Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 17 of 32

2 Rings Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned on Ocean Isle Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I saw a post on one of the Face Book pages I’m a member of saying, “Does anyone have a metal detector I could borrow tomorrow morning? We’re staying on the west side and have lost a ring in the sand…” I responded saying “If I can help, call me.” I also attached the link to my blog on TheRingFinders.com web site. Within a few minutes, I received a text from Morgan asking what my rates were and whether I was available the next morning. I told her that I do this on a gratuity or reward basis and I’m available at any time. We agreed that I’d meet her between 8-8:30 a.m. today, Tuesday, Sept 7th.

When I arrived I met Morgan in the driveway of their rental and she explained what happened on our way out to the beach. She said that she had put 3 rings in the cup holder of one of the beach chairs. Later that day, as they were going in for the day, her sister picked up the chairs and the rings went flying. With a family search, 1 of the rings was found lying on top of the sand; the other 2 had disappeared and were buried. Morgan’s mother had joined us on the beach and pointed out the suspected 15-20 foot square area. After a few grid lines, I hit dual signals which meant both rings were in the same spot, inches apart. I took a scoop of sand and dumped it out on the beach. When I did, I saw Morgan’s Silver and Gold ring packed in the sand. This one had sentimental value, as it was a college graduation present. I reached down and picked it up, cleaned out the sand, then held it up for Morgan to see. She came running over, very excited, with a huge smile on her face. I handed her the 1st ring and now to find the 2nd one. I turned back around to the sand pile and Bingo; there it was sticking out of the sand. Both rings are back where they belong with another chapter to add to their stories.

Morgan, Thank you for trusting me to help you find your lost treasures. Best of luck to you in your life’s adventures and enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Jim

      

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Man’s 14K Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received a text message from Liz about 10 am on Saturday, Sep 5th, saying, “Hi my name is Liz and I’m at OIB. My husband lost his wedding band in the surf yesterday afternoon. We have a metal detector but haven’t had any luck. Wondering if you might be able to help?” I replied asking her to call me. When she called, I asked her where he lost it. She explained that when he lost it he was about waist deep at high tide. I asked her the time and she said around 3 p.m. I looked at the tide table and saw high tide was around 6 p.m. yesterday, so if he lost it around 3 p.m. then he was about mid tide. I told her I’d be there between 11 and 11:15, which I had to adjust to 11:25 once I got my gear and hit the road. On my way, I thought that if he lost it at waist deep about mid tide, then the ring should be at the low tide line.

When I got to their house, I met Liz and a few family members. Liz walked me out to the beach and said her husband, Bobby, had told her that he was west of their house on the beach. Liz set me up behind the neighbor’s house and said Bobby was from this point – that way, as she’s pointing down the beach. “That way” was a long stretch of beach, so it was time to get started. I grabbed my PI and backed up from her starting point and started a perpendicular grid above the mid tide line seaward to about waist deep. I did that grid search from my starting point to the 4th house west. I wasn’t finding anything, and reached the point of wondering if I was in the right spot, and/or going deep enough to search. I took a quick break and reassessed my thoughts about where it should be. With the information I was given, I was positive his wedding band should be around the low tide line. Did I just miss it, swing left instead of right?  I grabbed my Equinox 800 and started a cross grid search starting about shin deep at the low tide line. As I’m working up the slope of the beach I got a solid 15 on the VDI (visual display indicator). This was in the range of numbers for a man’s gold wedding band. I dug a scoop of sand, had the target, and rinsed the sand out of the scoop in the surf. When I checked the scoop, I could see Bobby’s gold wedding band peeking through the shells from the bottom of the scoop. I had definitely missed it on my first pass. Liz wasn’t out on the beach when I found it, but one of her family members called her, telling her I was done. When Liz came back on the beach, another family member was able to get a video of Liz’s response. Liz was trying so hard to hold back the tears, but she was so excited. Unfortunately, Bobby was playing golf so he wasn’t there to share the excitement, but I’m sure he was happy to get his wedding band back where it belongs.

Liz – Thank you for trusting me to help you find Bobby’s ring. Enjoy the rest of your vacation with your family and have a safe trip home.

Jim

    

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100 Year Old Family Heirloom Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Saturday morning, I woke up to the following text message, “Looking for help finding 2 lost rings in N Myrtle beach, wondering if this number is still valid? Thx!” It was followed by a second text saying, “Good morning! I lost 2 rings during high tide at N Myrtle beach, quiet beach, one is a family heirloom, and I desperately need help finding them! Thank you!” I responded asking her to call me with my phone number. Kasey called about 30 minutes later and I started asking questions. What day and time she lost them, how she lost them, how deep was she, etc. Turns out she lost them 2 days prior while playing with her twin toddlers in about shin deep water. She also said she lost them about 6 p.m., which meant that she lost them about an hour after low tide. It was just coming up on high tide, but I told her I could be there in 10-15 minutes. I knew I had no chance of finding them right then but I wanted to get an idea of what I was up against. When I got to the beach I met Kasey, her husband Brian and their twin 3 ½ year old’s. Talking to Kasey she said one of the rings was a gold wedding band that belonged to her great grandfather, Leonard “Leo” Zuccoli, and the second ring was a silver ring that Brian had given her. Both Kasey and Brian had picked spots on the resort as a reference point to where the rings were lost, which was a huge help. I grabbed my PI detector and started a grid search perpendicular to the beach. There was no way I could get out as deep as I needed to. The tide was still coming in and the waves were big enough that if I did hit a target, there was no way I could stay on top of it and try and dig it out. After a short time, I told them I’d be back at 4 p.m. and work the outgoing tide.

The four hour wait seemed like forever, so I left a little early and got there about 3:30 p.m. I started another perpendicular grid search. I still had about 3 hours before low tide, so I took my time and worked the outgoing tide keeping my reference points on the resort. In about an hour and a half I had hit one target, which turned out to be a bottle cap. I noticed that Kasey, Brian and the kids had shown back up on the beach and were talking to a few ladies from New Jersey. All of a sudden I got a great signal, right in line with Kasey’s reference point. It took me 4 scoops of sand to get the target out of the hole. With the target in the scoop, I gently sifted out the sand in the waves and BOOM! I had a man’s gold wedding band in the scoop. Kasey had told me that the 100 year old family heirloom was “Leo’s” wedding band that had been passed down to her. She also shared that Leo was an immigrant and when he married Kasey’s great grandmother he made the wedding band. Kasey said that Leo had used some of his mother’s gold jewelry, melted it down and fashioned his own wedding band. Ok, I had one ring in my pocket and still needed to find a silver ring that Brian had given Kasey that was still hiding in the sand someplace. Kasey had told me that she lost both rings at the same time in the same spot. I rechecked the hole and got nothing, I searched around the hole expanding out on all sides and still nothing. I didn’t want Kasey to have to wait any longer to get Leo’s ring back. I marked the hole and made my way back to the beach, searching as I went. Kasey had her back to me and I wanted to do the WOW factor but wasn’t 100% positive I had the right gold wedding band. So, I called her over and her face lit up anticipating that I had found them. I asked her what Leo’s ring looked like and as she’s explaining it, I held the ring out and said “is this it”. Well, from her excitement there was no doubt I had the right ring. Tears started flowing and she was shaking like a leaf. We had a short celebration with her and Brian then I headed back out to find the second ring. After about 30 minutes I started noticing a lot of bait fish swimming around me, not a good thing to see when its dinner time for bigger fish. As I’m walking in about knee deep water swinging my detector, I hit a big fish with my coil. I got a quick glimpse of it as it swam off which was enough for me to decide to call it a night and go back in the morning.

I showed back up the next morning to hit the 6:30 a.m. low tide. After a little more than an hour of a thorough grid search, I wasn’t able to find her silver ring.

While I was doing my original search on Saturday afternoon, an unknown gentleman walked up to Kasey and Brian as they were watching me. They told him their story and he gave them the painted shell that’s in the picture, telling them it was a sign her rings would be found. I wanted to make sure I got a picture of the shell with Leo’s ring sitting on it.

Kasey and Brian – Thank you for calling and trusting me to help find your lost treasures. I’m sorry I couldn’t find your silver ring. Have a safe trip back home to Cleveland.

Jim

    

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Sentimental Silver chain with Medallion and Charms Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just before 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, I got a text message from Katie saying, “Hi. I lost my necklace at Ocean Isle Beach, just in front of Ocean Isle Inn, towards the end closest to the pier. It was lost yesterday evening, around 2200.” Knowing the tides, I knew 10 p.m. last night was right at low tide. I responded back to her text asking, what kind of necklace and was it lost in the water or dry sand? I also asked her to call me. She responded back describing the chain, medallion, and 3 additional charms that were on the necklace, she also added 2 photos showing the necklace. I asked her again to call me, and then asked again if it was lost in the ocean or wet sand. I also asked if she was still in the area to show me the location. Her last text said it was lost on the beach about 10-15 ft in front of the dunes. She also said she was in transit heading back to Raleigh. Then she finished saying, “I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly though, maybe I’ll get lucky somehow and if someone found it, they will see my post. Crazier things have happened, right? Thank you again”. As soon as I read 10-15 ft from the dunes, I knew I had almost a 100% chance of finding her necklace. Local detectionists usually don’t hunt that high on the beach, and tourists usually hunt right behind a hotel or resort. I text back that since it was in the dry sand, it shouldn’t be a problem and I was going to look for it.

When I got to the beach, there was nobody sitting where I needed to detect, which was a little surprising. I turned my Equinox on, and started an east/west grid line parallel to the surf and at the base of the dunes. I probably covered twice the area I needed to, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. My 6th or 7th grid line I got a shallow but solid 16/17 VDI (visual display indicator). I gently dug a scoop full of sand. As I’m lifting the scoop out of the hole, I see the silver necklace hanging out of the sand in the scoop. I reached down and pulled the necklace out of the sand and out came the medallion and charms. It was still all in one piece and I didn’t have a broken necklace, thank goodness! I took a picture of the necklace, medallion and charms, text “Found it!!” and sent it to her. Since she was driving, it took her a little while to respond but when she did, she was excited. Part of her text said “Literally in tears right now!!” Right then I knew this necklace had a lot of sentimental value attached to it. I ask her if there was a back story attached to the necklace, and indeed there was. After hearing her story, I knew, without a doubt, it was worth every second I spent looking, finding, and returning her very special treasure to her.

Katie, I wish you only the best. Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost necklace.

Jim

   

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First Day of Vacation, Alan’s Damascus Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just as I was sitting down to dinner, I got a frantic call from Alan. He said he had just lost his wedding band in the ocean and asked if I could help find it. Looking at the tide table, it was just coming up on high tide at 8:15 p.m. which was in less than an hour. Alan said he had been playing with his 3 year old son in the water when his ring slipped off his finger. He also said he knew the exact area he lost it. This was looking like it would be a quick search and recovery with an outgoing tide, knowing where he lost it and playing with a 3 year old in shallow water. Well Mother Nature had a whole different plan. I told Alan I’d meet him at 10 p.m. and work the outgoing tide.

I met Alan just before 10 and he walked me out to the beach and pointed to the area he had lost his ring. This is when I realized Mother Nature had reared her ugly head. The wind was blowing straight into the beach causing 2-4 ft swells. The tide hadn’t gone out like I expected and it just wasn’t looking pretty to find a lost ring. Alan said he thought the ring was still another 40-60 ft out in the ocean from where we were standing. I started a parallel grid search along the beach, trying to work the outgoing tide, and then switched to a perpendicular grid. After about 30-45 minutes, I felt bad that Alan was sitting there watching. Knowing that his excitement rose every time I dug a target only to have it dashed when I pulled out a piece of junk. I suggested that he go back to his rental and I’d call him when I either got too tired or I found it, he agreed and left. I kept working the outgoing tide, and was being as careful as possible. It was dark, with a little bit of moon light, waves were still high, and the surf was still a little rough. I had worked my way out where I was about knee to thigh deep and got a great signal on my White’s PI. I was right in line with where Alan said he was, so I started scooping out sand. After 4 scoops of sand, I had the target in my scoop. I let the waves wash the sand out of the scoop and turned on my headlamp. Boom!! I saw a beautiful ring mixed with the shells. I wasn’t sure of what the ring would look like. Alan said it was a Damascus wedding band and was made from silver, copper, rose and yellow gold. What I was sure of is I had a beautiful man’s wedding band in my scoop. I walked out of the water and grabbed my cell phone. I tried to take a couple of pictures that I could send to Alan. It was close to midnight but I sent a picture with a text asking “Is this yours???” I got an immediate response saying “Coming out now!!! That’s it!!!!” I think it took him seconds to show up. He was very excited when I handed him back his treasure. He said his wife had gone to bed but he was going to wake her up and surprise her.

Alan – Thanks so much for allowing and trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

  

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Diamond Stud Earring Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just after 4:30 pm on Wednesday, I got a text message saying in part, “This is Vicki H. Can you please come and try to find my diamond earring. Thanks. We are on 6th Avenue. Just down from Maritime.” Instead of texting back and forth, I prefer to call so that’s what I did.  As her phone was ringing, I’m saying to myself, please let this be in the dry sand. When she answered, that was the first question I asked her, and her response was “Yes!”  Got her location and told her I’d be there in 10 minutes. I grabbed my Gold Bug 2 detector and headed out.

When I arrived on the beach, I met Vicki and her sisters Nan and Judy. They showed me the 10×10 ft area and said they had been looking for the earring for about 40 minutes before they called me. I tested Vicki’s other earring to ensure I could get a signal, there was very little metal to try and detect. After a successful test, I started a very slow walking grid line. I could tell that they had been looking for the earring and I was concerned that they either moved it or buried it deeper in the sand. I got a couple of bottle caps and some small pieces of foil but didn’t hit her earring on my first pass over the area. Vicki and her sisters reconfirmed the area and I started my second attempt. I got a faint bleep in the sand and hand shoveled the sand onto a plastic strainer I brought. I re-checked the area and the strainer with the detector and had the target in the strainer.  I started finger sifting the sand trying to feel the earring with no luck. As I stood up to detect the area again, I got a beautiful sparkle as the sun hit the diamond in the sand. I reached down and picked it up, and realized how easy it was to miss it with my fingers. I held it up in front of me and Nan noticed it first and then Vicki. There were big smiles and the “I can’t believe it” words from all three ladies.

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

Jim

   

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Gold Stud Diamond Earring Lost in the Grass, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just before 2 p.m. Sunday, I got a text from Cori saying, “Jim! Hey it’s Cori in Ocean Isle! My earring fell off coming down our back steps. We cannot find it.” I called her and left a voice mail, and she called right back. I asked her if the earring was a gold stud and she said yes. I ask her to text me her address and I’d be there in 40 to 45 minutes. I had met Cori last year when she had called me for a neighbor who had lost a gold wedding band in a house fire.

When I arrived, she, her husband, and a couple of friends were in the back of the house. I made my way to the back yard and asked Cori what had happened. She showed me where she was standing on the stairs when the ring was dropped. She mentioned that she heard the earring hit the wooded steps before it disappeared into the grass. Lastly she said that they had been looking for it for about an hour. I grabbed my Gold Bug 2, and tested the matching earring while Cori held it in her hand. I got a good loud and clear signal. I started my search, took 2 steps and got a good signal. I got down on my stomach and started searching through the grass, without seeing the earring. I got up and took another couple of steps and got another good signal. Got down on my stomach again, and searched through the grass. This time as I’m gently spreading the blades of grass, I spotted her earring, upside down. All’s well that ends well!!

Cori – Thanks for calling me, so happy I could help.

Jim

    

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Fence Line Dispute Settled, Property Markers Found – Loris, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from Leslie on Friday, July 30th, saying that I was referred to her by Joe Denton, local Minelab detector distributer. She needed to find a couple of property markers to settle a dispute with her Home Owners Association and wanted to know if I could help. I asked a couple of questions, got her address and agreed to meet her at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

I got to her house and we met in the driveway. We walked around the house to the backyard and she showed me the area in dispute. Leslie had everything ready; she had her plat survey, set up an umbrella to protect me from the sun, and some ice cold water. Surprisingly, there were no obstacles, like power lines, cable lines, metal fences or sprinkler lines in the area. And better yet, the end of one of the corner markers was sticking out of the ground. With that, it was just a matter of measuring off the distances between the markers from the plat. I used my Gold Bug 2 metal detector to find the rebar pole, dug a hole and pinpointed the actual poles. Leslie drove steel rods in the ground, sticking up about 6-8 inches, next to the markers. The two markers in question were found and marked, leaving Leslie a happy lady.

Leslie – Glad I could help.

Jim

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Man’s Wedding Band Slipped off in the Ocean, Found and Returned Holden Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I woke up this morning to a text message saying, “Good morning. My husband and I got married on OIB 6/11. We are vacationing in Holden beach with friends this week. Late yesterday afternoon he watched his wedding band slip off in the ocean.  We had a nice guy come this morning at low tide with a metal detector, but no luck. He recommended getting in touch with you. Are you available to help find my husband’s wedding band?” I called the number attached to the text and talked with Francine. I asked the usual questions, “what time did he lose it, how deep was he, and does he have a good idea of the area.” She responded he had lost it around 6 p.m., about knee deep, and was sure of the area. I knew the tide at Holden was at 4:55 p.m. the day before, so he lost it about an hour after low tide. It’d be a challenge but not impossible. I told her I’d be up there at 4 p.m. which would give me a little under 2 hours to search before the tide changed.

When I arrived, Chuck met me in the drive way and introduced himself as the husband who lost his wedding band. He confirmed everything Francine had told me, so I told him to lead the way and we’d try our best to find it. I could tell Chuck was distraught over losing his ring, and who wouldn’t be. Chuck and Francine led me past the swimming pool, where many of the friends were hanging out. We continued across the boardwalk and out on the beach. Smartly, Chuck had lined himself up between a post and trash can on the beach when it happened. Since we weren’t on a part of the beach that had public access and a lot of trash, I decided to use my White’s PI. I started a grid search from the wet sand out into the surf, which was building and getting a few larger waves. As I finished my second grid line, I confirmed with Chuck about the post and trash can. He thought I should move over to my left and line up with an umbrella that was up on the beach. It was getting late and I figured the umbrella wouldn’t be up much longer. So, I moved over a few more feet and lined up with the corner of a beach house roof to help keep my grid lines straight. Those few extra steps made the difference. I walked back out in the surf, turned around and was making my way back to the beach for the next line. About 20 to 30 feet from the beach, I got a solid loud tone. Since it was the only signal I had gotten, I felt pretty confident it was Chuck’s ring. I dug a scoop, the target was still in the hole, two more scoops and I still didn’t have the target. Without looking, I knew Chuck and Francine were watching me with great anticipation. Took a fourth scoop and had the target. Instead of shaking the sand out in the water, I carried the scoop up to the beach and dumped it. Ran the coil over the pile, got the signal and spread the sand with my foot. I don’t know if Chuck or Francine saw the ring, but I did and reached down and picked it up. I washed the sand off it and handed it to Chuck. Francine excitedly screamed and jumped in Chuck’s arms. Within a few minutes everyone that had been sitting around the pool was now running down the beach with excitement. What a warm wonderful feeling seeing Chuck and Francine so happy and excited, this is exactly why I do this.

Chuck and Francine – Thank you so much for allowing and trusting me to help find your treasure. Sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of your vacation!!!

Jim

  

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Lady’s 14K White Gold Engagement Ring Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Sunset Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started with a Sunset Beach NC Face Book post saying in part, “on vacation and a friend had lost an important piece of jewelry, and we’re looking for someone that has a metal detector.” Someone responded to her post with my information. So, about 8:30 Friday night, I received a call from Victoria.  She started with telling me about the Face Book posts and was calling to see if I could help. I was ready! She also said the ring was lost in the dry sand, on the right side of the pier. She added that it was very unlikely the high tide would not reach the ring. I suggested we meet in about 30 minutes. I think Victoria was a little apprehensive about meeting a strange man, at night, on a dark beach, which I totally understood. She wanted to meet at noon the next day, which I had concerns with. Knowing that Sunset Beach is a big tourist destination in the summer, parking would be an issue. There would also be shoulder to shoulder people on the beach, at noon, on a Saturday. I also know that Sunset Beach is heavily detected by both locals and tourist. She understood, but noon it was.

I arrived about 10:30 a.m., figuring I’d be lucky to find a parking spot. Surprise, I got the last ‘free’ parking space on the Island, I think.  Since I had an hour and half to burn, I started detecting the beach. About 11:30 a.m. I text Victoria telling her ‘I was there,” and She immediately responded saying, “we are parking now.” We met up on the beach and Victoria introduced me to Jennifer, the young lady that lost her engagement ring. Victoria led the way across the top of the beach until we reached the area. Victoria had the presents of mine to tie one of her hair bows to a tiny bush growing up through the sand at the bottom of a sand dune. Jennifer wasn’t sure how far her ring may have flown off her finger when she had turned around while they were packing up to leave. I confirmed with Jennifer that I was looking for a white gold ring as I turned on my Equinox. On my second line, I got a solid 6 on my VDI, meaning ‘white gold.’ I looked over at Jennifer as I scooped up the sand. I gently shook the scoop to empty the sand out and saw some shells and Jennifer’s beautiful engagement ring at the bottom of the scoop. I walked over to Jennifer, held out the scoop, and let her remove her ring. She got a big smile on her face when she saw her ring.

Victoria – Thank you for contacting me.

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

Jim

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