Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 10 of 22

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)
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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

    

 

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Stranded on Carolina Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a text message from Joe Denton, Minelab Distributor in North Myrtle Beach, SC, today, Jul 27th, saying he got a call from a couple wanting to rent a metal detector to find their lost keys.  Joe recommended they use my services and passed their phone number on to me. I called and talked to Zora, who explained that her and her husband, Nor believed they had lost their car FOB and a few other keys in the dry sand the day before. Zora wanted to check with the Carolina Beach City’s lost and found first to see if someone found and turned them in. She said if not, she’d call me back and ask if I could come find them the next day. I told her I had no problem looking at night; in fact I prefer night hunting this time of the year because of the daytime crowds and heat. About 4 p.m. she called back asking for help. I told her it’d take me about an hour and half to get there, so I grabbed the Equinox 800 and hit the road.

When I arrived, I met Zora and Nor in front of their condo and we walked out on the beach. I asked Nor how confident was he that the keys were there and he replied about 90%. Ok, not bad odds, so Zora showed me the probable area and Nor thought it was a little more towards the ocean. Both agreed in was in the dry sand, and the area was maybe 10X15 feet. I started a grid search, and within a few minutes, I had the keys in my hand. Zora and my eyes met at the same time and she said “did you find the keys.” I just held the keys up for her and Nor to see. Both got very excited and walked over and took the keys. Come to find out they were down with another couple from DC and didn’t have many options of getting home without the car FOB. So glad I could help them out.

Zora and Nor – thanks for trusting me to help you out of your predicament.

Jim

   

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Man’s Tungsten Ring Lost and Found in Calabash NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I was researching a Face Book page where someone had referred me to a young lady that had a recent loss. In the process I read a post from Terisa stating that her husband, Nathan had lost his tungsten wedding band in some bushes. I reached out to her by text saying I’d be glad to help, if she liked. She responded saying her and Nathan had been trying to find a place to eat. They were on a mini-vacation and in the middle of the covid-19 virus, and couldn’t find a restaurant to eat at. About the only place open was a little ice cream shop. Out of frustration, her husband “misplaced” his wedding band in a large bush next to the ice cream shop. This seemed like a pretty simple search.

When I got to the strip mall, I thought it’d be best to ask permission before I started climbing through their bushes. I walked into a smoke shop, the shop closest to the bushes, and told the lady behind the counter, who I was and what I do. As I was telling her I needed to look in the bushes for a man’s ring, she interrupted me and said, “I found that and called them, leaving a message, and they never called me back.” Meanwhile, she was looking through a drawer until she found the ring. I compared the picture Terisa sent me to the ring, and I had a match. Easiest and fastest return I’ve had. On the way home I stopped off at the post office and got it in the mail back to Terisa.

Terisa – thank you for allowing me to help find your husband’s ring.

Jim

   

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Man’s Tungsten Wedding Ring Lost and Found, Horry County SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I was in the middle of another ring search, and just about finished, when Josh called asking for help to find his Tungsten wedding band. I explained what I was doing, and that it’d be another 30 minutes before I finished. He said that was fine because he was waiting on a food delivery. I got his location, which happened to be on the west side of the Apache Pier, while I was on the east side. I finished up the search, called him, and told him I was heading down the beach towards his location. He said he’d start walking my way, and we could meet along the way.

After a short walk, we met and I got the details of how he lost his ring. He explained that he was playing with his son, jumping the waves, when he felt his ring come off. I ask him what time it happened, and he replied around 1 p.m. the day before. Perfect, that was right around high tide, and it was just coming into low tide. We walked down the beach a little more, and he said his wife was sitting right there in the soft sand. I turned my machine on, walked down towards the water, and BANG! I got a 17 on the VDI, so I was confident I had a tungsten ring under the coil. It took 3 scoops to get the ring out of the sand, but there it was. I walked over to Josh, asked him what his ring looked like as I held it up. He got excited and said “That’s it. That was less than 2 minutes.”

Josh – thanks for calling me, and I’m so happy I could help.

Jim

  

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Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost and Found – Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from Patrick about 1:30 p.m. today, Jul 25th, telling me his brother-in-law, Jason lost his Platinum Wedding Band and was wondering if I could help find it. I asked him when it was lost and he said about an hour ago. This was great, because that meant he lost it right at high tide. Patrick also told me it was ankle deep and about 100 yards from a particular sign posted on the beach. Ironically, the sky was turning black and the thunder was rolling across the sky. I asked if someone could meet me to put me in the right spot. Unfortunately, they had left the beach ahead of the storm, and weren’t available. This was another one of those “it should be easy” searches. I told him I was on my way.

As I drove the 30 minutes to the beach, it was pouring down rain, with lightening strikes everywhere. My plan was to get to the beach and wait out the storm in my car. That was all unnecessary because the storm had cleared out and the sun was shining when I got there. I walked out on the beach and called Patrick to confirm I was in the right area and to confirm I needed to go left about 100 yards. Everything confirmed, I walked down to the water’s edge and started pacing off 100 yards, in 25 yard increments. Not following my instincts, I started at the 50 yard mark and started a grid search parallel to the beach right at the high tide line. After 4 grid lines out towards the ocean, I was coming up empty. If only I had started at the 25 yard mark. After changing to a perpendicular grid and searching for 3 hours, covering about 125 yards across the beach, I took a break. I walked back to my 25 yard mark and kept the perpendicular search going. My 4th line I got a solid 14 on the Nox 800 VDI, usually a 14 indicates a pull tab, but not this time. BOOM! As I dug out the compact sand and spread it across the beach, I saw the ring rolling across the sand. I sent Patrick a picture of the ring, with a text asking where they were. I didn’t get a response, so I called him, no answer; I left a message telling him to call me. After a few minutes, he called and I ask if he had seen his text. After a pause, he asked if it was the right ring. I replied, I’m sure it is, it’s platinum, and it’s doubtful that another man’s platinum wedding band would be lost in exactly the same area as Jason’s. He asked where we could meet and I told him it’d be easier if I just came to him. When I walked out on the pool area where the family was sitting, I was welcomed with loud cheers. We donned our covid-19 masks, and did some fists checks. It’s hard to see the big smiles under Jason and his wife, Shannon’s mask but I assure you they had some huge smiles.

Patrick – thanks for calling and getting things started.

Jason and Shannon – thanks for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost beautiful treasure.

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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Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost in the Surf – Found and Returned Caswell Beach N.C.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Tuesday night, about 7:30 p.m., I received an email from Richard. It stated, “Hi Jim, I found your name on theringfinders.com. My family and I are in Caswell Beach/Oak Island for the week and I lost my wedding ring in the ocean today so wondering if you have any availability to help us look for it. I lost it around 2:30-2:45pm today (7/14), I was jumping waves with my 5 year old so we were in knee deep water. The ring is a platinum wedding band. Let me know what other info you need from me, Thanks for your help, Richard.”  I knew he lost it right at high tide, and with the hour drive to Caswell Beach, I could get there about an hour before low tide. I responded to his email with my phone number and said “call me.” I grabbed my Equinox 800, and headed north. Along the way, I emailed Richard again saying I was on my way, with an ETA of 8:30 pm. Within a few minutes, Richard called me and gave me the address.

When I arrived, Richard was waiting outside; we introduced ourselves, and headed for the beach. Richard showed me the area where he had lost his ring, pointing out his wife, Kathryn, who was in the wet sand. I asked Kathryn what she remembered, she pointed to a sand castle where they had been sitting. She said her and their other 2 children were out a little farther in the water, while Richard and their 5 year old were to the right of the sand castle and in more shallow water. I told them I expected the ring to be closer to the higher tide line and then started a perpendicular grid search in the middle of the search area. As I’m working my way out from the center line, I look down and see my coil dangling from the shaft. This was not good, from all aspects! The rabbit ears holding the coil to the shaft had broken and there was no way to fix it. I always take 2 metal detectors on ring searches, but I was so confident that this would be an easy, 10 minute search at the most, that I just grabbed one detector. To keep from having to come back in the morning, I wrapped the cord around the shaft as tight as it would go, and literally drug the coil on top of the sand to detect. It wasn’t the best solution, but it worked. About 45 minutes into the search and almost at the end of the search area, I got a great signal. I dug a scoop of sand, tried my best to check the hole with the coil, and was sure I had it. I took my foot and spread the wet sand out, turned my headlamp on in the pitch black night and nothing. This was definitely not my best showing, especially in front of the person that lost their treasure that I’m trying to find. Ok, I used both hands to pick up bits of the sand and shells, crushing it between my fingers in hopes of feeling the ring. Bingo, felt it in my hand.  I held the ring over my backlight to confirm it was what I was looking for, it was. I walked up to Richard, giving him the sad story about not being able to find it. He understood and as he was saying it was time to call it a night, I held the ring up. With the help of the detector backlight he could see his ring. He texted Kathryn real quick, and she comes back out on the beach. Richard had his treasure back on his finger where it belonged.

Richard and Kathryn – thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip home.

Jim

     

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Birthday Wish Comes True, Kind of, on Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Sam called me on Sunday, July 5th saying he had lost his gold wedding band in the ocean. My first questions were “what time” and “how deep?” His replies were around 4 p.m. and knee deep. Whew, these were good answers because low tide was about 2 hours before he lost it, so I felt like I had a fighting chance. We set it up that I’d meet him on Monday at 1 p.m. and I’d work the outgoing tide.

I called him as I was walking out on the beach and saw him waving. As we met and walked towards where he and his wife, Elizabeth had set up their umbrella for the day, I started asking more questions. Sam assured me that they were in the same spot they were yesterday and that he was straight out from there in knee deep water. He told me that when he lost his ring, he wanted to take one more swim before they left. He continued saying that as he was riding a wave in, another wave hit him and he felt his ring come off. I started a grid search and did 3 or 4 grid lines parallel to the beach to get a starting point. I then headed out in the rough surf in a perpendicular grid. I’m on my 6th grid line when I notice Sam out in deeper water, diving in an attempt to feel for his ring. When I got to him, I asked if he thought he was out that deep, he responded that he really thought he was. From his previous answers, my thoughts were he wasn’t, but I did a complete grid in the area to put his mind at ease. After finishing the area I continued on with my original grid search. After a few more lines, I noticed Elizabeth was standing at the water’s edge. I stopped and asked her what she remembered. She said she remembered Sam was more at an angle when she saw him frantically looking for something in the water, and she knew he had lost his ring. I knew then I needed to expand my search area to the west, just not sure how far. I knew I was in the hour and a half window before low tide, keeping in mind he was knee deep. So, I just kept plugging along and starting to second guess myself. Like, did I miss it, was I not out far enough, and all the other things that go through your mind when you’re looking for someone’s treasure. By now, I was at least 30-40 yards west of Sam’s suspected loss area. Then BAM!!!! I got the 16/17 on the Equinox 800 VDI I was looking for. One scoop and I had the target, I washed it out in the surf and there was Sam’s gold wedding ring, all by itself, sitting in the bottom of the scoop. I made it look like I was still detecting as I walked up to where they were sitting. I told them I needed a break, as I was grabbing my cell phone from my rolled up towel on the beach. I had his ring half way on my finger as I’m recording, waiting for his response. Elizabeth saw it first, but was speechless with her mouth open. It took Sam a couple of second as the video shows, and then all smiles.

Happy Birthday Sam, I’m sure it’s not the gift you wanted for your birthday, but it turned into a pretty good present!

Sam & Elizabeth – Thank you for trusting me to find your 2 year old treasure.

Jim

     

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Man’s White Gold Wedding Band Lost and Found on Oak Island N.C.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Matt called me at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 3rd saying he had lost his wedding band around 4 p.m. A quick check of the tide tables and it showed he lost it right at the mid tide line. I asked him how deep he was and he told me that at low tide the ring should be in the wet sand. We worked out the details and I told him I’d be there the next morning at 10:30. Knowing that he seemed confident he knew where the ring slipped off his finger; my only concern was trying to find a place to park at the beach on the 4th of July.

When I got there, parking was non-existent, and I found a spot on the side of the road, hoping I wouldn’t get a ticket. I met Matt and his wife, Kim on the beach in the same area he had lost his ring the day before. Matt showed me the area and I started a parallel grid search along the slope to rule out the top of the beach. After 4 or 5 row, I changed to a perpendicular grid working from ankle deep to about thigh deep straight out from where Matt and Kim were sitting. My 4th trip out to deeper water, I got a solid 15/16 on the Equinox 800, telling me I had a ring. I wasn’t sure I had Matt’s ring because he had originally told me his ring was platinum. So I was looking for a lower number somewhere from 3-7 on the 800. After some consideration of the description Matt gave me. Plus, the likelihood of two men’s wedding bands lost on this portion of the beach, I was confident I had Matt’s ring. Sure enough, as I’m asking him what his ring looked like, he described it to a tee. I asked him if was platinum, and after looking and seeing the 14K stamp, he conceded it wasn’t platinum. Made me feel better and confirmed the numbers on the machine.

Matt and Kim, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great weekend and a safe trip home.

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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