On 7/16/2025 a little after 9 a.m. I received a call and voice mail from a 724-area code. I was on my way to Charleston, SC for a VA appointment and wasn’t able to immediately respond. The voice mail said, “Hi Jim, my name is Misty. We found you on ring finder and I lost my ring yesterday. I believe I lost it when I got knocked down by a wave at the beach and I’m hoping that you can help us out and help me find that. My number is 724-etc.” After listening to the voice mail, I took a guess that they were in Myrtle Beach and quickly looked up the tides for the day. I called Misty and got additional details, like the time she lost it and confirmed they were in Myrtle Beach. She confirmed Myrtle Beach and said she thought it was around 2 p.m., her husband said between 12 and 3 p.m. I told her I could be there around 4 p.m. and see what I could do. Once I got to my appointment, I double checked the tides and realized I had the wrong day. That’s what happens when you’re driving and trying to look at your phone. My best guess was she had actually lost it about 2 hours before low tide. I text her and told her that low tide was at 6:31 and that I’d be there at 5. I also ask her to send me the resort address. She agreed to 5 and sent me the address. On the way back from Charleston, I was watching the thunderstorms moving through the area due to the heat we’ve been getting. I text Missy and told her I was keeping an eye on the storms. The rain doesn’t bother me cause I’m probably going to get wet going in the ocean. Lightning’s a whole other story; I’m basically carrying two lightning rods in my hands, my metal detector and my sand scoop. Both have carbon fiber shafts which are able to conduct electricity.
By the time I got to the beach, the storms had passed, the sun was shining, and it was hot again. I met Misty and her longtime friend Barbara in the parking lot. We walked out to their spot on the beach, and I met her husband, Justin. They were set up within a few feet of where they were the day before. I got a north and south boundary line, probably 30-40 yards apart and searched around their area from the day before. No luck there, I started a perpendicular east/west grid line from about the middle of the beach out into the ocean. I was finding the typical trash, bottle caps and pull tabs but no ring. I searched for about an hour and half and only had a few yards left to search. This being a white gold wedding band I was expecting between a 9 and 12 on the detector’s VDI (visual display indicator). Suddenly, I hit a solid 10-11 and I knew I had her ring. I dug out a couple of scoops of sand and saw her beautiful ring lying in the sand I had spread out with my foot. I reached down and picked it up and looked up at them as they were looking at me. Now for the shock reveal. I put the ring in my pocket with the bottle caps and pull tabs, oh and an earring I had found. I walked back up the beach where they were sitting, looking like I was exhausted. I pulled out the items in my pocket and maneuvered her ring under a couple of bottle caps in the palm of my hand. I told them I wasn’t haven’t much luck and offered to show her what I had found. I bent down to show her, and she suddenly saw her ring and from there things got very emotional, happy, total shock and disbelief. I loved it!!! Her husband told me he saw me move the ring but didn’t say anything. Misty came up out of her chair and gave me a big hug. It doesn’t get any better than that, a very happy couple.
Misty and Justin – Thank you for allowing me to help get your treasure back where it belongs. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back to PA.
Jim
I was called to search for a man’s Omega watch that was lost in the woods behind their house.
Marlon and his girlfriend Aloe were swimming in Whjte Pond and suddenly Aloe realized she had lost her precious Quinceañera ring given to her on her 15th birthday.Marlon had heard of the Ringfinders and, so he called me and arranged for me to search for the ring.