🚨 THE RESCUE AT SHORT SANDS BEACH! 🚨

💍 A VERY SPECIAL 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY MIRACLE! 💍

📞 THE PANIC CALL
It was early afternoon on July 31st when my phone rang. On the other end was Laura, and I could hear the immediate panic in her voice. She had just lost her wedding ring—a stunning platinum wedding ring with a half band of diamonds, and the irreplaceable symbol of nearly ten years of marriage.

🗺️ THE IMPOSSIBLE TARGET
The biggest challenge? She wasn’t entirely sure where it had slipped off.
She had been playing up on the dry beach sand and digging holes with her young children, at Short Sands Beach, in York Beach, Maine. The moment I heard the words “digging holes,” my heart instantly sank. If that ring had slipped off and been buried deep inside a refilled sandcastle pit, finding it was going to be a massive challenge.
But then there was the second possibility. They had also been body surfing in the crashing waves at high tide! 🌊

⏱️ THE TIMELINE
When I asked Laura if she had felt the ring slip off, she gave me the breakdown. Earlier in the day, she had safely stored the ring inside a Ziploc baggie in her beach bag. Her family was with the chairs the entire time, so she knew it hadn’t been taken. She was 99% sure she took it out of the baggie and put it back on her finger right before heading into the water. She noticed it was completely gone the second she stepped out of the surf.

🚗 TRAFFIC? NO PROBLEM!
Even though she was heartbroken, Laura was incredibly sweet and considerate. She told me, “If the traffic is crazy, please don’t bother. I feel bad taking up your time.”
By now, it was 2:15 PM. I told Laura right then and there that I would get to her as soon as possible—traffic or no traffic!
I hit the road and made good time, arriving just before 3:30 PM. To make things even smoother, Laura had incredibly arranged for a secured parking spot for us nearby. A HUGE releif as parking is a nightmare in these coastal Maine towns.

🏖️ THE CROWDED BEACH HUNT
Laura met me and walked me down to Short Sands Beach, where the rest of her family and friends were still hanging out. By this time, the tide was starting to go out, but the water was still high up on the crowded beach.
I started by searching the best I could around all the beach towels, chairs, umbrellas, and other beach necessities. I paid particular attention to the areas where the holes had been dug, but found no sign of the ring. With so many people and belongings covering the sand, I decided to abandon the dry sand search.
Since the tide was still fairly high, I pivoted to the small strip of wet sand and began following the water line out. Unfortunately, because the dry beach was packed, the wet sand was heavily crowded too. I did the best I could under the circumstances, but I knew this wasn’t a proper, thorough grid search.

🌅 THE 5:00 AM MISSION
With the beach still packed with people, I knew we needed a different strategy. I told Laura I would head home but return early the next morning at 5:00 AM to continue the hunt. I planned to bring Gary Hill with me to thoroughly search the entire area while it was completely free of beachgoers. My biggest concern was beating the beach rake cleaning machine, which would easily scoop up or bury the ring if it went over the area first!
With the game plan set, Cheryl and I packed up our gear and headed back home to Saco for the evening.
The next morning, the mission was on. Gary met me at my house at a bright and early 4:15 AM. We threw our gear into The Ring Finder Mobile and jumped right onto the Maine Turnpike. We arrived back at Short Sands Beach pre-dawn, just in time to catch a beautiful, quiet sunrise over the ocean.
We mapped out a flawless game plan. Gary’s mission was to start up in the dry sand near the seawall and systematically work his way down toward the wet sand. Meanwhile, I would start right at the cusp of the dry and wet sand, tracking my way down toward the receding water.
With our combined teamwork, we were confident we could get this entire area searched before the beach cleaning machine or the first beachgoers arrived to crowd our grid.

🚀 LETS GO!!!
As we started searching, those deeply dug sand holes from the day before were still weighing heavily on my mind. But I had total faith in Gary to proceed very slowly, carefully listening for even the faintest blip of a non-ferrous target.
The beach was relatively quiet, and only a few random targets were popping up. Then, after about 5 to 7 minutes of sweeping, my detector caught something. It was a very, very low tone.
Honestly, my first thought was that it was going to be a piece of trash foil. It was that low, registering right at a 05 on my Target ID (TID). It was a very low-conductive target, but experienced detectorists know you can never pass those up. Knowing that a small platinum ring can absolutely ring up with a TID of 05, I didn’t hesitate. I knew I had to dig it.

💥 THE REVEAL
I dug a small scoop of sand and carefully dumped it onto the wet sand to separate the target. As I sifted through, there it was—something glinting round and silver. It was Laura’s platinum wedding ring!
How crazy is that?! Gary and I had only been on the beach for about five minutes before the missing ring was safely in my hand!
I uncovered it right at the high tide mark where the wet and dry sand meet. Because it was found far away from the dry sand where she had been digging holes with the kids, my guess is that the ring definitely slipped off while she was out body surfing in the water. I hadn’t been able to search this exact spot the previous afternoon due to the massive wall of beach chairs, towels, and crowds. Later on when I got home, I actually looked back at photos from the day before, confirming that this exact target zone had been heavily packed with people.
Once the initial shock wore off, Gary and I decided to film a very short video for the big reveal. I started the camera showing the gorgeous sunrise, telling Laura we were at the beach but were already going to be leaving because…
Then, I panned the camera straight to Gary, who had a massive smile on his face. As I shouted, “…WE FOUND IT, CONGRATULATIONS!!!” Gary held her beautiful platinum ring high up for the camera to see! 🎥✨
I hit send on the video at exactly 5:14 AM. I knew it was incredibly early, but I also knew the absolute anguish and heartbreak Laura had been going through. She had put on a brave face the afternoon before, but Cheryl could sense the pure, heavy agony she was holding deep inside. There was absolutely no way I was going to hold back the good news for a single second longer than I had to.

🎉 SMILES, HUGS, AND CELEBRATION!
After hitting send, Gary and I didn’t pack up just yet. We stuck around to search for a few other items that had been lost weeks earlier—ones that haven’t been found yet, at least to our knowledge.
About an hour later, my phone rang. It was Laura, and she was in total shock and disbelief! She told me she had truly believed her wedding ring was gone forever, only to wake up and see a video of it completely safe. I could hear the pure joy and excitement in her voice as she kept thanking us over and over. She thanked us for staying around the beach and let us know she would be right down as soon as the kids finished eating breakfast. I told her it was no problem at all—we’d be waiting right there.
A very short time later, Laura, her husband Matt, her children, and three of her nieces all marched down onto the beach to witness the official return. It was absolute magic. There were SMILES, SMILES, and more SMILES everywhere you looked! And I can’t forget the hugs, the handshakes, and the massive shift in energy from the somber, heavy atmosphere of the afternoon before. Gary and I much prefer the celebrations, just like this morning!

With Laura’s 10th anniversary just a few weeks away at the time, she had a massive weight lifted off her shoulders just in time to truly enjoy and plan for her milestone day—which is right now, today!

Laura, we are so incredibly honored we could rescue your ring and preserve such a beautiful milestone. Happy 10th Anniversary from all of us at The Ring Finders of Maine! We wish you and your husband a lifetime of continued love, happiness, and securely-fitting rings! 🥂❤️