Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 4 of 23

Man’s Tungsten Wedding Band Lost Playing Football, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Got a call from Zach asking if I could help find a lost ring? I got the details of when, where and how.  I grabbed my Equinox 800 and hit the road. He sent me the address for 14th Ave North, and for whatever reason I went to 14th Ave South. After realizing my error, I turned around and headed north. I called Zach and told him I’d be there in about 8 minutes. Zach told me his friend was waiting near the beach entrance to bring me out on the beach. When I got close, I saw a young man standing on the corner. I pulled over and ask if he was the guy waiting on me, he was. As we walked out on the beach he told me his name was Sean and he was the one who lost the ring. I asked him to tell me what happen. He said they were here for a bachelor party and had been throwing a football around. He said he dived to catch the ball and his hands went in the sand. He also said he didn’t realize his ring was gone until a little later.

As we arrived at the group of guys enjoying the beautiful day, I introduced myself. Sean showed me an area that had stakes at each corner, maybe 20×20 ft. I asked him where he thought he made the dive to catch the ball and he responded about in the middle. I asked what kind of ring and he replied Tungsten. So I knew I was looking for a VDI (visual display indicator) around 16. I turned my machine on, looked at Sean and said “How bout we get that ring back on your finger in less than a minute.” Sean just looked at me. I started at the middle end line, took about 10 steps and got the 16 I was looking for. I took a scoop of sand, shook out the scoop and saw a Tungsten ring in the bottom. I walked back towards Sean and asked him what his ring looked like. He described it to a T! He then made the comment, “that was less than a minute.” Sean was a very happy and thankful young man.

Zach – Thanks for calling me to help find Sean’s ring.

Sean – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

 

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Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost, Found, and Returned White Lake, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Shortly after starting the lawn mower to get the grass cut, I got a call from William asking if I could help find his lost wedding band. I asked the normal questions and learned he had lost the ring the day before in White Lake. I don’t scuba dive, but have a son-in-law that’s helped me before and does, so I asked him how deep. He explained that he was sitting on the pier/boat dock fiddling with his ring when his son jumped on him. That action sent the ring flying, hitting the dock and disappearing into the water. He told me the water around the dock was about two feet deep, and the clearance under the dock was about an 8-10 inches. I asked a few more questions and asked him to send me the address. I plugged the address in my phone and told him I’d be there about 1 pm (just about an hour and a half drive). I grabbed my detector and headed out.

When I arrived at his house, he was outside waiting and we drove down to the dock. Conditions were as near perfect as they could be, with the exception of the water being a little cold. I made my way out in the water and along the side of the pier. When I got to the suspected area, I started swinging my detector. Being a Man’s Platinum wedding band, I was expecting a 12 on the machine’s VDI (visual display indicator). My first target rang up as an 18, so I made another swing and hit a solid 12. Bingo! I used my beach sand scoop and pulled his ring out of the sandy bottom. I laid the scoop on the dock and asked if it that was his ring inside. When his face lit up, I knew we had it. The responses from returning a lost ring are priceless!

William – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

     

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Grandfather’s 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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I got a call from Sarah, with a Seattle phone number, asking if I was The Ring Finder for N. Myrtle Beach and if I could help find the silver ring she had lost. I got a few details and told her I was on my way. She said she was on 30th St and she’d send me a pin drop. I verified she was in North Myrtle beach and not Myrtle beach. Both cities have the same street numbers and to visitors it can get confusing. I grabbed my Equinox 800 and headed out, hoping I’d get her location before I got too far. North Myrtle has two 30th Avenues, one North and one South so I was driving slowly, waiting for her location. Her text came through, but the location wouldn’t come up, so I called her. I ask if she was in Cherry Grove or NMB. She said Cherry Grove and I told her I’d be there in 10 minutes. When I got there and walked out on the beach, she was standing there waiting along with 2 of her friends.

We talked for a few minutes, and she said they were on spring break from Vermont and on their way out of town. I told her “Let’s find it” and she showed me an area that was maybe 20’X5′. Turned on the Nox and started a grid search. My third line and about a minute later, I got a booming signal with a VDI of 30-32, higher than what I expected but I dug a scoop anyway. I missed it the first time but saw a glimmer of shine sticking up out of the sand. I reached down, picked up a beautiful heavy ring and held it up for her to see, asking “is this your ring.” She came running over, looked at it and said, “that’s my ring!” I asked for the story behind the ring, and she told me it belonged to her grandfather, who had passed away before she was born. She also said her father had given it to her. I asked if she had called her dad yet and she said yes. So, I took a quick picture of her holding it and sent it to her so she could forward it to you dad. Big smile and a hug with many thank Yous and Sarah and her friends were on their way.

Sarah – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Have a safe trip back to school.

Jim

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Happy Wife, Happy Life

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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It’s not often you get a lost ring call close to home (literally). Unknowingly to me, my wife lost her anniversary ring over 3 months ago. She said it fell between the cushion in our love seat sofa with recliners and a console in between the two seats. If you knew my wife, she doesn’t ask for help for anything and was bound and determined to find it herself. Funny, she told our kids, a friend of hers, but not me (the ring finder guy).  She finally mentioned it to me last night and my first question was why you didn’t tell me. Her response was that she knew where it was and that it would eventually turn up.

Well, today while she was shopping, I got out my endoscope and went to work. I searched all through the sofa on both sides and couldn’t see the ring. Finally, seeing if I might be able to come through the back of the sofa, I lifted one side and moved it. After I got the sofa far enough away from the wall, I looked down on the carpet and saw her ring. Evidently, the ring fell all the way through the cushions. Being a wise guy, I took a picture of the ring and sent her a text saying “Look familiar? I am, The Ring Finder!” I can’t repeat her response, but my reward was a cooked frozen pizza for dinner.

Thanks  Babe!

Jim

 

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A Little Tiff Sends Her White Gold Engagement Ring Over the Fence, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from Jed on Dec 20th asking if I could help find a lost engagement ring in a field. I asked him for details on how the ring was lost, when it was lost, and if the field had bushes and trees on it. He explained that him and his girlfriend, Benjetta had gotten in a little spat about 3 ½ weeks ago and the ring was tossed. Jed said the field had heavy undergrowth and that he had been in the field cutting down a lot of the growth. He also stated that he had looked for the ring himself with a Garrett 250 Metal Detector with no luck. Since this was in Myrtle Beach, I needed to call Matt Fye, TRF for Myrtle Beach. When I called Matt, he said he was extremely busy and to go ahead and take the call. I was up for an adventure since I hadn’t had a ring call for a while. I called Jed back and we agreed on meeting at 10 am the next morning.

We met the next morning and had to drive around the block to get to the field. Jed had done a good job clearing the undergrowth out in about a 10 x 10-foot square directly behind the projected ring flight. I asked Jed what metal the ring was, white gold, silver or something else. He wasn’t sure but ended up saying silver. I turned on my Equinox 800 and started searching. Not sure what metal I was really looking for, I cleared all the targets that I found. There was a lot of trash, pull tabs, bottle caps, cans, etc. I also had to contend with a metal fence that was about 10 inches behind their wooden fence. I tried to squeeze both the Equinox and my Gold Bug with a 5-inch coil between the fences, but the metal fence played havoc on both machines. There was a chance the ring could have ended up between the fences and settled in all the leaves that had accumulated in that space. While I was searching the area, I got to meet Benjetta when she stuck her head above the fence.  She filled in a few more details about the ring toss. During the spat Benjetta couldn’t toss the ring herself, so she asked a girlfriend to do it. Her girlfriend accepted the challenge, stepped out the back door and hurled it over their wooden fence. That added a little more to the story. I assured both Benjetta and Jed this kind of loss happens more than you’d think. They weren’t the first nor would they be the last to get angry and throw a ring or two. After a little over 2 hours of searching with no luck, I called it a day. I had intentions of returning but didn’t commit myself with Jed, as he was going on vacation the next evening.

That evening, I was trying to think of something to help me clear the area between the fences. I came up with the idea of using my shop-vac and sucking up the leaves and hopefully the ring, if it was there. I text Jed and told him my plan and that I’d be back out there at about 1 pm the next day. He said he wasn’t going to be able to be there and I told him it’d be fine, and I’d keep him posted.

I showed up and stopped by Benjetta’s house to plug in an extension cord and throw the other end over the fence. Pulled into park in the field and went to work. The shop-vac was working as planned, took a little longer because the leaves were soaked after a heavy rain. Cleared out and checked the piles of leaves for the ring and nothing! The day before, I had ventured out in both directions, from the suspected area with no results. So, today I planned on getting in the thick of things, literally. It took about 15 minutes, and I was under some heavy low hanging branches and got an iffy signal. I ended up moving a 4-inch diameter 8-foot tree branch lying on the ground. Swung my detector over the area and got a solid white gold signal of 8 on the VDI (visual display indicator). I carefully cleared the wet leaves and there was the size 6 ½ engagement ring staring up at me.  I took a couple of pictures and sent it to Jed. He had told me earlier not to tell Benjetta if I found it so he could surprise her. He was really surprised the ring was found. I packed up and drove back to Benjetta’s house to get the extension cord. She saw me and came out to see if I had found it. I felt horrible standing there lying to her and telling her I’d be back to look again. Jed had text me his address and I dropped the ring off to him on my way home.  He had a big smile on his face when I handed him the ring.

Jed – Thanks for giving me a call and I’m thrilled I could help find your lost treasure.

Benjetta – I’m so happy you’re getting your ring back and I’m so sorry I lied to you, but I didn’t want to steal Jed’s moment (again)!

Jim

   

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In The News

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Got a call from Taylor, a reporter from WBTW Channel 13 news, wanting to do a story on The Ring Finders of North Myrtle Beach. I agreed to the interview and contacted Matt Fry, TRF Myrtle Beach, and invited him to join in. We all met up on Oct 14th and had a great time. Enjoy.

Jim

https://www.wbtw.com/news/grand-strand/north-myrtle-beach/lose-something-valuable-in-the-sand-north-myrtle-beach-ring-finders-ready-to-help/

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Woman’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost on her 12th Wedding Anniversary, Found and Returned Sunset Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a phone call just before 4 pm today from Elizabeth, who was very upset about losing a wedding band on the beach. After getting a few details, including the fact the ring was lost in the dry sand, I told her I’d be there in 30-35 minutes. She seemed a little surprised in the fact that I’d be there so fast. We hung up and I grabbed my Deus II and Equinox 800 detectors.

As I’m pulling in the parking space next to the beach access she gave me, my phone rang, and it was Elizabeth. I thought she had found it and was calling to let me know. When I answered she said she was just checking to make sure I was still on my way. I told her I was just pulling in a parking spot and asked her if everything was ok. She said she was just worried.  I said, you told me you knew the area, and it’s in the soft sand. I then made a bold statement and told her I’d have it back on her finger within 2 minutes of getting in the area. That seemed to ease her concerns a little. As I’m walking over the boardwalk to the beach, I saw Elizabeth waving to me. I made my way to where she and another lady were sitting. That’s when I found out the other lady; Kelly was the one who lost her wedding band. Kelly was very upset as I asked what happened. Kelly said that today was her 12th wedding anniversary and she and Elizabeth were reminiscing about the events 12 years ago. When she took her wedding band off to relive the moment, it slipped from her fingers and disappeared in the soft sand. Elizabeth pointed out the area where they had been sitting and I went to work with my Deus II. After a couple of grid lines and not hitting the target, I had self-doubts about me and the Deus II. So I swapped detectors and used the Equinox 800 and took 2 steps outside my original grid line and hit a booming 8 VDI (visual display indicator). That number was exactly what I was expecting for a lady’s platinum wedding band. I glanced at Kelly with a big grin, which I’m not sure she saw. I took a scoop of sand, re-checked the hole and gently shook the sand out of the scoop. I glanced in the scoop and saw Kelly’s beautiful ring. I walked over to her and held the scoop out for her to retrieve her ring. Her tears started flowing and I could see the weight of the world get lifted off her shoulders. She couldn’t believe it and either could Elizabeth. Elizabeth reminded me I told her I’d have it back on her finger in less than 2 minutes, and that was less than 1 minute. This never gets old when you can return a special treasure back to someone who thought it was lost forever.

Elizabeth – Thank you for calling me.

Kelly – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. I wish you all the best!!

Jim

   

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Hurricane Ian Causes Total Destruction of House, Garden City SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call on the morning of Oct 1st from Harriet saying her brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Martha’s, house had burned down and was wondering if I could look for some family jewelry. Included in the jewelry were pieces that belonged to Martha’s mother and Joe’s father’s class ring. Totally destroyed house fires are so difficult to search. Not only is there the personal shock of someone losing everything, but the shear difficulty of trying to find anything in all the rubble. I told Harriet to have Joe call me so I could get further details.  Joe texted me later that afternoon saying, “hey Jim, this is Joe. My sister called you this am about helping me find some jewelry in the remains of my destroyed house. I have a good idea of where to look if you would like to call me when you arrive. I will send you some pics of the area. Thanks so much for your help!” We exchanged some more texts about what I was looking for. I also informed him that due to the heat factor, most, if not all, the jewelry would probably be melted. He fully understood and further advised me that there’d be a pass at the gate for me since this was a gated community. I contacted Matt Fry, TRF Myrtle Beach and asked him if he wanted to help, knowing that this was going to be a chore.

Sunday, I met Matt at his shop, and we headed out. Matt had heard the road we needed to take was closed so we’d have to make a few detours. Once we got in the area, detours were an understatement, it was a mess. The hurricane had pushed water and sand two blocks back from the beach. The road crews were working hard to get all the sand off the roads.  I think it took them 4 days to get it done.

When we pulled up to where the house was, it was as I expected. It was a 1 story house that was on 12–15-foot stilts that had collapsed to the ground. The area we needed to search was the rear left side of the house, not a big area, but still overwhelming. The first task at hand was to clear as much metal as we could.  Nails, mending plates, nail plates, bed springs, etc. I couldn’t find my big magnet before we left, but Matt had a makeshift magnet that helped clear most nails, but nowhere near all of them. Matt had his Minelab 30-30 detector, and I had my Equinox 800. Both of us were swinging the detectors and anything that rang up as a jewelry signal, we were putting in a big bucket. Problem was that we weren’t finding anything that wasn’t melted together with something else. After about 3.5 hours we were hot, dirty and pretty much exhausted so we called it a day. I had planned to go back the next day and finish up. Meanwhile, I had talked to Joe who told me that Martha had kept her jewelry in a couple of bags, which consisted of rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and a watch. Joe also mentioned that his father’s class ring, which he was given, should be in a particular area.

Monday, I showed up and started clearing the area again.  I had found my big magnet and it was a Godsend. I ran the magnet through the area where Joe’s father’s ring was supposed to be and cleared more nails and plates. I did get a great signal in the area but other than what it rang up on the detector, there was no way I could definitively see or tell what the object was. Unfortunately, everything Matt and I found was melted beyond recognition.

Wednesday, I went back one more time to check the parameter (the soft sand) around the back side of the house. There was always a possibility the firemen might have blown something into the sand with the fire hoses. I did find a few more pieces, but think it was more junk, like aluminum, than anything else.

Saturday, I went through every piece, one by one, that we had found and started sorting it out by the various metals my detector was indicating it could be. I can’t say with absolute certainty everything we got was a piece of jewelry, nor can I say for sure that we got anything that was jewelry. I can say that we gave it our best effort and pray to God that we got some, if not all of their important treasures back. Luckily Joe has a best friend who is a jeweler that makes jewelry and maybe he’ll be able to melt this stuff back down and give a different look to their treasures.

Wednesday, Oct 12th, I was able to meet Joe in a parking lot to give him all the objects we had found. The picture of him shows him holding 5 separate bags. The bags were labeled with items containing possible yellow and white gold, silver, and a variety of other metals.

Matt – Thank you buddy, I know I can always count on you to lend a hand.

Joe and Martha – Thank you for trusting me to try and help find some of your lost treasures. I wish you only the best!

Jim

   

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Pet Labradoodle Has Expensive Taste, The Proof was in the X-ray!!! Longs SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started Monday evening when I received a text from Suzanne saying, “I was just made aware of ring finders. I have a lost ring in my yard. It’s a big yard as we have a farm. My dog actually ate the ring then pooped it out, but we somehow missed finding it. We have grid searched as best we could with a borrowed metal detector but admit we didn’t know what we were doing. Interested? Suzanne.” I was intrigued so I called her to get more details. She informed me that their “big yard” was about 3 acres, and the incident took place about a year ago. I was a little perplexed and asked if the poop had been thrown out with the trash. She said they throw the waste in and around the bushes. I’m thinking, OK, the ring’s out there someplace and I love a good challenge, so I agreed to help. I told her I could be there at 10 am this morning, Sept 27th, and she agreed.

I think I was awake most of the night thinking of all the various scenarios I might run into. So, this morning, I packed up a small ladder and my Endoscope in case I had to check the tops and insides of bushes, and 3 metal detectors (Gold Bug II, Deus II, and my Equinox 800). Overkill I know, but I was prepared. When I got there and drove down the long driveway to the beautiful house with a manicured lawn, detached 2 car garage, a big barn with fenced in pastures, I was definitely intimidated! I met Suzanne in the driveway, and she showed me all the areas encompassed by an electric fence where the ring could be. She described the ring and said it was yellow gold with rubies and diamonds. She also explained the details of that faithful day. She said she was going out of town and was getting ready. She set her cell phone and beautiful Ruby and Diamond Ring, which her husband Terry had given her on their 16th Wedding Anniversary, on the Kitchen counter. When she came back to the kitchen the ring was gone and the cell phone had the unmistakable mark of a big wet tongue lick across the face of the phone. They took their loving pet to the vet for X-rays and guess what showed up just as clear as day. There was Suzanne’s beautiful ring nestled in the dog’s stomach. So, Terry was now assigned poop patrol while Suzanne was away. When she got back, Terry assured her that he checked every pile but there was still no sign of the ring.

Ok, I knew I was looking for a very sentimental ring that should alert in the low teen target numbers on the Equinox 800. I grabbed the 800 and started gridding the more likely areas first. I was almost 2 hours into the search, finding numerous targets in the 9-16 range but no ring. I took a quick break and Suzanne came out to see how things were going. She remembered that after she got home from her trip that she had picked up a few of the dog piles and had scattered it around 4 trees, which was not in the search area. I finished up my break and hit the newest area. After 10-15 minutes I got a booming 13 on the 800’s VDI (visual display indicator) about 2 inches deep. I carefully dug around the target and saw the bottom portion of a gold ring. I removed it from the hole, and I had Suzanne’s ring in my hand, I remember saying out loud, “Holy Sh__!” (No pun intended). I devised a plan on how I’d surprise Suzanne. I went around to the front of the house and knocked on the door. Evidently, she had been sitting on the back porch and came around the house. I told her, “I’m going to go grab some lunch, but I wanted to give you this before I go” as I held her ring up for her to see. She was overwhelmed to the point where she was shaking. She couldn’t believe she was seeing her ring again after 9 months and a wild end to end ride through her dog. Suzanne texted me, after I had left, that all this happened in the beginning of December 2021. She was so excited and said that she never thought she’d see her ring again. A very happy ending to a very wild story, which proves everything, always comes out good in the end!!

Suzanne – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your very special treasure.

Jim

 

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Yellow Gold Bracelet with Charms Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received an early morning text message from Mary saying “I need help finding lost jewelry.” I tried calling her but didn’t receive an answer. So, I texted her saying “How can I help? Call me, it’s faster than texting. 843-655-5889. Jim” Mary called a short time later and said she had lost a gold bracelet with charms. She sent me a picture of the bracelet and where on the beach she lost it. Unfortunately, the resort her and her husband, Omar, were staying was in Myrtle Beach. She also stated they were getting ready to leave to go back home. I told her Myrtle Beach was TRF Matt Fry’s area and I’d give him a call and coordinate with him and that one of us would call her back. I called Matt on his cell, his work number and his wife’s phone and got no response. I called Mary back and told her I was on my way. Meanwhile I sent her a Google earth map with the resort and a line down the middle of the beach dividing north and south and asked her A or B side. She responded A, so I was on my way.

When I got there, I surprisingly found a parking spot and hit the beach. I started a perpendicular grid search on the north side of area A and worked south. Almost 2 hours into the search and shin deep in the ocean, I got a solid 6 on the Equinox 800. I wasn’t real sure what numbers I was looking for on the 800. I knew the thin gold bracelet wouldn’t show up, so I was hoping the small charms would ring up. I was as careful as possible trying to dig the target out of the sand. My second scoop I saw the bracelet hanging out of the packed sand in the scoop. I took a picture and sent it to Mary saying “BA BOOM,” then I called her. She was just pulling my text up and seemed very happy, and that’s when she shared that her mother had given her the bracelet. They were heading out of town but weren’t far enough that we couldn’t meet half way. When we met, Mary was extremely happy when I handed her bracelet back to her. Mary didn’t want her picture taken so I had Omar take a picture of me holding the bracelet.

Mary – thank you for trusting me to find your sentimental treasure.

Jim

 

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