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

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 4^th 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