Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 2 of 32

IPhone lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On March 12, 2026, around 1:15pm I got a text message from Mike, owner of LMS Metal Detecting saying, Jim, you should be getting a call about a lost phone in MB up near the dunes. His name is Hunter. Just before 2 pm, Hunter called asking if I could help find an IPhone, I agreed, got the address and was on my way.

When I got to the beach access, I called Hunter to say I was there. He said he was about 10 minutes away but told me to go to the house on the left and somebody there could direct me to the location. Spencer and Scott had just driven in the driveway. We introduced ourselves and they showed me down to the beach and the area where they said the phone was pinging. I turned on the Equinox 800, took about 3-5 steps and got a booming signal with a VDI (visual display indicator) showing numbers jumping between 28-32. Bingo! I dug a shallow scoop of sand and uncovered the cell phone. The search lasted no more than 10 seconds. As we’re standing there, Hunter and Jacob walked out on the beach. This is when I learned the phone belonged to Jacob. He turned on the phone and said, “It works!” I could see the relief on Jacob’s face when he got his phone back and it worked.

Hunter – Thanks for calling me to help!

Jacob – Glad I could help find your phone. You guys have fun and be safe.

Jim

 

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Yellow Gold Man’s Ring Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On March 8th, 2026, on my way to another search on Carolina Beach NC I received a text. The text said, “Hi Jim! My name is Sloan. I have been torn apart since last night. I was on the beach with my friends in Myrtle (Specifically right in front of Tin Roof/Hilton grand vacations to the left of the pier), and I’ve had this gold ring my dad gave me on that slipped off right when I wasn’t even mid-calf deep in the water. It was his ring since the 70s and I’ve had it on for 6 years, never fallen off. I am not too sure how you go about this, but I would love to talk more!” As I’m driving, I’m trying to formulate a plan on how the current search I’m going to and getting back to Myrtle Beach that’s about a 2-hour drive. The Carolina Beach should be fairly quick as it’s in the dry sand with no chance of the tide covering it up and the young lady knew the area. Looking at the tide tables for Myrtle Beach, low tide was at 5:30 in the evening. Everything considered, I could probably be in Myrtle Beach around 4 pm, so I called Sloan. When I called Sloan, she told me that she lost the ring about 2 am and knew the area well. I told her what was going on with me and that I could probably be there around 4. I asked if she could meet me and show me the area. Unfortunately, she had to be at work at 3:30 but could see if one of her friends could meet me and show me the area. Sometimes it doesn’t work out to well when the involved individual isn’t the one showing you where and adding other important details as we talk.

After a successful recovery/return, I called Sloan and she told me she had gotten someone to take her shift, and she would be there. We worked out the details, and I told her I’d be there at 4, and I would keep her posted. She told me it’d take her about 30 minutes to get there. Things were falling into place! I texted her when I was 40 minutes out. She responded that she was on her way.

Luckily, we both pulled into the parking lot at the same time. We met and it started raining. We waited out the downpour and made our way to the beach while it was still sprinkling. She was so helpful when we walked out on the beach. She walked right out to the wet sand, turned around and lined herself up with her landmarks. I turned my detector on and started an east/west grid search from the high tide line to about shin deep in the outgoing tide. This being a gold ring, I knew the VDI (Visual Display Indicator) number was going to be in the mid-teens (anywhere from 13-18 depending on the size of the ring and the karat). On my third line, I got a solid 14. This could be either the gold ring or a pull tab. As I stuck the scoop in the sand, I told Sloan that she might see me digging a lot, but some of it might be trash. As I pulled out the second scoop of sand, I saw the gold ring sticking out of the sand. I reached down, pulled it out and held it up for Sloan to see. To say she got excited would be an understatement. She was thrilled! She tried calling her dad to let him know, but he didn’t answer. She called her mom, who was also excited it’d be found.

Sloan – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. So happy to help and get it back where it belongs!

Jim

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Platinum Wedding Band and Engagement Ring set lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Carolina Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This search and recovery started with a phone call from The Ring Finder on Oak Island NC, John Fininnerin on Sunday, March 8th, 2026. He asked if I’d be able to take a search on Carolina Beach for a young lady who had lost her Platinum wedding band set. I agreed and he passed my name and number on to Kelsey who called. I wasn’t able to take the call at the time. When I called her back she told me that she had put her ring in her pants pocket. When she tried to get the ring out, it flipped out and quickly disappeared in the soft sand. She said she tried looking for it but hadn’t been able to find it. She also told me that she knew the area it disappeared. I asked her if she could meet me and that it’d take me about an hour and a half to drive the 70 miles. She agreed and sent me her address, which was right next to the beach access.

When I arrived in the parking lot, she was waiting. We walked out to the area and I turned on my Equinox 800.  She must have gotten there early to lay claim to the area, which was a little crowded with beach goers. The area was maybe 5X8 foot. Knowing the ring set was Platinum, I knew the VDI (visual display indicator) number display on the detector was going to be 10-11. It took a few minutes and a little outside the suspected area before I hit the 10 I was looking for. I had her rings in the scoop, gently shook the sand out and walked over and held the scoop up to her so she could see and retrieve her treasure. Bingo, she was trying not to, but a few tears appeared. She told me after the fact, that while she was looking for it, there were a few people helping. We both suspected that her rings were inadvertently moved in the process, which was why they were outside the suspected area.

Kelsey – Thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure. Best wishes to you and Thank you to your Husband for his service to our county.

Jim

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Clemson Class Ring Lost in the Soft Sand, Found and Returned Litchfield, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This search started just before 6 pm on Jan. 2nd, 2026, when I received a phone call from Jack saying his friend Kai had lost his Clemson class ring. Jack confirmed they were in the dry sand and that they would meet me there. I told him I’d be there in 30-45 minutes, grabbed my Equinox 800 and was on my way.

When I got there, I followed Jack into the resort and back to where they were on the beach. I got to meet Kai, and he explained that he had been throwing a Frisbee when he felt the ring come off. A huge help was the fact that Kai and Jack had set two beer cans in the sand where Kai had been standing. They also left the Frisbee where it landed with another beer can in the sand. They were just above the high tide line when this happened. So, I started a north/south grid search between the two areas stretching the search out in both directions with no luck. I finally asked Kai to demonstrate his throw and when he did, I knew I wasn’t in the right area. In his demonstration, he showed that he heaved the Frisbee with his hand ending up high and to the far right. It was pitch black and getting cold, so I talked with Kai and Jack and told them I was there until I found it or exhausted searching the entire area. I also told them if they wanted to leave that I would definitely call them and keep them updated. I think both Jack and Kai’s girlfriends were with them plus a couple of others and they were getting hungry. Again, I assured them I’d stay connected and they left. I redirected my search to past the landing point of the Frisbee and higher up on the beach, just off the dunes. On my first line and just about even with where Kai had been standing, I got a solid hit. Knowing the ring was a heavy yellow gold ring, the VDI (visual display indicator) would show up in the mid to high teens. This signal was coming up in the 17-18 range. It took 3 scoops to get the target out, which surprised me that it was so deep. Got the target out of the hole, turned on my head lamp and saw the target in the pile of sand. It wasn’t until I picked up the target, cleaned the sand off it that I realized I had Kai Clemson ring. I took a quick picture and sent it to Jack and immediately got a call back. Jack said they’re turning around and would be there in 5 minutes. Kai came running out on the beach to where I was and I showed him the hole and where it was in conjunction to where he was standing when he threw the Frisbee. We walked back to the cars, he thanked me again and we said our goodbyes. He left a very happy young man!

Jack – Thank you so much for giving me a call to help.

Kai – I’m so happy that I was able to find and return your lost treasure. Take care and the best to you!

Jim

   

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14K Yellow Gold Earring Lost on a Nature Trail, Found and Returned Bird Island NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Dec 19th, there was a post on a couple of the Sunset Beach NC Face Book pages from Aileen. The post said in part that her son’s (Sean) Girlfriend (Meg), had lost an earring that her mother had given her. That they had been walking on a Nature trail behind the *Kindred Spirit Mailbox, and she is pretty sure it happened when she took her poncho off. The last thing on the post was to contact Meg, via text, with a number.  Aileen also attached a picture of the yellow gold earring. I checked the responses and saw that 3 or 4 people had already referred her to contact me and listed my contact information. So, I didn’t respond and waited to see if I’d get a call. *Kindred Spirit Mailbox is a famous, secluded mailbox on Bird Island, near Sunset Beach NC filled with journals where visitors write their innermost thoughts, secrets and dreams. The mailbox is listed as 1.5 miles from the last beach access on Sunset Beach. I’ve walked it a few times on searches and I honestly think it’s mismarked because it’s taken me close to an hour to get there.

The next afternoon just before 3, I got a text saying, “Hi! I got your number from my boyfriend’s mother. She posted about possibly helping with lost jewelry on sunset beach/bird island. Would you be interested in helping?” A follow up text said, “My name is Meggie. I lost one of my mother’s earrings on the bird island trail. I have a pretty good idea of where. Would love and eternally appreciate the help of a metal detector.” I immediately called Meg for additional details. One of my concerns was the walk down and back from the area. Meg told me that they had E-bikes that we could use; now this could be fun since I’ve never ridden an E-bike before. She told me she’d text me her address and we agreed to meet today, Sunday at noon. After we hung up, I got to thinking about how I was going to carry my detector and drive the bike, so I text Meg back and didn’t get an answer.

This morning about 11 am, I still hadn’t heard from Meg with her address, so I text her again and didn’t get an answer. A short time later I called her and didn’t get an answer, so I left her a voice mail. I started wondering if she had changed her mind or if something else had come up. About 15 minutes before we were supposed to meet, I got a text saying, “Hey Jim, sorry I’m awful with the phone! She also sent me the address.” I responded, “On my way, be there in about 30 minutes.”

When I got there, I got to meet Sean and he gave me a quick lesson on the E-bike, I was excited!! He helped me strap my detector to the bike and I was ready to go. A short time later Meg came out and she was ready as well. Our trip down the beach to the mailbox was perfect and no walking or wrecks on the bike. We got to the start of the trail at 1:11 pm and I tested Meg’s other earring again to make sure I was getting the best signal I could. I took the equinox 800 through all the modes and found that Park 2 gave me the best signal and showed a 1 on the VDI (visual display indicator). The trail looked like it was a game trail that through time and use turned into a wider path with bushes, weeds, and sticker bushes on both sides. As we’re walking, I’m swinging from far left to far right in case the earring was flung off instead of dropping straight down. I was getting a lot of deep signals that were trash but no earring. We got to the “hot zone” where Meg had removed the poncho with no results and made our turn to go back. We got back in the hot zone and I hit a solid 1 with a great signal. Took my pin pointer out and ran it through the small soft sand area and didn’t hit the target. I took my hands and was scooping up small amounts of sand and out popped the earring, BINGO!! I picked it up and handed it back to Meg. What a very happy young lady.

Aileen – Thank you so much for your posts on FB, it helped save the earring.

Meg – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your very special treasure, it was my honor.

Jim

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Man’s 14K Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost at the Water’s Edge, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started on Sunday, Nov 30th around 11:30 am when I received a text saying, “Hi Jim. We lost a men’s gold wedding band at Ocean Isle Beach on Wednesday. Any chance it is findable? It was in the surf as the tide was going out.” I texted her back and told her I’d call her shortly. A short time later I called the number attached to the text and spoke to Susan. She told me that the ring was lost at approximately 3 pm on Wednesday, Nov 26th. A check of the tide tables for the 26th showed low tide was at 5:24 pm, meaning the ring was lost about 2 ½ hours before low tide. Susan also said that there was a couple of gentlemen metal detecting who had looked for the ring without success. Looking at the tide tables for Sunday, low tide was at 9:15 pm. I told Susan I’d be out there around 7 pm that evening. My next concern was finding a place to park, since Susan and her group had already left to go home. But I’d figure that out when I got there.

It was dark when I got there at 6:50 pm. I pulled in the driveway of the house and took a picture of it with the name, “Sea Wolf,” and sent it to Susan to let her know I was there. As I’m trying to figure out where to park, the cleaning crew was leaving. I explained what I was doing and was granted permission to park in the driveway. That problem solved. Made my way out on the beach and went through Susan’s text messages again to make sure I was in the right area. Up to this point, I was assuming the lost ring belonged to her husband. In her text she said that her son, Logan was the one who lost his yellow gold wedding ring 4 to 5 houses down from the house they were renting. So my plan was to go to the far side of the 6th house and work a grid back to the house they rented. I had just enough moon light to see my grid lines from dragging my sand scoop in the sand to keep me on track. I was working from the mid-tide line down to ankle/shin deep in the ocean. I passed the 5th, 4th, and 3rd houses with no luck, other than 2 pennies, 2 pull tabs and a tungsten ring that had been buried for quite a while. It was close to 9 pm and reaching dead low tide. As I was coming out of the water behind the 2nd house, I got a solid 16/17 on the Minelab Equinox 800 VDI (visual display indicator) and I knew I had Logan’s gold ring. After 4 days of sitting in the surf under the moving water and shifting sand, it took me a couple of scoops to get the ring out. Bingo. I sent a picture of the ring to Susan who sent it to Logan and he identified it. I got the ring in the mail on Monday and sent it on its way back home to Virginia with an estimated delivery date of today, Friday.

Susan – Thank you for contacting me to help find Logan’s ring.

Logan – So happy I could help find your ring and get it back where it belongs.

Jim

 

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Platinum Wedding Band, Engagement Ring and Spacer Rings Lost in the Sand, 3 Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Oct 26th, 2025, and just after 1 pm, I received a text message saying, “Hi Jim! I think I may have lost a set of rings on Ocean Isle beach this weekend. Any chance you’re available to attempt to recover them?” I called the number attached to the text and spoke with Allison. I got a few more details, including the address where she was staying.  I told her I was on my way with my ETA. About halfway there, I received a text from her saying, “We found 1!!!” I replied saying, “OK, how many more?” She replied two! A diamond band and my engagement ring. But they would all be in the same area! I responded, “OK, I’m on my way. If you would be real careful looking for them, because you could move or bury them.” She agreed and they stopped looking.

When I arrived, I met Allison at the beach access, and she walked me down to the suspected area. I also met a number of ladies that were with Allison, I guess they were on a lady’s mini vacation. Allison showed me the small, maybe 10×5 foot area and also told me there were 4 rings. Here Platinum wedding band, Platinum engagement ring, and 2 spacer rings. As I turned on my machine, I looked at her and said, “What do you think, less than 5 minutes?” She looked at me thinking I was nuts and gave a little laugh. I took about 2 steps and hit a strong signal, dug a shallow scoop of sand, shook the sand out of the scoop and had her wedding band. She was behind me, as I took it out of the scoop and reached around to hand it to her. She was shocked. Another step and I hit 2 separate signals and scooped out one of the spacer rings and her engagement ring. She was thrilled. She said she didn’t care about the other spacer ring; it was inexpensive and had no sentimental value to it. I continued looking anyway, as I hate to leave a ring in the sand. After no luck, we called it a success and I left. I had intentions of going back after I came home and had some dinner. I went back and covered the entire area including the walk back and forth from the beach access to where they were set up and still couldn’t find it.

Allison, thank you for calling and trusting me to help find your lost treasures, it was a real joy meeting you. Take care.

Jim

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Man’s Tungsten Wedding Band Lost on the Beach – Found in the Wet Sand and Returned, Cherry Grove SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Monday, September 22nd and a little after noon, I received the following text, “Hey Jim Wren, My name is Michael, and I lost my wedding ring while at North Myrtle Beach this weekend. Based on photos, I know I lost it at some point yesterday before 1:30pm but I had it that morning around 9am in some family photos – we then went to church, back to the place we stayed and then out to the beach…Idk if it’s in the sand or the water but I hadn’t gone past that shore for a bucket of water or anything by the time the first photo shows it missing. This time I can’t remember taking it off my finger but the day before I did and put it in a bag pocket and I checked the few places I would’ve put it and can’t find it. It’s kinda broken so it may be separated or in one piece. It says “Rocio 3/19/22” on the inside.” Michael also sent a map showing where he stayed and where he suspected the loss happened. He also texted, “I had stayed here and went to this beach access straight up the road.” I called him and didn’t get a response but did get a text that he was in a business meeting. He called a little bit later and I got a few more details. I asked him if he had any pictures that might give me a better idea of where he lost it. Just prior to me leaving, Michael sent me a picture showing a perfect view of the area of loss from the ocean to the back of the resort.

I arrived to the beach about an hour before how tide, so I had the opportunity to search from mid-tide to the low tide line. I started a grid line search from the north side of the resort and worked perpendicular to the beach. I had my Equinox 800 and knew a Tungsten Ring would ring up in the 15-18 VDI (visual display indicator) range. I was probably on my 8th line when I got a strong 15 on the VDI. I dug a scoop of sand out and checked the hole. I had the target in the scoop, so I dumped the scoop on the beach and spread the sand out with my foot. I ran the coil over the sand and hit the target, looked down and saw his ring. I picked his ring up and gave it a good look to see if it was broken like he mentioned. The ring looked in one piece to me. I also ran the coil back over the hole and the spread-out sand to double check and make sure there was nothing else. I made a quick video showing Michael the area I searched and then raised his ring up in view of the camera saying, “I found it.” I also sent the picture showing his ring and letting him know the engraving matched. I called him and he asked about the ring being in 1 piece. I told him it was, but I really hadn’t understood what he was talking about. I looked at the picture he originally sent and finally saw the bottom piece of the ring that had been in the picture. I told him that I’d go back out the next day and search for the bottom piece. On the way home I got his ring in the mail and on its way. When I got back the next day, I did a complete grid search from the north end to the south end of the resort and from the mid tide line to the water and didn’t have any luck.

Michael – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. I wish all the best to you and your family.

Jim

   

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14K Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost in Resort Parking Garage, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This search started on Sunday Sept. 14, 2025, just before 4 pm with a text from Cody saying, “Hi Jim, I found your number on a metal detecting page. We just stayed at Sands Resort this weekend and my wife put her ring in our backpack cooler for safe keeping. When we went to put our beach wagon back in the car, we dumped out the sand. The backpack cooler never left the wagon and her ring was gone. We can only imagine we dumped it out in the parking deck. I was wondering if this would be something you could help with. We are 4 hours away. I called the number attached to the text message and got a few more details from Cody. One of the things he told me was the ring was a yellow gold wedding band that was part of a set, but this was just the wedding band that was lost. He said they were parked on the 5th level and 2 parking spaces to the left, directly across from the elevator. He also mentioned that they had left to go back home about 8 am that day. I’m thinking that our tourist season is winding down and there should be fewer guests at the resort.  I also thought there was a pretty good chance of finding his wife, Desiree’s wedding band. I told him I’d go a little later and would let him know when I was on my way.

About 7:30 pm I sent him a text saying, “On my way.” Since this was going to be strictly a visual search, I grabbed a flashlight and a small fan rake. The rake was in case I had to reach under a car if that’s where the ring was. I got to the resort about 8 pm and needed a parking card to get into the parking lot. I had to go in and explain what was going on to the front desk clerk and she gave me a card to park. As I’m driving through the maze of the parking garage, I’m noticing the first 3 levels of parking were completely full. Not what I was hoping for. When I got to level 5, it was almost empty of cars. I parked 1 spot to the right of the elevator and walked over to the elevator to make sure I was on the 5th level. There was a car parked in the 3rd spot, left of the elevator, but they left after I started looking around with the flashlight. I checked the 1st and 2nd spot and saw nothing. So, as usual when I can’t find what I’m looking for in the area it’s supposed to be in, I expand my search out. I looked out to the 6th spot on the left with no luck, so I started back to the right. As I’m getting ready to move my car, I glanced over on the 2nd spot to the right of the elevator and noticed a small object. As I walked over to it, Bingo, there was her ring just lying on the ground. I took a picture of me holding her ring and one of just the ring and sent it to him. In the text I said, “Cody, you need to go buy you a lottery ticket, now.” He immediately responded, “Brother you are a gift!!!” I called him telling him where I found it. He was positive it should have been on the left of the elevator. So, we’re thinking it either got kicked, flung out of the cooler or possibly rolled over to where it was. How it got to where it was, we’ll never know, but I was glad it did. I asked him to send me his name and address so I could get it in the mail tomorrow, Monday. He and Desiree were very excited to be getting it back.

They got the ring back on Thursday and I got the picture of Desiree and her big smile on Saturday.

Cody – thank you for calling me to help find Desiree’s treasure.

Jim

 

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Broken Sprinkler Solenoid Buried in the Ground, Found in Calabash, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Wednesday, Sept 10, 2025, I got a phone call from Jeff, owner of JDs Detectors, saying he had a gentleman, Kenneth in the store wanting to rent a metal detector. Jeff said Kenneth was trying to find a broken sprinkler solenoid in his yard. Jeff told Kenneth that instead of renting a detector to contact me to help. Kenneth agreed and said he’d call me the next day to set up a time for Friday. Thursday, when Kenneth called, we set up a time of 8 am on Friday.

Friday morning as I pulled into the driveway, Kenneth was coming out of his garage with a bag of mulch. We met and he walked me to the area where the solenoid was buried. He installed the sprinkler system himself, so he pretty much knew where the solenoid was. I turned on the Equinox 800 and tested the replacement solenoid. I had to make sure I could detect either the wire or the screws holding the plastic unit together. I had to switch the detector mode to park 2 but it came through loud and clear. I turned around, took a couple of steps and hit it. Kenneth took the red flag he had and as he stuck it in the ground, he made contact with the solenoid. He was going to dig it up a little later and replace it. So, unfortunately the only picture I got was the red flag sticking out of the ground me pointing to the flag in the ground.

Kenneth – Thank you for calling and letting me help find your solenoid.

Jim

 

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