Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders

Sprinkler Solenoid Valve Found Carolina Shores NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call last Wednesday from a repeat customer asking if I could help him find a sprinkler solenoid valve in his yard. We agreed that I’d meet him today, Thursday, Oct 29th. When I arrived, Jim was waiting for me in the yard. He showed me the suspected area where the solenoid was buried. He told me that he had had some landscaping done and the protective boxes had been covered up with dirt and rocks. When I turned on my Equinox 800, I was getting all kinds of EMI (electromagnetic interference), so I turned down the sensitivity. Luckily, Jim had another solenoid that he had already found that I used to test. I knew I was looking for negative numbers and probably in the -4 to -5 range on the VDI. The valves are mainly plastic with very little metal (basically screws, a spring, and some copper wire) in them. When I ran the coil over the exposed solenoid, I wasn’t getting much of a signal. I cranked the sensitivity back up to 25 (max) and was able to get enough of a signal I could distinguish the signal from the interference. After checking a different signal that turned out to be nothing, I swung over an area more into the bushes. I got the low grunt sound and the numbers I was looking for. Jim started digging and after a few inches of dirt and rocks, he spotted the cover protecting the solenoid.  We found exactly what he was looking for. Jim for holding on to my number and giving me a call. So glad I could help.

Jim -Thanks, for holding on to my number and giving me a call!

Jim

       

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started when I saw a FB post on the Holden Beach FB Group page stating the author Susie’s nephew had lost his wedding ring while playing catch on the beach. I commented on the post saying, “Call me if I can help” along with a link to my Blog in TheRingFinders.com web page. I also sent her pm with the same information. A short time later Susie responded to my pm and we went back and forth with questions and answers. At the end, I told her I was on my way and gave her my eta.

I arrived shortly before 830 pm and messaged Susie saying, “I’m here.” I met Susie’s nephew, Bailey in the driveway and we walked out on the beach. By now it was getting dark, but Bailey was able to show me the suspected area where he had been playing catch. He said that he and his brother had been playing catch and at some point, his ring slipped off his finger. Luckily, he caught it and put it back on his finger. He then said when they were finished playing catch; he went back to where the family was sitting and joined them. The suspected area wasn’t huge, but it was big enough and it was pitch black by then. After 2 hours of doing grid searches in both the suspected area and where the family had been sitting by headlamp, I wasn’t having any luck. I called it a night, thinking I’d be back the following day with a much larger and expanded search area. I didn’t convey my plan to Bailey when we said goodbye. I had a few things I needed to get done the next day and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t making a promise I couldn’t keep.

Today, Thursday everything had worked out and I let Susie know by messenger that I was coming back up, which she agreed to. Then I called my good friend, Burwin and told him what was going on and asked if he wanted to come along. He quickly agreed, which he always does when I ask. We got there shortly after 5 pm and I showed Burwin the 2 areas. I took the Family gathering spot and Burwin started a grid search in the suspected area. While I’m working my area, Burwin was expanding his grid search across the top of the beach along the high tide line. Burwin then started working an east/west gird search down the sloop towards the oceans, which was about mid tide by then. A short time later, I look to see where Burwin was and I see him raising his arm, which only meant one thing – He Found It! Where he found it was completely on the opposite side of the suspected area of the beach. I knew Bailey, Susie and the rest of the family were at dinner, so I took a picture of the ring and sent it to them. Within a couple of minutes, I got a message from Susie saying “OMG!!!!! They are so happy!!!!” I responded that I was leaving the ring under a shell on a table on the back porch. Another happy ending and a vacation saved.

Burwin – Thanks Buddy!! I appreciate you and all your help!

Bailey – Thanks for trusting us to help get your ring back where it belongs.

Jim

     

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Lady’s White Gold Wedding Ring Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Saturday night, August 31st at about 11:15 pm I received the following text, “Hi! I lost my wedding band today at ocean isle. Can you help tomorrow?” I responded with the normal questions, what time it was lost, where – soft sand or in the ocean, and if in the ocean how deep she was? She responded that it was in the dry sand. At that point I called her to make sure I had all the details and set up a time for the next morning for a search. This is when she told me that both her wedding band and engagement ring were stuck in a pouch on the beach chair. When she got back to the rental is when she realized the wedding ring was missing.

This morning, Sunday, I arrived at the address she gave me and met her in the driveway. She led me out to the area they had been sitting and I started a north/south grid search, extending the search area out on all four sides. She had told me when I started the search it was a white gold ring, so I knew I was looking for a signal between 6-8 on the machine. After completing the search area with no luck, I decided to start an east/west grid search. Now I’d be covering the area between where she was sitting and going across the beach towards the beach access point. On my second pass of the new grid, I got a solid 7 on the machine. Bingo. I dug out a scoop of sand and laid it on the beach, smoothing it out with my foot. I immediately saw her ring, reached down and picked it up. I held it up for her to see and she couldn’t believe it. She was so grateful and trying to hold back the tears of relief. This search ended with one happy young lady, a found ring and a hug.

Jessica – Thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy your last day of vacation and have a safe trip home.

Jim

   

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White Gold Wedding Band Set Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC (with Video)

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This recovery started on Monday, Aug 27th about 1:10 pm, with a text message from Rachel saying, “Hi Jim. Am I able to hire you to search around our beach chairs for my wedding rings?” The text had her phone number, so I called her to get a little more detail. She told me that she took her ring set off and put them in her cover-up pocket to put on suntan lotion. A short time later she took the cover-up off, forgetting about the set. Within seconds, she remembered about them being in the pocket, and they were gone. She was sure they were around the beach chairs. Unfortunately, I wasn’t available for at least an hour or two, but she said she wasn’t going anywhere until she was sure the area was checked.

I called her back about 1:45 pm saying I’d be there in 30-45 minutes. When I got there she was in the parking lot talking to friends. We walked out on the beach and across the sand to where her husband Rob was sitting. The search area was maybe 1.5X1.5 ft.  I had my Equinox 800 with me, turned it on and started swinging. With the ring set being white gold, I knew the VDI (Visual Display Indicator) would show between 8-12, depending on the size of the rings. Within seconds I had an 11 VDI and a strong signal next a beach chair. I asked Rachel if she’d move the beach chair so I could be sure I wasn’t getting interference from it. I swung my machine back over the spot and BINGO! I had to take 2 scoops to get the target out of the hole. I didn’t ask, but I assumed that Rachel and Rob had tried to find the ring set and moved enough sand to bury the ring a little deeper. When I spread the sand out on the beach, Rachel spotted her ring before I did and quickly picked it up. There were a few very happy tears of relief and a big hug from Rachel, who didn’t think she’d get her precious treasure back.

Special thanks to my son, Mike, who’s visiting from CT and took the video for the story.

Rachel and Rob – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation!!

Jim

   

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Gold Coin and Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost, Found and Returned Oak Island, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This little adventure started on Thursday, Jul 25th about 9:30pm when I got a text from Megan. Her text said, “Hello we are inquiring about a lost ring, chain, and coin in Oak Island NC. What is your pricing and are you available tonight or tomorrow.” Her phone number was on the text message, so I called her. She told me, in so many words that her husband Tyler and his brother were having a brotherly love moment when things escalated a little. It continued to escalate across the top of the beach in the dry sand, down the slope and into the ocean. When they finished, both brothers had lost their gold chains. The chain belonging to the brother had a cross pendant attached and Tyler’s chain had a 10-dollar, 14 oz gold coin and his yellow gold wedding ring. Unfortunately, Megan and Tyler were leaving to go back home the next morning, and the tide wasn’t right for a search until the next afternoon. Megan arranged for her father-in-law, Jim to meet me the next afternoon.

My daughter, Lisa and her family were in town visiting and she loves to go on my ring calls with me. I’ve shown her how to use the Equinox 800 and she’s gotten pretty good at using it. When we got there, we met Jim and Nia, the brother’s younger sister. Both Jim and Nia filled in some blanks and showed Lisa and I the approximate route the boys went to get to the ocean. I had Lisa doing a grid line in the soft sand and I started working the slope down to the ocean. At some point Nia had told Lisa that she had lost one of her earrings while taking the family portrait a few days earlier. While I’m detecting, I see Lisa and Nia all excited and jumping up and down in the dry sand. Lisa had found the earring. We both continued our grid lines with no luck. A very short time later a big storm was moving our way with lightening, thunder, and heavy rain. We made it to the car just in time and waited out the storm. There was still lightning and thunder out over the ocean, but I got tired of waiting. Continuing my grid line, I finally hit a solid signal which showed up as an 18/19 on the Nox. Dug out a scoop of sand, spread it out with my foot, and Bingo! I had the 10-dollar gold coin. Lisa joined me a short time later and she continued her grid in the dry sand. I took a quick picture of the coin and sent it to Megan. About another 5-8 yards I got another 18 on the Nox. I dug a scoop and Boom; I had Tyler’s wedding ring. Sent another picture to Megan and then called her. She and Tyler were very excited. I gave both the coin and ring to Jim who was going to get it to Megan and Tyler. Lisa and I continued looking for the chains and other charm with no luck. The next day, I took a buddy, who uses the Deus II back up and we both searched for the chains and pendant and weren’t able to find them.

Megan/Tyler – Thank you for calling me to help find your lost treasures. Best wishes to you both.

Pictured below is the Obverse and Reverse of the gold coin.

Jim

     

 

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Yellow Gold Anniversary Ring Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Garden City SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Right around 11:30 pm on Friday, July 19th, I got the following text, “Good evening, I lost my anniversary ring 2 days ago, out of my pocket. It could be on the beach or on the walk or at our rented beach house. I’ve looked over the house so likely at the beach. I just saw info about your services. We leave tomorrow morning; would you be available to search by chance tomorrow?” We text back and forth for a few minutes about the area so I could get an idea of where I’d be looking and then I asked her to call me. When she called, we discussed some other details and I found out they had to be out of the rental by 10 am the next morning. I agreed to meet her and her husband at 9 am. When I arrived, I met Melanie and her husband, Wes in the driveway of the rental. We walked the block down to the beach access and out on the beach. It was early but the beach was filling up quickly with tourist excited about starting their vacation. Melanie said when they were there Wednesday, the day she lost it; they had set up in front of the umbrellas and chairs that were put out on the beach. At some point the lifeguard told them they’d have to move behind the chair line, which they did. Melanie also pointed out another portion of the beach where she had run to pick up trash that had blown away.  We said our goodbyes and I started a grid search behind the chair line that had already been set up. As time went by, more and more people were showing up and detecting was getting difficult. I did about an hour and a half and called it, there wasn’t much more I could do at the time and the heat was unbearable. I planned to be back out there the next day, but had to play the crowd, the tide and the heat. As I was in the car typing up a text to Melanie, they showed up to check on me. We talked but I didn’t mention I was planning on coming back out.

The next day, Sunday, I showed up about 4:30 pm. I know this is about the time people start leaving the beach to get cleaned up and figure out dinner. Also, the chairs and umbrellas usually get picked up around 4:30-5 pm. The beach looked a lot different than the day before. I started a north/south grid search parallel to the tide line and about halfway up the slope. The closer I got to the chair line; more and more people were leaving. Melanie described her ring as a yellow gold anniversary ring, so I knew that would show up as a 13-14 on my Nox 800. Unfortunately, 13-14 is exactly what pull tabs show up as. Saturday, I must have dug up 7 or 8 pull tabs. So, as I’m walking along my grid line, I got a 13-14. I dug up the target and had it in the scoop. As I’m shaking the sand out of the scoop, I saw a glimmer of yellow gold. I shook quicker and emptied the scoop, reached in and pulled out Melanie’s beautiful ring. It was 5:27 pm when I sent her a picture of her ring and a text saying, “BOOM!!!!! Came back and just found it!” She couldn’t believe it. I put it in the mail and sent it overnight to her and she got it Tuesday afternoon. I love finding people’s lost treasures and returning something they thought was gone forever. Melanie shared with me that she got the ring on her and Wes’ 25th anniversary; they’re now on their 27th. She just added another chapter to the ring’s story. Wish you two many many more anniversaries.

Melanie/Wes – Thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

   

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White Gold 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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Thursday night about 9 pm I got a text from Kayla saying, “Hello! Sorry for the late text but I just found your phone number online – I lost my wedding ring today at North Myrtle, would you be able to help us try to find it tomorrow?” I text her back asking her to call me and included my phone number. I didn’t hear anything else until this morning when I woke up to the following voice mail. “Good morning, Jim, my name is Kayla. I had texted you last night. I thought you could possibly help me find my ring that I had lost yesterday on the beach. We are staying at the Tide Master Condos here in North Myrtle Beach and the ring was lost yesterday while I was kind of in very very shallow waters. I was with my daughter, and it just slipped off my finger. So, I was hoping maybe you could help us. I don’t know it might be lost forever, but if you wanna give me a call back, thank you.”  I checked yesterday’s tides and saw low tide was around 11 am and high tide a little after 5 pm. Today’s tides would be around noon and 6 pm. It was already a little after 10 am when I called her, and I asked her two of the three more important questions. She already told me how deep she was, so I asked about what time she lost it, and did she know the area. She responded she lost it about 2 pm and she knew the area. I told her I’d be there about 11:30 pm. Two pm put it right about mid-tide. We’ve had some horrible surf conditions, with strong sea breezes, and rip currents. I knew that a lot of sand would have been pushed up on the beach, making any targets buried deeper than normal.

I actually arrived a little early, and as I made my way out to the beach, I called her and told her I was there. We met on the beach, and she showed me the suspected area she lost her ring. I started an east/west grid search just below the slope on the beach working perpendicular to the beach. I was finding very few targets and as expected they were deep. She told me her ring was white gold with diamonds. Ladies’ white gold can range from low single digits to low teens depending on size, on my Equinox 800. After a couple of hours, I had detected the entire lower portion of the beach all the way out to the south end and wasn’t finding her ring.  I decided to change course and started a parallel grid search starting from my perpendicular grid at the bottom of the slope working towards the high tide line and covering the entire area behind the resort. At some point, a young gentleman came up and started talking to me, who I learned was Kayla’s husband Matt. Matt told me he had a metal detector but hadn’t brought it with him. In the process of our conversation, I asked him what he remembered and what time he thought she lost it. He said he thought it was around 3:15-3:45 pm. Good info because that would put it a little higher on the slope. Kayla had joined us, and we talked a little bit and they both went back up to their spot on the beach. A little while later I got an iffy and faint signal that was jumping from 9 to 13. Ok, I’m in the zone of white gold. I dug four to five big scoops of sand out of the hole, each time checking the hole. Which the hole had grown to close to a foot deep before I finally got the target out of the sand. I spread the sand out with my foot and ran the coil over the area. Boom, I had a solid 10 reading and looked through the sand. There it was, just lying there waiting to be found. I hollered at Kayla who didn’t hear me the first time, so I yelled again. When she heard me and turned around, I held her ring up in the air. She flew down the beach! I asked her what her ring looked like, and she explained it as I held it closed up in my hand. Then I showed it to her and asked, “Look like this?” Her happy tears started flowing and I got a huge hug. Matt followed shortly and shook my hand. I heard loud applause coming from the upper beach from the people that had been watching me for the last 3 hours. A few ladies even came down to see what was going on.

Kayla and Matt – So happy I was able to find and return your lost treasure. Thank you for trusting me to help.

Jim

   

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2 Rings, Rose Gold and Signet 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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On Tuesday at 5 pm, I got a call from Klint asking if I could help find a ring in the dry sand. The ring had been placed in the cup holder of a chair, forgotten until the chairs were folded up and slung over a shoulder. The ring quickly disappeared in the soft sand.

I told him I needed to run by the house and get my gear and would be on my way. About 5:15 I sent him a text saying I was on my way and would be there in 13-14 minutes.

When I arrived, Klint was waiting for me in the parking garage, and we made our way out to the beach. He showed me the 10X10 foot area and I started a north/south grid. Shortly after I started my grid, Klint’s son Johnny and Johnny’s girlfriend Addy showed up. At that point I learned I was looking for two rings, one was a Rose Gold ring, and the other was a silver-colored signet ring. I was a little out of the search area when I got a strong signal and looked down and saw a piece of the signet ring sticking out of the sand. As I reached down and picked it up, Johnny spotted the Rose Gold ring within inches of the signet ring and again partially sticking out of the sand. He reached down and picked up that ring. An instant smile and a sign of relief came across Addy’s face. We had another happy ending to a near sad situation.

Johnny and Addy – I wish you all the best.

Klint – Thank you for calling me and allowing me to help find Addy’s lost treasures. Enjoy your vacation.

Jim

     

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Man’s White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned in North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This little adventure started Monday evening, June 14th, when my wife sent me a screen shot from the North Myrtle Beach FB page saying in part, “Lost men’s white gold wedding band, in shallow water near 15th Ave South NMB. Please contact me if found. Thank you!” I looked up the post to see if I could get any more details and noticed 3 or 4 comments on there to contact me. I also left a comment saying, “If I can help, please call me” along with a link to my ring finder blog page to show her I was legit. I also sent her a message with the same information and added that low tide was in about an hour, and this would be the time to search. Roughly two hours later I got a message on my business suite saying, “Hi, my husband lost his wedding ring today in the waterfront of Carolina reef in NMB – wanted to see if you are able to help locate it/now your service works. Thank you so much in advance.” I responded to her message and also asked her to call me; it’s so much faster and clearer than texting back and forth. She called and I got the details and told her I could be there in 15 minutes.

When I arrived, I met Kelly and her husband, Ed as they came out of the elevator in the parking garage. This was the perfect scenario for losing/finding a ring lost in the ocean. He had lost it between 3:30-4:00 pm, which was within 30-45 minutes of high tide and was between knee and waist deep water. He had been playing catch with his daughter and while reaching to catch the ball, it hit his left hand knocking the ring into the ocean. When I got there it was a little over an hour after low tide, so I had a lot of the beach in the suspected search area that was just wet sand. Kelly and Ed put me in the area they knew was where he lost it. I started an east/west perpendicular to the beach grid search. On my 6th or 7th line I got a solid 18 on the Nox 800. This was a little higher than I expected for a man’s white gold wedding band, but I was confident I had found his ring. Dug a scoop of sand out and laid it on the beach, drug my foot over the pile to spread it out, and saw just a little sliver of Ed’s ring sticking out of the sand. I reached down and picked it up, shined my head lamp on it and said something like, “here’s your ring.” They both were kind of frozen; I don’t think they thought there was much chance of finding their ring, especially in the dark. They were excited, shocked, and very grateful all at the same time.  I love doing this!!!

Kelly and Ed – thanks for letting me help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and stay safe.

Jim

     

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Tungsten Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Corey called me around 4:45 pm on Sunday, asking if I could help find his wedding band he had lost. The first question I always ask is, “was it lost in the dry sand, wet sand, or in the water.” He responded, “Dry sand.” This was the second dry sand call of the day, which I like – A lot!! I ask him where he was at, and he told me the resort name in Myrtle Beach. I told him I’d be there in 20-25 minutes, grabbed my Nox 800 and was on the road.

When I got to the resort and made my way out on the beach, I called him. He told me he was in a white hat, and I saw him waving. As I got to the spot, I noticed one of the ladies in his party on her hands and knees searching for the ring. As I got closer, I told her she was wasting her time. Corey showed me the 2X6 foot area and told me that he was moving stuff out of a child’s playpen and noticed the ring had come off. I turned my machine on and jokingly said “20 seconds.” Tungsten rings usually are 18 on the Nox, so I knew what I was looking for. A couple of steps to the left and I got a strong 22 but showing too deep to be a ring lost within the last hour or so. That signal turned out to be a Yeti cup sitting in one of the chairs. I turned around and scanned the area around the playpen. Two swings and I got the 18 I was looking for. Scooped it out of the sand, shook the sand out and got the rattle of his ring in the scoop. He looked so relieved and said his wife was up in the room upset. They still have almost a week on vacation, so this will be a great vacation now.

Corey – Thanks for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great vacation.

Jim

     

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