Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 13 of 22

Mother’s Gift Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned on Holden Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I and my wife were on our way from dinner when I decided I wanted to spoil my granddaughters with some Krispy Kreme donuts just before bedtime, cause that’s what grandpa’s do. As I was paying for the donuts my phone rang. Noticing an out of state number, I was pretty sure this was a lost ring call. When I answered, Jennifer said she had lost a ring on Holden Beach and wondered if I could help find it. I asked my normal questions of: where was it lost on the beach, dry sand, wet sand or in the water, and at what time. She replied it was at 5 p.m. but she wasn’t exactly sure where. She knew she had the ring on when she got to the beach. She also said she was with her triplets at the water’s edge and then when she was leaving the beach she was putting shoes on one of the babies and noticed her ring was gone. She continued by saying that a pretty good size wave was coming in and she was scurrying to get the kids out of the way and thinks it may have fallen off then. I got a little excited when she told me what time she lost it, because high tide was at 5:23 p.m. and it’d be after 9 p.m. when I got there, so I wasn’t going to get wet! I told her I’d be there in an hour.

When I got to the address she sent me, she was outside waiting. I got a few more details as we walked out to the beach. She told me this ring was her mother’s and that her mother gave it to her for a birthday present and for the birth of her triplets. The ring was White Gold and was extremely sentimental to her. Just to be safe I turned my detector on as we walked to where she was with the babies just to make sure it hadn’t fallen off as they were leaving. We got to the spot and I started a grid search right at the cut line for the high tide. Within a few steps I got a good 8/9 and started digging. I was down at least 6 inches and thought her ring couldn’t possibly be this deep in 4 hours. Figuring the target ‘can slaw’ (pieces of a beer can that have deteriorated over time with the sand and water movement), I did about 3 more grid lines towards the ocean. With no other signals, I was sure the ring was in the hole. I went back and took 3 more scoops of sand out, checked the hole and knew I had the target in the third scoop. As I spread the sand on the beach from the scoop, Jennifer said, “There’s my ring.” She reached down and grabbed her ring and did a very excited happy dance. She was beyond excited and so were I and her father-in-law, Mickey, who had come out on the beach to watch. The feeling of returning someone’s treasure is incredible and is exactly why I do this.

Jennifer, thank you so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and love those babies!

Jim

 

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Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned on Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received a late night email from Lindsay saying she had lost both her wedding and engagement rings the day before in the ocean, and asked if I was available to help. I had just gotten back home from an unsuccessful 4 hour search for another couple’s engagement ring. So, I had already planned on going back during low tide the next day and try again. I had also asked Jim Brouwer if he wanted to help because of the large search area, which he jumped at the chance. I responded back to Lindsay that I would be available, but I had another search I had to do first. I told her that I should be done by 10 am and I’d call her. I also asked her what time she lost her rings and how deep she was. Luckily, she lost them about 2 hours after high tide and was waist deep. With that information, I knew I wasn’t pressed to get to her location before the tide change, and we had a good chance of finding her rings.

After finishing up the first search with no luck, Jim and I drove the 30 minutes to Ocean Isle Beach. I called Lindsay and told her we were on our way. When we pulled in the driveway, Lindsay was anxiously waiting. I asked her to tell me the story of what happened and basically she got hit by a wave and her rings came off. I asked her what the rings were made of and she said white gold, so Jim and I knew we were looking for low numbers on our machines. Jim literally drew a line in the sand with his scoop to divide the search area in half, and jumped in the water to work the incoming tide. I started a grid search in the wet sand working parallel to the tide line. After a few grid lines, I thought I might be to high on the beach and moved to the water line and did about 3 grid lines in the water. Again rethinking the situation, I moved back out of the water and started another grid line just above my water line grid. About 5 steps and I got a very weak and erratic tone. The numbers on my Equinox were jumping from 1 to 3, a little lower than I was looking for, and nothing solid. I took a scoop of sand and still didn’t have anything solid. One more scoop, and I had a good 4-5 on my machine, but I couldn’t see anything. I shook a little sand out of my scoop and saw the tiny engagement ring. I gave a wink to Jim to let him know I had one of the rings, and then rinsed it off and called Lindsay over and let her reach in the scoop and pull it out. I confirmed, with her, that both rings fell off at the same time, and went back to the same hole. The hole was empty, so I slowly ran the coil around the area and got another very weak signal. A little more digging and moving the sand around and I saw the tiny wedding band lying in the sand. Washed it off and again let Lindsay remove it from the scoop. To say she was extremely happy would be an understatement. I got big hugs from Lindsay, and a very happy handshake from her husband, Drew.

A big thank you to Jim for his help, he’s always ready to lend a hand.

Lindsay and Drew, thank you for trusting Jim and me to help find your lost treasures. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. You now have one more chapter to add to the story of your rings.

Jim

 

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Man’s Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Dana called me about 1:30 pm telling me her husband, Steven, had lost his gold wedding band the day before and was wondering if I could help find it. I asked her what time he lost it, was it in the dry sand, wet sand or in the ocean, and if in the ocean, how deep was he. She replied that he lost it about 6:30 pm, in the ocean, and was about waist deep. Since he lost it a couple of hours before low tide and it was almost high tide when she called, it’d be best to wait until later that evening to attempt the search. She agreed and I told her I’d be there around 7:30 pm. I got the feeling that it might be a large search area, so I called Jim Brouwer, who had helped me earlier in the morning on two other searches, and asked him if wanted to go on one more. He agreed, so we set the time to meet at Dana and Steven’s resort.

When we got there at 7:30 pm, we met Dana and Steven and got the details. It was a pretty good size area and Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating with some fairly large waves crashing the beach. We cut the search in half and both started grid searches. Jim was doing a parallel search on his side, and I was doing a perpendicular search from the shore to about knee to thigh deep in the ocean on my side. After about an hour, something came up and Jim had to leave. Shortly after he left, I started doing grid lines parallel to the beach. Right around 9 pm, it was dark, and the waves were getting bigger. I figured I’d do a few more search lines and call it a night, thinking I’d be back within the next day or two. Dana and Steven came down to the beach to see if there’d been any progress in finding Steven’s ring and I explained what my plan was. About 10 minutes later, I got a strong 13-14 on the Equinox, most 13-14 numbers are pull tabs, but occasionally a gold ring will pop up. That’s exactly what happened in this case. I took a picture of the ring and sent it with a text saying “BINGO” to Dana. I got an immediate reply saying “Yay!” It didn’t take them long to show up. A very happy couple and another saved vacation.

Dana and Steven, thank you for trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back home to Texas.

Jim

  

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14K Gold Family Heirloom Wedding Band Lost at Oak Island, NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got an email around 9:30 pm Sunday night from George saying that he had lost his gold wedding ring that had originally belonged to his grandfather. His email also stated that he had placed the ring into a zipped pocket of a beach bag on Friday, but didn’t discover the ring was missing until he and his wife, Jen, started packing up to leave on Monday morning. As Jen was packing the beach bag, George remembered his ring was in there and told Jen. Jen checked the bag, didn’t find the ring but did discover a hole in the pocket the ring was suppose to be in. He was wondering if I could meet them tomorrow, before they left to see if I could find it. Unfortunately, I’ve got to go out of town the next morning for a day trip so I wouldn’t be able to make it. I called him, letting him know I couldn’t make it tomorrow, but I could make it tonight. He agreed, gave me the rental house address and I hit the road for the hour drive to Oak Island.

When I arrived, both Jen and George were sitting on the front stoop of the house waiting for me. I got a few more details from Jen and George, and George and I crossed the street to the beach access. Once there, George pointed out the area they had been sitting at over the course of the last 3 days. I started doing a grid line parallel to the surf. I was on my 6th or 7th line when I got a strong signal showing up as a VDI of 18 and I knew it had to be his gold ring. Dug a scoop of sand, dumped it on the beach, and spread it out with my foot. Ran the coil over the sand and saw the outline of his ring at the same time my Equinox rang out. I reached down and picked up his ring, turned towards George and held my arm out. I had my headlamp on and saw the expression on his face like, there is no way he’s holding my ring. He seemed hesitant to come see what I was holding and when I handed him his ring he was completely overwhelmed. Think we both dropped a tear or two. We left the beach and were going to surprise Jen, but George couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. At some point after we found his ring, he made a comment that he was sure it was lost forever.

George and Jen, Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. I’m sure the ring has a very long history and story attached to it, and now that story can continue with just a little added anxiety thrown in.

Jim

      

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IPhone lost at Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Jessica called me a little before 9 am asking if I rented metal detectors. I informed her that I don’t, but I use metal detectors to help find things for people. She asked if I could find an iPhone she lost in the dry sand. We went back and forth with a few questions and answers, ending with me telling her I’d be there in about 45 minutes.

She gave me the address where she and her family were staying. When I pulled into the driveway she came out of the house with her friend, Maria and said to follow her to the beach access. Once we got on the beach, she said that she had left it on the beach the night before and had tracked it to a general area of where she had been. The area was roughly 20ft by 20ft, and thank goodness it was all dry sand. I started a grid search from the dry sand to the high tide line. On the fourth line I got a good signal, and the numbers were all over the place on the Equinox 800, so I knew I had found her phone. I used my foot to spread out the sand and uncovered part of the phone, and reached down and picked it up. She couldn’t believe it was found, thanks to her putting me in the right area, it made for a quick and easy search. When we found it, it had no power, so when she got back in her car and plugged it in, it started charging up. Thankfully, there seemed to be no damage.

Jessica, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost phone, and have a great rest of your vacation!

Jim

     

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started when I got a phone call from Alicia at 11:15 am, asking if I could help find her husband, Sam’s, wedding band. She told me that one of her girlfriend’s father had recommended The Ring Finders, sure am glad he did. I started getting the details and it sounded like a good challenge. She said that she and Sam got married yesterday and after a full day of fun, it was time to relax. Not sure how many were involved, but Alicia said a whole lot of people (wedding party and family members) decided to take a midnight (literally) swim in the ocean. I asked her how deep they were and she said “torso” deep, so anywhere from shoulders to naval, which if they’re short, it’s not too bad. Taking a quick look at the tide tables, they were swimming about an hour to an hour and a half before high tide, big help! Low tide for today was around 8:30 pm so I told her I’d be there close to 5 pm. I had nothing going on, so I took a ride up to do a recon on what I was up against. When I got there, Alicia came out and confirmed the area, and roughly, how far out they had been. I was thinking I’d be back at about mid tide and work the outgoing tide and should have a pretty good shot at finding the ring.

I got back there right around 5:30 pm, and got to meet some of the family around the pool, a great bunch of people! Made my way out to the beach, and decided to do a perpendicular grid search (shore line to water). I got about half way through my third grid line and got a banging signal on my Equinox 800 that was registering 22-24 on the VDI. I was about thigh deep and dug a scoop of sand, checked the hole and it was clear. Washed the sand out of the scoop in the surf, checked the scoop and nothing. Hmmm, maybe I had a small target that fell through the holes in the scoop. Checked the hole again then around the hole and got the signal again. Took another scoop of sand, checked the hole and the area around the hole and I had the target (again) in the scoop. I walked up to the wet sand and dumped the scoop, checked the pile of sand and found the target. Spread the sand out with my foot and saw the outline of a ring in the sand. Washed it off, confirmed the inscription that Alicia said was in it and knew I had it. I took a picture and text Alicia saying “Bingo!” She immediately text me back and said she was on her way back to the house. Total search time was between 20-30 minutes. Made it back to the pool that the family was still gathered around, had a cold beer with them and waited for Alicia. She was so excited, she just knew the ring was gone forever.

Most of the rental houses on the beach are named, this house was no different. Ironically the name on this house was “The Memory Maker,” I’m sure that Alicia and Sam will remember this adventure for a very long time.

Alicia, thank you so much for trusting me to find your lost treasure. Hope and pray for only the best for you and Sam, take care of each other.

Jim

   

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Man’s Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean at North Myrtle Beach SC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On May 13th, I received an email from Cliff stating he had lost his wedding band the week before, on May 7th, while swimming in the ocean in North Myrtle Beach. I thought the resort he said he had stayed at was in Myrtle Beach, so I passed the email on to Matt Fry, the ring finder for Myrtle Beach. After a few more emails with Cliff, I realized the ring was actually lost in North Myrtle Beach so I took the search and called Matt to let him know.

I got all the details from Cliff, including the fact that he lost his ring just a little over an hour after high tide, which was good, but he also said he was roughly waist deep when he lost it, which puts it out in the ocean a little further. Cliff was back home, in Ohio, so I sent him a google map of the area with my anticipated search area outlined, he replied that he thought the area should shift a little to the north. Looking at the tide table, low tide was at 9:55 pm, so I hit the beach close to 8 pm expecting to work the outgoing tide. Once I got to the beach, I expanded my search area out, probably 15 yards on both ends. Working parallel to the surf, I started my grid search at about the mid tide line. After almost an hour, and maybe 15 grid lines of 60-70 yards each, I got a strong 15/16 on my Equinox 800. I dug a shallow scoop of sand and saw the gold wedding band staring up at me from the bottom of the scoop. After almost a week, I was surprised the ring wasn’t deeper than where I found it, but so happy to have it in my hand. I took a couple of pictures and sent them to Cliff with a text of “BA-BOOM!!! Look familiar? Call me!” I got his address and got his ring in the mail the next morning.

I received an email on Thursday, May 16th that he had just received his ring. In his email he told me that he hadn’t told his wife yet that he lost it. He said that they were enjoying their vacation so much that he didn’t want to ruin her time, although, both his sisters and daughter knew it was lost. Shortly after they got home, she left town on a work trip, and that’s when he searched the web and found one of my posts about finding another couple’s ring and contacted me. So Cliff was extremely happy that his ring was found and returned before he had to break the bad news to his wife. Another very happy ending!

Cliff, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

 

 

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White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Linsey called me a little after 4 p.m. today saying she had lost her wedding band in the sand. We went back and forth with a few questions and answers, one of them being where she was at. I told her I’d be there in about 20 minutes, grabbed my gear, and was on my way.

I called her when I got to the beach, and met her husband, Mike, as I was walking to their spot. As we walked, I got Mike’s perspective of what happened. Luckily, this sounded like a very simple search. When we got to where Linsey was guarding the area, I saw where Mike had drawn a box in the sand around the area. I got Linsey’s account of what happened and knew this was going to be easy. I turned on my Equinox 800, asked Mike to move the beach chair that Linsey had been sitting it, and took 2 steps and had a good signal. Oddly, the signal was coming from an orange peeling that was laying in the sand. I moved the peeling, spread the sand out with my foot, and got a solid 3 on the Equinox. Took a small scoop of sand, gently shook out the sand, and saw Linsey’s small white gold wedding band at the bottom of the scoop. I held out my scoop to Linsey, she made a comment like “You found it?” as she looked in the scoop and pulled her ring out. Mike was just as excited, and I got hugs from both of them. Evidently, Linsey had been eating the orange and when she finished, she put the peeling in the sand, and her ring must have slipped off at that point. Nevertheless, the ring is back where it belongs, and everybody’s happy! Love these returns.

Linsey and Mike, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe return home.

Jim

 

 

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White Gold Diamond Ring Lost in the Sand in Litchfield, SC. Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Rhonda called me about 8:30 pm saying I had been referred to her by the Minelab Distributor in the area, and was hopeful I could help find one of her lost rings. She said that she had lost 5 rings in the sand after she had taken them off to apply sun tan lotion. She went on to say, that her and her boyfriend had found 4 of the 5 but couldn’t find her diamond ring. She was wondering when I might be available to help look for it. I don’t like waiting to do a ring search because too many things could happen between the time of loss and me getting there to search. So, I told her I’d be there in about 30 minutes, got the address, grabbed my detector and was on the road.

I called her when I got there and she met me in the parking lot. We walked out to the beach and luckily she knew exactly where the area was that the ring was lost. I think it took longer for the detector to turn on and me to get ready then it did to find her ring. She put me dead on the spot, 3 swings and I got the tone, looked at the numbers on the detector and saw the 9/10 and knew I had white gold. I took a small scoop of sand, checked the hole to make sure I had her ring and searched the scoop. I very gently pulled her beautiful diamond ring out of my scoop. She was a little shocked that it turned up so quickly. A great happy ending to their vacation.

Rhonda, thank you so much for trusting me to find your lost treasure. Have a safe trip home.
Jim

 

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Newlywed’s Honeymoon Happily Continues at Sunset Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Howard called me around 11 a.m. saying he had lost his wedding band, and asked if I could help find it. He continued by saying he had lost it in a big clump of grass and hadn’t been able to locate it. He further told me he was at the Sandpiper Bay Golf and Country Club at Sunset Beach, NC. I told him I’d be there in about 30 minutes.

On my drive up there, I’m thinking he may have lost it on the golf course and was hoping he had a good idea of exactly where it came off his finger. I ended up at the community club house instead of the golf course club house and asked a lady where the course club house was. She asked if I was the ring guy, after replying in the affirmative, she said that her husband was the one that lost his ring. Luckily, he had lost his ring in the landscaping Saw grass around the pool area in about a 5 ft square area. Rachelle and I introduced ourselves, and as we’re walking to the area she said that they had gotten married 2 weeks ago and that he’s had his ring for 2 days. We met up with Howard and he said that the ring was a little tight. He also said that he’s not use to wearing jewelry, so he had the ring about half way on his finger when it fell off. He heard the ring hit the cement, saw it bounce, and then disappear in the grass. I grabbed my AT PRO and started running it over the top of the grass where he thought it was. He told me it was a 14K gold wedding band, so I knew I’d be looking for a VDI (visual display indicator) number in the high 50s. After going over his suspected area a couple of times, I moved down the sidewalk, and about a yard or so I got a solid 57 on the detector. Visually, I couldn’t see anything so I used my pin pointer and BANG, found it buried deep in the grass. I pulled it out, wiped it off, and stuck it up for him to grab. He was flabbergasted that he had it back, he told me he had just about given up on finding it. Rachelle gave out a woo hoo shout. Honeymoon was saved.

Howard and Rachelle, thank you for trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon and have a safe trip back home to Denver, CO.
Jim

  

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