Clemson Class Ring Lost in the Surf – Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC
I got a call from Kaley after she found me in the ring finders directory saying she had lost her Clemson class ring the night before when she took a 3am late night stroll on the beach. She informed me she had lost the ring in Myrtle Beach which is TRF member Matt Fry’s area so I told her that I would call Matt and one of us would be calling her back within the next 10 minutes. I contacted Matt and filled him in on what was lost and the location. He told me he was too busy at work and had his own lost ring call to work in the evening and for me to go ahead and take Kaley’s lost ring. I called Kaley back and told her I’d be there in 30 minutes.
When I arrived I met Kaley on the beach behind her hotel and noticed the area was packed with families here on vacation. She gave me the description of the ring and a friend of hers had the same ring so I was able to run a test with my machine and get a visual idea of what I was looking for. She also told me she had rented a metal detector and didn’t have any luck in finding her ring or anything else. Unfortunately I was battling a rough incoming tide that was close to being at high tide and trying to work around families that were where I needed to search, not a good combination. So I told Kaley I’d be back in about an hour and work the outgoing tide and figured most of the families would be gone to dinner. When I got back the tide was outgoing but I think the families had increased. I was able to work around those in the surf but I’m thinking that if she lost her ring within 30 minutes of the high tide last night the ring should be pretty close to the high tide line and this would be a quick search – not the case!!! As I’m working my way down the tide line, I’m thinking there’s no way the ring could be this far down the slope of the beach. Finally at 8:30pm and a good 3 hours of searching the 75 yards of beach Kaley was sure she lost it in I got a good solid signal almost at the low tide line, dug a scoop full of sand and saw the gold in the bottom of the scoop. I either had somebody else’s ring or Kaley’s – bingo, it was Kaley’s. She was scheduled to leave some time today so I took a picture and texted her « look familiar? » She immediately texted me back with « OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!! » Luckily she was still in town and finishing up a game of putt putt golf, she showed up about 40 minutes later and came running out on the beach. She informed me that when she lost it at 3am she called her mom and dad crying, having 2 daughters of my own I could relate to this real easy. Got a few big hugs and many thank yous!
Kaley’s is a student pilot and is on her way to a new job in Wichita, KS and now gets to take her college ring with her. Kaley, you are a very sweet young lady, best of luck to you in all your future endeavors and thank you very much for the more than generous reward.
Jim
Thank you for reading my blog and please remember to contact a member of the ring finders as soon as possible after losing your valued treasure so it can get back where it belongs as soon as possible.