How to find a lost ring Ocean Isle NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Man’s Gold Wedding Band Lost, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Wednesday May 22nd at about 7:45 p.m. I received a text from Jim stating in part, “About 530 tonight I lost my wedding band on the beach while walking the dog.” Instead of texting, I called him to discuss the details. He told me that he had cut his ring finger, and the ring was irritating that finger. He continued saying after wearing the ring for I think he said 30 years; he had to basically pry the ring off. He moved the ring to his little finger, which fit, but may have been a little loose. He also said the walk was 3 blocks one way but added that he had walked along the top of the tide line and the dry sand. We agreed to meet this morning at 10 am.

We met at 10 and walked out on the beach. He showed me the path he took, and I started an east/west grid. After about 30 minutes, I decided I’d walk down the beach to where the walk started. My thought was the ring was more likely to have fallen off his finger at the start or end rather than in the middle, maybe. Close to 3 hours, I called Jim and told him I was going to take a break and would be back in a few hours. As we’re talking, he said that he and his wife had been talking through the situation. He mentioned to me that when the walk was over, he had washed the dog’s mouth out using his left hand at the resort’s wash station. I had one of those aha moments! I ask him if he knew whether I could get access below the deck of the station, and he wasn’t sure. I told him I was coming down to the resort to check out the wash station. I mentioned that with his ring being a little loose, trying to manipulate the dog, and his hand being wet, it might be possible the ring slipped off there. When I got to his resort he was waiting outside. We walked back to the wash station, and he showed me which shower he was used. There was no access below the shower, but the floor planks were butted up against each other with no gaps between the wood. I made my way to the side of the shower and tried to use the detector, but I had the big 15-inch coil on the machine, and I wasn’t able to use the detector. I didn’t have my pin pointer, so I started moving through the weeds doing a visual inspection. Bingo, I moved some ground cover and saw Jim’s ring lying on the ground. I didn’t say anything but just held it up between my fingers. Jim was in mid-sentence when he saw it and just stopped and froze, I could see the relief in him.

Jim – thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

   

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IPhone Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Cherry Grove, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Sunday, Jun 25th, I was just about to start a search for a lost engagement ring when Chris walked up and asked if my detector could find a cell phone. I told him it could and he said his wife had lost her cell phone somewhere up in the dry sand. I told him as soon as I’m finished with the ring search, I’d be glad to help him.

When I completed the successful ring search, I found Chris and asked for the details on the phone. He told me that his wife had lost it somewhere between the pier and the beach access. That area was approximately 50 yards or so, so I asked him where they had been sitting and we’d start from there. He led me to an area underneath the pier and I swung the detector about 3 times and hit a good target. I dug a scoop of sand and he said there’s my wife’s phone as he reached in the hole and pulled it out. I love a quick recovery.

Chris – Thank you for letting me help find your wife’s phone!!

Jim

   

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White Gold Engagement Ring Lost in the Outgoing Tide, Found and Returned Cherry Grove, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Sunday, June 25th, I was sitting at home waiting to return on a search where the beach was packed with tourist when I received a text from Haley. Her text said “Hi my best friend lost her ring about 5 minutes ago at the north side of Cherry grove pier right by the water line. If anybody turns it in or finds it, could you please let me know!! It’s her engagement ring.” I immediately responded asking “You want me to come look for it?” She responded with a picture of the ring and said “Yes please!” I asked her to call me and gave her my number. Almost instantly she called and I got a few more details, told her I’d be there in 10 minutes, grabbed my Equinox 800 and hit the road. This is Sunday, so parking is almost non-existent for the beach. I’ve got a few hidden spots but even those were taken. I did find a spot that I’m not sure I parked legally, but I didn’t have a ticket when I returned to the car.

As I’m walking out on the beach I called Haley saying I was there. As I’m walking towards the pier, Claire came running up to me and told me she was the one who lost the ring. I asked what happened and she told me she was looking for shells. She continued saying that when she reached for a shell, her ring slipped off her finger and disappeared. She also said her ring was a little loose on her finger. I asked what her ring was and she responded that it was White Gold. We continued walking to the water line and she showed me, almost exactly where she had lost it. I noticed the waves were pretty rough breaking on the shoreline, so I wanted to see what I was up against. I walked straight out in the water, across a bed of broken shells, barefooted no less. After about 10 feet I dropped from ankle deep to about chest deep which explained the breaking waves. After I fought the current and made my way back up to a workable surface; I started a grid line back to where Claire, Haley and another young lady, whose name I didn’t get, were standing. I made my turn and walked back to about ankle deep and hit a great signal, showing an 8 VDI (visual display indicator) which was in the ball park for a white gold ring. I dug a big scoop of sand and shells, checked the hole, which was quickly filled back in, and knew I had the target in the scoop. I walked up to where the young ladies were standing and dumped the scoop. I checked the pile of sand with the detector and found the target. I think I told Claire that we might have it. I spread the sand out with my foot and we all were checking out the sand. Suddenly one of the ladies saw it barely sticking out of the sand and said something like “there it is.” Claire saw it and scooped it up. Bingo! She was now holding her precious treasure and holding back some tears. She was very excited.

Ladies – this was truly a team effort!

Claire, so happy you got your lost treasure back where it belongs.

Jim

   

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25th Wedding Anniversary Vacation Catastrophe Averted – Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Wednesday at 1:24 pm I received a text from Kimberly saying, in part “Hello are you a metal detector service?  My husband’s ring just slipped off his finger in choppy ocean. Not sure if it’s even possible to find, Holden Beach.” I didn’t see the text until an hour later and responded that I was and to please call me. After a while and no response, I called her and she put her husband, Jeff on the phone. Jeff said he was in about waist deep water between 1 and 1:30 pm. Taking a quick look at the tide charts, high tide was going to be close to 3 pm and the next low tide was a little after 10 pm. I told Jeff I’d be there at 8 pm and got the address. As the afternoon progressed, I started thinking about the dropping tide, the time he lost his ring and what time sunset would be. Getting there at 8 would give me less than an hour to search before it was dark. I normally don’t have a problem searching at night, but this year there’s been terrible rip currents along the east coast. I didn’t want to become a statistic hunting at night because I couldn’t keep an eye on the ocean conditions. I also thought that since he lost his ring within 2 hours of high tide, that 4 hours after high tide the ring should be reachable. So, I text Jeff saying I’d be there by 6:45. I showed up on time and met Jeff. As we walked out on the beach is when I learned that he had been throwing a football. My first question was “are you left or right-handed?” He responded right-handed, which meant he didn’t throw the ring off. He said he actually saw the ring come off his finger and sink. He tried diving for it but to no avail. As I’m walking out to the surf I noticed the sea breeze really kicking up the waves – not good! Jeff pointed out the area and I started with a parallel grid search to the surf, and after 4 or 5 lines, I switched to a perpendicular grid search heading out in the ocean. I was having a horrible time trying to keep a straight grid line because of the waves and current. After 2 hours of searching with no luck, losing daylight, and just plain getting beat to death with the waves and current I called it a night. I knew the ring was there, but with the noise and interference I was getting in the headset from the detector, I was sure I walked right over the ring and didn’t hear a tone. I told Jeff I’d be back at 9 the next morning.

The next morning came quick, but I was ready for the task. I showed up a little early and hit the beach. This time I brought my White’s PI, a great machine but it doesn’t give any indication of depth or type target it hits, just a solid tone. So, there’s a lot more digging involved than with the Equinox 800 that I used the day before. I started a perpendicular grid search straight out from the beach as far as I could get out before hitting the last sand bar where the waves break hard. Probably about 35-40 minutes and half way through the search area, I got a solid steady tone. I was pretty sure this had to be Jeff’s ring; normally trash (bottle caps, pull tabs, and other junk) doesn’t make it out as far as I was away from the shoreline. Two scoops of sand and I had the target out of the hole and in the scoop. I shook the sand out in the water, looked in the scoop and BINGO, I had a gold ring in the scoop. I had seen a picture that Jeff’s son had posted on a FB page showing Jeff’s ring and I knew I had his ring. I packed up my stuff from the beach and headed up to their rental house to give Jeff the good news. About half way up the beach I looked up and saw Jeff walking my way, he didn’t say a word. I made the comment that it was starting to get rough, as I reached in my pocket, pulled out his ring and held it up for him to see. No doubt, he was more than excited. I handed him his ring and he turned around towards the house, held it in the air, and yelled “He found it!” His entire family had been watching me and saw when I stopped searching and started digging. Then everyone watched as I walked out of the water, picked up my stuff and started walking their way. My understanding is they thought I might have found it but no one wanted to say it. Within seconds, Kimberly came running down the beach to hug Jeff. There were a couple of tears being wiped away, but they were happy tears. I’m not sure if this was actually their 25th Anniversary vacation with family but they are celebrating 25 years of marriage in Oct.

Jeff/Kimberly – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. An early Very Happy Anniversary to you both and now you have one more chapter to add to your ring’s story. Best wishes to you both. And Thank You for Everything!

Grandma – Thank you for all your prayers, they helped.

Jim

 

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First Day of Vacation, Alan’s Damascus Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just as I was sitting down to dinner, I got a frantic call from Alan. He said he had just lost his wedding band in the ocean and asked if I could help find it. Looking at the tide table, it was just coming up on high tide at 8:15 p.m. which was in less than an hour. Alan said he had been playing with his 3 year old son in the water when his ring slipped off his finger. He also said he knew the exact area he lost it. This was looking like it would be a quick search and recovery with an outgoing tide, knowing where he lost it and playing with a 3 year old in shallow water. Well Mother Nature had a whole different plan. I told Alan I’d meet him at 10 p.m. and work the outgoing tide.

I met Alan just before 10 and he walked me out to the beach and pointed to the area he had lost his ring. This is when I realized Mother Nature had reared her ugly head. The wind was blowing straight into the beach causing 2-4 ft swells. The tide hadn’t gone out like I expected and it just wasn’t looking pretty to find a lost ring. Alan said he thought the ring was still another 40-60 ft out in the ocean from where we were standing. I started a parallel grid search along the beach, trying to work the outgoing tide, and then switched to a perpendicular grid. After about 30-45 minutes, I felt bad that Alan was sitting there watching. Knowing that his excitement rose every time I dug a target only to have it dashed when I pulled out a piece of junk. I suggested that he go back to his rental and I’d call him when I either got too tired or I found it, he agreed and left. I kept working the outgoing tide, and was being as careful as possible. It was dark, with a little bit of moon light, waves were still high, and the surf was still a little rough. I had worked my way out where I was about knee to thigh deep and got a great signal on my White’s PI. I was right in line with where Alan said he was, so I started scooping out sand. After 4 scoops of sand, I had the target in my scoop. I let the waves wash the sand out of the scoop and turned on my headlamp. Boom!! I saw a beautiful ring mixed with the shells. I wasn’t sure of what the ring would look like. Alan said it was a Damascus wedding band and was made from silver, copper, rose and yellow gold. What I was sure of is I had a beautiful man’s wedding band in my scoop. I walked out of the water and grabbed my cell phone. I tried to take a couple of pictures that I could send to Alan. It was close to midnight but I sent a picture with a text asking “Is this yours???” I got an immediate response saying “Coming out now!!! That’s it!!!!” I think it took him seconds to show up. He was very excited when I handed him back his treasure. He said his wife had gone to bed but he was going to wake her up and surprise her.

Alan – Thanks so much for allowing and trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

  

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