Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 14 of 22

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Wednesday, Sept 26th, I was out doing a little metal detecting on my own and not finding a whole lot. I suddenly got a solid signal with a VDI of 32 on my Equinox 800. Pretty sure I had found a cell phone, I carefully dug a big hole so I wouldn’t damage the phone. Sure enough, I found a Samsung Galaxy S8 about 4 to 5 inches deep in the wet sand. It wasn’t damaged, but it wasn’t powering up either. So, the phone either had a dead battery or was shot from being submerged.

When I got home I pulled the case off and cleaned it up. Not knowing how long it’d been in the sand, I didn’t want to plug it in and set it aside to dry out. In the meantime, I contacted an acquaintance at Verizon and gave him the IMEI number off the back of the phone. With that number, he can look it up and be able to see if the phone belongs to a Verizon customer. If he has a match, he’ll contact the owner and have them call me. I got lucky with this one. I hate not being able to find the phone’s owner, 1-I have no use for somebody else’s phone, and 2-I’m sure the owner has pictures or other information they don’t want to lose.

It was a week before Eric, from Maryland, contacted me about his phone, I had actually forgotten about it. I told him that I had taken his phone to Verizon and we weren’t able to power it up or charge it. However, we were able to get his SIM card out of the phone and we taped it to the front of the phone. He said he had a large number of contacts on the phone that he hadn’t backed up to the Cloud so he was very grateful his phone was found. I got his address and sent his phone home.

Jim

    

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Unique 2 Generations of Rings Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned in North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Kevin called me at 10 a.m. this morning saying he had lost his gold wedding band the day before and wanted to know if I could help find it. He went on to say that this ring was extremely sentimental to him as he had taken his grandfather’s wedding band and his father’s wedding band and melded them together to make one ring, his. This ring’s story had a long history attached to it and needed to be found. I asked him what time he lost it and how deep he was in the ocean. He replied, “3 p.m. and about belly deep.” Knowing the tide tables, this was right at mid-tide. So, depending on how much sand was on the beach, I’m thinking his ring should be buried very close to the low-tide line. I had a few things to do, and low tide wasn’t for a couple of hours so I told Kevin I’d be there around 11:30ish.

When I got to the beach, I texted Kevin saying, I’m here and stood around scoping out the conditions. It wasn’t long before Kevin and his wife, Suzanne, showed up, and Kevin started pointing out the suspected area. I thought my best hope was an east/west grid search, going from the wet sand to roughly waist deep water. Kevin didn’t know exactly where the ring had come off and mentioned that he had drifted both north and south. So I wanted to extend the search area taking advantage of the low tide. I had my White’s PI, which meant I was digging every piece of wire, bottle cap, and pull tab; and wasting a lot of time digging junk. I was on my 6th or 7th line and hit a great signal, dug it, and unfortunately, it was another bottle cap, a quick cuss word and I moved on. Within about 6 inches, I had another strong signal, thinking I had yet one more bottle cap to add to my collection, I dug the target. As I spread out the sand with my foot, I see this round thing peeking up through the sand and shells. Didn’t look like a bottle cap, reached down to pick it up and my finger went through the middle of it – BAM!!! I was holding this beautiful ring. I instantly knew it was Kevin’s from his description. I nonchalantly washed the sand off his ring in ankle deep water, grabbed my scoop and started walking back up the beach. I slipped his ring on my index finger to hide it from view until the right moment. At the same time, Kevin was walking down the beach towards me and asked, “Tell me.” I said, ‘Tell you what.” He replied, “Tell me you found my ring.” I held my hand up with the ring on my finger and said, “I don’t know, you tell me.” He yelled out, “Oh My GOD,” put both hands over his face, and was totally overwhelmed. Suzanne came running up the beach from the surf, with tears in her eyes. Many, many hugs and thank yous. This is the reason I do this. Total search time was just over an hour. 

Kevin and Suzanne, thank you so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure! Have a safe trip back home.

Jim

    

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Their Ring Story Continues on Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This lost ring story started about 3 p.m. when Patrick, who was on vacation from Raleigh, NC with his family, was in the surf throwing one of those balls that skip across the water. Just after 6 p.m. he called me asking if I could help find his wedding ring. He said he had googled lost ring in the ocean and my blogs popped up. I asked him a couple of questions, what time he lost it, and how deep he was when it happened. He told me he lost it about 3 and he was about hip deep. Knowing what the tides were for the day, 3 p.m. was right at mid-tide and hip deep meant he was probably out a little further than the low tide line. Time was of the essence because by the time I’d get there, the tide will have turned around and was now coming back in. I got a few more details, including the address, and told him I’d be there in 30-45 minutes. At the time, my wife and I were leaving our neighborhood on our way over to see our granddaughters. My wife has heard these type of conversations before and instantly knew what was going on, she made a U-turn to get me back home. I grabbed my gear and headed to Sunset Beach.

When I got to the rental house, I met Patrick and his wife Colleen, their son, and other family members. On the way out to the beach, I asked Patrick if he was throwing the ball when it came off, and thank goodness, he said the ball hit his finger when it came off. He and his brother-in-law gave me a general location and I started an east/west (sand to ocean) grid line. I think I was on my ninth line, and maybe ankle deep in the surf, when I got a strong hit. I dug a scoop of wet compounded sand, checked the hole, and was pretty positive I had Patrick’s Platinum Wedding Band in my scoop. I shook the scoop out in the surf and heard the loud clanging of the ring. I walked back up to where Patrick was standing, shaking the scoop as I walked so he could hear the clanging. I don’t think he was believing what he was hearing until I held the scoop out for him to retrieve his ring. He was beyond excited and I got some great bear hugs. On our way back up to the house, I asked him if he thought his ring was gone for good. His response was something like, “I didn’t think I’d ever get it back.” We also worked out a plan to surprise Colleen by saying the surf was getting to rough and that Patrick really appreciated me coming out and trying. Colleen was on the back deck as we walked up the steps. We played the surprise though and as I’m telling her that I tried, but the surf was getting big, I kept glancing at Patrick’s finger trying to get her to look. At one point she looked behind her to see what I was looking at, then BAM!!, she saw the ring on his finger and her eyes started watering up, which made mine water up. I got a big hug from her and she was so excited. Great ending to an otherwise trying time.

Patrick and Colleen, thank you so much for calling me and I’m so happy we were able to get Patrick’s ring back on his finger where it belongs! Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe return home.

Jim

  

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Man’s 10K White Gold Wedding Band lost in Myrtle Beach SC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This ring recovery started after a morning recovery, and a leisurely afternoon of walking the beach swinging my metal detector. Shortly after I got home and changed clothes, I received a call from a number that showed Toronto, Ontario Canada so I was sure it was a lost ring call. When I answered, Andrew asked if it was possible to find a ring that was lost the day before in the dry sand. I assured him we had a great chance of finding it, got the details and address of the resort, and was on my way. The Myrtle Beach area is Matt Fry’s area, but I knew he wasn’t available so I took the call. I know he’s going to be upset, not that I took the call, but because it was an easy recovery, which most of his calls lately have been in waist or deeper water at low tide. Thanks Matt!

I called Andrew when I pulled into the parking lot telling him I was there, he said he’d be right down. He and his wife Kristin were on the beach in minutes and showed me an area that was maybe, 10 ft X 15 ft. I had asked him what type of metal the ring was made of and he wasn’t sure whether it was Silver or White Gold. This really wasn’t a problem because I had the Equinox 800 and I knew if the ring was Silver, the machine would give me mid 20 numbers. If the ring was White Gold, I’d get low to mid teen numbers. The mid teen numbers are also nickels, pull tabs, and bottle caps so I had to dig everything close to the 11-13 number I was looking for. The story was that Andrew had taken his ring off and put it on a boogey board that was sitting next to them in the dry sand. Shortly afterwards, someone picked up the board and the ring took flight. I started my east/west grid working my way south and finding plenty of bottle caps but no ring. I did about 6 or 7 grid lines and was running out of real estate so I turned around and went back to my first line and took a step to the north of that line. Boom! Three steps on that grid line and I got a solid 12 on the detector. I was positive I had his “White Gold” ring. Dug a scoop, shook the sand, and Bingo! As I let him get his ring out of the scoop, I said, “You’re ring’s not Silver.” He identified his ring, looked at the stamp inside the ring and said, “It does say 10K.” Irrelevant of what it is or isn’t, it’s definitely his ring and back on his finger where it belongs. Another happy ending with big thank yous from both Andrew and Kristin.

Andrew and Kristin – thank you for allowing me to help find your lost ring. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip home.

Jim

 

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Man’s 14K White Gold Wedding Band Lost on Holden Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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My morning started off with a phone call from Matt asking for help in finding his Wedding band. He said that he had lost it yesterday after he put his ring in a chair cup holder, forgot about it, and later picked the chair up slinging the ring into the dry sand. These are the type of calls you dream about, lost in the dry sand, behind a rental house on a beach that doesn’t get hunted much, if any. I knew this was going to be a quick and easy search, and what made it better was Matt said he had marked the 10 ft X 10 ft area. I got the address and started on the 50 minute drive.

When I arrived, Matt was waiting for me on the front steps. He walked me through the house, introducing me to his wife, Cari, other family members, and then out to the beach. He pointed out the area he had marked and I started an east/west grid. On my third pass, I hit it. My Equinox 800 gave me a solid 16 on the screen, I took one small scoop, shook out the sand, and there it was. I grabbed the ring out of the scoop and held it up in Matt’s direction, his expression was priceless. I got a huge bear hug as I handed him his ring back. Cari had been standing up on the deck of the house and saw me hold the ring up and came walking out to the beach. Both were overjoyed and is exactly the reason I do this. Total search time was less than 5 minutes.

I asked Matt how he found me and he said he was trying to find someplace to rent a metal detector and called Joe Denton, the Minelab Detector distributor in Myrtle Beach, who at one time rented machines. Joe and I are friends, so Joe gave Matt my information and that’s how I got the call. Thanks Joe!!!

Matt and Cari, Thank you for trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. Best of luck to you both.

Jim

 

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10K Man’s Wedding Band Lost at Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started when Daniel called me saying he found me through The Ring Finders’ website and wanted to know if I could help. He stated he had lost his wedding band and was pretty sure he lost it on the beach. He and his brother-in-law had been throwing a football, he said he had also been sitting in the water with his hands in the sand, and at one point, he had ventured out into chest deep water. So, I’m thinking this is going to be a tough search, but I love a challenge and told him I’d be there in about 35 minutes. He gave me the address of the rental house, and I was on my way.

We met at the house and walked a block or so to the beach. On the way over, he explained that his family had set up in front of the 5th house from the beach access and in the dry sand. He also pointed out the area, in the wet sand, where he had been throwing the football. As luck would have it, there were numerous families set up in the dry sand exactly where I needed to search. I did a grid search in the areas I could with no luck. I then moved out into the wet sand, and in the water but was fighting the incoming tide. I had a great signal in the water but Mother Nature can be cruel sometimes, and the waves were pitching me around like a rag doll. After getting knocked off the signal 4 times, I decided to call it and come back later, closer to low tide. I told Daniel what my plans were and I’d be back around 10:45 p.m. I ended up getting back there close to 8:30 p.m. and started an east/west grid line from the 5th house back towards the beach access going from the dry sand to the water. After an hour plus I got a pretty good signal and dug it. It was pitch black, and even with my headlamp I couldn’t see anything in the sand I had spread out with my foot. I was spreading the sand with my hand when I hit the ring. BAM!!! I had his gold ring in my hand. I walked back to the house and surprised Daniel and Kelsey, who were both shocked the ring had been found. I was talking to Kelsey, and she told me that she knew the ring was gone forever.

Daniel told me that they had just celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary in June, so now their ring story can continue. Their smiles say it all!

Daniel and Kelsey, thank you so much for trusting in me to find your lost treasure and the very gracious reward. Best of luck to you both! Y

Jim

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Ring Lost in the Sand for 2 Weeks, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Friday, July 27, I was out doing a little metal detecting, trying to find a lost ring in waist deep water at low tide, from a month ago. I started talking with Connor, who is a North Myrtle Beach Lifeguard and was overseeing a section of the Cherry Grove beach. During our conversation, he mentioned that his girlfriend, Sanibel, had lost her silver ring in the dry sand about 2 weeks ago. I had him show me the area and told him I’d see if I could find it.

I walked maybe 100 yards to the area and was planning on doing a grid search. On my first line, third target, I had Sanibel’s ring in the scoop. I slipped her ring on my little finger, walked back to Connor, and he asked, “Did you find it?” I held out my hand so he could see it on my finger. He was overjoyed and couldn’t believe it was found. He plans on surprising her with the ring.

Connor and Sanibel, so glad I could help out and get the ring back where it belongs.

Jim

    

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Man’s 3ct Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Surf, Found and Returned Litchfield, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Damond called me at 10:30 p.m. telling me he lost his ring and wanted to know if I could help. He went on to say he was on his knees in the surf, and was playing with his 4 year old son when he felt his ring slip off his finger at about 7 p.m. He also said that he tried to grab it but it quickly sank out of sight, and he’d been out there searching for it. I got the location and told him I was on my way, and would be there in 45-50 minutes.

This was a gated resort so I had to wait until Damond showed up at the gate to get me in. I followed him down to the beach and got the details on the ring and the area he lost it in, which was a good 50 ft. by 50 ft. I first started a north/south grid line but with an outgoing tide I changed to an east/west and started in the middle of his suspected area.  One thing I’ve found pretty true to form is that most people go to the right when they enter the beach area, and this case was no different. I made about 5 or 6 passes and got a booming signal. One scoop and I had the target out of the hole. I spread the sand out with my foot, turned on my head lamp and saw the ring shining in the light. I was expecting a gold wedding band and when I picked up the ring it was “oh my God!!!” Damond was sitting on the beach access stairs when I called him down to the low tide line. I asked him to describe his ring, and then held it up and asked, “Does it look like this?” He couldn’t contain his excitement, and started doing the happy dance. I got a big bear hug. Awesome feeling!! After it was back on his finger, he told me that his wife had gotten it for him for father’s day and it had a lot of sentimental value, and I could see why. He also told me I saved the family vacation.

Damond, thank you for trusting me to find your treasure, it was truly my pleasure. Best of luck to you and your family.

Jim

   

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Lady’s Yellow Gold Engagement Ring Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Oak Island NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I, my wife, and youngest daughter were on our way to dinner when Brandon called wanting to know if I could help find his wife, Marli’s, ring. He explained that she had taken her rings off to apply sunblock to their young baby. He continued saying that she placed both the engagement ring and wedding band in her shirt. A little while later she saw her wedding band laying on the towel she had been sitting on, but no engagement ring. I told him I could be there around 8 p.m., about an hour and a half later. He told me he would check with his wife and call me back. As soon as I hung up, both my wife and daughter, almost in unison said, “You have got to go find her ring.” So I turned the car around and headed back home to drop them off and pick up my detector. I called him back and told him I was on my way and to text me the address.

After the 45 minute drive, I arrived at the beach at 7:30 p.m. I met Marli and Brandon, and we walked to the area in the dry sand where the ring was lost. Marli pointed out the area she had been sitting on the towel and applying the sunblock to her baby. I tested her wedding band with the Equinox 800 and got a VDI of 11, so I knew what I was looking for. On my fourth grid line, I got a strong tone and a VDI of 12 so I knew I had her engagement ring. I looked up and smiled at her and Brandon, and took a small scoop of sand. Her small size 4 or 4 ½ engagement ring was still hidden in the sand, so I lightly shook the sand out of the scoop and saw her ring peeking up through the small amount of sand left. Bingo! I took the ring out of the scoop and handed it to her. Big Smiles all the way around. She told me that she thought the ring was gone for good. Another chapter to add to their ring story.

Marli and Brandon, thank you for trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. Best of luck to you both, and your baby.

Jim

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White Gold Anniversary Ring Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received a call from Joanna asking questions about The Ring Finders, i.e., cost, how it works, etc. I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was upset. After we discussed the details, she said she had lost her Anniversary ring in the dry sand. Ok, I’m thinking this should be pretty easy, but like so many other ring hunts, they’re not always as easy as I’d like. This find, through my own fault, was going to be tougher than it should have been. First, she lost her ring in Myrtle Beach, which is Matt Fry’s area. So, I told Joanna I needed to call Matt, and one of us would call her back. When I called Matt, he was on his way to another ring search that he had been on for a while and told me to go ahead and take this one. I called Joanna back and told her I’d be there in less than 30 minutes. Actually, I thought this was going to work out pretty good. I’ve been searching for another ring myself that was lost in waist-deep water at low tide a few days ago, so I was waiting for the right tide. I thought I’ll go find Joanna’s ring, and then head straight to the second one, maybe I could have a double ring find in one day.

Since the second hunt was going to be a water search, I grabbed my White’s PI. This machine was more than I needed to find Joanna’s ring in the dry sand, but I didn’t want to take two machines and end up leaving one of them in the trunk with the heat. I just got this White’s PI, my second one, a couple of weeks ago as a backup for the one that’s in the shop for repairs right now. So, I grabbed the machine and was on my way.

When I got to the beach, I called Joanna and told her I was there and started walking down the beach looking for her. Her husband, Remi, saw me and we met up with Joanna. As we’re walking to the spot of her lost ring, I asked her the details of what happened. She explained that she was putting sunblock on her kids and a very short time later realized, at some point during the process,  her ring had come off. She showed me the suspected area, which had a huge hole in the sand where the kids had been digging. The area wasn’t very big, maybe 10 ft. X 10 ft., and then Remi pointed to another small area where the towels had been laid out. I turned my machine on and instantly realized I had made two very foolish mistakes. The first, I didn’t test the machine before I left the house, but why would I, it’s a brand new machine that I had used the day before, and it worked fine. The second, I didn’t bring a second machine, just in case. How embarrassing that I showed up to find a ring with a machine that didn’t work. I’m thinking, If I run back home for another machine it’ll be an hour. The second choice was to call Jim Brouwer who was maybe 20 minutes away if he wasn’t already on the beach. I explained what was going on to Joanna and Remi and called Jim. When he answered, I explained to him what was going on, and he was on his way.

When he showed up, I showed him the area, and he started his search. He quickly covered the small search area finding only a bottle cap and a penny. I then asked him to check the towel area, at the same time watching the disappointment on Joanna’s face. As Jim searched the towel area, I’m starting to wonder where else to look because we were running out of real estate fast. At this point, knowing full well that she probably already had, I asked Joanna if she had checked her bag. I got the answer I expected. Ok, Jim was just about done with the towel area and still no ring. There was one more spot to check. When I had originally gotten to the area, Joanna’s family had been sitting in a couple of the beach chairs underneath a beach umbrella. I moved the chairs back from under the umbrella, and asked Jim to check that area. Watching Joanna and Remi, I think they were trying to accept the fact that the ring wasn’t going to be found. As Jim was swinging his detector over the chair area, I was starting to have my own doubts. As I’m watching Jim work the back half of the area under the umbrella, I see his face get that ‘I’ve got a good signal’ expression. He made two or three passes over a small area and then moved some sand with his foot, a couple more passes with the detector, and then he reached down and picked something up. As he held Joanna’s ring out to her, Ba-Boom, she did a double take, said “My Ring!” and took it from his fingers. Then it indeed sunk in and some tears were shed. What a beautiful moment.

Joanna and Remi, so happy we could get your treasure back where it belongs. Now another chapter has been added to the beautiful story that goes with the ring. I apologize for not being better prepared to find it and having to make you wait an additional amount of time before you got it back. Best of Luck to both of you.

Jim – buddy, thanks so much for answering the call and helping me out.

Jim

  

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