Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 4 of 32

Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/26/25 right at 6:30 pm, I received a text from Rachel saying, “Hi, My husband lost his ring in the ocean at about 4:15 pm on Holden Beach, Low tide. Do you think you can help or is it pointless to try? What do you think?” We went back and forth with questions and answers, like how deep, how did it come off, what kind and metal is the ring, and if they would be there the next day at low tide. Unfortunately, Rachel and Henry, her husband was leaving the next day at noon and low tide wasn’t until 4:05 pm. I also learned that Henry was at least waist deep when he lost it. Neither one of the situations were good. I had to rely on Google earth maps to try and pinpoint the location, and I don’t like going in the ocean without someone keeping an eye on me. I also ask Henry and Rachel to see if their landlord would allow me to park at the rental.

Meanwhile, I called my good friend Burwin, who has helped me more times than I can count. In fact he’s taken many of the calls I couldn’t because of vacation, busy with another call, or I just wasn’t available, and he has always come through. This time was no different. When I called him, about the only questions he had were, where and when are we going and what are we looking for. I told him that Henry had lost his Platinum wedding band in about waist deep water on Holden Beach. As always, he agreed, and I told him I’d pick him up the next day about 2:15 pm.

The next morning, I got word from Rachel that the landlord agreed to us parking in the rental driveway, which was a huge help. I picked Burwin up at 2:15 and we headed up to Holden Beach. On the way, Burwin and I discussed the game plan, and Burwin mentioned the fact that the wind would be blowing from the south. Since Holden Beach runs east and west, a south wind meant that any wind would more than likely kick the waves up making a more interesting search. When we arrived and found our way out to the beach, Burwin would do an east/west parallel to the beach search starting at waist deep water. I took a north/south search perpendicular to the beach going out to about waist deep. Even the best of plans needs to be tweaked, and this was no different. At waist deep the waves were breaking over our heads and pushing us around like we were bobbers. After about 30 minutes or so, I went up the beach to check my grid lines and make sure I was still online. As I’m coming back down the beach, I noticed Burwin was coming out of the water. Burwin doesn’t come out of the water unless he’s finished, or he’s found what he’s looking for. As soon as I looked at him, he had the smile! I knew he had it. With everything said and done, Burwin was chest to shoulder deep, waves breaking over his head and getting knocked off the target about 3-4 times and still came up with Henry’s ring. Great Job Burwin! A platinum ring should usually be stamped on the inside, but neither Burwin nor I have good enough eyesight to see it. We ended up asking a young lady sitting on the beach and she confirmed it was stamped Platinum. I took a picture of the ring sitting on a shell and sent it to Henry and Rachel saying “KA-Boom!”

Monday, I put the ring in the mail, and they got it today, Wednesday.

Burwin – Once again, Thank You!

Henry/Rachel – Thank you for contacting me. Wish you two only the best!

Jim

 

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Wedding/Engagement Ring Lost in the Surf, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/31/25 and just before 2 pm, I received a text saying, “Hi Jim. My name is Jennifer B and I lost my wedding/engagement ring about an hour ago in front of the Sand Castle Ocean Front Resort South Beach. I was about thigh deep in the ocean and got wiped out by a wave and lost the ring. Sending a picture. Thank you!” I checked the tide tables and figure she lost it about 45 minutes before high tide. By now the tide would have turned. By the time I’d get there it’d be a couple hours past high tide and easily researchable. I called the number attached to the text and spoke with Jennifer. I got a few more details and told her I’d be there in about 30-35 minutes. She agreed and I was on my way.

When I arrived, I easily found a place to park and walked on the beach. I called Jennifer telling her I was on the beach, and she directed me to where she was. When we met, she explained what had happened and looking at the conditions I completely understood how she lost it. Mother Nature wasn’t in a good mood; the sea breeze had picked up enough to blow the waves straight into the beach. There was also a tough at the bottom of the slope which meant the waves were crashing right where I thought her ring would be. I started a grid search both parallel and perpendicular to the shoreline and wasn’t having any luck. Twice, I tried to venture into the tough and both times waves knocked me flat. There were people including Jennifer, trying to help me get up and grab my detector and scoop. I wasn’t having any fun at this point. There were still a few hours before low tide, so I decided to call it for now and come back later. I apologized to Jennifer for not finding it but didn’t say I was coming back at that point. I needed to check the home front and grab some dinner for the wife and me. Just before low tide, I text Jennifer saying I was going back to try again and hit the road. I arrived back right at low tide and the conditions were much better. I started a grid search at the north end of the search area and about mid tide. I was able to make my way out to waist deep. My 3rd line, I hit a solid 11 on the VDI (visual display indicator), exactly what I expected for a lady’s Platinum ring. One scoop and I had it out of the hole, gently shook the sand out and saw her ring. I took a quick picture, sent it to Jennifer and said “Bingo.” I also asked where she was, and I’d bring it to her. I called her and found out her and the 4 ladies she was vacationing with were at a local restaurant, so I was on my way. I met Jennifer and her emotional response was priceless.

Jennifer – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure and get it back where it belongs.

Jim

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Diamond Stud Earring Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/29/25 just before noon, I got a call from Nancy saying she had lost a Diamond Stud Earring on the beach and wondered if I could help find it. My first question was if it was lost in the dry sand. She responded it was. I only have one detector that can find stud earrings, my Gold Bug 2, and it’s useless in wet sand or the ocean because of the mineralization. Plus, there’s just a small post on stud earrings and it’s usually not enough metal for most detectors. So, I felt we had a good chance of finding her earring. I was just finishing up my yard work and told her I could be there in about 45 minutes. She agreed. Enroute to the beach, I called her asking if I could park in her driveway. Parking isn’t easy on the beach communities. She sent me her address and directions out to the beach to where she was.

When I arrived, it was a quick walk out to the beach to where Nancy was set up. She showed me the area. She explained that a bug was on her ear and when she went to brush it away, she hit her ear and the earring flew off. Before I got started, I asked if she had the other earring that I could test. She did, which made it a lot easier. I tweaked the Gold Bug detector and started searching a 5×5 foot plus area. To help me sift the sand, I brought along a child’s sand sifter with tiny holes. I got a few targets that turned out to be very tiny pieces of aluminum. I must have tested her other earring 4-5 times to make sure I was able to detect it. Finally, I got a signal that was good enough to check out. I laid down in the sand, ran the sifter under the small area and filled up the sifter with sand. I started feeling through the sand and uncovered Nancy’s earring. I was as shocked as Nancy was when I handed her earring back. She told me that her husband had gotten her those earrings when they were in Grad school and before they got married. She also said how they were very sentimental and special to her.

Nancy – Thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Jim

 

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White Gold Wedding Set Lost in Pool Area – Found and Returned Cherry Grove SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/22/25, I received a text from Kendra just after 6:30 am saying, “Hello. Hope I’m not waking you. What do you charge to search for a missing ring? We’re staying in Cherry Grove. I believe I lost my ring while playing volleyball in the pool.”  It was a couple of hours later before I saw her text. I told her how my services work including the St. Jude’s donation I make with any money I get. She responded back that “we’re here until Saturday. I would love help finding it. We have obviously looked a lot lol, but no luck.” I called her and got more details and told her I could be there within the hour; I had a couple of things to do. I also ask for the address, which she sent.

When I got to the rental she was staying, I text her saying “Here.” She text back that she was by the pool. When we met, she advised me that they had checked the pool and surrounding area. Unfortunately, there was a metal fence surrounding the pool area. Luckily, I had brought my gold bug with a small coil and my pin pointer. I searched all along the parameter and came up with nothing but trash. I noticed a couple of bushes inside the fence with rocks as landscape, so I checked all around those. At this point, I was out of options and stopped to talk with Kendra. As we’re talking, Kendra said, “What is that?” I turned around to look and there was Kendra’s beautiful white gold wedding set laying on the concrete in plain view. I reached down and picked it up and handed it to Kendra. There was absolutely no explanation as to how the rings were just laying there. Thinking back on it, in the process of looking along the inside of the fence, I did move a couple of chairs a little to get them out of the way, but nothing major. We’ll never know for sure how Kendra’s rings ended up in plain view. The important thing is they’re back on Kendra’s finger where they belong.

Kendra – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure, however it happened!!

Jim

 

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Saint Christopher’s Medal Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/20/25 around 9 pm, I was enroute to finish up a prior ring search when I received a text from Christine. Her text read, “Hi Jim. My husband lost a St Christopher necklace today at Holden beach while swimming about 10 feet from shore. It was his father’s necklace who passed away last summer – and had an inscription from his mother to his father on the back. The necklace itself isn’t worth much of anything, but the sentimental value is priceless. Is this something you might be able to help with? I’m not even sure of the chances of finding it, but we are Desperate. Christine” I immediately called her and told her I was on another search but could come up after that. I told her it might be late and asked her what’s too late for them. She didn’t have a problem with it being too late.

I was able to finish off the previous ring search successfully and pretty quick and called Christine. I asked her for her address and plugged it into my GPS. I told her I could be there at 11:11 pm and she was good with that. After the almost 2-hour drive, I arrived at their rental and met both Christine and her husband Brent in the driveway. On the way out to the beach in the pitch blackness of night, I was told the back story of the St Christopher medal. Brent’s mother, Roberta had given the medal to Brent’s father, Mark roughly 50 years ago when he took the Bar Exam and Mark had worn it since. Mark had passed away last summer, and Roberta gave the medal to Brent who’s worn it since. Brent was out enjoying vacation, doing a little body surfing when a wave took the necklace right off his neck. Brent, Roberta and Christine   had been devastated all day. I think Christine made it her mission to find a way to get it back. I had Brent give me an east and west boundary line and started on the east side. Hearing about what time this happened, which was about high tide, and looking at the current situation which was right at low tide I thought we had a good chance of finding it. This area had a high sloop so I was thinking the medal would be just about in the middle of the slope and out of the water. Brent thought I needed to go out deeper where the surf was braking on the sand bar, which in the dark at 11 pm wasn’t going to happen. I was going from just off the top of the sloop out to about thigh deep. The tide was coming in pretty quick, and thigh deep was getting more like waist deep. I was just about halfway across the search area when I hit a solid 30 on the detector’s VDI (visual display indicator). The medal was Sterling Silver which would hit upper 20s to lower 30s. I knew I had Brent’s St Christopher’s medal. I carefully dug out the target so I wouldn’t mess up the chain. Had the target on the beach, spread the sand and St Christopher was looking up at me. There was no chain attached nor was it still in the sand. I picked up the medal, and walked over to Brent, cleaning the sand off it. Christine had gone back to the rental, so it was just me and Brent. When I got to Brent, I held out my open hand so he could see it. He was overcome with every emotion. He hugged me so tight and lifted me off the ground. About that time Christine had made her way back and got the word and she got very excited. Next, we had to let his mom know. As we’re walking back to the house, his mom was on the back porch of the rental, I’m not sure if she’d been there the whole time but when she heard the news, I’m sure happy tears flowed. It’s such a great feeling for me when I can help make these kinds of things happen.

Roberta, Brent, and Christine – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your truly lost treasure.

Jim

 

 

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4 Yellow Gold Rings Lost at High Tide – Found and Returned Murrell’s Inlet SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/20/25, just before 4:30 pm, I received a call from Michele asking if I could help find her 4 rings she had lost. She stated that she had taken the rings off to put on suntan lotion and put them in her beach chair seat. She had forgotten about the rings until she went up to her room, ate some lunch, took a shower and then realized she didn’t have her rings. Her and her husband, Kraig went back down to the beach, where they had been sitting. By then, the tide had come up and water was covering the area where they sat.  During our conversation, she told me this happened about an hour prior. Looking at the tide tables, this all happened about an hour before high tide. I told her that we could meet at 7:30 pm, which would be 2 hours after high tide. After we hung up, I got to thinking that 2 hours may be too long. I called her back and set up a meet time of 6:30 pm, she agreed.

It took me about 40 minutes to get to her condo, and I text her saying, “I‘m here” after I found a place to park.  As I’m walking across the parking lot, I heard my name and I got to meet Michele and her husband Kraig, As we’re walking out to the beach, Michele explained what I was looking for. She told me that 1 ring was her grandmother’s wedding band that she wore for more than 50 years. Her grandmother gave it to her when she and Craig got married 38 years ago – priceless! The 2nd ring was her mother’s mother’s ring – again priceless. The 3rd ring was her own mother’s ring, and the 4th was the engagement ring Kraig had given her many years ago. All 4 rings had significant sentimental value and importance to Michele. Michele and Kraig pointed out the area they thought they were in. They were close to each other but far enough apart, so I started a north/south grid line. Probably on my 4th line, I got a signal, but it wasn’t much to go on. All 4 rings were Yellow Gold, so I knew I’d be looking for numbers on the detector in the 13-16 range. I kept running the coil over the area to get something clear and finally dug a scoop of sand. The signals were a little better but still not clear enough to give me a good feeling. I dug a couple more scoops out of the hole and dumped the sand on the beach. Ran the coil over the area and got a solid 16 signal. Found the ring in the pile of sand and held it up for Michele to see – Bingo, grandma’s ring is in Michele’s hand. Took another scoop or two and Michele’s mother’s mother’s ring was now in hand. Two down, two to go! Another couple of scoops out of what is now about a 15–18-inch hole and got Michele’s engagement ring. After about 30 minutes of pulling out more sand, spreading the sand around on the beach, running the coil over the sand and all 3 of us trying to eyeball the ring, I just couldn’t find it. I asked Michele if she had had the ring sized and if the solder could have come apart making the ring not a whole ring. She told me that the ring is unique in that the top of the ring comes to a fork on both sides and the stones set on top of the forks. So, the top part of the ring does not connect to the other side. Now it’s time to come up with a plan B. I told Michele and Kraig I was going home to get a different detector and would be back in an hour and a half. I decided to get my White’s PI, a great machine but it’s heavy and does not discriminate. So basically, the machine sounds off on any metal under the coil. Before I left, I paced off and had a landmark to get me back on the spot.

When I got back, I text Michele and went to work to find my mark. I turned my PI on and waved the coil over the filled in hole and got a faint signal. Ok, this is working. I kept taking scoops of sand out and the signal got louder. After 4 or 5 scoops, the target was on the beach. By now it was dark, so I turned my headlamp on and started looking through the sand. Boom, I saw gold and pulled Michele’s mother’s ring out. I started walking up to the condo so I could get a decent picture and got to the door about the same time Michele. She was speechless; all 4 priceless and irreplaceable rings are back where they belong.

Michele – Thank you for allowing me to help you get all your rings back safe and sound!

Jim

 

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2 Rings Lost, Wedding Band and Engagement Ring, in the Sand, Found and Returned Garden City SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/20/25 just before 11:30 am, I got a text message saying, “Hi Jim, my name is Eric. My family is staying in Garden City beach and I am reaching out to you for help because I lost my wife’s engagement ring and wedding band on the beach this morning. Please let me know if you are able to help. “I called the number attached to the text and talked to Eric. I found out the rings were lost in the dry sand and told him I’d be there in about an hour. I also ask him to text me the address. Once I plugged the address in the GPS, I text him letting him know I was on my way with my ETA.

When I arrived, it took me a few minutes to park and then make my way out to the beach. Eric saw me and waved, so I made my way over to their spot. Eric explained that his wife had taken her rings off and put them on top of a bag. Eric moved the bag, along with some other items and the rings disappeared into the sand. He told me both rings were yellow gold. So I turned my detector on and knew I was looking for numbers on the detector in the 11 to 13 range. I checked where the bags were originally and its final resting place with no luck. I moved a couple of chairs under their umbrella and swung the coil. The first signal I got was an 11, so I knew I had the wedding band. I reached a little farther under the umbrella and got a 13, the engagement ring. I took a scoop of sand for the wedding band and then scooped up the engagement ring. I gently shook out the scoop and both rings were in the bottom of the scoop. Unfortunately, Eric’s wife, Liz was up in the room taking care of their 1 ½ year old. Day 1 of their vacation came to a happy ending.

Eric – Thank you so much for contacting me to help find your wife’s lost rings.

Jim

 

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Lady’s White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/18/2025 shortly after 2 pm, I received a call from Kari asking if I could help find her wedding band. I asked her if it was in the water and she stated, “No, it’s in the dry sand.” She mentioned that she had taken her rings off to apply suntan lotion. She also said she had found 5 of her rings but couldn’t find the wedding band. I told her I could be there in 20-30 minutes and asked her to send me the address. I was on my way when I got the address. I plugged it into my GPS and sent her a text saying I was on my way and my ETA.

When I got to the beach, parking was non-existent. I pulled into the resort parking garage and found a spot. I was hoping I could find her ring and be back to the car before I got a ticket. I sent her a text saying, “Here.” She called me and told me she saw me and was waving. I saw her and made my way in her direction. I asked her what kind of metal it was, and she handed me her engagement ring and said it’s just like this one. White gold wedding and engagement rings usually shows a VDI (visual display indicator) between 4-6. I turned my detector on, laid the engagement ring in the sand, which quickly disappeared, and ran the coil over the area.  Sure enough, the engagement ring rang up as a 4. I had to use my scoop to get her engagement ring back out of the sand. Kari showed me the area, which was about a 1ft-by-1ft spot. I looked at her, said “30 seconds” and ran my coil over the spot and BINGO! I got a 3 on the VDI, took a very small scoop of sand and had the target. I gently shook out the sand, saw her ring and then held the scoop up so she could see and retrieve her ring. Happy Lady!!!

Kari – Thank you for contacting me to help find your lost ring.

Jim

 

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/16/2025 a little after 9 a.m. I received a call and voice mail from a 724-area code. I was on my way to Charleston, SC for a VA appointment and wasn’t able to immediately respond. The voice mail said, “Hi Jim, my name is Misty. We found you on ring finder and I lost my ring yesterday. I believe I lost it when I got knocked down by a wave at the beach and I’m hoping that you can help us out and help me find that. My number is 724-etc.” After listening to the voice mail, I took a guess that they were in Myrtle Beach and quickly looked up the tides for the day. I called Misty and got additional details, like the time she lost it and confirmed they were in Myrtle Beach. She confirmed Myrtle Beach and said she thought it was around 2 p.m., her husband said between 12 and 3 p.m. I told her I could be there around 4 p.m. and see what I could do. Once I got to my appointment, I double checked the tides and realized I had the wrong day. That’s what happens when you’re driving and trying to look at your phone. My best guess was she had actually lost it about 2 hours before low tide. I text her and told her that low tide was at 6:31 and that I’d be there at 5. I also ask her to send me the resort address. She agreed to 5 and sent me the address. On the way back from Charleston, I was watching the thunderstorms moving through the area due to the heat we’ve been getting. I text Missy and told her I was keeping an eye on the storms. The rain doesn’t bother me cause I’m probably going to get wet going in the ocean. Lightning’s a whole other story; I’m basically carrying two lightning rods in my hands, my metal detector and my sand scoop. Both have carbon fiber shafts which are able to conduct electricity.

By the time I got to the beach, the storms had passed, the sun was shining, and it was hot again. I met Misty and her longtime friend Barbara in the parking lot. We walked out to their spot on the beach, and I met her husband, Justin. They were set up within a few feet of where they were the day before. I got a north and south boundary line, probably 30-40 yards apart and searched around their area from the day before. No luck there, I started a perpendicular east/west grid line from about the middle of the beach out into the ocean. I was finding the typical trash, bottle caps and pull tabs but no ring. I searched for about an hour and half and only had a few yards left to search. This being a white gold wedding band I was expecting between a 9 and 12 on the detector’s VDI (visual display indicator). Suddenly, I hit a solid 10-11 and I knew I had her ring. I dug out a couple of scoops of sand and saw her beautiful ring lying in the sand I had spread out with my foot. I reached down and picked it up and looked up at them as they were looking at me. Now for the shock reveal. I put the ring in my pocket with the bottle caps and pull tabs, oh and an earring I had found. I walked back up the beach where they were sitting, looking like I was exhausted. I pulled out the items in my pocket and maneuvered her ring under a couple of bottle caps in the palm of my hand. I told them I wasn’t haven’t much luck and offered to show her what I had found. I bent down to show her, and she suddenly saw her ring and from there things got very emotional, happy, total shock and disbelief. I loved it!!! Her husband told me he saw me move the ring but didn’t say anything. Misty came up out of her chair and gave me a big hug. It doesn’t get any better than that, a very happy couple.

Misty and Justin – Thank you for allowing me to help get your treasure back where it belongs. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back to PA.

Jim

 

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Heirloom and Honeymoon Blues – Man’s Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Litchfield, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/12/25 just before 11 a.m. I got a phone call from Felix saying he lost his wedding band about an hour before. A quick check of the tide tables and he lost it less than an hour after high tide. Low tide was just after 3 p.m. so we definitely had a great chance of finding his ring. He told me he had been doing a little body surfing as well as standing in knee deep water. At one point, a wave knocked him down and he stuck both hands in the wet sand to push himself back up. He didn’t realize the ring was lost until he and his new bride of a week on their Honeymoon, were leaving the beach. She noticed his ring was gone and asked him “Where’s your wedding ring?” Felix didn’t say, but I assume the panic set in.  Felix and I made arrangements to meet up at the beach at 2 p.m.

Because of lack of parking, Felix and I met up in a hotel parking lot. I followed him and we found parking on a side street and walked a couple of blocks to the beach. Once on the beach, we probably walked at least a mile down the beach to where Felix and his bride had been. Felix showed me the north and south border lines, and I and Felix agreed where I should start my perpendicular east/west grid search. It wasn’t a big search area, maybe 25-30 yards across. I was just above the mid tide line and walking out to about knee-waist deep. I was deeper than I needed to be, but I wanted to make sure I over covered the area. I stopped to talk to Felix a couple of times to make sure I was doing what he thought was the right area. At one point he mentioned drying off under a tent, so I wanted to hit that area if I couldn’t find the ring in the wet sand. I also thought if I couldn’t find it in my search area, I’d extend the search up to a little higher on the beach. After doing a low and slow search, the only target I came up with was a bottle cap. I knew with a man’s gold ring the number I was looking for on my machine, which would be between 13-15 depending on thickness and width. With the equinox, pull tabs usually ring up 14 and bottle caps usually ring up as 15. After I finished the search area, I stopped and talked to Felix. He asked me if I’d search a little higher on the beach, so we were both on the same page. I started at the south boarder line and started a north/south grid. As I got to the north board on my first line, I got a loud solid signal that jumped between 13 and 15. I was confident that I hit his ring and looked over at him. The only thing that puzzling me, was the machine was showing the target about 8 inches deep, which the ring shouldn’t have been that deep that quick. It took me 3 scoops to get the target out of the hole. When I got the target out of the hole and dumped the sand on the beach, I spread it out with my foot. Looking down at the sand, I saw the outline of the ring nestled in the sand. Picked it up, bushed it off and handed it to Felix. He was very excited. This is when he told me that not only was he on his honeymoon, but the ring was originally his grandfathers. After time, the ring became Felix’s father’s wedding ring. Now, the ring is his with all the history and stories included.

Felix – Thank you for allowing me to help find your very special lost ring and get it back where it belongs.

Jim

   

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