On Wednesday, May 22nd, I received the following text at 6:40 p.m. “Hey Jim, my name is Carly! I’m contacting you because I lost my wedding set on the beach yesterday around 5:15pm. We’re staying in the Cherry Grove area, right near the pier! We were on the left side yesterday. As you probably hear often, I took my rings off to put on sunscreen and left them in my chair’s cup holder. I didn’t realize until about 30 minutes later what had happened, and it was too late as we had already gone back to the condo. Unfortunately, I am back in VA today, but I have relatives who are still there until the end of the week. They are more than willing to show you around the area we were in!” Carly had originally posted the loss on a local Face Book (FB) Page. I know, because I had been getting notifications from FB that someone had mentioned me on a post. My wife also sent me a snapshot of the Post. Unfortunately, I was on another ring search and didn’t notice any of it until later. When I got Carly’s text message, I was at one of my granddaughter’s soccer games.
Instead of texting back and forth, I called Carly to get some more details. I also asked her if she could have her Aunt Yvette or Cousin Miranda call me so we could arrange to meet on the beach, and I could see the area. I was originally thinking we could meet around 10 pm, but then changed it to 8 pm so I could get a better idea while the sun was still up. Everything was arranged and we met a little after 8. Yvette knew for sure the loss was between 2 trash cans on the beach, but the trash cans were at the ends of 2 separate condos – big area. Miranda was sure the loss happened behind the smaller condo which was perfect. At 8, the tide was right at high tide, but I got the idea of the area. I thanked them for their help, and we left. My plan was to come back about 9:30 and do a grid search.
When I got back over there around 9:45 the tide had gone down quite a bit and enough for me to get started. I turned my Nox 800 on and started a north/south grid search parallel to the tide line, basically working the outgoing tide. With all 3 rings being white gold, I knew the VDI (visual display indicator) would ring up between 6-8, however if the rings are a small size and thin, the VDI could be in the 3-5 range. After about 30 minutes I got a banging 8 VDI, Bingo! I knew I had 1 of the rings. When I dug it out, sure enough it was the Wedding ring of the set. Swung my coil around the area and got another 8. Dug this one out and it was the Engagement ring of the set. Searched the area and wasn’t getting the 3rd ring. What Carly had told me was when they got ready to leave, she folded up the beach chair and threw it over her shoulder, so this one could have been slung a little bit. I finished that grid line and started my next line and about halfway through the line I hit a solid 4 VDI. I dug it out and there was number 3. Looking at the ring, I understood why it was ringing up as a 4 – tiny and thin! I tried to get a decent picture but it’s hard when it’s pitch black out on the beach and I’m trying to get a picture with my phone. Fortunately, there was a young couple on the beach watching me, Katelyn and Danny. They felt sorry for me so they offered to help – thank goodness! I sent a picture to Carly of her rings and then called her. When she answered the phone, I said, “You see your text?” I think she was in shock. She wanted me to give the rings to her aunt, who she would see by the end of the week instead of mailing them, which I did. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a picture of Carly holding her rings with a big smile. Luckily, I had a picture taken of me holding the rings shortly after I found them.
Yvette and Miranda – Thank you for all your help in this adventure.
Carly – Thank you for trusting me to find your lost treasures, glad I could help.
Jim
