Myrtle Beach metal detecting service Tag | The Ring Finders

4 Yellow Gold Rings Lost at High Tide – Found and Returned Murrell’s Inlet SC

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

On 7/20/25, just before 4:30 pm, I received a call from Michele asking if I could help find her 4 rings she had lost. She stated that she had taken the rings off to put on suntan lotion and put them in her beach chair seat. She had forgotten about the rings until she went up to her room, ate some lunch, took a shower and then realized she didn’t have her rings. Her and her husband, Kraig went back down to the beach, where they had been sitting. By then, the tide had come up and water was covering the area where they sat.  During our conversation, she told me this happened about an hour prior. Looking at the tide tables, this all happened about an hour before high tide. I told her that we could meet at 7:30 pm, which would be 2 hours after high tide. After we hung up, I got to thinking that 2 hours may be too long. I called her back and set up a meet time of 6:30 pm, she agreed.

It took me about 40 minutes to get to her condo, and I text her saying, “I‘m here” after I found a place to park.  As I’m walking across the parking lot, I heard my name and I got to meet Michele and her husband Kraig, As we’re walking out to the beach, Michele explained what I was looking for. She told me that 1 ring was her grandmother’s wedding band that she wore for more than 50 years. Her grandmother gave it to her when she and Craig got married 38 years ago – priceless! The 2nd ring was her mother’s mother’s ring – again priceless. The 3rd ring was her own mother’s ring, and the 4th was the engagement ring Kraig had given her many years ago. All 4 rings had significant sentimental value and importance to Michele. Michele and Kraig pointed out the area they thought they were in. They were close to each other but far enough apart, so I started a north/south grid line. Probably on my 4th line, I got a signal, but it wasn’t much to go on. All 4 rings were Yellow Gold, so I knew I’d be looking for numbers on the detector in the 13-16 range. I kept running the coil over the area to get something clear and finally dug a scoop of sand. The signals were a little better but still not clear enough to give me a good feeling. I dug a couple more scoops out of the hole and dumped the sand on the beach. Ran the coil over the area and got a solid 16 signal. Found the ring in the pile of sand and held it up for Michele to see – Bingo, grandma’s ring is in Michele’s hand. Took another scoop or two and Michele’s mother’s mother’s ring was now in hand. Two down, two to go! Another couple of scoops out of what is now about a 15–18-inch hole and got Michele’s engagement ring. After about 30 minutes of pulling out more sand, spreading the sand around on the beach, running the coil over the sand and all 3 of us trying to eyeball the ring, I just couldn’t find it. I asked Michele if she had had the ring sized and if the solder could have come apart making the ring not a whole ring. She told me that the ring is unique in that the top of the ring comes to a fork on both sides and the stones set on top of the forks. So, the top part of the ring does not connect to the other side. Now it’s time to come up with a plan B. I told Michele and Kraig I was going home to get a different detector and would be back in an hour and a half. I decided to get my White’s PI, a great machine but it’s heavy and does not discriminate. So basically, the machine sounds off on any metal under the coil. Before I left, I paced off and had a landmark to get me back on the spot.

When I got back, I text Michele and went to work to find my mark. I turned my PI on and waved the coil over the filled in hole and got a faint signal. Ok, this is working. I kept taking scoops of sand out and the signal got louder. After 4 or 5 scoops, the target was on the beach. By now it was dark, so I turned my headlamp on and started looking through the sand. Boom, I saw gold and pulled Michele’s mother’s ring out. I started walking up to the condo so I could get a decent picture and got to the door about the same time Michele. She was speechless; all 4 priceless and irreplaceable rings are back where they belong.

Michele – Thank you for allowing me to help you get all your rings back safe and sound!

Jim

 

Tags:
Category:

Tungsten Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

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

Corey called me around 4:45 pm on Sunday, asking if I could help find his wedding band he had lost. The first question I always ask is, “was it lost in the dry sand, wet sand, or in the water.” He responded, “Dry sand.” This was the second dry sand call of the day, which I like – A lot!! I ask him where he was at, and he told me the resort name in Myrtle Beach. I told him I’d be there in 20-25 minutes, grabbed my Nox 800 and was on the road.

When I got to the resort and made my way out on the beach, I called him. He told me he was in a white hat, and I saw him waving. As I got to the spot, I noticed one of the ladies in his party on her hands and knees searching for the ring. As I got closer, I told her she was wasting her time. Corey showed me the 2X6 foot area and told me that he was moving stuff out of a child’s playpen and noticed the ring had come off. I turned my machine on and jokingly said “20 seconds.” Tungsten rings usually are 18 on the Nox, so I knew what I was looking for. A couple of steps to the left and I got a strong 22 but showing too deep to be a ring lost within the last hour or so. That signal turned out to be a Yeti cup sitting in one of the chairs. I turned around and scanned the area around the playpen. Two swings and I got the 18 I was looking for. Scooped it out of the sand, shook the sand out and got the rattle of his ring in the scoop. He looked so relieved and said his wife was up in the room upset. They still have almost a week on vacation, so this will be a great vacation now.

Corey – Thanks for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great vacation.

Jim

     

Tags:
Category:

One Year Anniversary Vacation Saved, Myrtle Beach SC

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

Shortly after 11 am on Tuesday, July 2nd, I received a text from Lora that said in part, “What kind of fee do you charge? My husband lost his ring!!!” I responded telling her, “I do this on a reward/gratuity basis. Call me so I can get the details” along with my phone number. When she called, I found out her husband, Mike had lost his ring the previous evening at about 8:30 pm while looking for shells. She gave me the hotel name and I told her I could be there in about 15 minutes. When we got off the phone, I looked up the hotel and found out it’s in Myrtle Beach and not North Myrtle Beach like I thought. I called her back to confirm Myrtle instead of North Myrtle, which she did. Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle beach are too separate cities but have exactly the same street numbers, so it gets confusing for both locals and tourist. Now that I got it straight, I told her I’d be there in about 30 minutes. She told me that her and Mike were out and about and they wouldn’t be there to show me the area. She was able to give me a pretty good idea of where I needed to search so I wouldn’t be wondering around aimlessly.

I text her when I arrived on the beach, and she responded back that they were heading back. Looking at the tide tables when Lora first called, Mike lost his ring about 2 hours before low tide. By the time I arrived I was about an hour after low tide, so I didn’t have a lot of time to search. I started a north/south parallel to the beach search right at the water line. When Lora and Mike showed up, I got a few more details. Mike was in the water, maybe shin deep and taking cupped hands full of water and throwing up towards the beach. With this new info, I changed to a perpendicular east/west grid search and a few yards outside the suspected search area. I told Lora and Mike that they didn’t need to stick around, and I’d call them either way. With the east/west search I was getting in the water to about thigh deep. I knew Mike’s heavy Titanium ring would ring up in the mid 20’s on the Equinox 800, so I was confident I had found his ring. After digging a scoop of sand and spreading it out on the beach, I saw Mike’s ring peeking up through the sand. I took a picture of the ring and sent it to Lora saying, “Kiss and make up.” I called her and all she could say was “OMG” about 4 times. Then she said, “we’re on our way.” When they arrived, I got a big hug from Lora and a strong handshake from Mike. That’s when I learned they were in Myrtle Beach celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary. This will be one they will never forget!!!

Lora/Mike – Thank you for trusting me to find your lost treasure. Wish you all the best and many many more Anniversaries, but none to match this one!

Jim

 

Tags:
Category:

Yellow Gold with Diamond Engagement Ring Lost Day after Proposal, Found and Returned Surfside Beach SC

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

About 4:30 pm on June 18th, I received a call from Caiden saying his fiancé had lost her engagement ring in the dry sand and asked if I could help. I got the address and was on my way. When I arrived, Caiden was waiting in the parking lot. We made our way out to the beach and out to the spot of the suspected ring lost. On the way-out Caiden told me he proposed to Savannah the night before. I got to meet Savannah, whose ring was the one that was lost. I was shown the area and then told that Savannah and Caiden had walked on a diagonal path up towards the dunes looking for shells. I searched the area where Savannah had been sitting and around the area where she shook out her towel with no success. We talked about the path they took, and I got both of their perspectives of where they walked. I started a diagonal grid search going from where they were sitting to where the beach access was from their condo. The ring was loose on Savannah’s finger, and she remembered it was on her finger where she was sitting. When she reached down to pick up a shell on their walk the ring was gone. It wasn’t a huge area to search but it was big enough. It took me awhile but when I was on my way back to their sitting area, I got a solid 10 on the NOX VDI (Visual Display Indicator). For a woman’s yellow gold ring, I was expecting a number closer to 13 or 14, but it all depends on the size and width of the ring. I dug the target and there it was. I decided to make a video and surprise Savannah and Caiden.

Caiden and Savannah – thank you for trusting me to help find your treasure.

Jim

 

Tags:
Category: