Metal Detecting Service North Myrtle Beach SC Tag | The Ring Finders

White Gold Wedding Set Lost in Pool Area – Found and Returned Cherry Grove SC

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

On 7/22/25, I received a text from Kendra just after 6:30 am saying, “Hello. Hope I’m not waking you. What do you charge to search for a missing ring? We’re staying in Cherry Grove. I believe I lost my ring while playing volleyball in the pool.”  It was a couple of hours later before I saw her text. I told her how my services work including the St. Jude’s donation I make with any money I get. She responded back that “we’re here until Saturday. I would love help finding it. We have obviously looked a lot lol, but no luck.” I called her and got more details and told her I could be there within the hour; I had a couple of things to do. I also ask for the address, which she sent.

When I got to the rental she was staying, I text her saying “Here.” She text back that she was by the pool. When we met, she advised me that they had checked the pool and surrounding area. Unfortunately, there was a metal fence surrounding the pool area. Luckily, I had brought my gold bug with a small coil and my pin pointer. I searched all along the parameter and came up with nothing but trash. I noticed a couple of bushes inside the fence with rocks as landscape, so I checked all around those. At this point, I was out of options and stopped to talk with Kendra. As we’re talking, Kendra said, “What is that?” I turned around to look and there was Kendra’s beautiful white gold wedding set laying on the concrete in plain view. I reached down and picked it up and handed it to Kendra. There was absolutely no explanation as to how the rings were just laying there. Thinking back on it, in the process of looking along the inside of the fence, I did move a couple of chairs a little to get them out of the way, but nothing major. We’ll never know for sure how Kendra’s rings ended up in plain view. The important thing is they’re back on Kendra’s finger where they belong.

Kendra – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure, however it happened!!

Jim

 

IPhone lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

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

I got a call from Cassidy just before noon saying she had lost her phone last night around midnight. She said she lost it in the dry sand, plus some other details. She gave me the address, and I told her I’d be there in about 20-30 minutes. Grabbed my gear and was on my way. When she originally called, she said she was in Myrtle Beach. Since North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach are two separate cities having the same names, it makes it tough sometimes for tourist to distinguish between the two. Cassidy told me she was around a local pub, so I knew I was headed to North Myrtle Beach.

When I arrived at the beach, it was packed with people and a heat index of over 100 degrees. I met Cassidy and she showed me the area where she was sure she lost her phone. I really thought the IPhone would be on top of the sand as it’s too big to disappear in the sand like a ring would. I did the best I could, weaving in and out of the beach goers without disturbing them too much. Cassidy was talking to one of the beach chair rental guys and he asked me if I needed him to move people. Although I’ve done that in the past, I normally just keep working the area until they get the hint and volunteer to move. He walked up to 2 separate couples and got them to move their belongings and chairs, but I still had to contend with the umbrellas. I cleared the first area and as I was working the second area, I got the unmistakable signal of a cell phone. I gently stuck my scoop behind the target, so I wouldn’t damage it, and lifted the sand out of the hole. As soon as I did, out popped her IPhone. As I turned it over to see the brightly colored case, she came running. She was so excited and thankful.

Cassidy – Thank you for allowing me to help find your IPhone

Jim

 

Man’s Tungsten Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

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

This 3rd ring call of the day started with a text from Cayla. Cayla’s text started with “Hey how much are your services?” I told her that I do this on a reward/gratuity basis with 10% going to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Honor of the giver. She responded saying “My husband has no faith on you finding his ring, we are in north Myrtle. He shook his hand and the ring flew off. This was around 12 this morning.” I ask her to call me. I was within blocks of where they were staying, so I pulled into a parking lot and waited for a response. In the meantime, I sent her a link to my Ring Finders page showing my Bio, number of finds, etc. When she did call, she told me her husband thought she was crazy because he thought his ring had been taken out to sea. When she told me the ring had come off in the dry sand, I assured her the ring would be right where it came off. I also told her if she was real sure of the area he lost it; we had a great chance of finding it. Cayla agreed to have me come over.

It took less than 10 minutes to get there, and Cayla met me in the parking lot. We walked out to the beach and were followed by many members of the family, who all doubted the ring could be found. Cayla and a few others showed me the area. I thought this should be a piece of cake, except for the metal drainage pipe that ran underneath the sand. I started a grid search and turned down the sensitivity as I passed over the pipe. Within just a few grid lines, I got a solid 17 on the VDI (visual Display Indicator). I knew that number was exactly what I was looking for. I looked up at Cayla and gave her a little smile and started digging. It took 3 scoops to get it out of the hole, which surprised me, but I got it out. After finding it in the sand from the scoop, I held it up and Cayla came running. She was happy we found it, but I think happier that she made the right decision to call for help. Cayla and I had fun teasing the doubters, especially her husband Brittian when he came down to the beach. All in good fun!

Cayla – Thank you for trusting me to help find Brittian’s lost ring. So glad I could help and have a good time doing it. All the best to you and yours!

Jim

 

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

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

Shortly after 11 a.m., I received a text from my son-in-law, Donnie who’s a North Myrtle Beach Police Officer asking, “Can you come to 23rd Ave South, ring?” I replied “sure.” He then added, “It’s in the water, kind of shallow but the tide is coming in. 2 hours before high tide.” He also sent me a name (Clete) and a phone number. I called Clete to get a few more details and told him I’d be there in about 10 minutes.

When I arrived at the beach, I met Clete as I was coming off the boardwalk. He walked me out to the area where he had marked the spot with a kid’s shovel buried in the sand. He said it was 50 steps out to the area. I looked at what 50 steps would approximately be, and I was prepared to get wet, but 50 steps would put me under water. Then he let me know it was 50 heel to toe steps, ok a little better.  I had him mark off the steps and he ended up about waist deep in the water. I turned my machine on and started my walk out to him. The water was cold!!! I caught a few waves that put me shoulder deep, but things were good. I did a couple of grid lines from shore to the spot with no luck. I then started at his spot and worked a grid around that spot. Suddenly, I got a good signal ringing up between 10-12. For the type ring he described, I was in the ballpark. I had to keep the coil on the target and butt the scoop up against the coil. Then move the coil out of the way to try and dig the target. After the third scoop, I had the target in the scoop. I let the waves wash the sand out of the scoop and Bingo; Clete’s ring was staring up at me from the bottom of the scoop. I removed the ring and clutched it in a closed fist as I walked back to shore. I looked up and saw Clete and Ashley, his wife, making their way towards me. Clete asked, “Did you find it?” I held out my fist and handed his lost treasure back to him. He was so relieved and grateful.

Donnie – thanks for the referral!

Clete – thank you for trusting me to help find and return your precious treasure. You and Ashley enjoy the rest of your family vacation!!

Jim

Sprinkler Solenoid Valve Found Carolina Shores NC

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

I got a call last Wednesday from a repeat customer asking if I could help him find a sprinkler solenoid valve in his yard. We agreed that I’d meet him today, Thursday, Oct 29th. When I arrived, Jim was waiting for me in the yard. He showed me the suspected area where the solenoid was buried. He told me that he had had some landscaping done and the protective boxes had been covered up with dirt and rocks. When I turned on my Equinox 800, I was getting all kinds of EMI (electromagnetic interference), so I turned down the sensitivity. Luckily, Jim had another solenoid that he had already found that I used to test. I knew I was looking for negative numbers and probably in the -4 to -5 range on the VDI. The valves are mainly plastic with very little metal (basically screws, a spring, and some copper wire) in them. When I ran the coil over the exposed solenoid, I wasn’t getting much of a signal. I cranked the sensitivity back up to 25 (max) and was able to get enough of a signal I could distinguish the signal from the interference. After checking a different signal that turned out to be nothing, I swung over an area more into the bushes. I got the low grunt sound and the numbers I was looking for. Jim started digging and after a few inches of dirt and rocks, he spotted the cover protecting the solenoid.  We found exactly what he was looking for. Jim for holding on to my number and giving me a call. So glad I could help.

Jim -Thanks, for holding on to my number and giving me a call!

Jim

       

White Gold Wedding Band Set Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC (with Video)

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

This recovery started on Monday, Aug 27th about 1:10 pm, with a text message from Rachel saying, “Hi Jim. Am I able to hire you to search around our beach chairs for my wedding rings?” The text had her phone number, so I called her to get a little more detail. She told me that she took her ring set off and put them in her cover-up pocket to put on suntan lotion. A short time later she took the cover-up off, forgetting about the set. Within seconds, she remembered about them being in the pocket, and they were gone. She was sure they were around the beach chairs. Unfortunately, I wasn’t available for at least an hour or two, but she said she wasn’t going anywhere until she was sure the area was checked.

I called her back about 1:45 pm saying I’d be there in 30-45 minutes. When I got there she was in the parking lot talking to friends. We walked out on the beach and across the sand to where her husband Rob was sitting. The search area was maybe 1.5X1.5 ft.  I had my Equinox 800 with me, turned it on and started swinging. With the ring set being white gold, I knew the VDI (Visual Display Indicator) would show between 8-12, depending on the size of the rings. Within seconds I had an 11 VDI and a strong signal next a beach chair. I asked Rachel if she’d move the beach chair so I could be sure I wasn’t getting interference from it. I swung my machine back over the spot and BINGO! I had to take 2 scoops to get the target out of the hole. I didn’t ask, but I assumed that Rachel and Rob had tried to find the ring set and moved enough sand to bury the ring a little deeper. When I spread the sand out on the beach, Rachel spotted her ring before I did and quickly picked it up. There were a few very happy tears of relief and a big hug from Rachel, who didn’t think she’d get her precious treasure back.

Special thanks to my son, Mike, who’s visiting from CT and took the video for the story.

Rachel and Rob – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation!!

Jim

   

White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

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

Thursday night about 9 pm I got a text from Kayla saying, “Hello! Sorry for the late text but I just found your phone number online – I lost my wedding ring today at North Myrtle, would you be able to help us try to find it tomorrow?” I text her back asking her to call me and included my phone number. I didn’t hear anything else until this morning when I woke up to the following voice mail. “Good morning, Jim, my name is Kayla. I had texted you last night. I thought you could possibly help me find my ring that I had lost yesterday on the beach. We are staying at the Tide Master Condos here in North Myrtle Beach and the ring was lost yesterday while I was kind of in very very shallow waters. I was with my daughter, and it just slipped off my finger. So, I was hoping maybe you could help us. I don’t know it might be lost forever, but if you wanna give me a call back, thank you.”  I checked yesterday’s tides and saw low tide was around 11 am and high tide a little after 5 pm. Today’s tides would be around noon and 6 pm. It was already a little after 10 am when I called her, and I asked her two of the three more important questions. She already told me how deep she was, so I asked about what time she lost it, and did she know the area. She responded she lost it about 2 pm and she knew the area. I told her I’d be there about 11:30 pm. Two pm put it right about mid-tide. We’ve had some horrible surf conditions, with strong sea breezes, and rip currents. I knew that a lot of sand would have been pushed up on the beach, making any targets buried deeper than normal.

I actually arrived a little early, and as I made my way out to the beach, I called her and told her I was there. We met on the beach, and she showed me the suspected area she lost her ring. I started an east/west grid search just below the slope on the beach working perpendicular to the beach. I was finding very few targets and as expected they were deep. She told me her ring was white gold with diamonds. Ladies’ white gold can range from low single digits to low teens depending on size, on my Equinox 800. After a couple of hours, I had detected the entire lower portion of the beach all the way out to the south end and wasn’t finding her ring.  I decided to change course and started a parallel grid search starting from my perpendicular grid at the bottom of the slope working towards the high tide line and covering the entire area behind the resort. At some point, a young gentleman came up and started talking to me, who I learned was Kayla’s husband Matt. Matt told me he had a metal detector but hadn’t brought it with him. In the process of our conversation, I asked him what he remembered and what time he thought she lost it. He said he thought it was around 3:15-3:45 pm. Good info because that would put it a little higher on the slope. Kayla had joined us, and we talked a little bit and they both went back up to their spot on the beach. A little while later I got an iffy and faint signal that was jumping from 9 to 13. Ok, I’m in the zone of white gold. I dug four to five big scoops of sand out of the hole, each time checking the hole. Which the hole had grown to close to a foot deep before I finally got the target out of the sand. I spread the sand out with my foot and ran the coil over the area. Boom, I had a solid 10 reading and looked through the sand. There it was, just lying there waiting to be found. I hollered at Kayla who didn’t hear me the first time, so I yelled again. When she heard me and turned around, I held her ring up in the air. She flew down the beach! I asked her what her ring looked like, and she explained it as I held it closed up in my hand. Then I showed it to her and asked, “Look like this?” Her happy tears started flowing and I got a huge hug. Matt followed shortly and shook my hand. I heard loud applause coming from the upper beach from the people that had been watching me for the last 3 hours. A few ladies even came down to see what was going on.

Kayla and Matt – So happy I was able to find and return your lost treasure. Thank you for trusting me to help.

Jim

   

Water Main Meter and Shut off Box Covered and Lost, Found in Longs, SC

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

I got a call shortly before 2:30 pm on Sunday, June 30th from Perry asking if I could help find the Water Meter and shut off that had been covered up with dirt and new grass. I asked him to send me the address and I’d be there in about 15 minutes. Before I left my house, I ran my detector over my own water box to see what numbers on the Nox 800 I was looking for.

When I arrived, I met Perry in the driveway, and he showed me the suspected area. He also filled in the details as to what happened. Back in October of 2023, a local telephone and cable company was installing cable optics and broke the water line in the process. The company fixed the water line but drug their feet on fixing the yard. During the course of repair, the company brought in heavy equipment that sat idle for a couple of days. During those two days, the machine sank in the soil adding additional damage to the yard. Fast forward 8 months and the yard looks good with nice green grass. Within the last week or so, Perry’s neighbor asked if he knew where her water shut off box was. Perry had taken a picture of the area and thought he knew where it was. After probing the area with a 6 ft pole, he wasn’t able to find it. In the process of my search, Perry’s wife Shelley joined us and we were trying to figure out where this target was. I did the small area that was in the picture and nothing. I expanded out about two feet from the street and got the signal I was looking for. Perry dug the dirt and grass off the top of the meter, and everything was good again.

Perry/Shelley – thanks for allowing me to help find the lost water meter box.

Jim

 

 

3 Gold Rings Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

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

Shortly after 7 pm, I got a call from Allison saying she had lost 3 rings (all gold) in the dry sand that was probably under water by now. She told me that one of the rings was her wedding band and the other 2 were 14k. She asked if I could help find the rings. I asked her about what time she lost them, and she replied around 4 pm. I asked her if we could meet at 9:30pm and if she’d send me the address. She agreed to the time and sent the address, The address wasn’t coming up so I asked for the address again. Her phone did an auto correct the first time but got it right the second time. As time passed, I was thinking of the time of loss and low tide and text her asking if we could meet at 8:30 instead. She agreed so we were set.

When we met on the beach, Allison introduced me to her best friend Hannah. The 3 of us walked down the beach to the suspected loss area. On the way, I asked Allison how the rings were lost. She explained she took them off to apply sunscreen and put them in the cup holder of the beach chair. As the tide started coming in they moved their chairs to higher ground. After a short time, they packed up to go to dinner. It was while they were driving to dinner that she realized she forgot to take her rings out of the cup holder. They went back to the condo and went through everything they had on the beach with no luck. Allison said she had called her mother and told her about the loss. She said her mother called her back giving her my information and she called me. We got to the area that both Allison and Hannah agreed was the area they had been sitting. They were basing it off a trash can near the dunes. I turned on my Nox 800 and went to work. I was looking for VDI (visual display indicator) of around 13. I did a north/south grid and came up empty. I went back to Allison and told her I didn’t think we were in the right area because I came up with nothing. She was on the phone and suddenly said “there’s a new development!!” She asked if the trash cans got moved and I told her no, they get emptied in the mornings, but rarely get moved. We walked back down the beach to where we came across the access point and spotted another trash can. Allison and Hannah picked a new spot based off that trash can and I started a new grid line running east/west, perpendicular to the tide line. On my second line I hit 3 separate targets, all registering 11-13. I dug the first target and Bingo; I had the 1st gold ring sticking out of the sand. I held it up and hollered at Allison. Both she and Hannah came flying down the beach. I handed the ring to Allison to identify. One down, two to go. The next target I dug up was the wedding band. As I reached down and picked it up and handed it to Allison, the tears came rushing out. She was overwhelmed, as was I. Back to work, I pulled out the 3rd ring. Mission accomplished, all 3 rings were back where they belong, and Allison couldn’t have been happier.

Allison – Thank your mother for me for sending you, my way. Also, for trusting me to help find your lost treasures. It was my pleasure.  All the best to you in your new profession as a Dentist, everybody loves Dentists!

Jim

 

Lady’s Yellow Gold Wedding Ring Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

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

On Thursday, just before 4 pm, I got a text saying, “Is this ring finders? We have a lost wedding ring out there in the ocean today, north myrtle beach. My mother has had it for 44 years 🙁 I called the number attached to the text and spoke with Sara. She told me that her, her mother, Debbie, and her sister, Kadie had arrived about 1 pm for a girl’s week. Her mother had gone out shortly after arrival to about knee deep in the surf. She suddenly got hit by a big wave and got knocked over. Sara also said her mother was tumbling around in the water and when she finally stood up; her wedding ring was gone. I asked Sara about what time this happened, and she told me about 1 pm. This was good news because high tide was right around 1 and it was now shortly before 4 so the tide was receding.  I told Sara I’d be there in 15-20 minutes, grabbed my Equinox 800 and was on my way.

When I arrived at the condo, Sara was waiting for me in the parking lot and gave me a parking pass. On our way out to the beach she reiterated the details and said she was sure of the location. Once on the beach, I met Debbie and Kadie. One thing that was very obvious to me was that these young ladies really love their mother. I could tell Debbie was very upset but held her emotions in check. Both Kadie and Sara showed me the search area and it was maybe 25 yards across. I confirmed that the metal was yellow gold and from the picture they showed me, I was expecting a 12/13 on the VDI (visual display indicator). I noticed Debbie had gone back to their room, while Sara and Kadie found a spot on the beach to watch. I started a perpendicular grid search at the far north boundary line.  Since the loss happened over 3 hours ago by now, I expected the ring to be in the wet sand and not in the ocean. Nonetheless, I ran my grid line out to about thigh deep. I was about 3 lines short of the southern boundary line and in the wet sand when I got a solid 13 on the VDI. I took a scoop of sand and laid it out on the beach. I spread the sand out with my foot and saw a little glimmer of gold and the outline of a ring. BINGO! I reached down and picked up the ring and held it up for Sara and Kadie to see. They both saw me at the same time, I think one of them gave a little scream of excitement, and literally flew down to me. I didn’t want to give it to them until I had washed the sand off in the ocean, they were patient. When they had their hands on it they were so excited. They quickly called Debbie and gave her the good news. I couldn’t see her, but one of the girl’s said Debbie was on the balcony waving her hands. What a feeling it was to hand Debbie back her ring of 44 years. She had called her husband when it happened and gave him the bad news. I got to hear her call him back and give him the good news; he was very excited for her. I love these lost item reunions.

Sara and Kadie – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your mother’s special wedding ring.

Debbie – I’m so happy to have gotten your ring back to you. You guys enjoy your girl’s week.

Jim