How to find a lost ring on the beach Holden Beach NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Saint Christopher’s Medal Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/20/25 around 9 pm, I was enroute to finish up a prior ring search when I received a text from Christine. Her text read, “Hi Jim. My husband lost a St Christopher necklace today at Holden beach while swimming about 10 feet from shore. It was his father’s necklace who passed away last summer – and had an inscription from his mother to his father on the back. The necklace itself isn’t worth much of anything, but the sentimental value is priceless. Is this something you might be able to help with? I’m not even sure of the chances of finding it, but we are Desperate. Christine” I immediately called her and told her I was on another search but could come up after that. I told her it might be late and asked her what’s too late for them. She didn’t have a problem with it being too late.

I was able to finish off the previous ring search successfully and pretty quick and called Christine. I asked her for her address and plugged it into my GPS. I told her I could be there at 11:11 pm and she was good with that. After the almost 2-hour drive, I arrived at their rental and met both Christine and her husband Brent in the driveway. On the way out to the beach in the pitch blackness of night, I was told the back story of the St Christopher medal. Brent’s mother, Roberta had given the medal to Brent’s father, Mark roughly 50 years ago when he took the Bar Exam and Mark had worn it since. Mark had passed away last summer, and Roberta gave the medal to Brent who’s worn it since. Brent was out enjoying vacation, doing a little body surfing when a wave took the necklace right off his neck. Brent, Roberta and Christine   had been devastated all day. I think Christine made it her mission to find a way to get it back. I had Brent give me an east and west boundary line and started on the east side. Hearing about what time this happened, which was about high tide, and looking at the current situation which was right at low tide I thought we had a good chance of finding it. This area had a high sloop so I was thinking the medal would be just about in the middle of the slope and out of the water. Brent thought I needed to go out deeper where the surf was braking on the sand bar, which in the dark at 11 pm wasn’t going to happen. I was going from just off the top of the sloop out to about thigh deep. The tide was coming in pretty quick, and thigh deep was getting more like waist deep. I was just about halfway across the search area when I hit a solid 30 on the detector’s VDI (visual display indicator). The medal was Sterling Silver which would hit upper 20s to lower 30s. I knew I had Brent’s St Christopher’s medal. I carefully dug out the target so I wouldn’t mess up the chain. Had the target on the beach, spread the sand and St Christopher was looking up at me. There was no chain attached nor was it still in the sand. I picked up the medal, and walked over to Brent, cleaning the sand off it. Christine had gone back to the rental, so it was just me and Brent. When I got to Brent, I held out my open hand so he could see it. He was overcome with every emotion. He hugged me so tight and lifted me off the ground. About that time Christine had made her way back and got the word and she got very excited. Next, we had to let his mom know. As we’re walking back to the house, his mom was on the back porch of the rental, I’m not sure if she’d been there the whole time but when she heard the news, I’m sure happy tears flowed. It’s such a great feeling for me when I can help make these kinds of things happen.

Roberta, Brent, and Christine – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your truly lost treasure.

Jim

 

 

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Man’s Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Recovered and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This little adventure started Wednesday around 3:30 pm with a text from Kelly saying, “Hello is this Jim Wren? I was just searching online and came across Ring Finders which lead me to your contact. My name is Kerry, a poor soul who lost his dang wedding ring here in North Myrtle Beach. It popped off while throwing a football around in the shallow water where the tide comes in just outside our hotel. Just curious if you might be available Jim? Feel free to respond via text or call. I’m here until Saturday this week. If not, it’s no problem at all. Thanks for your time, man.” I immediately checked the tide tables; low tide was just before 2 pm.  I then called Kelly to discuss the circumstances. He said he had lost it about an hour prior to his text and was in thigh to knee deep water.  I told him I’d be there in about 15 minutes, grabbed my detector and was on my way.

When I got to the beach, I met Kelly’s brother when he came up to me. He introduced me to Kristen, Kelly’s wife. As we were talking, Kelly came up and showed me the area where they were throwing the ball. Luckily, Kelly is right-handed, so the ring didn’t get thrown off. I was 2 hours behind the tide change, but the ring should be in water no higher than my waist. I started an east/west perpendicular grid search, going low and slow with the detector. I wasn’t picking up any targets at all. As the tide was coming in I was working in deeper and deeper water.  I was finally up to my chest when I got a great signal. The signal was what I expected for a man’s yellow gold ring. I was able to get a scoop of sand out, which was empty – no ring. As I find the target again with the detector, I wasn’t paying attention and got hit with a big swell that knocked me backward. From that point, I wasn’t able to find the target again, even though I tried. To get me back in the area on my return, I walked off the steps back to the beach and even with a drainage pipe. Total of 89 steps, give or take with me getting pushed by the current. I wasn’t able to do a good search, so I told Kelly I’d be back the next day, Thursday and called it a day.

I showed up around an hour before low tide so I could get a head start. I met Kelly and Kristen to let them know I was there and went to work. I walked off the 89 steps, plus another 15 or so steps. I’d rather search too much area than not enough. I started my east/west grid and extended my north and south boundary lines. I was getting nothing! The ring should be right there, but I wasn’t finding it. I then started a north/south grid line running parallel to the beach. For me, parallel grids are more difficult because it’s harder to keep a straight grid line. Still with no luck, I took a break to refocus. After my break, I started another east/west grid, tightening my grid lines. I finally hit the target I found the day before and dug it out of the ocean sand. Boom, it was a cap off an orange juice bottle. I had a few choice words and continued. I took another 4-5 steps and got a very iffy signal with the numbers jumping all over the place. I dug the target, shook the wet sand out in the water, and when I looked inside the scoop and there was Kelly’s yellow gold wedding band looking up at me amongst all the shells. I walked up the beach to where Kelly and Kristen had been sitting all day. I was exhausted but made it look worse than it was so Kelly and Kristen would think I was done. I had slipped Kelly’s ring on my index finger and when he was talking and looking away, I held my hand up and when he turned towards me, he saw his ring and froze. I got him! After I gave him his ring, I learned that his and Kristen’s rings were very special and sentimental to them. Both rings were custom made and each of their rings had 3 stones in them that they got from Kelly’s mother and grandmother. Priceless!

Kelly and Kristen – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your very special ring. Enjoy the rest of your vacation, have a safe trip back home to Ohio, and I wish you two only the best in life,

Jim

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Man’s Rose Gold Wedding Band Lost in a Severe Storm on the Beach – Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Last night I received a text message about 12:20 am from Savannah saying, “Hello, my husband and I are at North Myrtle Beach, and we were out this afternoon taking family pictures with our children and got stuck in a really bad storm and as we were running off the beach my husband’s ring flew off. I was wondering if you guys helped find rings or if you knew someone that could. We know the area it fell off but think sand is over it due to how bad the wind was.” I immediately responded asking her to call me, which she did. I got a few more details and told her I could be there in about 10 minutes. She agreed, so I grabbed 2 detectors and headed out. I don’t like to leave a ring on the beach for too long. There’s so many locals and tourist that metal detect all hours of the day/night depending on the tides. So, there’s always a chance a ring will be found and kept by the finder.

I arrived at the location and Savannah and her husband, Dwight was waiting for me in the parking lot. They walked me out to the area, and I could see that they had put in a good effort to try and find the ring with their hands. It wasn’t a real big area, but after quite a while of gridding and then cross gridding, I wasn’t finding Dwight’s ring. They decided to call it a night sometime after 2 am, after I assured them I’d text them when I found it. I grabbed my second detector, with a 15” coil out of the car and started all over again. I expanded the search area 10 ft past the end point and worked an east/west grid. I went from the bottom of the dunes to the top of the slope, probably 35-40 yards end to end. By now, I was way outside the assumed area Dwight said he felt his ring slide off his finger. After at least another 30 minutes, I got a very loud and solid signal. It showed me a vdi (visual display indicator) of 20-21. Of all the rings I’ve found, a man’s Rose Gold band was not one of them, so I didn’t know what number to expect. I dug a shallow scoop of sand and saw a quick glimmer of gold as I lifted up the scoop. Shook the scoop and there was Dwight’s ring sitting in the bottom of the scoop. BINGO! It was now 3 am, but I text Savannah anyway with a picture of the ring. Almost instantly she responded, “Coming down now, thank you SO MUCH. We met up and I handed Dwight back his lost treasure. Both were extremely happy. We met up again this afternoon so I could get some pictures. This is their last day of vacation so at least it’ll be a good one! Looking back on this find and discussing it with Savannah and Dwight, there’s no logical explanation of how the ring ended up so far away from where it should have been. The only thing we could come up with is that the wind was blowing so hard, it literally blew his ring 30-40 yards down the beach. It was a very strong wind though!

Savannah/Dwight – Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to help find your treasure. Best of luck to you both and have a safe trip back home.

Jim

 

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2 Yellow Gold Wedding Bands Lost, Found and Returned Garden City SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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April 27th, I received a text message saying, “If you could please call me, with a phone number. We lost two wedding bands.” I called the number and talked with Jessie who told me his mother; Tammy had lost her 2 Gold Wedding Bands. She had actually removed numerous rings from her fingers and had put them in the cup holder of her beach chair. When everybody packed up to leave, it was then Tammy realized her rings were still in the folded-up chair. But they weren’t.  They had all fallen out on their way off the beach. The family had searched and located all but the 2 gold wedding bands. Jessie and I agreed to meet at the beach location in less than an hour.

When I arrived at the beach, I had to call Jessie. The family was in the process of packing up and heading home from their vacation. Jessie soon showed up and showed me where the family had been sitting and their path off the beach. Jessie told me he had to finishing packing and if necessary, could I mail the rings to him if I found them. I assured him I would and started my grid search. After having no luck in their sitting area, I started working their pathway to the parking lot. Since Jessie told me he “thought” his mother’s rings were white gold, I was looking for single digit’s numbers on my Equinox 800. I finally hit a solid 13, which is a yellow gold number just off the end of the parking lot. I scooped up a small amount of sand and shook the sand out of the scoop. Bingo, 1 yellow gold thin wedding band in the scoop. I did another couple of swings with the detector and got another solid target. Another scoop of sand, I shook out the sand and had the second yellow gold band in the scoop. I sent Jessie a picture of both rings and called him. He showed the picture to his mom, and she confirmed those were the 2 rings. Jessie gave me the address they were at and I hand delivered both rings to Tammy. I caught them just before they pulled out of the driveway. Tammy was very happy.

Jessie – Thank you for calling and letting me help get your mom’s rings back to her. I wish you all a very safe trip home.

Jim

   

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White Gold Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost on Ocean Isle Beach NC – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I had gotten a referral off of a Face Book page about a young lady who had lost both her wedding and engagement rings on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Her name, Leanna, and phone number were in the referral, so I called her. When she answered, I introduced myself and told her that I was a member of The Ring Finders, explaining what it is that we do. I also gave her The Ring Finders.com web site so she could verify the service as well as who I was. She asked about the cost of the service, and I explained I did this on a reward basis, so if she wanted to do a reward it was totally up to her. Leanne and her husband had traveled back home and weren’t in the area so after talking with her husband, they agreed to have me look. She explained that she had taken her rings off and put them in a bag and left them in a cup holder on her Aunt’s beach chair. It wasn’t until they left the beach and got to the end of the beach access, did they check and find the rings weren’t in the bag. The chair and all the rest of their belongings had been sitting in the dry sand. Her husband stated they were set up to the left of the beach access, about 3 houses down.

This would be my second search for the day on Ocean Isle, just 4 blocks apart. I had already called Jim Brouwer to help me search for the other ring. Thinking this would be a quick search; I decided we’d look for this one first and then get the second one. It never fails, the ones you think should be quick and easy never are. Jim and I got to the beach and saw people set up right where we needed to search. We started our search weaving in and out of chairs, umbrellas, and people. There were a few couples that moved for us after they knew what we were looking for. I took a quick picture and sent it to Leanna to confirm we were searching in the right area. After about 45 minutes, with no luck, we decided to go after the other ring. Our plan was to come back a little later when most of the people would be gone.

After a successful find on the other ring, we showed back up to look for Leanna’s rings. There were still a few people but not near the crowd. As I’m doing a grid search, two young ladies (Virginia and Nadia) walk up to me. They tell me their cousin had lost her wedding and engagement rings the day before. I asked them if their cousin was Leanna, which they replied “yes.” I told them those were the rings I was looking for. We went back and forth about what happened, and I told them Leanna and her husband thought they were behind the 3rd house. I asked them what they remembered about the loss. Right off, they both said that they thought they were a little further east and about the middle of the dry sand. I talked to Jim, and we dividend the new search area in half. I worked the middle of the dry sand walking east, and Jim worked closer to the slope going east. About 10 minutes, I see Jim digging out a scoop of sand, and reaching down and picking something up. He walked over and handed me Leanna’s wedding band. He then walked back to the spot, swung the coil over the area, took another scoop and pulled out her engagement ring. I took both rings and laid them in the sand to get a picture. I sent it to Leanna with a text saying BA-BOOM! I then called her and ask if she got the text, she said she hadn’t checked her phone for a while, I told her she needed too! I heard her kind of gasp and said something like “Oh my goodness.” She was one happy young lady.

Leanna – Thank you for trusting us to help find your lost treasures.

Virginia and Nadia – if you read this, Thank You both for getting us in the right spot, it made all the difference.

Jim – Once again, thanks for your help!

Jim

  

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Mother’s Gift Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned on Holden Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I and my wife were on our way from dinner when I decided I wanted to spoil my granddaughters with some Krispy Kreme donuts just before bedtime, cause that’s what grandpa’s do. As I was paying for the donuts my phone rang. Noticing an out of state number, I was pretty sure this was a lost ring call. When I answered, Jennifer said she had lost a ring on Holden Beach and wondered if I could help find it. I asked my normal questions of: where was it lost on the beach, dry sand, wet sand or in the water, and at what time. She replied it was at 5 p.m. but she wasn’t exactly sure where. She knew she had the ring on when she got to the beach. She also said she was with her triplets at the water’s edge and then when she was leaving the beach she was putting shoes on one of the babies and noticed her ring was gone. She continued by saying that a pretty good size wave was coming in and she was scurrying to get the kids out of the way and thinks it may have fallen off then. I got a little excited when she told me what time she lost it, because high tide was at 5:23 p.m. and it’d be after 9 p.m. when I got there, so I wasn’t going to get wet! I told her I’d be there in an hour.

When I got to the address she sent me, she was outside waiting. I got a few more details as we walked out to the beach. She told me this ring was her mother’s and that her mother gave it to her for a birthday present and for the birth of her triplets. The ring was White Gold and was extremely sentimental to her. Just to be safe I turned my detector on as we walked to where she was with the babies just to make sure it hadn’t fallen off as they were leaving. We got to the spot and I started a grid search right at the cut line for the high tide. Within a few steps I got a good 8/9 and started digging. I was down at least 6 inches and thought her ring couldn’t possibly be this deep in 4 hours. Figuring the target ‘can slaw’ (pieces of a beer can that have deteriorated over time with the sand and water movement), I did about 3 more grid lines towards the ocean. With no other signals, I was sure the ring was in the hole. I went back and took 3 more scoops of sand out, checked the hole and knew I had the target in the third scoop. As I spread the sand on the beach from the scoop, Jennifer said, “There’s my ring.” She reached down and grabbed her ring and did a very excited happy dance. She was beyond excited and so were I and her father-in-law, Mickey, who had come out on the beach to watch. The feeling of returning someone’s treasure is incredible and is exactly why I do this.

Jennifer, thank you so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and love those babies!

Jim

 

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Man’s 14K White Gold Wedding Band Lost on Holden Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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My morning started off with a phone call from Matt asking for help in finding his Wedding band. He said that he had lost it yesterday after he put his ring in a chair cup holder, forgot about it, and later picked the chair up slinging the ring into the dry sand. These are the type of calls you dream about, lost in the dry sand, behind a rental house on a beach that doesn’t get hunted much, if any. I knew this was going to be a quick and easy search, and what made it better was Matt said he had marked the 10 ft X 10 ft area. I got the address and started on the 50 minute drive.

When I arrived, Matt was waiting for me on the front steps. He walked me through the house, introducing me to his wife, Cari, other family members, and then out to the beach. He pointed out the area he had marked and I started an east/west grid. On my third pass, I hit it. My Equinox 800 gave me a solid 16 on the screen, I took one small scoop, shook out the sand, and there it was. I grabbed the ring out of the scoop and held it up in Matt’s direction, his expression was priceless. I got a huge bear hug as I handed him his ring back. Cari had been standing up on the deck of the house and saw me hold the ring up and came walking out to the beach. Both were overjoyed and is exactly the reason I do this. Total search time was less than 5 minutes.

I asked Matt how he found me and he said he was trying to find someplace to rent a metal detector and called Joe Denton, the Minelab Detector distributor in Myrtle Beach, who at one time rented machines. Joe and I are friends, so Joe gave Matt my information and that’s how I got the call. Thanks Joe!!!

Matt and Cari, Thank you for trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. Best of luck to you both.

Jim

 

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