How to find a lost ring on the beach Ocean Isle Beach NC Tag | Page 2 of 2 | The Ring Finders

Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned on Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received a late night email from Lindsay saying she had lost both her wedding and engagement rings the day before in the ocean, and asked if I was available to help. I had just gotten back home from an unsuccessful 4 hour search for another couple’s engagement ring. So, I had already planned on going back during low tide the next day and try again. I had also asked Jim Brouwer if he wanted to help because of the large search area, which he jumped at the chance. I responded back to Lindsay that I would be available, but I had another search I had to do first. I told her that I should be done by 10 am and I’d call her. I also asked her what time she lost her rings and how deep she was. Luckily, she lost them about 2 hours after high tide and was waist deep. With that information, I knew I wasn’t pressed to get to her location before the tide change, and we had a good chance of finding her rings.

After finishing up the first search with no luck, Jim and I drove the 30 minutes to Ocean Isle Beach. I called Lindsay and told her we were on our way. When we pulled in the driveway, Lindsay was anxiously waiting. I asked her to tell me the story of what happened and basically she got hit by a wave and her rings came off. I asked her what the rings were made of and she said white gold, so Jim and I knew we were looking for low numbers on our machines. Jim literally drew a line in the sand with his scoop to divide the search area in half, and jumped in the water to work the incoming tide. I started a grid search in the wet sand working parallel to the tide line. After a few grid lines, I thought I might be to high on the beach and moved to the water line and did about 3 grid lines in the water. Again rethinking the situation, I moved back out of the water and started another grid line just above my water line grid. About 5 steps and I got a very weak and erratic tone. The numbers on my Equinox were jumping from 1 to 3, a little lower than I was looking for, and nothing solid. I took a scoop of sand and still didn’t have anything solid. One more scoop, and I had a good 4-5 on my machine, but I couldn’t see anything. I shook a little sand out of my scoop and saw the tiny engagement ring. I gave a wink to Jim to let him know I had one of the rings, and then rinsed it off and called Lindsay over and let her reach in the scoop and pull it out. I confirmed, with her, that both rings fell off at the same time, and went back to the same hole. The hole was empty, so I slowly ran the coil around the area and got another very weak signal. A little more digging and moving the sand around and I saw the tiny wedding band lying in the sand. Washed it off and again let Lindsay remove it from the scoop. To say she was extremely happy would be an understatement. I got big hugs from Lindsay, and a very happy handshake from her husband, Drew.

A big thank you to Jim for his help, he’s always ready to lend a hand.

Lindsay and Drew, thank you for trusting Jim and me to help find your lost treasures. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. You now have one more chapter to add to the story of your rings.

Jim

 

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IPhone lost at Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Jessica called me a little before 9 am asking if I rented metal detectors. I informed her that I don’t, but I use metal detectors to help find things for people. She asked if I could find an iPhone she lost in the dry sand. We went back and forth with a few questions and answers, ending with me telling her I’d be there in about 45 minutes.

She gave me the address where she and her family were staying. When I pulled into the driveway she came out of the house with her friend, Maria and said to follow her to the beach access. Once we got on the beach, she said that she had left it on the beach the night before and had tracked it to a general area of where she had been. The area was roughly 20ft by 20ft, and thank goodness it was all dry sand. I started a grid search from the dry sand to the high tide line. On the fourth line I got a good signal, and the numbers were all over the place on the Equinox 800, so I knew I had found her phone. I used my foot to spread out the sand and uncovered part of the phone, and reached down and picked it up. She couldn’t believe it was found, thanks to her putting me in the right area, it made for a quick and easy search. When we found it, it had no power, so when she got back in her car and plugged it in, it started charging up. Thankfully, there seemed to be no damage.

Jessica, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost phone, and have a great rest of your vacation!

Jim

     

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10K Man’s Wedding Band Lost at Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started when Daniel called me saying he found me through The Ring Finders’ website and wanted to know if I could help. He stated he had lost his wedding band and was pretty sure he lost it on the beach. He and his brother-in-law had been throwing a football, he said he had also been sitting in the water with his hands in the sand, and at one point, he had ventured out into chest deep water. So, I’m thinking this is going to be a tough search, but I love a challenge and told him I’d be there in about 35 minutes. He gave me the address of the rental house, and I was on my way.

We met at the house and walked a block or so to the beach. On the way over, he explained that his family had set up in front of the 5th house from the beach access and in the dry sand. He also pointed out the area, in the wet sand, where he had been throwing the football. As luck would have it, there were numerous families set up in the dry sand exactly where I needed to search. I did a grid search in the areas I could with no luck. I then moved out into the wet sand, and in the water but was fighting the incoming tide. I had a great signal in the water but Mother Nature can be cruel sometimes, and the waves were pitching me around like a rag doll. After getting knocked off the signal 4 times, I decided to call it and come back later, closer to low tide. I told Daniel what my plans were and I’d be back around 10:45 p.m. I ended up getting back there close to 8:30 p.m. and started an east/west grid line from the 5th house back towards the beach access going from the dry sand to the water. After an hour plus I got a pretty good signal and dug it. It was pitch black, and even with my headlamp I couldn’t see anything in the sand I had spread out with my foot. I was spreading the sand with my hand when I hit the ring. BAM!!! I had his gold ring in my hand. I walked back to the house and surprised Daniel and Kelsey, who were both shocked the ring had been found. I was talking to Kelsey, and she told me that she knew the ring was gone forever.

Daniel told me that they had just celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary in June, so now their ring story can continue. Their smiles say it all!

Daniel and Kelsey, thank you so much for trusting in me to find your lost treasure and the very gracious reward. Best of luck to you both! Y

Jim

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Lady’s 14K White Gold Engagement Ring Lost at Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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When I woke up on Tuesday, May 8th, I noticed I had a 6:30 a.m. missed call with a voice mail from Michigan. Robert, who had left the message, stated he had found me through The Ring Finders website and was wondering about the details in finding a lost ring. He also said his wife’s engagement ring was lost in my area. When I called him back, we discussed the details of the search. He stated that his mother-in-law had lost his wife’s engagement ring, probably had it on her little finger and it slipped off. One of his questions concerned this being a scam, I assured him everything was on the up and up and gave him a short version of my history. The conversation seemed to put his mind at ease and he gave me the description of the lost ring and the general location. Shortly after, I was on my way to Ocean Isle Beach.

During the forty minute drive, Robert sent me pictures of the rental house they stayed in, the beach access where they entered the beach, and the search area. Actually, there were two search areas, one possible area, and inside that area was a probable area. It looked like this might be a pretty big search, everything considered. I texted him about 10:35 a.m. telling him I was there, and I’d let him know when I found it. I also asked him when her ring was lost and he responded saying either the 1st or 2nd of May.

A couple of things I’ve learned while beach hunting and watching people, one  – they don’t venture to far right or left from where they came onto the beach, and two – they “usually” veer to their right to find their spot. So, I grabbed my PI detector and went straight from the stair access to the mid-tide line, dragging my scoop behind me leaving a line in the sand. The PI was going crazy with all the trash in the sand making this search very time consuming. Luckily, I had brought my AT Pro and hiked back to the car to retrieve it. I was alternating my search grid from the left and right of my center line when I noticed two ladies walking out on the beach. True to form, they were veering to the right of the stairs and started setting up their chairs and stuff right where I needed to search. I nicely told them what I was doing and asked if they would mind setting up about 10 feet left in an area I had already searched. They didn’t seem happy but they moved, thank goodness. Two more passes on the right of my center line, and just about where the ladies would have been sitting, I got a strong signal with a 51 on the screen, exactly what I expected for a small lady’s white gold ring. I looked down at the sand as I waved the detector back over the spot, and actually saw the top third of the ring sticking out of the sand. BOOM!!! I had her ring.

At 12:55 p.m. I texted Robert a picture of the ring, asking “Look familiar?!?!  and then called him. When he answered his phone, I asked him if he got my text, he said he had but hadn’t looked at it yet. I told him he needed to look at the text. I heard him gasp, and he said something like “oh my goodness, I can’t believe you found it.” Before we hung up, we worked out the details to try and get the ring back to him, in Michigan, by Mother’s Day so he could surprise his wife, Abbey. Unfortunately, the ring didn’t make it back in time, but Robert had a backup plan. For Mother’s Day, he had her open 4 boxes inside one another, each box contained a picture. The first box had a picture of my book, “Teardrops in the Tides; The Journeys of a Ring Finder.” The second box had a picture of the search area. The third box was a picture of my scoop in the sand where I found her ring, and the forth box had a picture of her ring. Robert shared with me that Abbey was so happy she cried.

Robert, thank you for trusting in me to help find Abbey’s ring.

The smile on Abbey’s face says it all, how can it get it better. Robert also sent Abbey’s Mother’s Day surprise!!!

Jim

 

  

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