Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 15 of 25

Lost Gold Wedding Band in the Ocean on Caswell Beach, Oak Island NC, 100th Return!

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

This ring call came as I was walking out the door en route to help find a lost Rolex watch, which wasn’t found and turned into a much longer search than I anticipated. When Matt first called, I explained the situation to him, but told him that I expected to be finished in time to meet him at his location during low tide. By the time I finished the first search, and arrived at the beach, where Matt had lost his gold wedding band, it was an hour and a half before high tide. I met Matt and his wife, Mary and we walked out to the beach. Matt pointed out the area he lost his ring, and told me he and a friend had been playing catch with a football. Matt said he noticed his ring felt a little loose. A couple of catches later, he felt his ring slip off his finger and disappear in the ocean. Matt was savvy enough to immediately get some land marks, which helped. From his description on when and how he lost his ring, I knew I didn’t have much hope of finding it on this trip. I went ahead and started a grid line, trying to get out as far as I could without dying. I checked with Matt on whether I was going out far enough and he said both Mary and her friend thought he was farther out when he lost it. After being hit and thrown by three consecutive waves, the last one, making me lose my grip on both the scoop and detector, and having my swim suit down around my thighs, I decided to call it a night. I felt so bad that I wasn’t able to give Matt a descent effort in finding his ring that I promised him I’d be back at the next low tide, which just happened to be at 3:24 a.m. We had one more chat before I left so I was sure I had all the details.

I got back to the search area at 2 a.m. a little tired but ready to go. We’re in the moon phase just after a new moon, so there was absolutely no moon light to search by and it was darker than dark out there. I started a grid line search trying to keep the lines straight and in line with each other with the aid of my head lamp. I went from an invisible line I had paced off earlier, from the top of the beach next to a “Keep off the Dunes” sign. I knew then the beach was going to be a lot different almost 6 hours later. I started a little west of the landmark Matt gave me and went back and forth from the top of the beach to the low tide line and nothing. I kept expanding the search area both east and west and still came up empty. By now, it’s 4 a.m., I’m tired, sweaty, and sore, I’ve done close to 4 miles of walking in two separate searches. I’m 100% positive Matt’s ring was lying in the sand someplace on this beach. So, I was having a little chit-chat with the Big Man upstairs and I was a little cranky, to say the least. So out of nowhere, the idea of searching the area again, doing a cross grid popped into my head. I cut the search area down; concentrating on the area Matt gave me in the first place. On my third line, BOOM, I got a solid signal. I dug a scoop of sand, dumped it on the beach, and spread it out with my foot. I ran the coil over the area, found the signal and scooped it up. There it was, all covered in sand, but I had it. I looked at the hole and saw my grid line that ran right beside it, so I had walked right over the top of it and missed it, so I must have zigged instead of zagged. Matt told me the inscription on the inside of the ring, so I had to go back to the car and use the light so see it. It was a perfect match. I had asked Matt earlier if he wanted me to text him if I found it in the middle of the night, or hold on to it and contact him a little later in the morning. I knew his answer before I asked but I let him make the decision. At about 4:20 a.m., I sent him two pictures of his ring, one of them the inscription, with a text saying: “Good Morning Sunshine, I’m sitting in the parking lot, let me know you’re awake.” I got an immediate response “I’m up, be down in 5.” As soon as I handed Matt his cherished ring, all my self-pity disappeared and I remembered exactly why I do this. There’s no better feeling!

Matt and Mary, thank you so much for trusting me to find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back home. This is another chapter you two can add to the long story this ring will carry.

   

Tags:
Category:

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

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

  

Tags:
Category:

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

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

Tags:
Category:

Sentimental Diamond Stud Earring Lost on Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

I got a call from Daniel early this morning, July 21st, saying his wife Ashley had lost a Diamond stud earring, and asked if I could help find it. He said that they had been walking from their rental across a wooden boardwalk leading, over the dunes, out to the beach. I haven’t had much luck finding small stud earrings, so I told him I didn’t think I’d be able to find it. After thinking about it for 30 minutes, I called him back and told him I’d give it a try but it wouldn’t be until about 10 pm that evening. I also told him to bring his wife’s matching earring so I could test it with my machines to see if one of them could detect it.

Shortly after 9 pm, and after having dinner with family members here for a family reunion, I grabbed my Gold Bug II, and my Equinox 800 and headed out. I called him en route and got his address. Shortly after arriving, we met up on the street and he led me to his rental house, where I met Ashley. She had the other earring so I laid it in the sand next to the driveway and turned on the Gold Bug, wham, I had a strong signal. Ashley lead the way out on the boardwalk stopping at the spot she said that she felt something hit her chest, then she heard it hit the wooden boardwalk. She reached up to her ear and didn’t feel the earring. The spot we were standing at was about 8 feet high above the sand dunes. I made my way out to the beach and came up on the other side of a neighbor’s access. It was a small search area and I was very careful not to damage or destroy any of the undergrowth in the search area. I got a good signal and started sifting the sand through my hand as I continued to check the area. When I hit hard ground I knew it wasn’t the earring. I took a few more steps and got a strong signal and again sifted the sand through my hand. At one point I saw the earring move as I grabbed some sand. I reached down through the sand until I felt the earring, I picked it up, blew the sand off, and held it up for Ashley to see and reach down for. After making my way back up to the boardwalk, I got a big smile and hug. She told me her mother had gotten those earrings for her, and later Daniel had bought her a matching necklace. She was very upset that she had a beautiful necklace and only one earring. Now she has both earrings back and both Ashley and Daniel are an extremely happy couple again, which is why I do this.

Ashley/Daniel – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back home.

Jim

 

Tags:
Category:

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

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

 

Tags:
Category:

Beautiful 1K Diamond Engagement Ring Lost in North Myrtle Beach, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

I received an email, and then a follow up phone call, from Kim saying she had lost her engagement ring and asking for help in finding it. She said she lost it around 1pm that afternoon. Looking at the tide tables, the next low tide would be at 1:30am the next morning. I got the resort address and told her I’d be right over so I could get an idea of what my search area needed to be. After seeing what I was up against, I told her I’d be back at 1am.

The search area wasn’t all that big, so when I got back at 1am, I started a perpendicular search going from the wet sand to the water line. I kept expanding my search area both north and south and wasn’t getting many targets, and definitely no ring. Kim and her husband came out to the beach around 2am and I confirmed the search area. I decided to change tactics and started a parallel grid line with the beach and still nothing. Finally around 3am, I called it a night. I had a big family reunion starting later that day, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it back out at the next low tide. I told Kim that I was going to contact both Matt Fry, TRF Myrtle Beach, and Jim Brouwer and see if one or both could cover for me. Around 8:30am I got a call from Jim saying he was available to search. Shortly after we hung up, Matt called and said he wouldn’t be able to help. I contacted Kim and told her Jim would be there to search and he’d be calling her shortly.

Sometime around 2pm Jim called saying he’d found her ring. I must have walked right over the ring, missing it. That happens sometimes, but thankfully Jim backed me up and Kim’s ring made it back to where it was suppose to be.

Jim, Thanks a million for helping me out!

Kim, sorry I added a little more stress by not finding it in the first place, but thank you for trusting us to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

Tags:
Category:

White Gold Engagement Ring and Anniversary Ring Lost at Ocean Isle Beach, NC – both Found and returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

When I checked my email first thing this morning, I saw mail from Debbie saying she had lost her rings at Ocean Isle Beach, NC and was wondering if I could help. She had put her phone number in the email so I called her to get the details. She said that she had been in the soft sand, took her rings off and put them on top of a cooler. At some point someone lifted the lid on the cooler and the rings fell into the sand and disappeared. I was so excited these were lost in the soft sand, and not chest deep in the ocean.  I told her it’d be a piece a cake and I’d be there in 35-40 minutes.

I met her on the beach and she gave me an area she thought she had lost her 2 rings. One was her engagement ring and the other was an anniversary ring. I drew a line in the sand with my scoop, and started a grid search. On the third row I hit a high signal, which wasn’t what I was looking for for a white gold ring. I dug a scoop and spread the sand out with my foot, when I did I was then getting two separate signals, one the low sound I was looking for. I took a scoop of sand, lightly shook it out of the scoop and saw her engagement ring. I showed her her ring and she flew out of her beach chair with a giant smile on her face. I got a quick hug and went back to get the second ring. I spread out the sand again, this time with my hand and saw her anniversary ring. She now has both rings back and couldn’t be happier, she was sure they were gone for good.

Debbie, thanks so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasures. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe drive home.

Jim

  

Tags:
Category:

Two Lost Ring Calls While On Vacation, both Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

It seems to never fail that as soon as I leave town, the lost ring calls start coming in. These calls were no different. I was in Connecticut when I received a call from Nancy stating her son, Michael had lost his Tungsten wedding band in the soft sand at Holden Beach, NC. I advised her that I was out of town, but I had a couple of people that I could contact who could help. I tried contacting my son-in-law, Donnie and couldn’t get a hold of him. I then tried contacting a good friend, Jim Brouwer and he wasn’t answering his phone either. Both of these guys have helped me in the past, so I was confident they’d help, if I could only get a hold of one of them.

In the process of trying to get a hold of one of these guys, I got another call from Peggy. She said her daughter, Vanessa had lost her White Gold Engagement ring in the soft sand in North Myrtle Beach, SC and wanted to know if I could help. I told her the same thing I told Nancy, and that I’d get back to her.

Donnie called me back and I let him know what was going on, as well as gave him the contact information for both Nancy and Peggy. Within about 30 minutes, I got a text from Donnie that he had found Vanessa’s engagement ring and was on his way to Holden Beach, about an hour drive. It was about an hour and a half later that Donnie text me again saying he had found Michael’s ring. It was a great day all the way around.

Donnie, thanks so much for covering for me, I really appreciate it. You made two people very happy!

Jim

 

 

Tags:
Category:

Beautiful White Gold Wedding Band and Anniversary Ring Lost in North Myrtle Beach SC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

I received a very early morning message from Brianna saying she had lost her rings and wanted to know if I could help find it. I replied asking the usual questions about time, location on the beach, and any additional details. By 10 am I hadn’t heard anything, so I messaged her asking her to call me. If the rings had been lost in the water I had a small window of opportunity because low tide was at noon. She called a short time later and gave me the details. She said that her family had been sitting near the high tide line and she had put her rings in her grandmother’s bag for safe keeping. Her and her husband had gone swimming in the ocean and having a good time. After leaving the beach, and some time later in the day, she asked her grandmother for her rings. Guess what, no rings in the bag! While they were still at the beach, her grandfather, Frank, had gone in the bag and removed his cell phone, so they concluded that’s when the rings had to have fallen out. I told her I had a couple of things to do and I’d text her when I was on my way.

I arrived about 30 minutes later and met her and Frank walking down the sidewalk towards the beach. Once on the beach, I asked a few more questions including what I was looking for. Brianna showed me a picture of the ring and I asked if it was white gold, she responded it was silver. Looking at the picture, I was pretty sure I was looking for a white gold ring, but I kept both options open so I knew what to look for as far as numbers on my Equinox. Frank pointed out two areas they had been sitting at, so I started a grid search in the one that he was pretty sure was where he grabbed his phone. The beach was already very crowded, and my search areas were shrinking. I searched the 10X20 foot area finding only a few junk targets. I started searching the second area and Frank said that Brianna thought they were a little further out towards the water in the first area, and Frank thought they might have been a little further south. Ok, I finished up the second area and moved back to the first area and extended the search out to cover both Frank and Brianna’s areas. In the course of doing the grid, I had to ask a couple of groups if they would mind moving a little so I could search the areas they were in. Once I explained what I was looking for, I had no problems. Just a few steps past one of the groups I got a strong signal with a 10 on the Equinox 800, which was exactly what I was looking for with a White Gold ring. One scoop and I had it out of the hole, spread the sand out with my foot and saw the sparkle of diamonds looking up at me. I picked it up, blew the sand off, and turned around holding the ring up for Brianna to see. I could see her shock, eyes the size of quarters, and mouthing “you found it?” By the time she ran down the beach to me, the tears were flowing. Evidently, she had told a number of people on the beach what was going on because I got a nice round of applause and people wanting to see her ring once I gave it back to her. All returns are fantastic, but these types are extra special. Grandpa’s out of the dog house, big smile on Brianna’s face, all is good again!

Brianna, thank you for trusting me to help find your treasure, enjoy the rest of your vacation, and have a safe trip home.

Jim

 

      

Tags:
Category:

Grandmother’s Silver Ring Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
Contact:

George called me saying his daughter, Anna’s friend, Karsen, had lost a ring in the dry sand and was wondering if I could help find it. George told me they were in Myrtle Beach, so I needed to contact Matt Fry, the TRF for Myrtle Beach, since this was his area. I tried calling Matt, both at his shop and his cell phone a few times each, and wasn’t getting any response. I called George back and got the address of the resort they were at and told him I was on my way.

I met George on the beach, and he explained that Karsen had taken her 3 rings off and put them on a towel. Unknowingly, Anna picked up the towel, as they were leaving, and the rings were tossed into the sand. They were able to find 2 of the rings, but couldn’t find the ring that was Karsen’s grandmothers. After about an hour of searching, George was talking to one of the lifeguards who mentioned that there was someone that would come out and help find the ring. The lifeguard couldn’t remember the name, so George started searching Google and found my website. Once George pointed out the area, I turned my machine on and within a couple of minutes I got a strong 17 on my Equinox. I dug a small scoop of sand and saw the tiny silver ring on top of the sand in the scoop. I handed the ring to George, who called Anna telling them to come back down to the beach from the resort. Within minutes Karsen was on the beach with her ring back where it belonged.

George, thank you for trusting me to help find Karsen’s ring, and have a great rest of your vacation.

Jim

   

Tags:
Category: