How to find a lost ring on Sunset Beach NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost in the Sand – Found and Returned Kure (Cure-y) Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

Right around 12:30 pm on Friday, August 18th, 2023, I got a call from Adib, saying he had lost his Platinum Wedding Band in the sand. He asked me if I had any advice on how to find it. There really isn’t any, other than getting down on your hands and knees and try sifting through the sand. I’ve had a couple of situations where the individuals tried finding it themselves and ended up moving the item feet from where it was dropped. I asked Adib not to dig, if he was, because he could either move it or bury it. He was also concerned with my travel time and didn’t want to see me drive over 3 hours round trip. I assured him that’s what I do when somebody loses something, and I didn’t have a problem with it. I grabbed my Equinox 800 and started my trip.

When I got there, I met Adib at his rental and we walked out to the beach. As we walked, I found out that he was there from San Francisco, CA. attending one of his buddy’s bachelor party. He said that he had taken his ring off and put it in his lap to apply suntan lotion. At some point, the ring ended up disappearing in the dry sand. He also said that he and his friends had been searching for the ring and when I told him not to dig, they stopped. Everybody had pretty much left the chairs and other items sit where they were so the area was well marked. Once I got a visual on the search area, we moved the chairs, and I started a small grid search in maybe a 10X10 ft square. After just one grid line, I got a strong 15 on the VDI (visual display indicator). The problems I had were the target was reading 8-10 inches deep on the depth meter, which was deep for only being lost for 3 hours. Secondly for a platinum ring, I was expecting a lower number in the teens. So I honestly thought that target was trash. I did take a couple of scoops but left the hole and continued the grid. After finishing the search area with no other targets, I went back to the hole. I took another couple of scoops and had the target out of the hole. I ran the coil over the clump of sand, found the target and scooped it up. I gently shook out the excess sand, and then I heard the sweet sound of metal rattling in the scoop. Looked in the scoop, saw the ring and held the scoop out for Adib to pull his ring out. Adib was thrilled he had his ring back. He ended up taking a selfie of him and I with him holding his ring up to send to his wife. This never gets old!

Adib – thank you for letting me help find your lost treasure.

Jim

   

Man’s Palladium Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean for 3 Days, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

On Saturday, July 29th at 9 a.m. I got the following text, “Hi Jim, My name is Jude, and I found your number on the Ring finders website. I lost my wedding ring a couple of days ago on Sunset Beach. We’ve been staying near the 17th St boardwalk. I lost the ring in the ocean near where the boardwalk meets the beach, maybe about 20 yards to the east. It was close to high tide when I lost it, maybe about 30 feet into the water. I don’t know if you’re able to look for it for me? Unfortunately, we leave this morning for Raleigh. We have to check out by 10. Let me know if you can help. I’ll need to call from my in-laws phone since I’m on a U.K. number, visiting from London.” About the same time, I got a call from Jude’s wife Katelyn who gave me additional details as well as a pin drop. Within minutes I got another lost ring call for two rings lost in the dry sand on a different beach. Unfortunately, I was tied up for the next hour or so, so I put the rings on hold for the time being.

When I was free, I devised a plan that I’d get the 2 rings first, since they were in the dry sand. Then I’d look for Jude’s ring since I still had a few hours before it’d be high tide on this day. After recovering the 2 rings I headed for Sunset Beach to look for Jude’s ring. When I got to the beach, it was pretty empty except for a family that was sitting in the exact spot I needed to hunt. I searched for a couple of hours working my way around the family as much as I could, basically trying to wait them out. I also searched both east and west of the suspected loss. I sent Katelyn a picture of the family and told her that they were exactly where I needed to be and that I’d be back between 9-10 p.m. I felt pretty confident that Jude’s ring was still where he dropped it three days earlier. Although Sunset Beach gets hit very hard by other detectionist, this area was kind of out of the way for beach goers.

I always get antsy waiting for the tides to get where I’d like them. So, I got to the beach about 8:30 p.m. It was late enough that it was pitch dark. As instructed by Jude and Katelyn, I walked straight out from the beach access boardwalk. It was a couple of hours before low tide so I had plenty of time. If the ring was there, it should be out from under the ocean and stuck in the wet sand. I turned on my equinox 800 and went to work. It’s been a long time since I’ve found a Palladium ring and couldn’t remember what the VDI (visual display indication or numbers) would be. I was thinking it’d be in the high teens. I started a north/south grid line, perpendicular to the surf line. My fourth line I got a solid loud 19 VDI just out of the surf in the wet sand. I took a big scoop of sand and laid it out on the beach and checked the hole. I had the target out. I turned my headlamp on, got down on all fours and started spreading the sand out. There it was, just laying there. I’m not sure if it was the ring or me that let out a big sigh of relief, as if saying, “FOUND!” Not really, but I know I was sure happy. I didn’t have my glasses to read the engraving, so I asked a couple out walking the beach if they could. The young lady read enough that I knew I had the right ring. I text Jude and Katelyn at 9:06 p.m. with a picture and said, “Bang!!!! The engraving all matches.” Luckily, they’re staying with in-laws another week before they head home to London, UK. I got the ring in the mail and got it back to them on Aug. 2nd. It just so happens, their 10 year wedding anniversary was Aug 3rd. So Happy Anniversary you two!!!!

Jude/Katelyn – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a safe trip home. The 3rd picture is your ring perched on roughly a million year old Megalodon Tooth.

Jim

        Found Sunset Beach NC

Man’s White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a text message at 10 p.m. Thursday, July 27th saying, “Hi Jim! I found your info on the Ring finder’s website. I lost my husband’s wedding ring at Sunset Beach this evening. Are you available to help search?” I called the number on the text and spoke with Ashley. She explained she had put her husband, Jonathan’s ring in her phone case for safe keeping. At some point she took the phone out of the case and was pretty sure the ring fell out into the ocean. I asked what time and she said about 3 hours ago. The timing was good because the tide had just reached low tide so now was the time to try. She asked if it’d be better to search in the morning. I told her that there’d be a good chance the ring wouldn’t be there because of all the early morning detectionist out hitting the beach.  I also told her I didn’t need light, per se because I had a head lamp and the machine beeps when I hit a target. I told her I’d be there in about 30-35 minutes and she agreed to meet me. It just happened that my youngest daughter, Lisa, her husband and my grandson were in town visiting, so I asked my daughter if she wanted to go. She quickly said yes so we were on our way.

When we arrived, Ashley and Jonathan were on the beach with flashlights hoping for the best. Ashley showed me a big hole that her brother had dug to give us an idea of the line the ring was lost on. Ashley moved me over a few steps east of the hole and I started a perpendicular grid line to the surf. I made my way down to the low tide line, which had now shifted and was coming back in. I made the turn to come back up the slope and got to about the mid tide line. All of a sudden I got a solid signal that rang up a 15 on the Equinox 800 VDI (visual display indicator).  It was a little higher number that I expected but it was within the range of a white gold man’s wedding band. I dug 2 big scoops of sand before I got the target out of the hole. I spread the sand out with my foot and started feeling around in the sand. Bang! I felt the ring and the big hole in the middle. I walked down to the water line and washed the ring off and walked over to where Ashley, Jonathan, and Lisa were standing and asked Ashley, “Is this it?” She handed the ring to Jonathan who checked the engraving and said, “It’s it!” Think they were all a little shocked that it was found, in the dark, and probably within 5 minutes. Ashley and Jonathan were so grateful and happy.

Ashley and Jonathan – thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

   

Man’s White Gold Wedding Band Goes Swimming in the Ocean, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

This adventure started on Monday, June26th when I got the following text message at 7:19am. “Good Morning, I got your info from your website. My son is visiting from Dallas and lost his wedding ring at sunset beach 2 nights ago. We were at the beach access between 13th and 14th, straight ahead at the water’s edge. It’s a white gold band engraved “Cris 4.29.22.” I’m hoping and praying you can help us. My name is Jill.” I didn’t see the text until almost 11am and when I did, I called her to get additional details. I found out her son, Tom had been in the water around 7pm, which was about an hour and a half after low tide. Jill also said she had a picture with a time stamp at 7:12pm of Tom showing the ring, and another one around 7:28pm of him without the ring. We discussed a few other factors and I told her I’d be there around 6 pm to work the outgoing tide. She said they’d be there around 7 pm to watch the sunset.

I showed up a little after six and stated a north/south gridline from the shore out to about waste deep water. I was chugging along when a young man approached me and asked if I was looking for a wedding ring. When I said yes, he informed me that I went one access to far. Well, I got a little more exercise if nothing else. When I met Jill, her husband, Steve, Tom and his wife Cris, they showed me about where they had been sitting while Tom was swimming in the ocean when he lost the ring. I started my north/south gridlines again, going out as far as the sand bar. I worked the area until just before sunset. I told Jill I’d be back at about 730am in the morning and called it a night.

I had called a buddy to see if wanted to tag along and I met him shortly after I arrived on the beach. My plan was to start west of where Jill and the family had been sitting on Saturday night and make my way east. There were very few targets, a few bottle caps and pull tabs and one penny. After about an hour and a half the tide turned and was now coming in. I kept the grid going and I was about 40 yards down the beach from where they had been sitting. I made the turn to come back towards shore when I got a signal. Being a white gold man’s wedding band I was expecting to see between 9 and 11 on the VDI (visual display indicator) depending on the width of the ring. This signal was bouncing around like there may be two targets close together. Or it could be caused by the way the target was sitting on the ocean floor, or the wave action off the sand bar, but a 9 kept popping up. I dug a big scoop of sand and checked the hole – I had the target in the scoop. I was going to walk back to shore to dump the scoop so I wouldn’t take the chance of losing the target back in the ocean. As I looked down on the scoop, I saw a shiny object and what looked like a half a ring. Again, not wanting to take any chances, I carefully reached down and pulled out a ring. I tried my best to read the inscription, but without my glasses I was lucky to see the ring! I walked over to my buddy and he couldn’t read it either. As we’re packing up to go, a nice lady was walking down the beach. I asked her if she could read the inscription and she read Cris 4 29 22. Bingo!! I had Tom’s ring. I took a picture and sent it and a text to Jill saying  “Ba Booooom!!!!” She instantly responded with “Whaatt??!!! We are soooooo excited!!!!” I called her and told her I’ll just run it by their house, if she’d give me the address since it’s on my way home. It was important to get the ring back to Tom because he and Cris were heading back to Dallas at 5pm. When I pulled into the driveway, everybody was waiting in the front yard. I handed Cris the ring so she could put it back on Tom’s finger. Returning someone’s treasure never gets old and their smiles tell it all.

Jill – Thank you for contacting me to help find Tom and Cris’ lost treasure.

Tom and Cris – I wish you two only the best. Take care of each other!!!

Jim

   

Man’s Rose Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

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

   

Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost, Found, and Returned White Lake, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

Shortly after starting the lawn mower to get the grass cut, I got a call from William asking if I could help find his lost wedding band. I asked the normal questions and learned he had lost the ring the day before in White Lake. I don’t scuba dive, but have a son-in-law that’s helped me before and does, so I asked him how deep. He explained that he was sitting on the pier/boat dock fiddling with his ring when his son jumped on him. That action sent the ring flying, hitting the dock and disappearing into the water. He told me the water around the dock was about two feet deep, and the clearance under the dock was about an 8-10 inches. I asked a few more questions and asked him to send me the address. I plugged the address in my phone and told him I’d be there about 1 pm (just about an hour and a half drive). I grabbed my detector and headed out.

When I arrived at his house, he was outside waiting and we drove down to the dock. Conditions were as near perfect as they could be, with the exception of the water being a little cold. I made my way out in the water and along the side of the pier. When I got to the suspected area, I started swinging my detector. Being a Man’s Platinum wedding band, I was expecting a 12 on the machine’s VDI (visual display indicator). My first target rang up as an 18, so I made another swing and hit a solid 12. Bingo! I used my beach sand scoop and pulled his ring out of the sandy bottom. I laid the scoop on the dock and asked if it that was his ring inside. When his face lit up, I knew we had it. The responses from returning a lost ring are priceless!

William – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

     

Man’s Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

This ring search started with a phone call from Brock saying he lost his wedding band in the sand on Ocean Isle Beach. He wanted to know if I could help find it. I told him I could be there in 30 minutes. Since it was Sunday, I knew the beach would be crowded with no place to park. I asked him if I could park in his driveway, and he responded yes. I then asked him to text me the address and I was on my way.

When I got to his house, I called him, and he came out to meet me. We walked down to the beach, and he showed me the area where he lost his ring. He had been playing Spikeball and when he reached for the ball, he felt his ring fly off his finger. This is one of those searches you dream about. I turned my Deus II on, literally took 2 steps and got a loud and clear 70 on the VDI (visual display indicator). I took a small scoop of sand, had the target in the scoop and shook the excess sand out and saw his gold ring. I held out the scoop for Brock to retrieve his ring. It took him a couple of seconds to see it amongst some shells but when he did see it, his face lit up.

Brock and Payton – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Jim

 

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

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

 

Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Carolina Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

This ring search started off as a missed call shortly before 3:30 pm on Saturday, Jun 11th. I called back and spoke to Daniel, who wanted to know if I was the Ring Finder who could help him find his wife Kat’s Wedding and Engagement rings. I acknowledged yes and he asked what information I needed from him. I told him I needed the area and whether the rings were lost in the water or dry sand. He said dry sand, and then I asked him if there was a chance the area would be covered in water with the incoming tide. He responded no that they had set up far enough up the beach that the tide wouldn’t be an issue. Then he asked if he needed to be there. I told him yes and that putting me in the right spot raised the percentage of me finding the rings. He then asked the cost and I told him that I do this on a reward or gratuity basis. He was fine with everything, so I told him to send me an address and I’d let him know an ETA. Once he sent the address and I plugged it in the GPS, my ETA was an hour and a half later.

Once I got there, parking became an issue. Finally parked and then stood there with another couple trying to figure out how the pay to park worked. It wasn’t an easy thing, especially when the kiosk wouldn’t recognize the couple’s debit card. That’s about the time Kat called me to let me know they were there. They took care of my parking and then we headed to the beach. Kat walked ahead to find the spot, while I got my equipment. Once in the area, Daniel pointed out the 4 holes their tent made when they set it up. I asked Kat what the rings were made of and she stated White Gold, one engagement ring and the other was the wedding ring. So I knew I was looking for low numbers on the Equinox screen’s for the VDIs. I started a grid search at the back holes. If you ever notice, when people are sitting under tents on the beach, all their stuff is towards the back. In this case, Kat had taken off her rings and put them in her short’s pocket so she could apply suntan lotion and laid the shorts towards the back of the tent. She and Daniel enjoyed the day, and when they got ready to leave she put her shorts back on, packed everything up and left the beach. At some point after leaving the beach, she remembered the rings were in her pocket or so she thought. When she checked her pockets – no rings! Sometime after that is when Daniel did a Google search about finding a lost ring and one of my blogs popped up. So, I’m doing my grid search and on the 3rd line I got a 5 on the VDI. I was fairly certain this was one of her rings, knowing it wouldn’t be deep: I was being extremely careful and couldn’t get the target in the scoop. Finally on my 3rd try I had her engagement ring. I reached in the scoop, pulled it out and held it up for her. She got excited! I figured if one was there, the other one wouldn’t be too far away. Swung my coil and hit a 7 on the VDI, Boom!! I had her wedding band. She was so thankful she had both rings back. I got a big hug from Kat and a firm handshake and thank you from Daniel. I really love being a part of The Ring Finders, there’s no greater feeling than handing back a treasure that they thought was lost forever.

Kat/Daniel – Thank you so much for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip home.

Jim

   

Family Heirloom Gold Ring Lost, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I received a text message from my son-in-law, Donnie Constransitch, saying that he was busy at the aqua park and to call Chandler for a lost ring in the soft sand. I called Chandler and she said she lost her ring last night in the dry sand and she knew the area where it was. I told her I’d be there in 10 minutes.

When I arrived, I called Chandler from the parking lot saying I was walking out on the beach. We met on the beach and she pointed out the area. She described the ring as a yellow gold ring with 5 diamonds. I turned my Equinox 800 on, took four steps and hit a solid 14/15 on the VDI (visual display indicator). That VDI was definitely in the range of a gold ring. I took a scoop of sand, gently shook the sand out and saw the gold ring.  I held the scoop out so Chandler could retrieve her ring. I could see the relief in her face and then she told me the story. The ring originally belonged to Chandler’s Great Uncle; it was passed to Chandler’s aunt and then passed to Chandler. I completely understood the sentimental value associated with this heirloom and so excited it was back where it belonged.

Chandler – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure.

Jim