How to find a lost ring on the beach Tag | Page 3 of 4 | The Ring Finders

Teardrops Lost in the Tides Ocean Isle Beach NC

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

On Monday, May 30th I got an alert that I had been mentioned on the Ocean Isle NC FB page. When I looked at the site, I saw a posting that stated. “Hi everyone we lost my late husband’s wedding band in the surf 2 days ago between the ocean isle tower and the beach access, at water’s edge. If anyone has found it please let us know. We would greatly appreciate it.“ Knowing that this ring held a great deal of sentimental value, I immediately responded saying “Call me if I can help,” I also sent a link to my blog page on The Ring Finders.com page. As a follow up I sent her a private message with the same information. I got a text message back from her saying, “I will message you in the morning.” This morning she texted me with a little more information and added, “My son handed it to me. I was almost at water’s edge and it dropped and sank immediately, around 2 pm on Sunday.” A follow up text added “We are in town till Sat morning. My Husband passed away unexpectedly in March, meant a lot to my son so I appreciate you helping us.” We did some more texting back and forth and agreed that I’d be there at 12:45 p.m. to work the outgoing tide. Teresa also stated I could park in her driveway which alleviated me having to find a parking spot, which during this time of the year is almost impossible.

When I got there, I met Teresa, her father Richard, and her oldest son Derek. We all hopped in their golf cart and Derek drove us down to the beach. Once on the beach, Teresa led me over to the spot that was directly in line with where the ring was lost. Once there, Teresa explained that when her middle son, Daniel got married he didn’t have a wedding band to wear. His father’s wedding band no longer fit his father, so he passed it down to Daniel. When the ring was lost, Daniel was wearing it and was afraid of losing it while swimming in the ocean. So, in the process of handing the ring to Teresa for safekeeping, the ring hit her hand and quickly disappeared in the wet sand with the incoming tide. It was definitely one of those shear panic moments. Teresa said she looked for the ring for about 2 hours before giving up and then had a gentleman with a detector look the next day for quite a while with no luck.

It was time to find the ring, or at least give it all I had. From Teresa’s explanation of her husband’s 14K Gold Wedding Band, I knew that I was looking for a VDI (visual display indicator) on the Equinox 800 between 13-18, depending on the size of the ring. I started a little outside of the area Teresa showed me with a grid search parallel to the surf line. On my 5th line I got a loud and solid 16 VDI, I was 99% sure I had the ring. Two scoops and I had the target out of the sand and on the beach. I spread out the sand a couple of times with my foot before I saw the little shimmer of the gold ring. BINGO! I washed the ring off and saw that Teresa and Richard were praying to the Big Man upstairs as they were watching me from up near the dunes. As I’m walking their way, I did a little dance and I heard Teresa yell “Did you find it?” I held the ring up and she was literally overwhelmed with emotions, which made my eyes water a little bit. There’s no way to express what it means to find and return someone’s very special treasure. Teresa and I decided we’d surprise Daniel, so she called him saying that I needed to get some information from him. It took at least an hour for Daniel, his wife Ana, older brother Derek, younger brother Kyle and his girlfriend, Raina to show up. When they did, I showed Daniel the area I had searched and asked him if he thought I was in the right spot and anything else he might remember. Meanwhile, Teresa was standing behind us holding the ring up for the “aha” moment. It worked perfectly and was priceless!

Teresa/Daniel – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to find your very special treasure. It was truly my pleasure to get to meet all of you. Best wishes and enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Jim

Tags:
Category:

Man’s Tungsten Wedding Band Lost in the Incoming Tide, Found and Returned Holden Beach, NC

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

This adventure started with a post on the Friends of Holden Beach FB page from Erin on Saturday, May 14th. The post read in part, that her husband had lost his tungsten carbide wedding band on the beach. She also gave the house’s addresses that the ring was lost between. I immediately responded to the post saying, “Call me if I can help,” and added the link to my blog page from TheRingFinders.com. I also sent her a private message with the same information, as a follow up and to show this wasn’t a scam. I didn’t get a response from Erin until midafternoon on Sunday. She thanked me for my message but stated the ring was not very valuable so she didn’t think me coming to Holden Beach would be worth my time and travel. Personally, anytime I can help someone attempt to find their lost treasure it’s worth my time and travel.  I know every member of The Ring Finders feels exactly the same way. That’s just what we do and we love it! Anyway, I think, and I may be wrong, but Erin and her husband, Burke thought that the ring was gone forever. She told me that by the time Burke realized his ring was gone, and they went back out to the beach; the tide had come in and the entire area was under water. She also mentioned that they thought Burke might have taken the ring off and had it in his lap. Then when they were ready to go he had forgotten about it, he stood up and it disappeared. I was sure her husband’s ring would be within inches of where it was dropped. Since the ring was a heavy metal, it would quickly sink in the wet sand as the incoming tide covered it with more sand. I told her I had nothing else going on and that it was the sentimental value that’s important. At that point, Erin gave me a general area of where they had been sitting. I sent her a Google earth map, showing 4 squares I had drawn, labeled A,B,C, and D and asked her which area. She responded “Definitely B”, so she was able to narrow the area down a lot. Unfortunately, Erin and Burke were on their way back home and wouldn’t be available the next day to put me on the spot. I got a few more details and was ready to hit the outgoing tide the next afternoon (Monday). The only thing left to figure out was parking. Holden Beach has just eliminated street parking and gone to a pay to park in the few lots they have and there’s no lots available on the west end of the island where I needed to go. Luckily, another response to Erin’s original FB post was a lady named Anne that was two houses down from where I needed to search. I sent her a private message asking if it was possible if I could park in her driveway. Within minutes and without hesitation she responded “Sure.” Problem solved, now all I had to do was find Burke’s ring.

On Monday, May 16th, I arrived on the beach at 12:30 pm to start my search. Knowing the overall area, I started a parallel grid search from the top of the beach working towards the tide line. After about 30 minutes working this grid search, Erin’s father, James, came out on the beach. We introduced ourselves and talked for a few minutes. He then walked me out a little closer to the surf and a little east of where I was and showed me the area they all had been sitting. I extended the 4 sides of this search area so I’d be sure to cover it all. About my 4th line I got an iffy signal, it was within the VDI (visual display indicator) range I was looking for. But it was showing something I’d expect for a crusted penny that’s been buried in the sand for a long time. As I always do, when I’m looking for someone’s treasure, I dig everything I hear. This find proved my point. After 2 scoops of sand, I had the target out of the hole. I shook the sand out of the scoop and heard the clanging of metal. Bingo! I had Burke’s wedding band in the scoop. Thank you James, moving me when you did saved me about 30 minutes of added search. My wife had come with me to look for shells and I had her take a picture that I sent to Erin. I got an immediate response “OH MY GOSH JIM!!! I can’t believe it!!!!”

Anne – Thank you for giving me a place to park for the search. That was a big help!

James – Thank you for everything!!

Erin/Burke – Thank you for trusting in me and The Ring Finders to help find your treasure and get it back where it belongs. I wish you two only the best in life.

Jim

Tags:
Category:

Lost College Ring on Crescent Beach in North Myrtle Beach, SC, Found and Returned

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

TESTIMONIAL:

It was 4pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at Crescent Beach in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Our family had spent an overcast day on the beach together and had begun discussing dinner plans for the evening. The sun began to peek from the clouds, so my brother-in-law and his girlfriend decided to throw a football before we packed up for the day, so I joined.  They went out in the surf at least waist deep, and I stayed ankle-shin deep to throw back out to them. Never had an issue with my college ring coming off my hand, but after a few throws, using my right hand, the water had helped to loosen the ring. That’s when it happened, I threw the ball out, and as my arm came down from the throw, I felt the ring come off. I didn’t see or hear where it hit the water. That’s when instant panic set in. However, I stopped and looked at where I was in relation to stationary objects on the beach, anchored boats in front of us and storm water markers nearby. I yelled for help from my brother-in-law and then called my wife down from the umbrella. Four of us frantically searched in the shallow surf for at least 15 minutes, until I realized that the ring would have burrowed in the sand by now and it would be hopeless to keep searching. That is when my wife and I both felt “shell shocked” at the loss. Mainly because the ring was custom made, almost a decade after graduating college, and it was very pricey. I had only had it for a little over a month — hence the rookie mistake of forgetting to take it off in the first place.

By this time, it was 4:15pm, I stepped back up on the beach and thought to myself, check the tide chart. It was almost at peak high tide, and low tide would be after 11pm that night, in which I knew the area the ring was in, would be completely uncovered with water at that time. Do we come back then and dig around? That’s when I thought to search online for “professional metal detecting service, north myrtle beach”. The first result I clicked on took me to a “TheRingFinders” webpage with the first article showing a recovery of a woman’s wedding band set in North Myrtle Beach almost a year ago by a gentleman. I skimmed the article and realized that this was no novice just messing around, this guy must be a true professional given the circumstances of that recovery. That’s when I located his number and dialed it. On the third ring, I was greeted by Jim. Confirming he was in fact the “the ring finder man.” He proceeded to ask where I was, and I gave him details of what had just happened. It was 4:20pm, and he said stay put, I will be there in 20 minutes. He dropped his plans with his wife and immediately came to us to help.

Exactly 20 minutes later, Jim called me, and I watched as he walked out on the beach – “to the rescue.” He came up introduced himself and immediately my wife and I felt a sense of calm. He was super friendly, lighthearted about the situation so that we were able to laugh about it and at the same time. He obtained details and immediately set forth on his mission. Starting from a point we indicated, he worked in and out south. His grid patterning from the boundaries that we provided was evident that this was “not his first rodeo!” We anxiously watched and waited.

After close to a dozen in-and-out passes, from the beach to waist deep, out past where we told him I would have been standing. He came ashore, asked more questions from myself and my brother-in-law, and redirected his search north from where he started. On the second pass headed out, he stopped, right about where I would have been standing, now knee-deep. His waving motion of his detector had stopped. He was holding it still on something. Moving the detector aside, he took his scoop and made one dip into the water and up came a “scoop full of sand.”  He carefully washed away the sand from the scoop and reached inside it. Turning around to walk ashore, he looked at us and “did a little dance!” That’s when we knew, bingo!

Jim came ashore, walked up to me and held out his fisted hand, and dropped my ring in my hand. Mission accomplished recovery complete. Everyone seemed shocked that he found it, myself included – however, I really and truly had faith in Jim from the time I talked with him on the phone. I would have been more shocked if he wasn’t able to recover it, that’s how much I trusted his skill. I had not read his biography at this point, nothing other than the skimming of that one story online. Later, we learned that Jim served our wonderful country for many years in the United States Coast Guard and also working in the federal government.  He has continued his selfless service to people along the Grand Strand area for many years in his retirement – what a kind gesture to put his skills to work in such a way to help those in a panicked time of need.

“Thank you” was simply not enough to express my gratitude for his help. I went to shake his hand, and instead he leaned in and we exchanged a “bear hug!” A friendship was sparked. I gave Jim some cash that I hoped would be enough monetary compensation for his time, effort and ultimate success. He didn’t count it, but instead held it up and said “whatever this is, just know that ten percent of it will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in honor of you and your wife!” Such a kind gesture, once again.

In less than an hour and a half, a ring was “lost” by me and then recovered by a true professional and class act, Mr. Jim Wren. A one-of-a-kind college ring now really is a conversation piece, with a story to tell! Something that I will be able to pass down.

God Bless You Mr. Jim, you deserve all the best my friend!

Sincerely,

Travis

Tags:
Category:

Silver Promise Found on Holden Beach, NC

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

I got a call from Aaron saying that Joe Denton had referred me to help find a lost silver promise ring. The story went that his girlfriend Olivia had tried to pass the promise ring to a friend to hold for safe keeping. Unfortunately, Olivia was standing in a trough that was about 5 feet deep while the friend was standing on top of the ridge. The handoff missed and the ring sank to the bottom of the ocean buried in sand and shells. At first I told Aaron I’d be there closer to low tide, which was about 3 hours later. After thinking about it, I called Aaron back and said I was on my way. I was hoping that by getting there early, I could work the outgoing tide and maybe come across the ring.

When I got there I met Aaron and Olivia in the parking lot. As we walked out to the beach, Aaron said that he had made a sand mound to mark the spot Olivia went into the water. As we got closer to the spot, the mound was gone. Where the spot was now 2 kids playing and unknowingly destroyed the mound. There was just enough of the mound left that Aaron was sure we were in the right spot. Not knowing what I’d be up against, I brought both my White’s PI and my Equinox 800. I grabbed the PI and headed out in the water to find the trough. About the same time I found the trough, I got smacked by a pretty good wave that soaked me and just about knocked me over. New plan, I grabbed my 800 and started working the slope and parallel with the beach. Aaron said they were going to go eat dinner and I assured them if I found it I’d give them a call. After about 20 minutes, I grabbed the PI again and started working the tide line seaward. The waves were still breaking with force, plus the current was stronger than I willing to fight with. I moved south to start a wider search and Boom!!! I hit a great signal, but with the PI it could be anything. I dug the target out, walk up the beach and dumped the scoop out. Ran the coil over the area and found the target again, pushed the smaller amount of sand in the scoop with my foot and shook it out in the surf. There it was, Olivia’s beautiful promise ring staring up at me. I called Aaron and he asked if I found it. I told him that I thought so and was sending him a picture. Bingo, he said it was Olivia’s. I told them I’d meet them at the restaurant they were at and drop it off. When I got there they were both waiting in the parking lot with huge smiles on their faces.

Aaron and Olivia – thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Wish you both the very best in life.

Jim

Tags:
Category:

Man’s Wedding Band Slipped off in the Ocean, Found and Returned Holden Beach, NC

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

I woke up this morning to a text message saying, “Good morning. My husband and I got married on OIB 6/11. We are vacationing in Holden beach with friends this week. Late yesterday afternoon he watched his wedding band slip off in the ocean.  We had a nice guy come this morning at low tide with a metal detector, but no luck. He recommended getting in touch with you. Are you available to help find my husband’s wedding band?” I called the number attached to the text and talked with Francine. I asked the usual questions, “what time did he lose it, how deep was he, and does he have a good idea of the area.” She responded he had lost it around 6 p.m., about knee deep, and was sure of the area. I knew the tide at Holden was at 4:55 p.m. the day before, so he lost it about an hour after low tide. It’d be a challenge but not impossible. I told her I’d be up there at 4 p.m. which would give me a little under 2 hours to search before the tide changed.

When I arrived, Chuck met me in the drive way and introduced himself as the husband who lost his wedding band. He confirmed everything Francine had told me, so I told him to lead the way and we’d try our best to find it. I could tell Chuck was distraught over losing his ring, and who wouldn’t be. Chuck and Francine led me past the swimming pool, where many of the friends were hanging out. We continued across the boardwalk and out on the beach. Smartly, Chuck had lined himself up between a post and trash can on the beach when it happened. Since we weren’t on a part of the beach that had public access and a lot of trash, I decided to use my White’s PI. I started a grid search from the wet sand out into the surf, which was building and getting a few larger waves. As I finished my second grid line, I confirmed with Chuck about the post and trash can. He thought I should move over to my left and line up with an umbrella that was up on the beach. It was getting late and I figured the umbrella wouldn’t be up much longer. So, I moved over a few more feet and lined up with the corner of a beach house roof to help keep my grid lines straight. Those few extra steps made the difference. I walked back out in the surf, turned around and was making my way back to the beach for the next line. About 20 to 30 feet from the beach, I got a solid loud tone. Since it was the only signal I had gotten, I felt pretty confident it was Chuck’s ring. I dug a scoop, the target was still in the hole, two more scoops and I still didn’t have the target. Without looking, I knew Chuck and Francine were watching me with great anticipation. Took a fourth scoop and had the target. Instead of shaking the sand out in the water, I carried the scoop up to the beach and dumped it. Ran the coil over the pile, got the signal and spread the sand with my foot. I don’t know if Chuck or Francine saw the ring, but I did and reached down and picked it up. I washed the sand off it and handed it to Chuck. Francine excitedly screamed and jumped in Chuck’s arms. Within a few minutes everyone that had been sitting around the pool was now running down the beach with excitement. What a warm wonderful feeling seeing Chuck and Francine so happy and excited, this is exactly why I do this.

Chuck and Francine – Thank you so much for allowing and trusting me to help find your treasure. Sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of your vacation!!!

Jim

  

Tags:
Category:

White and Rose Gold Wedding Band Lost, Found, and Returned in Myrtle Beach, SC

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

Monday afternoon started with a message from Taylor saying in part “Hello Ring Finders I’m so so hoping you can help!!! I have lost my wedding ring!!!! We are staying at the sea mist oceanfront resort in Myrtle Beach.  I’m hoping you can help.” This ring call is in Matt Fry’s area, so I’m in the process of calling Matt when Taylor calls me. I ask Taylor a few questions that I could relay to Matt. She explained that her and her family had been there since around 8 a.m. She said she had taken her ring off to apply sun screen to the family and couldn’t remember if she put it back on or not. She also mentioned that she had gone in the ocean at some point but no deeper than knee deep. I explained to her that I’m trying to get a hold of Matt, who covers Myrtle Beach, for her ring search and that one of us would call her back shortly. When I got a hold of Matt, I started giving him the information. I then asked him if he wanted to take it,  I must have sounded pretty pathetic because he said “if you want to take it, go ahead. I’ve got work in the shop to do.”  I thanked him and called Taylor back saying I was on my way.

When I got to the beach, there was no place to park. I called Taylor and she met me in the resort’s parking lot and was able to get me a temporary parking pass. As we walked out to the beach, I learned they were on vacation from Virginia. She also mentioned that they had seen another detectionist earlier on the beach and had asked him if he could try and find her ring. He checked the area where they were sitting and then recommended they contact The Ring Finders, that’s how she found me. I know a lot of the guys detecting in Myrtle Beach and I know they’re good and thorough in their searches. But from the description that Taylor gave me, I couldn’t picture who it was. For my own piece of mind and to say I checked, I did a quick search around their umbrella and out in front a few feet. I then started a grid search from where they were sitting out to the low tide line. Probably 8 to 10 grid lines, I got a solid 13. On the equinox 800, a 13 VDI could be a pull tab, a man’s thin gold ring, a nickel, or a woman’s big white gold wedding band. After digging a scoop of sand and spreading it out on the beach, I didn’t see anything. I ran my coil over the area and got the 13 again. I didn’t see a thing so I’m thinking a pull tab.  I’m moving the sand with my foot and saw a very small silver looking “thing.” I reached down and plucked Taylor’s beautiful white and rose gold wedding ring out of the wet sand. I walked down to the water and washed the sand off the ring. I then made my way back up to where Taylor and Brandon were sitting, making it look like I was done. I stood in front of Taylor and ask her what her ring looks like. As she’s explaining her ring, I slowly hold it up next to my face so she can see it. She screamed “you found my ring” and exploded out of her chair. Big, Big Hug and some tears. This is why I love doing what I do!

Big shout out and thank you to Bill Judy, who was the detectionist that referred Taylor and Brandon to The Ring Finders and Matt Fry, who let me take this ring call.

Taylor and Brandon – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back home!

Jim

   

Tags:
Category:

Man’s Gold Wedding Band Lost on Bald Head Island NC – Found and Returned

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

This little adventure started when I got a text message from Chuck on Aug 26th that read “Hi Jim, I lost my wedding ring on Bald Head Island’s east beach last night about an hour after low tide (just when it got dark). I have a very good sense of where it went down but no equipment to search for it before our vacation ends on Saturday. I don’t see BHI on your list of locations, but I’m wondering if you know any detectionists who do work on the island. Thanks for your time!” When someone tells me they lost a ring at low tide, I immediately suspect they were waist to chest deep. Luckily, not in this case though. I responded back to Chuck asking how deep he was and what type ring he lost. Never being to the island, I had no idea what I was up against or how to get there. I contacted 3 other area TRF members, Steven Ray, John Finnerin, and Matt Fry to see what they knew about Bald Head Island. I got enough information from the 3 of them to piece everything together, so when Chuck text me back that he was only ankle deep I had a game plan. I called Chuck and told him I could get an early start the next morning, make the hour plus drive up to the ferry terminal, catch the 7am ferry, and be there before the low tide at 9am. The only thing I needed from him was to pick me up at the island ferry terminal, and take me to where he lost his ring. He readily agreed, so the plan was set.

This morning when the alarm went off at 5am, I realized that now that I’m retired, this is really an un-Godly hour of the day. Nevertheless, the plan worked and Chuck and his father-in-law were sitting in a golf cart (the only 4 wheel transportation on the island) waiting for me when the ferry tied up. Chuck drove us out to the beach access where he lost it, and as we’re walking out to the beach, I asked him how he lost it. He explained that the family was sitting near a sea turtle nest waiting for the hatchlings to make their way out of the nest and head for the ocean. At one point Chuck went to the water’s edge to wash the sand off his hands and when he shook his hands his ring flew off, straight down, and disappeared into the wet sand. Chuck knew exactly where it happened and had a landmark he made up in the dry sand. I turned the Equinox 800 on and went to work, doing 5 parallel grid lines down towards the outgoing tide line. When my lines started getting washed away, I changed to perpendicular grid lines. I started at the point Chuck had showed me and went both east and west expanding the search area. I wasn’t having any luck so I changed to my second machine, which I’ve learned to bring along just in case. I turned the White’s PI on and started at the same point Chuck had originally showed me. I think it was on my 2nd line, I hit a great signal. I dug a couple of scoops, got the target out of the hole and in the scoop, washed the sand out in the surf and there was Chuck’s ring. I did a little dance up towards Chuck and he knew I had it. I let him reach in the scoop and pull it out. It took me at least an extra 30 minutes, because I just missed it on the first pass when I must have zigged instead of zagged, but Chuck’s ring is back where it belongs. Now the family’s drive home will be much more enjoyable.

Chuck – thanks so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a safe trip home and take of yourself.

Jim

      

Tags:
Category:

Lady’s White Gold Wedding Band Lost at Sunset Beach NC, Found and Returned

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

I was about half way home from an unsuccessful 6 hour search when I checked my email and found one from Kyle. In her email she stated, “Hi, I saw your name on the ring finder website. We lost a wedding band at Sunset beach today. I can point you to almost exactly where we were sitting. (Landmarks) we lost it at low tide. I went back at high tide and the water was right up to where we were sitting. Please let me know if you are available and what your cost is.” The timing was perfect because I was just coming up to the turnoff for Sunset beach. In her email she had also included her phone number, so I gave her a call. I confirmed she hadn’t lost it in the ocean, but in the dry sand, and I her I could meet her in 15 minutes. She agreed to meet, and gave me the beach access street number, but said it’d take her about 20 minutes.

I met Kyle, her sister Jen, and a young man as we were walking across the access boardwalk out to the beach. Kyle explained how she lost it, and then we just chit chatted on the long walk out. Kyle said that she and Jen have always wanted to get a metal detector and find treasure. When we got to the beach, it was pitch black. There are no hotels or resorts to light up the beach, and with overcast skies there was no stars or moon. We turned right when we got on the beach and kept walking; I started to worry a little thinking Kyle may not be able to find their spot. After a couple hundred yards or so, Kyle stopped and said we were right here in front of this mound. I turned on the Equinox 800, tested a duplicate ring Kyle had, which rang up as a 12 on the VDI. Took 2 steps and got a 13/14 on the VDI, which I thought would be a pull tab with those numbers. As I dug the target, I even commented to Kyle “I think this is a pull tab.” When I shook the sand out of the scoop and looked, I saw her white gold wedding band and said “or maybe not” as I held it up for her to see. She and her sister were a little surprised with how fast it was found. I told her the credit was all hers for putting me in exactly the right spot. I then let Kyle and Jen use my machine and run the coil over her ring so they’d get an idea of how to detect, if they were to get a machine.

Kyle – Thanks for contacting and trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and stay safe.

Jim

    

Tags:
Category:

4th Generation Gold Greek Orthodox Byzantine Cross w/Gold Chain Lost on Sunset Beach NC – Found and Returned

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

On Tuesday, Jul 21st, at 10:59 p.m. I got the following email from Stephanie, “Hi Jim, We have a family home on 6th street at Sunset Beach and on Sunday, on the beach at 6th street, a 4th generation Greek Orthodox Byzantine Cross on a gold chain was lost in the sand. It was my great grandmothers. Someone recommended that you might be able to help. If so, please let me know! Thank you so much! Stephanie.” I saw the email about 11:30 p.m. and immediately responded asking a few questions for more details, time of day, was she still in the area, etc. I gave her about 30 minutes and then sent her another email asking for her phone number and saying I’d call her the next morning between 9-9:30 a.m. This morning I had the following email from Stephanie, in part saying, “It was placed in the cup holder of the chair for safekeeping and then I forgot about it being there. When it was time to go, I closed the chair in the harder sand, just beyond the soft sand, and carried the chair on my back up past the trash cans, and then down the 6th street boardwalk. I realized when I was at my grandfather’s house that it was gone. I searched the gravel at his house, the boardwalk 3-4 times and the sand where I was sitting (before the tide came up). My cousins are still staying at our house on 6th street and could point out where we were. My parents, husband and I had to drive back home on Sunday for work on Monday. Since then, I called the police, and fire dept, Sunset reality, and put messages in some of the Face book groups.” She had also included her phone number, so I called her. While we were talking she mentioned that there had been a few people with detectors trying to help find the cross. I got her cousin’s name, Wilson, and his phone number. Low tide was at 3:32 p.m. so I had plenty of time. About 1:30 p.m. I gave Wilson a call and told him I was on my way.

I arrived on the beach about 2 p.m. and met Wilson and his wife, Corie, an extremely sweet couple. Wilson pointed out the area that Stephanie and the rest of the family had been sitting on Sunday. Stephanie had told me that they were sitting just off the dry sand, Wilson said they were out closer to the mid tide line. Not a big deal because I had planned to search at least down that far anyway. I started my grid search extending it both North/South and East/West. After searching for 3 hours, I had a couple of areas where sunbathers and a family were sitting that I still had to work around. The sunbathers finally packed up, so I was able to clear those areas. I only had one area to search, the one the family was occupying. This area would have been right in line with the path Stephanie would have taken to leave the beach. Otherwise, I was confident I had covered the area as completely and thoroughly as I possibly could. After waiting for a while longer, I finally went up to one of the family members and asked them about how much longer they planned on staying. They weren’t sure, so I told Corie that I’d be back a little later and headed home for dinner.

I went back about 7:30 p.m. and although there were still people on the beach, the area I needed to search was clear. I paced off the steps I had originally done before I left and started my grid search. As I turned the corner on my 5th line, and exactly where the family I had been waiting for were sitting, I hit a target that was giving me a solid  5 on the Equinox 800 VDI. GOLD! I carefully dug a hole so I wouldn’t take the chance of breaking the gold chain if this was indeed the cross and chain I was looking for. As I was removing the scoop from the hole, I saw the gold chain following the scoop. BOOM!!! I reached down and lightly pulled the chain and the cross came with it. I had left my phone at home, so I didn’t have the picture Stephanie sent but I was positive I had the right thing. Earlier Corie had told me she had seen the cross, so I drove to the house they were staying at. By now it was 8:30 p.m. so I was afraid I was disturbing them. I knocked on the door and Corie came to answer it. I held the cross up and asked is this Stephanie’s? She covered her mouth with both hands and stared. Then she said she wasn’t sure and face timed Stephanie. Corie turned the phone towards me as I was holding up the chain so Stephanie could see the cross and chain. Stephanie had no doubt and quickly confirmed it. It hit me that I was holding something that had been in the family close to, if not over, 100 years old. This crosses’ story can now continue for maybe another 4 generations or more.

Wilson and Corie – Thank you so much for all your help on this and the kindness you showed me.

Stephanie – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your family’s lost treasure.

Jim

    

 

Tags:
Category:

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

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

This adventure started when I got a phone call from Alicia at 11:15 am, asking if I could help find her husband, Sam’s, wedding band. She told me that one of her girlfriend’s father had recommended The Ring Finders, sure am glad he did. I started getting the details and it sounded like a good challenge. She said that she and Sam got married yesterday and after a full day of fun, it was time to relax. Not sure how many were involved, but Alicia said a whole lot of people (wedding party and family members) decided to take a midnight (literally) swim in the ocean. I asked her how deep they were and she said “torso” deep, so anywhere from shoulders to naval, which if they’re short, it’s not too bad. Taking a quick look at the tide tables, they were swimming about an hour to an hour and a half before high tide, big help! Low tide for today was around 8:30 pm so I told her I’d be there close to 5 pm. I had nothing going on, so I took a ride up to do a recon on what I was up against. When I got there, Alicia came out and confirmed the area, and roughly, how far out they had been. I was thinking I’d be back at about mid tide and work the outgoing tide and should have a pretty good shot at finding the ring.

I got back there right around 5:30 pm, and got to meet some of the family around the pool, a great bunch of people! Made my way out to the beach, and decided to do a perpendicular grid search (shore line to water). I got about half way through my third grid line and got a banging signal on my Equinox 800 that was registering 22-24 on the VDI. I was about thigh deep and dug a scoop of sand, checked the hole and it was clear. Washed the sand out of the scoop in the surf, checked the scoop and nothing. Hmmm, maybe I had a small target that fell through the holes in the scoop. Checked the hole again then around the hole and got the signal again. Took another scoop of sand, checked the hole and the area around the hole and I had the target (again) in the scoop. I walked up to the wet sand and dumped the scoop, checked the pile of sand and found the target. Spread the sand out with my foot and saw the outline of a ring in the sand. Washed it off, confirmed the inscription that Alicia said was in it and knew I had it. I took a picture and text Alicia saying “Bingo!” She immediately text me back and said she was on her way back to the house. Total search time was between 20-30 minutes. Made it back to the pool that the family was still gathered around, had a cold beer with them and waited for Alicia. She was so excited, she just knew the ring was gone forever.

Most of the rental houses on the beach are named, this house was no different. Ironically the name on this house was “The Memory Maker,” I’m sure that Alicia and Sam will remember this adventure for a very long time.

Alicia, thank you so much for trusting me to find your lost treasure. Hope and pray for only the best for you and Sam, take care of each other.

Jim

   

Tags:
Category: