Lost Ring in the ocean – Found Ocean Isle Beach NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Wedding Celebration Contributes to Lost Wedding Band in the Ocean 8 hours after saying “I Do”

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Sunday afternoon, I received my second call of the day for a lost ring.  This one had been lost in the very early hours of Sunday morning on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. The call came from Jim, the groom. He said that he had lost his wedding band in the ocean after an evening of celebrating his and he’s new bride, Marie’s 6 pm wedding. At exactly the same time, I was talking with Jim, I was getting a text from Cindi, Jim’s mother. She had done the research and found me through The Ring Finders web site. She had sent my information to her son, and both of them were trying to contact me. At some point Jim passed the phone to Marie’s dad, Jim, and I learned that Jim had lost his ring in waist deep water at 2 am. A quick check of the tide table showed low tide was about 10:30 pm Saturday night, so I’m thinking this might be a tough search. I advised one of the Jim’s and Cindi that I had another ring search at 6 pm and that I’d be there as soon as I got finished with the other search, which was probably going to be about 8 pm with travel time.

I got to Ocean Isle about 7:45pm and met Jim (father), Marie and Jim (bride and groom), and a few of their friends. To help as much as possible with my search, I needed to get a consensus, from everyone that was there when he lost the ring. I needed to know the time, the location, and how deep Jim was. I started my grid search parallel to the beach, trying to work the outgoing tide. Within a couple of hours, it was pitch black on the beach and both the wind and waves had picked up to the point I wasn’t comfortable out there by myself. So, I called it a night and called Marie telling her I and a buddy would be back out around 9:30am the next day.

At some point I had called Jim Brouwer, a good friend that has helped me in the past, to see if he was interested in giving me a hand on this one. The search area wasn’t huge but with all the circumstances, it’d be great to have 2 of us looking. When Jim Brouwer and I got there around 10 am, I showed him the area and we drew a line in the sand where Jim (groom) suspected he entered the water. Jim B. took the north side and I took the south. After about 2 hours and almost at dead low tide, I see Jim B digging a target in about thigh deep water. Considering the time we were out there, I had dug just one bottle cap and Jim hadn’t dug anything, so this was a good sign. As I watched Jim search through his scoop, he raised his head and gave me the “yes” nod.  Thank you, Jim!!

Marie and husband Jim went to get Jim B and me some water, so when I tried to call Marie she didn’t answer. I called Cindi to see if the kids were with her, she said no and then asked if we found the ring. I told her yes but I wanted to surprise the kids. Cindi said she was coming down. Marie called me and I asked her if she’d come down. The plan was to tell Marie and Jim that we were done with the search while I was pointing out the areas we had searched with my index finger. The whole time I had Jim’s ring on that finger. It took a few minutes and I finally said “Follow my finger down.” Jim saw his ring first, and then Marie. Beautiful reactions from both and a few tears ran down their cheeks.

Jim and Marie, Thank you so much for trusting me, Jim Brouwer, and The Ring Finders to help find one of your most treasured items. In just two days, your rings have started the stories of your lives together, and what stories they are. Best of Luck to you both, I wish you only the best.

Jim

    

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Birthday Wish Comes True, Kind of, on Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Sam called me on Sunday, July 5th saying he had lost his gold wedding band in the ocean. My first questions were “what time” and “how deep?” His replies were around 4 p.m. and knee deep. Whew, these were good answers because low tide was about 2 hours before he lost it, so I felt like I had a fighting chance. We set it up that I’d meet him on Monday at 1 p.m. and I’d work the outgoing tide.

I called him as I was walking out on the beach and saw him waving. As we met and walked towards where he and his wife, Elizabeth had set up their umbrella for the day, I started asking more questions. Sam assured me that they were in the same spot they were yesterday and that he was straight out from there in knee deep water. He told me that when he lost his ring, he wanted to take one more swim before they left. He continued saying that as he was riding a wave in, another wave hit him and he felt his ring come off. I started a grid search and did 3 or 4 grid lines parallel to the beach to get a starting point. I then headed out in the rough surf in a perpendicular grid. I’m on my 6th grid line when I notice Sam out in deeper water, diving in an attempt to feel for his ring. When I got to him, I asked if he thought he was out that deep, he responded that he really thought he was. From his previous answers, my thoughts were he wasn’t, but I did a complete grid in the area to put his mind at ease. After finishing the area I continued on with my original grid search. After a few more lines, I noticed Elizabeth was standing at the water’s edge. I stopped and asked her what she remembered. She said she remembered Sam was more at an angle when she saw him frantically looking for something in the water, and she knew he had lost his ring. I knew then I needed to expand my search area to the west, just not sure how far. I knew I was in the hour and a half window before low tide, keeping in mind he was knee deep. So, I just kept plugging along and starting to second guess myself. Like, did I miss it, was I not out far enough, and all the other things that go through your mind when you’re looking for someone’s treasure. By now, I was at least 30-40 yards west of Sam’s suspected loss area. Then BAM!!!! I got the 16/17 on the Equinox 800 VDI I was looking for. One scoop and I had the target, I washed it out in the surf and there was Sam’s gold wedding ring, all by itself, sitting in the bottom of the scoop. I made it look like I was still detecting as I walked up to where they were sitting. I told them I needed a break, as I was grabbing my cell phone from my rolled up towel on the beach. I had his ring half way on my finger as I’m recording, waiting for his response. Elizabeth saw it first, but was speechless with her mouth open. It took Sam a couple of second as the video shows, and then all smiles.

Happy Birthday Sam, I’m sure it’s not the gift you wanted for your birthday, but it turned into a pretty good present!

Sam & Elizabeth – Thank you for trusting me to find your 2 year old treasure.

Jim

     

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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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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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