I got a text message about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday evening saying “Hi Jim, I found your number on-line with ring finders. I noticed my wedding band missing around 4:45pm today while playing football in knee deep water on sunset beach, around high tide. We figured it was a lost cause as we don’t even know the exact spot we lost it and with losing sunlight, but after getting kids settled for the night saw your number and figured I would reach out. Thanks for your consideration, Matt.” I immediately called him, got a few more details and let him know I could be there in about 30-35 mins. He agreed, so I asked him to text me the address, grabbed my Equinox 800 and headed out.
When I arrived, Matt and his wife, Ashley was anxiously waiting in the driveway. We walked down the beach access behind the house and out on the beach. Matt showed me the suspected area, saying that his younger brother thought Matt was straight out from the stairs. He also stated that his mother thought he was farther west of the steps. I turned on my machine and started a little farther west than what his mother thought. Looking for a rose gold wedding band, I was expecting a VDI (visual display indicator) in the high teens (17-19). I started a north/south grid search running from the high tide line out to about knee deep in the outgoing tide. By the time I got started it was dark, and I mean dark. The sky was overcast so no moon or stars. I had a headlamp, but don’t usually use it if I grid in the water for fear of attracting bait fish, which attracts bigger fish. It was also getting harder to see my grid lines. After about an hour and a half, I hit my first target. It was ringing up between 19-21, which is normally in the penny range, but with the different metals used to make rings it’s hard to tell sometimes. When I started digging the target, Matt came over to watch. I told him this sounds like a penny but let’s see what we got. Once I got the target out of the hole, I turned my headlamp on. Matt had a flashlight and he turned it on, and we started moving the sand around. Finally I got a glimpse of the target – Bang!!!! There was Matt’s wedding band. I handed it to him and he said something like, “he wasn’t sure if he was happier about the ring being found or more amazed that it was found.” We decided we’d surprise Ashley, but I think she was hanging out on the balcony and may have heard our plan. It all worked out in the end and I left a very happy couple able to continue a great vacation.
Matt and Ashley – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation with your family and have a very safe trip back home.
Jim
One Reply to “Man’s Rose Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC”
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I am still both equally thrilled to have gotten my ring back, and in disbelief that we found it (although my wife still refuses to let me have it back for the rest of our vacation!).
Jim was incredibly kind and helpful at a time when I couldn’t believe how silly of a mistake I had made. I can’t thank him enough and would absolutely recommend his help to anyone looking for something.