09/27/2025
The Ring Finders of Maine with Recovery and Return #172
I received the following text, on Friday afternoon, September 26th.
‘Hello, I hope you’re doing well and had a great summer!
A few weeks ago, my husband lost his ring in either our front or backyard and we have been looking for it since. We even bought our own metal detector but have had no success. Feeling a little hopeless, we are reaching out to see if you’ll be able to help us find it!
We are unsure if it was spotted in the front yard and someone took it, or if it is buried under some grass. Knowing it’s been weeks, we are now looking for some closure.
Funny enough, you helped us find this ring in the winter under some snow. We would love if you could help us out one last time.”
Wait, What do you mean that I had already found this ring once? A repeat customer? I immediately called back and Alexa answered. Alexa explained that I had found her husband’s Gold Signet Ring, back in February, after he had slipped and fallen, on the ice, in their driveway, of their Portland,Maine home. Ethan had been snow blowing the driveway, when he slipped on a patch of ice, sending him to the ground, hard. His Gold Signet Ring went flying off his finger. I found his Gold Signet Ring the next morning, under the snow and ice.
This time however, Alexa explained that she and Ethan had been moving their kayak’s from the vehicle out in front of their house, to the backyard. They had walked across the front lawn and the driveway. Once in the backyard, Ethan washed the kayaks, prior to hanging them up, on their fence. Ethan also had gone to other areas, in the backyard, while performing yard work, etc.. Alexa told me the ring had been missing for approximately 2-3 weeks and Ethan actually went and purchased a metal detector and searched the front, side and backyard, without finding the gold signet ring. They had also raked the lawn, hoping the ring would be removed from the thick grass, of some of the areas. It was then they decided to mow the lawn and hopefully see it, once the grass was cut. After mowing the lawn, they also visually searched. barefoot, hoping they would feel the ring, if stepped on. Still no ring. Alexa and Ethan had given up hope of finding the ring, on their own. They even thought the ring may have been found already, if the ring had been lost on the front lawn, near the street, where any passerby may have seen it, just lying there. I told Alexa that the ring being lost near the street was also a concern of mine. She was correct in thinking that a passerby could have seen the ring and taken it. I also conveyed my concern of mowing the lawn. Lawn mowers have been know to damage rings and also throw a ring, out of the area, you thought it may be in. In summary, you should never, ever mow a lawn, until the area has been searched with a metal detector and by a knowledgable and experienced metal detectorist. If at all possible, the area should not be disturbed, in any manner, until the area has been searched, with a metal detector. It is also recommended to not wait to contact someone to search. Time is of the essence and the odds of finding a lost ring diminishes the longer it is missing. Not impossible, by any means, but just tougher to find.
Alexa and I agreed, for me to search their property the next morning, at 8:00am. I arrived just prior to 8:00am and Ethan came right outside. Ethan then ran through the events of the day, when lost the signet ring. He then walked me around the property, showing me where he had been that day, 3 weeks ago. The ring could be pretty much anywhere on the property. Ethan told me that he had become frustrated, with the metal detector because it was making so many noises and there wasn’t anything there and just gave up. I told him it is understandable because of his inexperience and all the metal, in the area. My concerns were that the fenced in backyard had a lot of metal around, including the fences. It is tough for an experienced detectorist to search around so much metal, never mind someone using a metal detector, for the first time. I am a methodical, grid searching kind of guy. I like to start at the beginning of an area (this time, the front lawn) and grid search towards the backyard, until I have searched the entire property. I do this every time, unless the client can tell me with certainty, the ring will not be in an area. Ethan couldn’t do that and I went with my tried and true grid search. Ethan then went inside and told me to just knock on the door, if I needed anything. Looking at the property, I knew I could search the front, side and backyard in 45 minutes ro an hour, as it really wasn’t very large. I started the grid search at the street and worked my way towards the house. Nothing even close to being a gold ring was found. I did locate a quarter, on top of the ground and placed it on the asphalt, of the driveway. So Ethan or Alexa, Just next to the front lawn and behind your vehicle, I left you a quarter, if you would like to go out and get it. So, back to the search. The front lawn only took me 10-12 minutes and the side lawn another 5 minutes. No ring was found. I then went to the back yard and my detectors couldn’t get very close to the fence or propane tanks. I actually used my pinpointer, around those areas, in the thick grass. Still no ring. As I worked my was along the backside of the house, I came upon the area across from the water spigot and hose. This is the ares that Ethan had washed the kayaks in. Just as I was almost past the hose, I received a loud target, reading 56-57, on my VDI Screen. Interestingly enough, I had refreshed my memory of the first search, by reading he story of me finding Ethan’s signet ring, back in February. His signet ring rang up as a 55, when I found it, in the snow and ice. So a 55 on the VDI Screen, 7 months earlier and now a 56-57. Could this be his lost ring? I looked down in the thick grass and couldn’t see anything. I turned my pinpointer on and located the target. I then pushed back the grass a little bit and I saw a small section of a gold ring. Ethan’s ring had been found. I then called Alexa, asking her “ Could you and Ethen come outside. I have something for you?” Alexa screamed into the phone, “You’ve got to be kidding me” and before I knew it, Ethan came running out the back door and appeared in the backyard, with Alexa. I showed them the general area, the ring was located but the ring was still hidden. I ran my coil over area and Ethan then moved some of the grass back and he saw his ring, for the first time in weeks. It is still amazing to me, that these large rings just disappear and cannot be seen, in the grass. So Ethan has his Gold Signet Ring back, once again and everyone was happy and smiling. Ethan said he would look into getting his ring resized and I also suggested a silicone ring adjuster/sizer. They work great and are only around $10.00 at Amazon or Walmart, compared to a few hundred dollars to get a gold ring resized. Just before I left I gave Ethan a quick tutorial on the metal detector he had bought. I told him if he lost his ring again, he should be able to now find it with his detector and if he doesn’t find his ring, he can always call me back, once again and I will be happy to help. I love my job😃❤️🙏
