Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 9 of 22

White Gold Engagement Ring Lost in the Ocean Day after Proposal, Sullivan’s Island SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This morning, Wednesday, about 11am, I got a text “Good afternoon. Is this Jim Wren with Ring Finders?” I responded with “Yes.” She came back saying “My name is Mallory, my fiancé Nick proposed on Monday. Yesterday at around 8PM (the day after I got engaged) I got into the ocean at Sullivan’s Island. The tide took my engagement ring right off my finger. I am absolutely devastated…is there anything that could be done?”I called her and got more details. They were here on a little vacation from Chicago after they both graduated from Law School. With the loss of her ring and another issue going on, she wasn’t having a good vacation. I checked the tide tables and low tide on Sullivan’s Island was roughly at 2:30pm and with a 2 ½ hour drive, I could be there about 30 minutes before low tide. I know there are a couple of guys who are Ring Finders around Charleston, but when I’ve called in the past they weren’t available. So, instead of giving Mallory the run around trying to find somebody, and with time being a major factor, I just grabbed my gear and headed south.

When I got there, Mallory and Nick had a parking spot reserved for me. As we walked out on the beach, Nick showed me the area, which was larger than I thought. It was an area about the size of a football field. Luckily, Nick had found a plank on the beach and had used it to mark the spot where they came out of the water after the ring came off. On Tuesday, Mallory was in waist deep water about an hour after high tide. I started a north/south grid line parallel to the high tide line working towards the water line. After about 6 grid lines, I changed directions, and ran the grid line east/west perpendicular to the beach. On my second grid line pass the mid-tide line on the slope, I got a solid 8/9 on the Equinox 800 VDI screen, which is what I was looking for. It was further down the slope than I thought it would be, as well as deeper in the sand than I thought after less than 24 hours. After I got it out of the sand, I had to verify I had the right ring against the picture Mallory had sent. Boom, Perfect match!! I knew Nick and Mallory were watching, so I just held my arm up. Nick saw it first and came running, Mallory wasn’t too far behind him. Big smiles and hugs. Total search time was about 35-40 minutes.

Nick/Mallory – thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to find your beautiful engagement ring. Best of luck to both of you in all your future endeavors.

Jim

                                

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Wedding Celebration Contributes to Lost Wedding Band in the Ocean 8 hours after saying “I Do”

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Sunday afternoon, I received my second call of the day for a lost ring.  This one had been lost in the very early hours of Sunday morning on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. The call came from Jim, the groom. He said that he had lost his wedding band in the ocean after an evening of celebrating his and he’s new bride, Marie’s 6 pm wedding. At exactly the same time, I was talking with Jim, I was getting a text from Cindi, Jim’s mother. She had done the research and found me through The Ring Finders web site. She had sent my information to her son, and both of them were trying to contact me. At some point Jim passed the phone to Marie’s dad, Jim, and I learned that Jim had lost his ring in waist deep water at 2 am. A quick check of the tide table showed low tide was about 10:30 pm Saturday night, so I’m thinking this might be a tough search. I advised one of the Jim’s and Cindi that I had another ring search at 6 pm and that I’d be there as soon as I got finished with the other search, which was probably going to be about 8 pm with travel time.

I got to Ocean Isle about 7:45pm and met Jim (father), Marie and Jim (bride and groom), and a few of their friends. To help as much as possible with my search, I needed to get a consensus, from everyone that was there when he lost the ring. I needed to know the time, the location, and how deep Jim was. I started my grid search parallel to the beach, trying to work the outgoing tide. Within a couple of hours, it was pitch black on the beach and both the wind and waves had picked up to the point I wasn’t comfortable out there by myself. So, I called it a night and called Marie telling her I and a buddy would be back out around 9:30am the next day.

At some point I had called Jim Brouwer, a good friend that has helped me in the past, to see if he was interested in giving me a hand on this one. The search area wasn’t huge but with all the circumstances, it’d be great to have 2 of us looking. When Jim Brouwer and I got there around 10 am, I showed him the area and we drew a line in the sand where Jim (groom) suspected he entered the water. Jim B. took the north side and I took the south. After about 2 hours and almost at dead low tide, I see Jim B digging a target in about thigh deep water. Considering the time we were out there, I had dug just one bottle cap and Jim hadn’t dug anything, so this was a good sign. As I watched Jim search through his scoop, he raised his head and gave me the “yes” nod.  Thank you, Jim!!

Marie and husband Jim went to get Jim B and me some water, so when I tried to call Marie she didn’t answer. I called Cindi to see if the kids were with her, she said no and then asked if we found the ring. I told her yes but I wanted to surprise the kids. Cindi said she was coming down. Marie called me and I asked her if she’d come down. The plan was to tell Marie and Jim that we were done with the search while I was pointing out the areas we had searched with my index finger. The whole time I had Jim’s ring on that finger. It took a few minutes and I finally said “Follow my finger down.” Jim saw his ring first, and then Marie. Beautiful reactions from both and a few tears ran down their cheeks.

Jim and Marie, Thank you so much for trusting me, Jim Brouwer, and The Ring Finders to help find one of your most treasured items. In just two days, your rings have started the stories of your lives together, and what stories they are. Best of Luck to you both, I wish you only the best.

Jim

    

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Beach Siesta Causes Lost Wedding Ring on Wrightsville Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Sunday, I got a call from John Finnerin (TRF Wrightsville Beach NC) asking if I could take a search for him at Wrightsville Beach. He gave me the gentleman’s name (Jim), phone number and a brief description of the man’s lost wedding band and the area it was lost. I called Jim and he confirmed that he had lost his ring on Saturday in the dry sand. I asked him the story connected to his lost ring. He said he was on the beach, lying on his towel all nice and comfortable. He decided to move his wedding band on his ring finger from its normal spot to between the 1st and 2nd knuckle. When he woke up and they decided to leave, he picked his towel up and shook off the sand. Later that evening, he approached his wife, Shelly, saying “I lost my ring.” He concluded that at some point during his nap, the ring came off his finger and when he picked up the towel to shake it, his ring went flying. Since it was a Sunday, we figured the beach would be packed with no place to park. He gave me the location and we agreed to meet at 6 pm.

About 3:30, I got antsy and decided to go ahead and make the hour and half a drive. I figured I’d go ahead and detect the area, hoping to find the ring before he got there. When I arrived, parking was available, and the beach wasn’t too crowded. I had a vague idea of where to search, so I started a grid search in the dry sand. After about 5 grid lines, I moved out of the dry sand to the wet sand. As I’m walking the grid line I spotted his ring sticking up in the wet sand.

When he and his wife arrived to show me the lost area, I was waiting next to my car with his ring in hand. I walked up to the passenger side of the car, and we introduced ourselves. I’m holding his ring between my thumb and forefinger and told him “you don’t even have to get out of your car”. He looked puzzled until he spotted his ring then there were all smiles.

Jim and Shelly, thanks for trusting The Ring Finders to help find your lost ring.

Jim

  

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Lady’s White Gold Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned on Carolina Beach, NC.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from John Finnerin, The Ring Finder for the Wilmington NC area today asking if I could take a ring call for him. He had family coming in town and wasn’t able to take the call himself. “Absolutely!” So he gave me Justin’s name, number, and a brief scenario of what had happened. I called Justin and told him I’d be there in about an hour and a half, and I was on my way. After I got through the traffic, I called Justin to get more details. He told me that his wife, Ty, had taken her 3 rings off and handed them to him so she could get wet in the ocean. He put the rings in his lap for safe keeping. Within a few minutes he stood up to get a beer out of the cooler and the rings went flying. He saw one of them land in the sand and was able to find it, but wasn’t able to find the other two. I assured him that once I got there, he’d have the rings back on her finger within 5 minutes. I wasn’t being cocky, it was the fact that he had just lost them, knew exactly the small area where he lost them, and hadn’t moved from the spot since it happened. As a beach ring finder, these are the searches you dream of.

I called Justin when I got to the beach and he met me at the beach access ramp and walked me out to the lost ring area. I had him move a couple of beach chairs and a cooler. The search area was maybe 3’X5’, I turned on my Equinox and told him to time me. I was able to stand in one spot and cover the whole area. Boom, I got the 9 on the VDI that I was looking for. I took a small scoop of sand, checked the hole and knew I had the rings in the scoop. I gently shook the sand out of the scoop and held it up for Justin to retrieve both rings. I heard Justin’s friend say 10 seconds. Big smiles from everybody. I also found out that Justin and Ty were down from Raleigh, with another couple, to celebrate Ty’s birthday tomorrow.

Justin and Ty, thanks for trusting The Ring Finders to help find your lost rings. Ty, I hope you have a great birthday, and you guys have a safe trip home. Oh, and thanks for the shot!!

Jim

   

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Man’s 14K Gold Wedding Band Lost, Found, and Returned in Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received a call today from Josh looking for the guy with a metal detector that can find rings. I confirmed he had the right guy, and asked what had happened. He responded that he had given his gold wedding band to his wife, Emily, for safe keeping while they were on the beach. She had put it on her thumb and at some point it slipped off. I asked a few questions including where they were. When he responded they were staying at the Holiday Inn in Myrtle Beach, I knew I’d have to get a hold of Matt Fry. Since Matt’s The Ring Finder for Myrtle Beach, any calls I get for that area I pass to him. When I called, he said he was in the middle of something and to go ahead and take the call, thanks Matt. I called Josh back and told him I’d be there in 30-45 minutes.

Vacation time is definitely back in full swing at Myrtle Beach. Traffic was bumper to bumper, and parking was non-existent. I grabbed a parking spot in the hotel parking lot, and stopped by the front desk to let them know, so my car wouldn’t get towed. As I walked out on the beach, I saw a couple waving at me. When I got close, we introduced ourselves and Josh showed me a small area in the dry sand, maybe 5’X5’, where they thought the ring slipped off. I turned on the Equinox and thoroughly scanned the area with not even a peep. So, I started a grid line working north, still with no targets. After about 4 lines, I went back over the same area working the grid south. Two lines south from my original starting point; I got a solid 17, which told me I had gold! I scooped the ring out of the sand, shook the sand out and let Josh reach in the scoop and retrieve his wedding band of 7 years. Both Josh and Emily were extremely excited their lost treasure was found.

Josh and Emily, thanks for trusting me and the Ring Finders to help find your lost ring.

Jim

   

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Lady’s Black Onyx Silver Ring – Lost, Found, and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Tuesday afternoon I received a FB text from Crystal saying, “I lost my ring at Beach Cove Resort: 4800 South Ocean Blvd. I know the area right where it is but haven’t found it yet! I’ve been trying to find someone with a metal detector but we leave Thursday, and they are few and far between”. I replied saying call me with my number. When she called, I got a little more detail and told her I’d be there in 15 minutes.

When I got there, I called her from the lobby. Shortly after, she walked off the elevator and we introduced ourselves. On the way out to the beach, she told me she had lost the ring the day before.  I was a little nervous, and hopeful the beach cleaning truck or a person with a metal detector hadn’t already found it. She said the ring was a black onyx silver ring, and showed me the small area, maybe 10’X10’, where she had been sitting. I turned the Equinox 800 on and started a grid search. On my second pass, I got a strong 25 on the VDI (visual display indicator) and I knew I had a solid silver target. I looked down and could clearly see the ring sitting on the sand; Crystal saw it about the same time. She said they had been looking off and on for the last 2 days for it.

Crystal, Thanks for call me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip back home to Virginia.

Jim

    

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Man’s Wedding Band Lost, Found, and Returned on Oak Island, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Ring and Jewelry Metal Detecting Recovery Service. Call Jim ASAP!  843-655-5889

On Friday, March 12th, I was out doing some metal detecting on the beach after a long spell of being stuck in the house due to COVID-19. After finishing up, and with little to show for my efforts, I checked my cell phone for any calls or text messages. I had a text from Travis that said in part, “Jim – have a silver ring Lola red somewhere in an azalea bush on Oak Island at my in-laws house. Let’s touch base and see what your availability is when you have a moment. Thanks!”  This was my first lost ring call for 2021 and I was ready. I called Travis and asked what the situation was. He stated that he had lost his ring almost a year ago in some azalea bushes. I told him I had nothing going on and could be there in a couple of hours. He said he’d text his mother-in-law and let her know I was coming. In the meantime, I did a quick Google search to get an idea on what type ring I was looking for and get an idea of what numbers on the detector to look for.

When I got to his in-laws house, I knocked on the door and met Travis’ father-in-law, Bill. We introduced ourselves and he showed me the bushes where the ring was supposed to be. I asked how the ring ended up in the bushes. Bill said that Travis had been cleaning out a bucket and when Travis threw the water from the bucket into the bushes, the ring went with the water. Bill also stated that he had used a metal detector himself but wasn’t able to find the ring. I grabbed my Equinox 800 and pin pointer out of the car and went to work. The back of the bushes were accessible so I was able to work the detector in and around the low hanging branches and over some roots. Within just a couple of minutes, I hit a target showing a solid 14 on the 800 VDI (visual display indicator). I wasn’t positive I had Travis’ ring because with the description I got from him and my Google search, I expected a higher VDI number. I learned a long time ago that with all the different metals and percentages of metals being used to make rings and other jewelry, things don’t ring up on a metal detector like you’re expecting. Also, if I’m looking for someone’s lost treasure; every signal I get needs to be checked. Because of all the low branches, I wasn’t able to get to the target from where I was. I marked the spot with a stick and made my way to the front of the bushes. I was able to crawl far enough under the bush that I could use the pin pointer to find the target. I moved some dead leaves and Bingo! I took a quick picture and sent it to Travis asking “is this it?” Within seconds he texted me back saying “That is it!”

I called him and asked if he wanted me to mail his ring home or leave it with his father-in-law, he told me to leave the ring with his father-in-law and he’d pick it up the following week.

Travis – Thanks for trusting The Ring Finders and me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

   

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Lady’s White Gold Engagement Ring Lost in the Ocean – Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I was in the middle of getting the yard work finished when I received a call from Symone saying she had lost her ring in the ocean at Myrtle Beach. I wanted to confirm she was in Myrtle Beach and not North Myrtle Beach. She confirmed Myrtle Beach but then wasn’t sure exactly where in Myrtle Beach they were. Her and her fiancé, Eze had come from Atlanta, GA to Myrtle Beach to pick up a new puppy. After picking up the puppy they decided to hit the beach for a little R&R. So, they really didn’t know what street they were off of. Eze found the name of the hotel they were in front of, and I knew they were in Matt Fry’s area. I told her I’d call Matt and one of us would call her back within 5 minutes. I tried calling Matt and couldn’t get a hold of him, so I called Symone back and told her I’d be there in 35-40 minutes.

When I got to the beach I called Symone and told her I was walking out on the beach. She met me and pointed out the area where they had been sitting. She told me she had walked straight out from there to about waist deep water. She lost her ring a little over an hour after high tide and with the outgoing tide I thought there’d be a good chance of finding it. The problem was, it was mid afternoon with an east wind that was blowing some big waves towards the beach. I grabbed my White’s PI and started trying to do a perpendicular grid search from shore to water. My first signal was solid, but the waves kept pushing me off the target. I paced off steps to the beach and waited for the tide to go down a little bit more. When I told her what was going on, she told me that she was going back to the car and relieve Eze from the puppy watch. Eze came down to the tide line as I was coming back from retrieving the bottle cap that gave me the original signal. I talked to Eze and got his side of the story. He said that when Symone lost her ring, and was frantically waving her arms, she was more to the right of where she had me. I switched detectors to my Equinox 800 and kept the grid search, but started working to the right of the center line. On my third line I got a banging signal with a VDI of 11-12. With the waves still pushing me around, I finally got the target in the scoop. As I shook the sand out of the scoop and looked in, I saw her beautiful ring underneath a few shells. As I’m walking out of the water, I called Eze over and asked what her ring looked like. As he’s explaining her ring, I held it up and he got real excited and said it looks just like that. I told him, let’s surprise Symone. I gave him my IPhone, set for video and we made our way back to the parking lot. The video says it all.

Symone and Eze – Thank you so much for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. What a beautiful treasure it is. Have a safe trip home, and good luck with your new puppy.

Jim

   

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Lady’s White Gold Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Dry Sand – Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Tanna called me shortly before 1pm from a number that showed Vancouver, WA. She said she had lost her rings around Windy Hill in North Myrtle Beach. When I started asking about the location, she put her grandfather on the phone who gave me the exact location. When Tanna got back on, I asked her whether she had been in the dry sand, wet sand, or the ocean when she lost them. When she responded she lost them in the dry sand, I got really excited. It’s not very often I get a call for lost rings in the dry sand; they’re mostly lost in the ocean. During the back and forth with questions and answers, I ask if she could Google earth me the beach, with the area circled. She could and she did! When I asked how she lost them, she told me she had put them in a little pouch connected to the beach chair, and then forgot about them. Later, she told me she didn’t realize they were gone until around 8pm as she was helping her grandmother with dinner and the dishes. So far, this was sounding like one of those searches you dream about. I grabbed my Equinox 800 and was out the door.

When I got to the beach about 1:30, I called her to confirm a couple of small issues, mainly about where they had been sitting. One thing she brought up is that they had been sitting behind the life guard stand. Unfortunately, the stand had been moved to the top of the beach near the sand dunes. But, it gave me a better idea of where to search. I started a grid line from the guard stand to the wet sand line working my way south. After the sixth grid line, I moved back to my starting point and starting working my way north. On my third line, I got a solid VDI of 6 on the detector which was what I was expecting for a lady’s white gold ring. I took a shallow scoop of sand and laid it out on the beach and saw a beautiful diamond looking up at me, with the rest of the ring still buried. After picking her engagement ring up, I ran my coil around the same area and got another 6 on the VDI, I knew this one was her wedding band. I took a picture and sent her a text saying “BOOM!” with the picture of both rings. I called her, and I could tell she was very excited and grateful. Finding out she was only an hour and a half away, we agreed to meet halfway at a McDonalds. When we met, I was able to meet her husband, Alex. I got the biggest hug from Tanna and a firm handshake from Alex, both of which validates exactly why The Ring Finders exist!

Tanna and Alex – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasures. Be safe and take care of each other.

Jim

    

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Man’s Gold Wedding Band Lost on Bald Head Island NC – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This little adventure started when I got a text message from Chuck on Aug 26th that read “Hi Jim, I lost my wedding ring on Bald Head Island’s east beach last night about an hour after low tide (just when it got dark). I have a very good sense of where it went down but no equipment to search for it before our vacation ends on Saturday. I don’t see BHI on your list of locations, but I’m wondering if you know any detectionists who do work on the island. Thanks for your time!” When someone tells me they lost a ring at low tide, I immediately suspect they were waist to chest deep. Luckily, not in this case though. I responded back to Chuck asking how deep he was and what type ring he lost. Never being to the island, I had no idea what I was up against or how to get there. I contacted 3 other area TRF members, Steven Ray, John Finnerin, and Matt Fry to see what they knew about Bald Head Island. I got enough information from the 3 of them to piece everything together, so when Chuck text me back that he was only ankle deep I had a game plan. I called Chuck and told him I could get an early start the next morning, make the hour plus drive up to the ferry terminal, catch the 7am ferry, and be there before the low tide at 9am. The only thing I needed from him was to pick me up at the island ferry terminal, and take me to where he lost his ring. He readily agreed, so the plan was set.

This morning when the alarm went off at 5am, I realized that now that I’m retired, this is really an un-Godly hour of the day. Nevertheless, the plan worked and Chuck and his father-in-law were sitting in a golf cart (the only 4 wheel transportation on the island) waiting for me when the ferry tied up. Chuck drove us out to the beach access where he lost it, and as we’re walking out to the beach, I asked him how he lost it. He explained that the family was sitting near a sea turtle nest waiting for the hatchlings to make their way out of the nest and head for the ocean. At one point Chuck went to the water’s edge to wash the sand off his hands and when he shook his hands his ring flew off, straight down, and disappeared into the wet sand. Chuck knew exactly where it happened and had a landmark he made up in the dry sand. I turned the Equinox 800 on and went to work, doing 5 parallel grid lines down towards the outgoing tide line. When my lines started getting washed away, I changed to perpendicular grid lines. I started at the point Chuck had showed me and went both east and west expanding the search area. I wasn’t having any luck so I changed to my second machine, which I’ve learned to bring along just in case. I turned the White’s PI on and started at the same point Chuck had originally showed me. I think it was on my 2nd line, I hit a great signal. I dug a couple of scoops, got the target out of the hole and in the scoop, washed the sand out in the surf and there was Chuck’s ring. I did a little dance up towards Chuck and he knew I had it. I let him reach in the scoop and pull it out. It took me at least an extra 30 minutes, because I just missed it on the first pass when I must have zigged instead of zagged, but Chuck’s ring is back where it belongs. Now the family’s drive home will be much more enjoyable.

Chuck – thanks so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a safe trip home and take of yourself.

Jim

      

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