North Myrtle Beach SC Metal Detecting Tag | The Ring Finders

Father’s Yellow Gold Free Mason’s Ring Lost in the Ocean – Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Every call for help in finding a lost ring is just as important as the ones before it or the many coming after it. Each ring has its own story, whether it was passed down from a family member, something someone worked hard for to achieve, or the love of their life slipped it on their finger. Although, all of the rings are very important, once in a while you get the call for something very special that grabs at your heart strings. This was exactly the case for me on this call. Ron called me close to 11 pm on Thursday, June 30th clearly devastated that he had lost his father’s custom-made yellow gold Free Mason’s ring. He told me the ring was specially designed and made for his father by another Free Mason, who was both a friend and a jeweler. Ron’s father has since passed away and this special ring now belongs to Ron. I found out from Ron that he was wearing the ring while throwing a football in the ocean. My first question was if he was right or left-handed, he responded right-handed. My second question was which hand was the ring on. Again, his response was on his right hand. My next questions were what day, time, and how deep was he in the water. His response was that he lost it on Tuesday, around lunch time, and he was about thigh deep. During our text messages he changed the day to Monday. We exchanged other information and I could tell Ron was having a difficult time talking about losing the ring. I found out that he and his family was leaving the next morning. I closed our conversation by asking him to take pictures of the area and send them to me the next morning. After thinking about it, I texted him back and asked him if he could meet me on the beach the next morning at 9 am, he agreed. By meeting him, I could get a firsthand view without having to decipher some pictures.

The next morning, we met as scheduled and he pointed out the area. I don’t remember if it was during our texting the night before or he told me when we met that he actually lost it on Sunday, which was 5 days ago. As we’re talking about additional details, I asked him whether he was facing north or south when he was throwing the football and he responded he was facing east, meaning he was facing seaward. In my mind, I’m thinking this is going to be a tough, if not an impossible search. If he was facing seaward, throwing the ball with the same hand the ring was on and it was 5 days ago, it’s difficult to imagine where his ring ended up. But I love a good challenge, so I told him I’d be back around 2 pm to work the outgoing tide with low tide being at 3:48 pm.

As I’m loading up the car with my detector, the sky opened up and it started pouring rain. No problem, I’m going to get wet anyway, as long as there’s no lightening – I’m good. By the time I got to the beach and the search area, the rain had stopped. No rainbows, but I did get a report of a waterspout less than 5 miles up the beach. I swear, the Big Man upstairs was testing me that day! I started on the line Ron had given me earlier that morning. I started my grid line from the mid tide line and walked out to waist/chest deep water working my way to the south. I’m not sure how far south I went but I was sure I was outside of Ron’s area. I went back to my starting point and started working the grid search north. I did about 10 lines and got a solid hit on my White’s PI. The PI is a great machine, but it has no discrimination, nor does it show any target depth, it just signals there’s some sort of metal underneath the coil. I had already picked up a couple of pull tabs, a few bottle caps and 4 fishing weights, so I figured this was one more piece of junk. A couple of scoop and I had the target out of the hole. I took my foot and spread the sand out, I looked down and saw the Free Mason diamond symbol staring at me. Boom! I just stood there and stared; I couldn’t believe it. What a beautiful ring! I picked it up and walked back to the car to get my phone and take a couple of pictures. I sent a picture of me holding the ring and the ring sitting in the sand to Ron saying, “look familiar?” As I’m driving home, I called him and left a message when he didn’t answer saying “check your text messages and call me.” I figured he was still on the highway driving home. Within a few minutes he called me back and he was so excited he couldn’t talk. I wish I would have been able to hand his ring to him and see his expression, but I’m sure it was one of pure elation and surprise. I’ll get his ring in the mail Tuesday and wait for his picture to post this.

Ron – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure, I was so excited to find it for you. Best Wishes!!!

Jim

 

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White Gold Wedding Set Goes Flying in the Ocean While Playing Volleyball, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just before 9 p.m. on the 4th of July,  I got a message from Carol stating “Good evening! I lost my ring today and just found out that you might be able to help me. Please let me know if this is possible.” I immediately replied saying “Call me” with my phone number. I didn’t hear anything from her and got to thinking maybe she was leery of calling some guy she didn’t know. So, I followed up with another message saying “I can help, need details and it’s easier if we talk than text.” I immediately got a call from her husband Steven. Low tide was at 11 p.m. so I figured if I had a good shot at finding it, now would be the time to go. Steven told me Carol lost her white gold wedding set this morning between 11-12 a.m. while playing volleyball around low tide. He also said that they were in the water between ankle and shin deep. Oh-oh, I was hoping she lost it closer to mid afternoon during high tide. Ok, a minor setback but no big deal. I asked Steven if he could meet me to show me the right spot. Then I remembered this was July 4th and the beaches would be packed with tourist watching fireworks and parking would be non-existent.  A minor setback #2. With the instructions he gave me, I knew exactly where to go except I didn’t know how far north of the beach access to go. On my way there he sent me a Google earth map with the area circled which was perfect. When I got to the beach, as I expected, there was no where to park. I finally found a spot to park about a block away, grabbed my gear and headed to the beach. As I’m walking out on the beach, in the pitch black, people were 3 to 4 rows deep sitting in the sand or on beach chairs. I made my way to the water’s edge and started a perpendicular grid search. Then the fireworks started!!!  I thought I was in a war zone and right in the line of fire, as everything was being shot off towards the ocean.

Ok, I focused on the mission at hand, which was to find Carol’s wedding set. What was ankle to shin deep water this morning for them was now a huge pool of water that was waist deep. The water was deep enough that I kept my headlamp off so I wouldn’t attract the baitfish, which in turn would attract bigger fish. Thankfully, the fireworks gave me enough light to see where I was going. I was probably a little more than an hour and a half into the search and about half way through the area Steven had circled when I got a great signal on the Nox 800. The VDI number was 13 and a little higher than what I thought it might be for a white gold set. I was waist deep and carefully dug the target out of the hole. I checked the hole and made sure it was clear. I then walked back up to the wet sand before I emptied the sand out of the scoop so I wouldn’t accidently shake the target out in the ocean. When I dumped the sand out on the beach, I turned on my headlamp and could see a little glimmer of something shiny. I reached down and picked up a beautiful lady’s wedding set. I didn’t have a complete description of Carol’s rings so I called Steven. He started explaining it and then said “here’s Carol, she can explain it better.” As she’s identifying the ring I’m holding to perfection, I took a picture and text it to her. I told her to check her text messages and I hear, with a lot of enthusiasm “Oh my gosh, you found my ring!” What a feeling finding someone’s treasure that they never thought they’d see again. With no way of knowing what the ocean, tides, and tons of sand will do between tide cycles, I’m not real sure her rings wouldn’t have been buried below a metal detectors capabilities by low tide the next morning.

Carol and Steven – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe drive back home to Ohio!

Jim

     

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Lady’s White Gold Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Dry Sand – Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Tanna called me shortly before 1pm from a number that showed Vancouver, WA. She said she had lost her rings around Windy Hill in North Myrtle Beach. When I started asking about the location, she put her grandfather on the phone who gave me the exact location. When Tanna got back on, I asked her whether she had been in the dry sand, wet sand, or the ocean when she lost them. When she responded she lost them in the dry sand, I got really excited. It’s not very often I get a call for lost rings in the dry sand; they’re mostly lost in the ocean. During the back and forth with questions and answers, I ask if she could Google earth me the beach, with the area circled. She could and she did! When I asked how she lost them, she told me she had put them in a little pouch connected to the beach chair, and then forgot about them. Later, she told me she didn’t realize they were gone until around 8pm as she was helping her grandmother with dinner and the dishes. So far, this was sounding like one of those searches you dream about. I grabbed my Equinox 800 and was out the door.

When I got to the beach about 1:30, I called her to confirm a couple of small issues, mainly about where they had been sitting. One thing she brought up is that they had been sitting behind the life guard stand. Unfortunately, the stand had been moved to the top of the beach near the sand dunes. But, it gave me a better idea of where to search. I started a grid line from the guard stand to the wet sand line working my way south. After the sixth grid line, I moved back to my starting point and starting working my way north. On my third line, I got a solid VDI of 6 on the detector which was what I was expecting for a lady’s white gold ring. I took a shallow scoop of sand and laid it out on the beach and saw a beautiful diamond looking up at me, with the rest of the ring still buried. After picking her engagement ring up, I ran my coil around the same area and got another 6 on the VDI, I knew this one was her wedding band. I took a picture and sent her a text saying “BOOM!” with the picture of both rings. I called her, and I could tell she was very excited and grateful. Finding out she was only an hour and a half away, we agreed to meet halfway at a McDonalds. When we met, I was able to meet her husband, Alex. I got the biggest hug from Tanna and a firm handshake from Alex, both of which validates exactly why The Ring Finders exist!

Tanna and Alex – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasures. Be safe and take care of each other.

Jim

    

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Engagement Ring Lost in the Ocean North Myrtle Beach – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Jai called me about 7 p.m. on Thursday, 9 Jul, asking if I could help find a 22k Engagement ring that his fiancé, Sim had lost in the ocean. He said she lost it about 3:30 that afternoon. Looking at the tide table, she lost it 2 hours before low tide at 5:21 p.m. so searching for it now would be pointless. I did want to see what I was up against so I told Jai I’d be right over to scope things out.

When I got to the beach I met Jai and Sim, who were set up at the same spot they were when she lost the ring. Sim told me that her and her sister in law had been riding a float in the surf when a big wave hit them, knocking them off the float. She continued to tell me that when she finally got her balance she was about waist deep, which means she was still a ways out in the water. She remembered being pretty much straight out from where they were set up. Jai wasn’t on the beach at the time, but his brother in law was. I asked him what he remembered, and he stated Sim and his wife were about 50 yards further south. I thought I had all the information I needed, so I told Jai and Sim I’d be back the next morning at 5 a.m. to work the outgoing tide.

The next morning the conditions weren’t good, the wind was blowing from the east and the swells were at least 5 feet, and both were coming straight in to the beach. After about an hour and a half, getting beat up, and busting the shaft on my detector, I told Jai and Sim I’d be back that evening for the low tide and bring a friend. I called Matt Fry, TRF Myrtle beach, and he had his own search. So I called Jim Brouwer, and he jumped at the chance to help. When Jim and I showed up that afternoon, the conditions had gone from bad to worse. Big swells made the search almost impossible. If we did pick up a signal, the swells would knock us off it. Jim and I struggled for about an hour, during which time I had the chance to talk with Sim’s sister in law. She informed me that she thought they were even further south than her husband had thought. This search was starting to look very bleak for finding Sim’s engagement ring. I told Jai and Sim we were calling it a day, but I’d be back out during the week. Their expressions said it all.

I wasn’t able to search the next day, but looking at the Sunday morning tide, wind, and swell information, conditions looked good enough to give it another shot. I had decided I’d start a perpendicular grid search a little further south than Jai’s sister suggested and work north to where Sim thought she was. When I walked out on the beach, the swell information was higher than predicted, but I started the grid doing the best I could. On my 4th line, I got a solid 13/14, which is usually a pull tab, but could be a small gold ring, too. In this case it was a pull tab. I took a few more steps and got another 13/14, I dug the target, and looking for the pull tab in the scoop I see the glimmer of gold. BAM, I had Sim’s ring. I sent Jai and Sim a text at 6:27 a.m. saying “Good Morning you two!!! I just wanted to let know I came back out this morning to look for your ring and…..” Then I sent another text saying “Bingo” with 2 pictures, one of me holding the ring and another of the ring resting on a shell. At 10:05 a.m. I got a response from Jai and a phone call; I don’t think he could have been any happier. A little later Sim called me; she was so excited and grateful. She told me that she had given up hope of getting her ring back. So happy I could restore her hope!

Jai and Sim – Thank you for letting me help find your lost treasure.

Jim

     

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Car Keys Lost and Found in North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Joe Denton, the mine lab distributor in North Myrtle, called me asking if I wanted a search for some car keys. Sure, I’m always up for a search. Joe sent me the contact information, and I called Ben. Ben explained that his friend had lost his keys the night before on the beach. I told him I’d be there in 30-40 minutes.

As I’m driving to the beach, it starts pouring down rain; I’m good as long as there’s no lightening. When I arrived, Tristan met me at the beach access and explained that he and his buddies were out sitting on the beach. He said he was sitting in one of the low back beach chairs and figures the keys fell out of his pocket. He set me up in the area, and I started a normal grid search. I knew the keys would stand out loud and clear when I waved the coil over them. An hour and a half later, and moving my grid lines out farther and farther both north and south, there were no keys. Tristan had mentioned that he and some other fire fighters were down here for some R&R from Virginia. I asked him if these were the keys to the car that was going to get them back home, they were! He said he had contacted a lock smith who wanted $400.00 dollars to make a new car key. Tristan had also been in contact with his parents to overnight a spare key so the group could get home.

Tristan finally walked over to me, with a couple of his buddies and let me know that they weren’t over as far as I was searching, and really appreciated me trying. This was one of those special serendipity moments. As we were walking off the beach, I noticed the life guard setting up for the day. I walked over and asked him if someone had turned in a set of keys, as I’m asking him, the beach patrol was driving up in their beach cart. The life guard said no, so I asked the beach patrol. She said as a matter of fact, someone had. As she pulls the keys out of the glove box, I saw Tristan’s face light up. Right place, right time, right person and Tristan had his keys back. Sometimes things just happen, and this was one of them.

Tristan, you and your buddies stay safe, and have a safe trip home.

Jim

    

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Engagement Ring Found by Owner

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Not all ring finder stories end with a happy ending. As hard as the members of The Ring Finders try, some treasures just aren’t found and returned. Then there are the stories that have a very happy ending that members had nothing to do with. This is one of those stories.

I received a referral off of a Face Book group that I responded to. Jessica had lost her engagement ring while her and her fiancé, Oscar, were on a 6 mile bike ride. I contacted Jessica and offered to help. I had a couple of appointments the next day, so I told her I could come by at 4 pm to start a search of part of the route. She explained that she and Oscar were leaving to go back home at 4 the next day and wanted to know if I could come earlier. So we set it up that I’d be there at 9 am and we’d take a golf cart ride along the same route as their bike ride, so I could get a feel for the search area.

Everything went as planned and I was there at 9. We jumped on the golf cart and started the adventure. During the route, Jessica was showing me where they were riding in the streets, going with the flow of traffic, or on the sidewalks. I confirmed Jessica was wearing the ring on her left hand. Jessica told me she had put suntan lotion on before they started their bike ride. She also said that towards the end of the route, she had shaken her hands a few times to get the circulation back after grasping the handlebars for so long. We both came to the conclusion that if the ring was anywhere, it would be in the last half of the route. We also concluded the ring should be in the middle of the street, because they only rode on the sidewalk in two places and that was only for a block or two. Jessica and Oscar had retraced the entire route on foot and golf cart, searching the street area as soon as they got home and Jessica realized the ring was gone. So, I’m thinking the ring flew off her finger when she shook her hand, bounced and rolled across the road and ended up on the side of the road or in the grass areas. By 9:30, I started my search and covered about 2 miles of the route working both sides of the street before I had to leave for my appointments. I made it back at 3 pm and covered another 2 miles, again working both sides of the street. Right around 5 pm, I called it a day, planning on being back early the next morning and finish up the whole back half of the route.

At 9:08 pm, I received a text from Jessica, “Jim I can’t believe it but I just found my ring!!! It was inside my laptop?!! I don’t know how it got in there!!!! I was going through everything again and I noticed my laptop wasn’t closed all the way and I opened it and there it was!! I’m so relieved.” I immediately responded telling her how happy I was for her, and I truly was.

It’s completely and totally irrelevant how the ring got back to where it belongs, and as I said, I had nothing to do with it. The important thing is, her ring is back where it belongs. She is one very excited, happy young lady with a huge smile on her face making for a very happy ending!

Jessica and Oscar – Congratulations!!! Thank you for the beautiful card. Take care of each other, and I wish you two only the best in life.

Jim

   

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Lady’s Yellow Gold Band Lost in Myrtle Beach – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from Joe Denton, NMB Minelab distributor, about a lady who had lost her Gold band in the dry sand in North Myrtle Beach. He gave me her number and I called her. I introduced myself and learned her name was Elizabeth and she had lost a yellow gold band. She told me she was in North Myrtle on 21st Ave North, right next to a life guard stand. No problem, I grabbed my Equinox 800 and headed out for the 10 minute drive to the beach. After finding a place to park on a busy Sunday, I made my way out to the beach. When I got out there, I called Elizabeth saying I was there and holding my detector up in the air so she could see me. She didn’t, I gave her a couple of landmarks like the banana boat ride. She didn’t see it. Ok, I must be in the wrong spot. I asked her again about being in North Myrtle Beach. She said she’d ask the life guard, and I asked to talk to her. The life guard said they were about 10 blocks up from the sky wheel on 21st Ave North. Ok, she wasn’t in North Myrtle Beach, she was in Myrtle Beach. This happens all the time with visitors; both Myrtle and North Myrtle have exactly the same street numbers. I explained that since she was in Myrtle, I needed to call the TRF for Myrtle, Matt Fry. I tried his number a couple of time, with no answer, so I called his wife. I explained the situation and she gave me permission to take the call. Matt and I have a great working relationship, so if one of us gets the other one’s call we’ll work it out.

I called Elizabeth back, told her I’d be there in about 25 minutes, and headed south. Once I got there, I went through the same routine of calling her and holding up my detector. This time she found me. She led me over to the spot and explained that the ring was dropped in the sand right off the blanket that was spread out. She told me the ring was yellow gold, but in my head I’m thinking white gold. So I’m looking for a VDI (visual display identifier) numbers between 8-10. I immediately got a VDI of 17, and passed over it. Took another step, it was like dah; I confirmed yellow gold, turned around and took out 2 scoops of sand. Bingo, I had it in the scoop. As I’m showing it to Elizabeth, another young lady was walking towards us and Elizabeth said “he found it.” This young lady’s name was Jessica and the actual owner of the ring. Jessica said she had taken her rings off so Elizabeth could put them in her bag, and this one was dropped in the sand. Elizabeth felt horrible, so both ladies started digging through the sand with no luck. Elizabeth had originally called Joe to rent a detector, and Joe sent her my way. All’s well that ends well!

Elizabeth/Jessica – so glad I could help find the lost treasure.

Joe – thanks for the referral!

Jim

   

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Lost in the Sand, Sentimental White Gold Diamond Pendant North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a text message from Joe Denton, Minelab and Garrett metal detector distributor in North Myrtle Beach, saying “Call this lady. Names Teresa and she lost her necklace.” Joe gets the occasional frantic calls from people looking to buy or rent a metal detector because they’ve lost a ring or other piece of Jewelry. When he does, he usually steers ‘em my way.

I called Teresa and left a message, she quickly returned my call. She said her necklace had broken and her pendant fell in the dry sand. She gave me the resort name and I told her I’d be there in about 15 minutes. When I met up with Teresa and her husband, Ronnie, they showed me the suspected spot in the dry sand. I got the details and found out the pendant was a white gold pendant with diamonds. I started up my Equinox 800 and did an east/west grid and didn’t get a signal, other than a soda can buried deep in the sand. I started a cross grid going north/south and still wasn’t picking anything up. Ronnie had told me that they were sitting in one area, went to lunch, and when they came back they moved up and over to a new spot on the beach. Teresa also said she walked down to the water to rinse her hands off after apply suntan lotion. I widened the search area, including getting wet in the incoming tide, and still wasn’t finding anything. At that point, I switched to my Gold Bug II thinking maybe the Equinox just couldn’t detect the pendant. I’ve also learned to always take a second detector; nothing is more embarrassing than to start a search and your machine’s not working. I was starting to worry that I might be searching the path they took when they went and came back from lunch, too. I started another grid line with the Gold Bug, and on my second line I got a scratchy signal. I took a small scoop of sand and laid it out, ran the detector over it and got a better signal. I spread the sand out with my foot and picked up a small patch of sand. I gently shook the sand out of the scoop and saw a shell and the back part of the pendant. I turned around to find Teresa standing on the beach, held the pendant up for her to see I found something. She got the “did he really find it” look on her face. She literally ran over, and when I handed her her pendant, she was overwhelmed! Her happiness, tears, big hug, and the Thank you is exactly why I enjoy doing this so much.

Teresa and Ronnie, so glad I could help find your special 2 year old Valentine’s Day present. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip back home.

Jim

  

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Lost Cell Phone in Myrtle Beach, SC – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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George called me from his wife’s phone saying he had lost his phone and wanted to know if I could help find it. When he gave me the hotel name, I was pretty sure he was in Myrtle Beach, which he confirmed. That’s Matt Fry’s area, so I told George that I’d call Matt and one of us would call him back within 10 minutes. I didn’t have any luck getting a hold of Matt, so I called George back and told him I’d be there in about 30 minutes.

When I arrived at the beach, it was pretty crowded. I called George to let him know I was there and he said he’d be right down from the hotel. When he arrived on the beach he pointed out the area, which at the time, was being occupied by two young ladies. As I started walking over to them to ask them if they’d mind moving, they started packing up to leave, so no problems.

I started doing an east/west grid line, and on the third leg I got a 31-32 on the Equinox 800 so I knew I had he’s phone. Surprisingly, the phone was deeper than it should have been after less than 2 hours of being in the sand. I very carefully used my scoop to get the phone out of the sand, saw it lying in the hole, and reached down and pulled it out. George was in a little bit of shock, but very happy he had his phone back.

George, thanks for contacting me to help find your phone. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip home.

Jim

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Man’s White Gold Wedding Band Lost in North Myrtle Beach, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received a late night email from Kim saying that they were here on vacation with some friends and one of them, Tommy, had lost his wedding band. She asked if it was something I could possibly help with. I replied asking if he thinks he could put me in the right area and to give me a phone number and I’d call him this morning for the details. She wrote back saying she thought he could and gave me his number. I think she was emailing me while Tommy and his wife were searching for his ring in the dark.

I contacted Tommy at about 8:15 this morning, waking him up, and got the details and location. Told him I’d be there in about 20 minutes and was on my way. These were perfect conditions because it hadn’t gotten hot yet with a heat index over 100 and there shouldn’t be the big crowds to contend with.

When I arrived, I walked out on the beach and called him saying I was there. When we met, he was standing in an area of soft sand that was maybe 10ft X 10ft. He told me that he had handed his ring to his wife to hold while he put sun screen on himself and her. He wasn’t sure what happened after that, but at the end of the day, the ring couldn’t be found. I started a grid line and just as I started the 4th line, Boom, I got a solid 12 on the Equinox 800. I dug a small scoop of sand, checked the hole to make sure I had the ring, and dumped the sand. As I did, I saw the glistening of his white gold ring lying in the sand. I reached down, and picked it up with the scoop, shook the sand out, and walked over to where Tommy was standing. I stuck the scoop out for him to see his ring and then he reached in and plucked it out. Overjoyed was definitely an understatement in this case.

Kim, I didn’t get to meet you, but thank you for reaching out to me and putting me in touch with Tommy.

Tommy, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure, and getting it back where it belongs. Have a great rest of your vacation.

Jim

 

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