Metal Detecting Service Sunset Beach NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Man’s Palladium Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean for 3 Days, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

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

On Saturday, July 29th at 9 a.m. I got the following text, “Hi Jim, My name is Jude, and I found your number on the Ring finders website. I lost my wedding ring a couple of days ago on Sunset Beach. We’ve been staying near the 17th St boardwalk. I lost the ring in the ocean near where the boardwalk meets the beach, maybe about 20 yards to the east. It was close to high tide when I lost it, maybe about 30 feet into the water. I don’t know if you’re able to look for it for me? Unfortunately, we leave this morning for Raleigh. We have to check out by 10. Let me know if you can help. I’ll need to call from my in-laws phone since I’m on a U.K. number, visiting from London.” About the same time, I got a call from Jude’s wife Katelyn who gave me additional details as well as a pin drop. Within minutes I got another lost ring call for two rings lost in the dry sand on a different beach. Unfortunately, I was tied up for the next hour or so, so I put the rings on hold for the time being.

When I was free, I devised a plan that I’d get the 2 rings first, since they were in the dry sand. Then I’d look for Jude’s ring since I still had a few hours before it’d be high tide on this day. After recovering the 2 rings I headed for Sunset Beach to look for Jude’s ring. When I got to the beach, it was pretty empty except for a family that was sitting in the exact spot I needed to hunt. I searched for a couple of hours working my way around the family as much as I could, basically trying to wait them out. I also searched both east and west of the suspected loss. I sent Katelyn a picture of the family and told her that they were exactly where I needed to be and that I’d be back between 9-10 p.m. I felt pretty confident that Jude’s ring was still where he dropped it three days earlier. Although Sunset Beach gets hit very hard by other detectionist, this area was kind of out of the way for beach goers.

I always get antsy waiting for the tides to get where I’d like them. So, I got to the beach about 8:30 p.m. It was late enough that it was pitch dark. As instructed by Jude and Katelyn, I walked straight out from the beach access boardwalk. It was a couple of hours before low tide so I had plenty of time. If the ring was there, it should be out from under the ocean and stuck in the wet sand. I turned on my equinox 800 and went to work. It’s been a long time since I’ve found a Palladium ring and couldn’t remember what the VDI (visual display indication or numbers) would be. I was thinking it’d be in the high teens. I started a north/south grid line, perpendicular to the surf line. My fourth line I got a solid loud 19 VDI just out of the surf in the wet sand. I took a big scoop of sand and laid it out on the beach and checked the hole. I had the target out. I turned my headlamp on, got down on all fours and started spreading the sand out. There it was, just laying there. I’m not sure if it was the ring or me that let out a big sigh of relief, as if saying, “FOUND!” Not really, but I know I was sure happy. I didn’t have my glasses to read the engraving, so I asked a couple out walking the beach if they could. The young lady read enough that I knew I had the right ring. I text Jude and Katelyn at 9:06 p.m. with a picture and said, “Bang!!!! The engraving all matches.” Luckily, they’re staying with in-laws another week before they head home to London, UK. I got the ring in the mail and got it back to them on Aug. 2nd. It just so happens, their 10 year wedding anniversary was Aug 3rd. So Happy Anniversary you two!!!!

Jude/Katelyn – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a safe trip home. The 3rd picture is your ring perched on roughly a million year old Megalodon Tooth.

Jim

        Found Sunset Beach NC

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

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

I got a text message at 10 p.m. Thursday, July 27th saying, “Hi Jim! I found your info on the Ring finder’s website. I lost my husband’s wedding ring at Sunset Beach this evening. Are you available to help search?” I called the number on the text and spoke with Ashley. She explained she had put her husband, Jonathan’s ring in her phone case for safe keeping. At some point she took the phone out of the case and was pretty sure the ring fell out into the ocean. I asked what time and she said about 3 hours ago. The timing was good because the tide had just reached low tide so now was the time to try. She asked if it’d be better to search in the morning. I told her that there’d be a good chance the ring wouldn’t be there because of all the early morning detectionist out hitting the beach.  I also told her I didn’t need light, per se because I had a head lamp and the machine beeps when I hit a target. I told her I’d be there in about 30-35 minutes and she agreed to meet me. It just happened that my youngest daughter, Lisa, her husband and my grandson were in town visiting, so I asked my daughter if she wanted to go. She quickly said yes so we were on our way.

When we arrived, Ashley and Jonathan were on the beach with flashlights hoping for the best. Ashley showed me a big hole that her brother had dug to give us an idea of the line the ring was lost on. Ashley moved me over a few steps east of the hole and I started a perpendicular grid line to the surf. I made my way down to the low tide line, which had now shifted and was coming back in. I made the turn to come back up the slope and got to about the mid tide line. All of a sudden I got a solid signal that rang up a 15 on the Equinox 800 VDI (visual display indicator).  It was a little higher number that I expected but it was within the range of a white gold man’s wedding band. I dug 2 big scoops of sand before I got the target out of the hole. I spread the sand out with my foot and started feeling around in the sand. Bang! I felt the ring and the big hole in the middle. I walked down to the water line and washed the ring off and walked over to where Ashley, Jonathan, and Lisa were standing and asked Ashley, “Is this it?” She handed the ring to Jonathan who checked the engraving and said, “It’s it!” Think they were all a little shocked that it was found, in the dark, and probably within 5 minutes. Ashley and Jonathan were so grateful and happy.

Ashley and Jonathan – thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

   

Man’s White Gold Wedding Band Goes Swimming in the Ocean, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

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

This adventure started on Monday, June26th when I got the following text message at 7:19am. “Good Morning, I got your info from your website. My son is visiting from Dallas and lost his wedding ring at sunset beach 2 nights ago. We were at the beach access between 13th and 14th, straight ahead at the water’s edge. It’s a white gold band engraved “Cris 4.29.22.” I’m hoping and praying you can help us. My name is Jill.” I didn’t see the text until almost 11am and when I did, I called her to get additional details. I found out her son, Tom had been in the water around 7pm, which was about an hour and a half after low tide. Jill also said she had a picture with a time stamp at 7:12pm of Tom showing the ring, and another one around 7:28pm of him without the ring. We discussed a few other factors and I told her I’d be there around 6 pm to work the outgoing tide. She said they’d be there around 7 pm to watch the sunset.

I showed up a little after six and stated a north/south gridline from the shore out to about waste deep water. I was chugging along when a young man approached me and asked if I was looking for a wedding ring. When I said yes, he informed me that I went one access to far. Well, I got a little more exercise if nothing else. When I met Jill, her husband, Steve, Tom and his wife Cris, they showed me about where they had been sitting while Tom was swimming in the ocean when he lost the ring. I started my north/south gridlines again, going out as far as the sand bar. I worked the area until just before sunset. I told Jill I’d be back at about 730am in the morning and called it a night.

I had called a buddy to see if wanted to tag along and I met him shortly after I arrived on the beach. My plan was to start west of where Jill and the family had been sitting on Saturday night and make my way east. There were very few targets, a few bottle caps and pull tabs and one penny. After about an hour and a half the tide turned and was now coming in. I kept the grid going and I was about 40 yards down the beach from where they had been sitting. I made the turn to come back towards shore when I got a signal. Being a white gold man’s wedding band I was expecting to see between 9 and 11 on the VDI (visual display indicator) depending on the width of the ring. This signal was bouncing around like there may be two targets close together. Or it could be caused by the way the target was sitting on the ocean floor, or the wave action off the sand bar, but a 9 kept popping up. I dug a big scoop of sand and checked the hole – I had the target in the scoop. I was going to walk back to shore to dump the scoop so I wouldn’t take the chance of losing the target back in the ocean. As I looked down on the scoop, I saw a shiny object and what looked like a half a ring. Again, not wanting to take any chances, I carefully reached down and pulled out a ring. I tried my best to read the inscription, but without my glasses I was lucky to see the ring! I walked over to my buddy and he couldn’t read it either. As we’re packing up to go, a nice lady was walking down the beach. I asked her if she could read the inscription and she read Cris 4 29 22. Bingo!! I had Tom’s ring. I took a picture and sent it and a text to Jill saying  “Ba Booooom!!!!” She instantly responded with “Whaatt??!!! We are soooooo excited!!!!” I called her and told her I’ll just run it by their house, if she’d give me the address since it’s on my way home. It was important to get the ring back to Tom because he and Cris were heading back to Dallas at 5pm. When I pulled into the driveway, everybody was waiting in the front yard. I handed Cris the ring so she could put it back on Tom’s finger. Returning someone’s treasure never gets old and their smiles tell it all.

Jill – Thank you for contacting me to help find Tom and Cris’ lost treasure.

Tom and Cris – I wish you two only the best. Take care of each other!!!

Jim

   

IPhone Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Cherry Grove, SC

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

On Sunday, Jun 25th, I was just about to start a search for a lost engagement ring when Chris walked up and asked if my detector could find a cell phone. I told him it could and he said his wife had lost her cell phone somewhere up in the dry sand. I told him as soon as I’m finished with the ring search, I’d be glad to help him.

When I completed the successful ring search, I found Chris and asked for the details on the phone. He told me that his wife had lost it somewhere between the pier and the beach access. That area was approximately 50 yards or so, so I asked him where they had been sitting and we’d start from there. He led me to an area underneath the pier and I swung the detector about 3 times and hit a good target. I dug a scoop of sand and he said there’s my wife’s phone as he reached in the hole and pulled it out. I love a quick recovery.

Chris – Thank you for letting me help find your wife’s phone!!

Jim

   

Yellow Gold Diamond Engagement Ring Lost in the weeds, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

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

On Friday, June 16th, I received a call from Jacob saying he had lost an engagement ring off the back deck into some bushes and asked if I could help. He also said that a friend had gone to rent a metal detector. I told him I’d wait to see if they could find it themselves and I’d check back with him. About an hour later, I called him to find out how they were making out. He told me they had been looking for about 3 hours and hadn’t had any luck and asked that I come on up and help. I told him absolutely and I’d be there in about 45 minutes. Got his address, grabbed my gear and hit the road.

When I got there, Jacob and his bride to be, Peyton, were sitting on the outside stairs. We introduced ourselves and they walked me around the back of the house. I was expecting to see a second story balcony, but fortunately the porch was on the main level. Jacob explained that he was standing at the rail looking at the engagement ring and it slipped right out of his hand. He told me he saw it hit the deck and roll off into the weeds and bushes. He had pulled some of the weeds in his effort to look for the ring. I turned on my Equinox and went to work. At one point I used my Gold Bug, but found it to be useless with all the nails, a few bottle caps and pull tabs, that over the course of time had been thrown off the porch. I thought this would be easier than it was or easier than what I was making it. Finally, after almost an hour and researching the weeds that Jacob had cleared out, I moved left towards the end of the porch. I finally got a double signal. I was looking for a VDI (visual Display indicator) of 8-10. I was getting a signal of around 15 and one at 9 within inches of each other. I turned on the pinpointer and started sorting out the targets from the dirt. Bingo! I pushed her buried ring out of dirt. I think we saw it about the same time and I snatched it up. Jacob said something like “here it is.” Peyton, who had been sitting on the ground very patiently, jumped up. She asked me if she could give me a hug and I jokingly told her it was mandatory before she got the ring back. Seeing the joy and excitement on their faces, made this entire search worth every second.

Jacob and Peyton – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. I wish you both all the best in your lives together. Have a safe drive back home.

Jim

   

Woman’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost on her 12th Wedding Anniversary, Found and Returned Sunset Beach, NC

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

I got a phone call just before 4 pm today from Elizabeth, who was very upset about losing a wedding band on the beach. After getting a few details, including the fact the ring was lost in the dry sand, I told her I’d be there in 30-35 minutes. She seemed a little surprised in the fact that I’d be there so fast. We hung up and I grabbed my Deus II and Equinox 800 detectors.

As I’m pulling in the parking space next to the beach access she gave me, my phone rang, and it was Elizabeth. I thought she had found it and was calling to let me know. When I answered she said she was just checking to make sure I was still on my way. I told her I was just pulling in a parking spot and asked her if everything was ok. She said she was just worried.  I said, you told me you knew the area, and it’s in the soft sand. I then made a bold statement and told her I’d have it back on her finger within 2 minutes of getting in the area. That seemed to ease her concerns a little. As I’m walking over the boardwalk to the beach, I saw Elizabeth waving to me. I made my way to where she and another lady were sitting. That’s when I found out the other lady; Kelly was the one who lost her wedding band. Kelly was very upset as I asked what happened. Kelly said that today was her 12th wedding anniversary and she and Elizabeth were reminiscing about the events 12 years ago. When she took her wedding band off to relive the moment, it slipped from her fingers and disappeared in the soft sand. Elizabeth pointed out the area where they had been sitting and I went to work with my Deus II. After a couple of grid lines and not hitting the target, I had self-doubts about me and the Deus II. So I swapped detectors and used the Equinox 800 and took 2 steps outside my original grid line and hit a booming 8 VDI (visual display indicator). That number was exactly what I was expecting for a lady’s platinum wedding band. I glanced at Kelly with a big grin, which I’m not sure she saw. I took a scoop of sand, re-checked the hole and gently shook the sand out of the scoop. I glanced in the scoop and saw Kelly’s beautiful ring. I walked over to her and held the scoop out for her to retrieve her ring. Her tears started flowing and I could see the weight of the world get lifted off her shoulders. She couldn’t believe it and either could Elizabeth. Elizabeth reminded me I told her I’d have it back on her finger in less than 2 minutes, and that was less than 1 minute. This never gets old when you can return a special treasure back to someone who thought it was lost forever.

Elizabeth – Thank you for calling me.

Kelly – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. I wish you all the best!!

Jim

   

10 Day Old Wedding Band Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

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

A little after 2 p.m. on Sept 21st, I received a call from Cassandra saying her son, Conor, had lost his wedding band and wanted to know if I could help. First question I asked was how long ago, her response was “just now.” My second question was where he lost it, she responded in the “dry sand and he knows right where he lost it.” I asked about parking and she told me I could park in their driveway and she’d text me the address. She also told me that they were under a cabana at the end of the beach access ramp. These are the responses every Ring Finder loves to hear. I told Cassandra I could be there in 30 minutes, grabbed my gear and was on my way.

When I got there everyone was under the cabana. I met Cassandra, Conor and Christina, the new bride. Conor showed me the 3’X3’ area where he had applied suntan lotion to his chest and the ring flew off. I turned my Equinox 800 on, made the offhand comment of “let’s try and find this in under a minute,” took 2 steps and hit a solid26 on the machine. I asked Conor what his ring was made of and he said “white and yellow gold and stainless steel.” I took a scoop of sand and missed the target; my second scoop had the target. I shook the sand out and saw his ring. I extended the scoop out to him so he could retrieve his treasure. Christina said “that was less than 30 seconds.” Conor’s response was “I thought under a minute was a bold prediction.”  Everything was perfect and made this an easy recovery, he just lost it in the dry sand and he knew the precise area. A little more chit chat and Christina mentioned they’d only been married for 10 days.

Cassandra – Thank you for contacting and trusting me to help find Conor’s wedding band.

Conor and Christina – I wish you all the best in your new lives together!

Jim

   

Beach Proposal at 11:30 am, Ring Swimming With the Fishes by 1:30 pm at Sunset Beach NC

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

Saturday, June 5th, about 2:30pm, I received a frantic call from Mackenzie asking if I could help find her “silver” ring that she lost in the ocean. Knowing that low tide was around 11 am, I was hesitant to ask the normal questions, but I did. “What time did you lose it, and how deep in the ocean were you?” Mackenzie responded that she lost it about an hour ago and she was in a foot of water. I knew with the 30 minute drive that the ring would be out of reach with the incoming tide by the time I’d get there. I wanted a chance to see what I’d be up against when I went later that evening. I also wanted to meet Mackenzie and get the full story so I went ahead and made the trip. When I got to the beach, I met Mackenzie, her fiancé, Alex, and 3 or 4 of her friends. I had Mackenzie show me the area she was at and tell me exactly what happened. She told me Alex had proposed to her at about 11:30 am; she said yes, they took pictures and a little while later she got in the ocean with her new engagement ring. She also said that the ring was a little big, and while in the ocean she watched it slip off her finger and disappear. I talked to Alex to get his perspective and he told me pretty much the same details Mackenzie had except he said the ring was Platinum. I started a perpendicular grid search from the shore to out in the ocean. After a short time, Mackenzie came out in the ocean where I was and said her friends thought she was further south down the beach. By that time, it was close to high tide, so I told her I’d be back around 9.

I got back up there around 9 pm and started a grid search from the far end of the southern boundary working north towards the pier. After an hour plus, and working about three quarters of the area, I got a great signal on my PI detector. I dug one scoop of sand, checked the hole and had the target in my scoop. I walked back up the beach to get out of the water before I dumped the scoop of sand. I turned on my headlamp as I spread the sand out with my foot and didn’t see anything. I ran the coil over the sand again and still got the signal. I reached down with my hand and spread the sand out some more and got a little glimmer of something shiny. Boom, I had Mackenzie’s engagement ring. I sent her a picture and waited for a response. After 5 minutes, I called her and told her to check her text messages. Her excitement was what I expected! I had a second ring search that I still had time to make before low tide on a different beach and ask Mackenzie if they could meet me there. It was actually closer to where they were staying so they agreed. I was finished with the second search shortly before they arrived and I was waiting in the parking lot. When I returned the ring to Alex to put back on Mackenzie’s finger it was within a minute or two from being 12 hours since he had proposed and slipped the ring on the first time.

Anna – Thank you for sharing my information with Mackenzie and Alex.

Mackenzie and Alex – Thank you for trusting The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure

Jim

         

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

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

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

    

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)

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