Annie’s best friend Margie contacted you, although we were sorry to disturb you on July 4th. 

Once we read your blogs, we knew we were in the best possible hands for having any chance of finding it. 

We are so thankful. 

Kenneth and Annie

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Cape Cod, Yarmouth, MA Ring Finder Found Lost Cartier Love Bracelet and Returns it

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July 3, 2026

The 4th was nearing, the temperatures, both air and water, were on the rise as were the crowds on Cape Cod beaches. I was taking an Ice Tea break from chores that needed doing around the house when the phone rang. The caller, Megan, told me of a lost, very sentimental, bracelet in waist deep water and the tide was coming in. I had no choice but to go immediately and I did.

I arrived at the beach and was told of 14 coins dropped around the area where the loss occurred. I did not waste much time in the usual chat before I begin searching. I had the area pointed out, and the coins to help me zero in on the exact area to search. Over an hour of searching and I started having doubt in my detector and the area I been shown as I had not found a single coin. It had to be a faulting detector. I made a quick dash back to the car for my back-up detector. Another half hour and still no coin, the tide had crested and now was on its way out. The family crowd nearing twenty began packing up and heading home for dinner.

I was determined to find the coins dropped and the bracelet. I had been shown a matching bracelet and I knew the coins were quarters. How could I be missing that many targets? It had to be the area was further off shore than I had been told. Just before Megan left I found a quarter. I now had to stay for the tide to recede and I did. Another half hour and I had half the coins, Thinking I had located another I took a scoop and there it was the gold Cartier Love Brace and a quarter so I thought. A quarter, yes, but no bracelet. How could it have gotten out of the scoop, was I imagining seeing the bracelet? After 4 hours of getting beat by the waves my mind probably was playing a trick on me. I took another scan of the area at my feet there was another target and there it was the bracelet, but only a half a golden circle. Had I broken it in half while scooping for the target? How was I going to tell Megan? Where was the other half?

While I was continuing my search, now in chin deep water, a mother and two young children returned to the beach bringing me a Thank You note and a box of sweets for my efforts. But I was not going to leave the target area I was in until I had the other balf of the bracelet and it paid off. Two more quarters and the other half of the bracelet was retrieved and safely resting in my goody pouch. Persistence and a lower tide was all it took to almost complete the story. But first a few details of the bracelets history that Megan sent to me. Read on and you will learn why I am so persistent and one of the World Wide Group TheRingFinders.com.

Rick!

We cannot thank you enough!!!!

Added for the Cartier Love Bracelet Story: My dad passed away 6 years ago and the last piece of jewelry he bought my mom (Karen) and me were matching Cartier Love bracelets …while playing in the ocean with her grand kids one of her grandsons pointed out that he saw her bracelet fall off the side of the float they were on- all family members immediately got in the water to help her look but had no luck- I found your information online and called after about an hour … and well you know the rest!!

Good Luck with tomorrow’s engagement ring search!

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Cape Cod – Yarmouth, MA Lost Ring, Found and Returned

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July 1, 2026

Well summer and a heat wave have arrived in time for the 4th of July festivities. Getting a head start, Kevin was testing the water, which was still a bit on the cool side, when his white gold wedding band slipped off his finger to land on the sandy bottom of his condo’s lake. He saw the ring resting and did a shallow dive to retrieve the ring only to have it slip through his fingers and vanish into the sand.

After several tries to re-locate his ring failed he gave up the search. A couple of days later a search on the internet for someone that could help him find his ring. To his credit he chose “TheRingFinders.com” to help in his search. Navigating the home page to the country, state and person he chose to reach out to me.

His call came in as I was heading to a doctor’s appointment, but I would be available around 5pm. I arrived about 4:30, had a brief discussion on where the ring was lost. Then it was out to chest deep water in an area about one quarter of the swimming area. I started covering the area in a grid pattern and after a few passes Kevin said he thought he might have been several yards from his initial recollection. So I move to the new area. And several more minutes of searching I was shown to still another area.

About 10 more minutes passed with only two coins, a fishing weight and two pull tabs in my pouch I started a grid pattern that encompassed all three areas. Another 10 minutes of my detector not giving me a signal to stop and dig, I heard the familiar sound I was listening for, a sharp, repeatable signal and a steady numeric ID number on the detector screen. A single scoop a quick shake to remove the sand from by scoop and I saw the white gold ring. My searching had been completed in about an hour.

All that was left was to take a few pictures, tell a few stories of other returns I have made and I was homeward bound, just in time for dinner.

I will end this story with one tip to those that have read this far and find themselves in a similar predicament as Kevin had been in. And that is to stay in the spot the loss happened, have someone bring you a few coins and drop them in the area your lost item should be. Then call for one of “TheRingFinders” to come and help retrieve your item.

Until then … have a HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

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Dennis Port, MA Lost Ring Found and Returned

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September 11, 2025:
On August 18th Joey and his two little “ducklings” were frolicking around the waters edge when what so often happens, a wedding ring slipped off a finger into the shallow water of Nantucket Sound. Joey, the ducklings and other family members searched for the next two days before heir vacation time came to an end and they had to leave, abandoning their search and the ring in the sand. 3 weeks later Tana, Joey’s mother, came to the Cape for a visit. Over the next two weeks she, other family members and friends continued to search the area in hopes of reuniting the ring with its owner. That was not to be.

Joey’s mother, still had a few extra days before having to leave the Cape. During the time she and several of her friends brought up the subject of the missing ring and one friend offered up the information of TheRingFinders.com. As other suggestions had failed, Tana reached out to me for help.

I was a bit stressed out about my situation of buying and selling a house, and would have to fit in time for a recovery search. A look at the tide chart and I could fit a couple of hours in at 7AM the next morning. All was set until my Realtor and I finished up our afternoon commitments and I could make a search just before the evening tide. It was possible for Tana to meet me a the beach and I was on the way.

With my detector and scoop in hand, Tana and I walked to the area that the ring was lost at. The most likely area of the loss was pointed out to me: lifeguard chair, either side about 10 feet and straight down, into the water and out to no more than knee deep. An hour of searching and not one good signal, Then a solid signal from my detector that did not sound like a gold ring should but I had to dig it anyway. As I thought, it was not a ring but a toy truck. By this time I had widen the area I was searching. The sun had set and in the dark it was difficult to keep a tight grid pattern. It was time to call it quits until the morning’s tide.

Just before leaving the water’s edge I took one more look at the pictures Tana had shown me. There was one picture that showed nice flat sandy area with the two “ducklings” playing on it. I looked to the west into an area I had not searched yet and saw the exact same conditions, it was a bit further west than I had been told where the ring was lost. “One more pass” I told Tana, took two steps and got a signal. “Tana, your son’s ring is right there“… with nothing but wet sand for Tana to look at, I took one scoop of sand turned it over on the dryer sand. A after a couple of passing of Tana’s hand through the mound of sand, it came into view, yes, there was her son’s ring.

Pictures, information and a few metal detecting stories passed away a few more minutes before we parted with a promise to exchange the photos we had taken. One was for me to learn how to turn on my camera’s flash function. And another to have Joey leave his ring in a safe place in the

future when he visits the beach. Unfortunately it would still be a few days before the ring will be returned to Joey. I hope to meet Joey on his next trip to the shores of Cape Cod to get a photo of him with a smile and holding his ring.

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Permission to Help Find and Return a Ring on NSS, Cape Cod, MA

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August 12. 2025 A beautiful day a the beach was coming to its end and Matt had the urge to get a few more splashes in the rough waves before the sun set. But as it happens more than one can imagine he was hit by a wave and in that moment his wedding band slipped off his finger onto the wet sand. There was nothing Matt could do but watch it get swept away by the receding wave. The next morning he reached out to me for help. My first thought was that of it being on Federal Property, on which metal detecting is illegal. But, it may be possible to get special case by case permission to search one small area for a specific amount of time for a specific object. Or at times a Park Ranger may do the search themselves. The only other determining factor for me to go for the search would be the surf action, it can be so rough it could be life threatening.

All that being said, Matt wanted to get his ring back to his finger. He started the “Try to get the right person to give permission” which proved no easy task. First a phone call, no success. Second in-person visit to the NSS Visitor’s Center, again no success. Back to the phone, this time to a emergency number he found on the internet site. The dispatcher said she would have someone call him back. Success. Permission was granted for a “TheRingFinder” to search in the area he lost the ring during the one evenings low tide time and that the Rangers on duty would be informed of the situation. It was a go for me.

I had been on another such search about a month ago. I did not find the ring and was beat up by waves, that for a detectorist concentrating on the searching endeavor, could rip him off his feet. If it happened, his scoop could be ripped from his hands and lost into the surf. Likewise a detector may be lost. I know my limits, the dangers and to give up when the object is not worth tempting such dangers.

This search started with only short boots and a detector that had better trash rejecting tuning capabilities. That did not go well as I thought it might. But I had to go with the best equipment for the given search area. So, when I got to the water line with only two iffy targets, I went back to the car and got ready to detect in the water as far as I felt safe. That also did not go as I thought it would and as the sun was setting I was going call it a bust but I would make one last pass. In the surf wash of only 2 inches the only good signal hit my ears. One shallow scoop, a quick rinse and there it was, Matt’s wedding band. As I walked to Matt, I told him I though he was the luckiest son-of-a-mother and that’s a lot of sons to be luckier than. His reaction was such that I knew I was the lucky one to have retrieve and returned such a sentimental ring and return it. You now know why I enjoy my metal detecting hobby so much: Memory making emotions top the list.

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Craigville, MA Beach Club Gives Up Lost Ring to Richard Browne

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August 10, 2025 It started two days ago while Brian and his friends were frolicking in waist deep water when King Neptune admired and help Brian’s wedding band slip off his finger. All the searching was unable to find the well hidden ring for two days. Eleanor the local Metal Detector dealer would not rent the men a water detector as she well knows one is not the easiest instrument to get the desired results. She strongly suggested that Brian call a member of TheRingFinders. Brian did but I was already out searching for an-other’s ring. When I got back to my phone I called and made arrangements to meet up at 6:30AM the next morning.

I was ready to go and waited the next fine minutes for Brian and his friends to show me just were the ring had been lost. It is always most helpful to be shown in person by the person who lost the object just where the item had been lost. My searching lasted about two hours going north to south and back then a pattern of east to west and back. With nothing of interest found I started searching in diagonal patterns. Again nothing. Now the tide was coming in and I still had not found the ring. OK. I would have to come back at the next low tide.

I did not make the evening low tide as I was called about a lost necklace with a fireman’s cross medallion. I thought I could make both recovery sites, but I did not. Additionally the owner of the Beach Club had mentioned just before we left after the early morning search that they expected the beach to be very crowded in the afternoon. I knew the ring was not going anywhere so I would go in the morning when I would not have to search around a crowd of bathers.

5:30AM and I was ready to go. I went to the dry sand and did a very cursory scan in the area the guys had been sitting two days ago. The plan I had in mind was to go to the buoy in a straight line from the the sandy beach. All was going as planned until, less than a minute, my detector gave me a signal I would not refuse to dig. In the scoop I brushed away a couple handful of shells and then I saw the glitter of gold. My search was over when I saw the T/B engraved on the inside of the band.

This is another reason I never take some of the information given to me as a golden rule, after all one’s memory of loosing a ring is not always clear. Back at the car I called Brian and within 7 minutes he was wearing his wedding band again, now with a smile on his face.

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Yarmouth, MA Lost Gold Necklace Returned by Richard Browne

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August 9, 2025 After an early morning search for a lost ring that I did not find, I received a call for help in finding a lost necklace with a fireman’s cross hanging on it. I had been a Captain in a Deep Creek, VA volunteer fire department back in the early 1970s. How could I refuse except it was only two hours before low tide and I thinking I may not be able to get out to where the necklace was lost. What the heck, I went.

I met Matt on the now crowded beach. He pointed out the area, the area he thought was the most likely to be where he lost his necklace. As the tide was coming in rapidly, I started at the deepest section and work into the shallower area. After retrieving a few iffy signals that were pull tabs and a fishing sinker. Then I heard a signal I was waiting for, I took one careful scoop, not wanting to harm the necklace, raised it to the surface and saw gold hanging onto the open edge of the scoop. It was about high tide and time to give up until the tide went out. Matt thought I was giving up for the day. He did not know I had the chain and fireman’s cross in the scoop.

Matt came to the water’s edge, not looking very happy until I let him look into the scoop and retrieve his necklace. Great thanks and praises arose from those watching what was going on. By the time I found the necklace most nearby bathers knew of Matt’s loss and why the guy in the water was just walking back and forth. Needless to say that Matt was most thankful for the return of his necklace and charm that had been given to him by his wife 10 years ago.

The real mystery is: how did the necklace come off of Matt’s neck? The clasp was still hooked, It had to have been pulled off, over his head. Perhaps by his son while riding on Matt’s shoulder. It really does not matter. What does, is the happy ending that made for smiles all around.

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Yarmouth, MA via Alaska to Find a Hearing Aid by Richard Browne

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August 5, 2025: Yesterday afternoon my home phone rang and the number showed up on my TV. 907 is an Alaska area code, I had to find out about the caller and answered the call. As the call started about a loss and need for help, I was ready to pack and head for Alaska. I had been in Alaska back in the 1980’s and enjoyed every day there. The call went on about Kenneth’s mother, Virginia, loosing a hearing aid while doing some yard work. Though I was not lucky enough to have to go to search in Alaska, but rather in my town of Yarmouth, MA.

So far this year I have a 100% success rate for finding lost hearing aids – two of them. For now, after the phone call I would call Virginia in the morning and arrange to search for the hearing aid that would spend the evening in the garden. OK, all set 9:30am and the search will begin. Virginia, a bit older than I am but really sharp and very interesting to talk with from her life in Alaska working on the pipe line, sky diving with her grandson on his 16th birthday wish of her grandson, getting caught overnight between two avalanches, and to a more mundane life style of being a volunteer librarian who has now has lost two hearing aids. Virginia found the first in a evening’s rainstorm just outside her car and not inside the library where she thought it had been lost. Good news, it still worked and she had not stepped on it.

Now it was my turn to search for a hearing aid after her best try the day before did not turn it up. I started the area search with a 7” coil on my detector, I should have put the 4” coil on at it would have got into areas that the 7” one would not fit into. Not to worry, my handheld pin-pointer could cover all the smaller areas I could not reach otherwise. I started searching the ground and moved upward onto one of the climbing plants. Maybe the hearing aid had been caught on a branch. No, back to the ground and after three other metal objects, I had a signal that turned out to be caused by the close proximity of a metal object, in this case the minuscule battery of a hearing aid.

Virginia was nearby and was over whelmed by my success. The hearing aid survived the night in the garden and now ready to help Virginia hear her granddaughter’s speech more clearly. It was the granddaughter’s questioning of her grandmother “Why do you always ask me to repeat myself?” that prompted Virginia’s son, Kenneth, to arrange a hearing test that ultimately lead to Virginia’s use of hearing aids, especially when with her granddaughter. Little devices that can really help the quality of life of everyone around as well as the wearer of the hearing aids can remedy the need to request someone to repeat themselves. I also wear them and can relate. Going back I can remember my grandmother’s hearing aid, a little box that hung on her chest, had a wire going to her ear and made horrible squeals. No matter, GRANDMOTHERS are the best!

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