Jim Wren, Author at The Ring Finders | Page 9 of 25

Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Carolina Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This ring search started off as a missed call shortly before 3:30 pm on Saturday, Jun 11th. I called back and spoke to Daniel, who wanted to know if I was the Ring Finder who could help him find his wife Kat’s Wedding and Engagement rings. I acknowledged yes and he asked what information I needed from him. I told him I needed the area and whether the rings were lost in the water or dry sand. He said dry sand, and then I asked him if there was a chance the area would be covered in water with the incoming tide. He responded no that they had set up far enough up the beach that the tide wouldn’t be an issue. Then he asked if he needed to be there. I told him yes and that putting me in the right spot raised the percentage of me finding the rings. He then asked the cost and I told him that I do this on a reward or gratuity basis. He was fine with everything, so I told him to send me an address and I’d let him know an ETA. Once he sent the address and I plugged it in the GPS, my ETA was an hour and a half later.

Once I got there, parking became an issue. Finally parked and then stood there with another couple trying to figure out how the pay to park worked. It wasn’t an easy thing, especially when the kiosk wouldn’t recognize the couple’s debit card. That’s about the time Kat called me to let me know they were there. They took care of my parking and then we headed to the beach. Kat walked ahead to find the spot, while I got my equipment. Once in the area, Daniel pointed out the 4 holes their tent made when they set it up. I asked Kat what the rings were made of and she stated White Gold, one engagement ring and the other was the wedding ring. So I knew I was looking for low numbers on the Equinox screen’s for the VDIs. I started a grid search at the back holes. If you ever notice, when people are sitting under tents on the beach, all their stuff is towards the back. In this case, Kat had taken off her rings and put them in her short’s pocket so she could apply suntan lotion and laid the shorts towards the back of the tent. She and Daniel enjoyed the day, and when they got ready to leave she put her shorts back on, packed everything up and left the beach. At some point after leaving the beach, she remembered the rings were in her pocket or so she thought. When she checked her pockets – no rings! Sometime after that is when Daniel did a Google search about finding a lost ring and one of my blogs popped up. So, I’m doing my grid search and on the 3rd line I got a 5 on the VDI. I was fairly certain this was one of her rings, knowing it wouldn’t be deep: I was being extremely careful and couldn’t get the target in the scoop. Finally on my 3rd try I had her engagement ring. I reached in the scoop, pulled it out and held it up for her. She got excited! I figured if one was there, the other one wouldn’t be too far away. Swung my coil and hit a 7 on the VDI, Boom!! I had her wedding band. She was so thankful she had both rings back. I got a big hug from Kat and a firm handshake and thank you from Daniel. I really love being a part of The Ring Finders, there’s no greater feeling than handing back a treasure that they thought was lost forever.

Kat/Daniel – Thank you so much for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip home.

Jim

   

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Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost during Wheelbarrow Races – Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Eric called me about 12:30 pm on Friday, Jun 6th, asking if I was The Ring Finder. He said his friend, TJ, had lost his wedding band and wanted to know if I could help find it. I answered in the affirmative and he asked what I charged. I told him I do this on a reward or gratuity bases and whatever was good with him was good with me. I heard him tell TJ and then Eric told me okay. I asked him where they were and was the ring lost in the dry sand or water. He said dry sand and gave me the location. Eric also said that they were there with a group for a bachelor’s party. They had about a 10 ft diameter circle around the area with a blue plastic bat sticking up in the middle of the circle.  I told him I had to run home and get my equipment and that I’d be there at 1 pm.

When I got to the location, there was no parking spots open so I called Eric saying I was there and just trying to find a place to park. After a couple loops around the lot a spot opened up. As I walked out on the beach, it was packed with people. I called Eric and told him I was on the beach and asked which way – right or left. I told him I was headed that way and was holding my detector up in the air. After making my way thru the crowd to the first row of sunbathers, I saw one of the guys running my way waving his arm. Right behind him was TJ. I asked TJ how he lost his ring. He said they were having wheelbarrow races and he felt his ring come off in the sand. I followed them over to meet the rest of the group and then to the circle and blue bat. Knowing the ring was platinum; I knew I was looking for a VDI right around 12 on the screen of the Equinox 800. I turned my machine on, split the circle in half and walked 3 or 4 steps across. Turned around and took 3 steps back and got the 12 on the screen I was looking for. I looked up at TJ and gave him a little smile; the rest of the group saw me and broke out with laughter. One small scoop of sand and I had his ring in the scoop. As I shook the sand out, I asked him if he could hear the clang. I didn’t even look in the scoop; I just held it up for TJ to retrieve his treasure. Total search time was maybe 10-15 seconds. Cheers were loud; including coming from a number of sunbathers who knew what was going on.

Eric – Thanks for contacting me!

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

Jim

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Teardrops Lost in the Tides Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Monday, May 30th I got an alert that I had been mentioned on the Ocean Isle NC FB page. When I looked at the site, I saw a posting that stated. “Hi everyone we lost my late husband’s wedding band in the surf 2 days ago between the ocean isle tower and the beach access, at water’s edge. If anyone has found it please let us know. We would greatly appreciate it.“ Knowing that this ring held a great deal of sentimental value, I immediately responded saying “Call me if I can help,” I also sent a link to my blog page on The Ring Finders.com page. As a follow up I sent her a private message with the same information. I got a text message back from her saying, “I will message you in the morning.” This morning she texted me with a little more information and added, “My son handed it to me. I was almost at water’s edge and it dropped and sank immediately, around 2 pm on Sunday.” A follow up text added “We are in town till Sat morning. My Husband passed away unexpectedly in March, meant a lot to my son so I appreciate you helping us.” We did some more texting back and forth and agreed that I’d be there at 12:45 p.m. to work the outgoing tide. Teresa also stated I could park in her driveway which alleviated me having to find a parking spot, which during this time of the year is almost impossible.

When I got there, I met Teresa, her father Richard, and her oldest son Derek. We all hopped in their golf cart and Derek drove us down to the beach. Once on the beach, Teresa led me over to the spot that was directly in line with where the ring was lost. Once there, Teresa explained that when her middle son, Daniel got married he didn’t have a wedding band to wear. His father’s wedding band no longer fit his father, so he passed it down to Daniel. When the ring was lost, Daniel was wearing it and was afraid of losing it while swimming in the ocean. So, in the process of handing the ring to Teresa for safekeeping, the ring hit her hand and quickly disappeared in the wet sand with the incoming tide. It was definitely one of those shear panic moments. Teresa said she looked for the ring for about 2 hours before giving up and then had a gentleman with a detector look the next day for quite a while with no luck.

It was time to find the ring, or at least give it all I had. From Teresa’s explanation of her husband’s 14K Gold Wedding Band, I knew that I was looking for a VDI (visual display indicator) on the Equinox 800 between 13-18, depending on the size of the ring. I started a little outside of the area Teresa showed me with a grid search parallel to the surf line. On my 5th line I got a loud and solid 16 VDI, I was 99% sure I had the ring. Two scoops and I had the target out of the sand and on the beach. I spread out the sand a couple of times with my foot before I saw the little shimmer of the gold ring. BINGO! I washed the ring off and saw that Teresa and Richard were praying to the Big Man upstairs as they were watching me from up near the dunes. As I’m walking their way, I did a little dance and I heard Teresa yell “Did you find it?” I held the ring up and she was literally overwhelmed with emotions, which made my eyes water a little bit. There’s no way to express what it means to find and return someone’s very special treasure. Teresa and I decided we’d surprise Daniel, so she called him saying that I needed to get some information from him. It took at least an hour for Daniel, his wife Ana, older brother Derek, younger brother Kyle and his girlfriend, Raina to show up. When they did, I showed Daniel the area I had searched and asked him if he thought I was in the right spot and anything else he might remember. Meanwhile, Teresa was standing behind us holding the ring up for the “aha” moment. It worked perfectly and was priceless!

Teresa/Daniel – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to find your very special treasure. It was truly my pleasure to get to meet all of you. Best wishes and enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Jim

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Man’s Tungsten Wedding Band Lost in the Incoming Tide, Found and Returned Holden Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started with a post on the Friends of Holden Beach FB page from Erin on Saturday, May 14th. The post read in part, that her husband had lost his tungsten carbide wedding band on the beach. She also gave the house’s addresses that the ring was lost between. I immediately responded to the post saying, “Call me if I can help,” and added the link to my blog page from TheRingFinders.com. I also sent her a private message with the same information, as a follow up and to show this wasn’t a scam. I didn’t get a response from Erin until midafternoon on Sunday. She thanked me for my message but stated the ring was not very valuable so she didn’t think me coming to Holden Beach would be worth my time and travel. Personally, anytime I can help someone attempt to find their lost treasure it’s worth my time and travel.  I know every member of The Ring Finders feels exactly the same way. That’s just what we do and we love it! Anyway, I think, and I may be wrong, but Erin and her husband, Burke thought that the ring was gone forever. She told me that by the time Burke realized his ring was gone, and they went back out to the beach; the tide had come in and the entire area was under water. She also mentioned that they thought Burke might have taken the ring off and had it in his lap. Then when they were ready to go he had forgotten about it, he stood up and it disappeared. I was sure her husband’s ring would be within inches of where it was dropped. Since the ring was a heavy metal, it would quickly sink in the wet sand as the incoming tide covered it with more sand. I told her I had nothing else going on and that it was the sentimental value that’s important. At that point, Erin gave me a general area of where they had been sitting. I sent her a Google earth map, showing 4 squares I had drawn, labeled A,B,C, and D and asked her which area. She responded “Definitely B”, so she was able to narrow the area down a lot. Unfortunately, Erin and Burke were on their way back home and wouldn’t be available the next day to put me on the spot. I got a few more details and was ready to hit the outgoing tide the next afternoon (Monday). The only thing left to figure out was parking. Holden Beach has just eliminated street parking and gone to a pay to park in the few lots they have and there’s no lots available on the west end of the island where I needed to go. Luckily, another response to Erin’s original FB post was a lady named Anne that was two houses down from where I needed to search. I sent her a private message asking if it was possible if I could park in her driveway. Within minutes and without hesitation she responded “Sure.” Problem solved, now all I had to do was find Burke’s ring.

On Monday, May 16th, I arrived on the beach at 12:30 pm to start my search. Knowing the overall area, I started a parallel grid search from the top of the beach working towards the tide line. After about 30 minutes working this grid search, Erin’s father, James, came out on the beach. We introduced ourselves and talked for a few minutes. He then walked me out a little closer to the surf and a little east of where I was and showed me the area they all had been sitting. I extended the 4 sides of this search area so I’d be sure to cover it all. About my 4th line I got an iffy signal, it was within the VDI (visual display indicator) range I was looking for. But it was showing something I’d expect for a crusted penny that’s been buried in the sand for a long time. As I always do, when I’m looking for someone’s treasure, I dig everything I hear. This find proved my point. After 2 scoops of sand, I had the target out of the hole. I shook the sand out of the scoop and heard the clanging of metal. Bingo! I had Burke’s wedding band in the scoop. Thank you James, moving me when you did saved me about 30 minutes of added search. My wife had come with me to look for shells and I had her take a picture that I sent to Erin. I got an immediate response “OH MY GOSH JIM!!! I can’t believe it!!!!”

Anne – Thank you for giving me a place to park for the search. That was a big help!

James – Thank you for everything!!

Erin/Burke – Thank you for trusting in me and The Ring Finders to help find your treasure and get it back where it belongs. I wish you two only the best in life.

Jim

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Lost College Ring on Crescent Beach in North Myrtle Beach, SC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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TESTIMONIAL:

It was 4pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at Crescent Beach in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Our family had spent an overcast day on the beach together and had begun discussing dinner plans for the evening. The sun began to peek from the clouds, so my brother-in-law and his girlfriend decided to throw a football before we packed up for the day, so I joined.  They went out in the surf at least waist deep, and I stayed ankle-shin deep to throw back out to them. Never had an issue with my college ring coming off my hand, but after a few throws, using my right hand, the water had helped to loosen the ring. That’s when it happened, I threw the ball out, and as my arm came down from the throw, I felt the ring come off. I didn’t see or hear where it hit the water. That’s when instant panic set in. However, I stopped and looked at where I was in relation to stationary objects on the beach, anchored boats in front of us and storm water markers nearby. I yelled for help from my brother-in-law and then called my wife down from the umbrella. Four of us frantically searched in the shallow surf for at least 15 minutes, until I realized that the ring would have burrowed in the sand by now and it would be hopeless to keep searching. That is when my wife and I both felt “shell shocked” at the loss. Mainly because the ring was custom made, almost a decade after graduating college, and it was very pricey. I had only had it for a little over a month — hence the rookie mistake of forgetting to take it off in the first place.

By this time, it was 4:15pm, I stepped back up on the beach and thought to myself, check the tide chart. It was almost at peak high tide, and low tide would be after 11pm that night, in which I knew the area the ring was in, would be completely uncovered with water at that time. Do we come back then and dig around? That’s when I thought to search online for “professional metal detecting service, north myrtle beach”. The first result I clicked on took me to a “TheRingFinders” webpage with the first article showing a recovery of a woman’s wedding band set in North Myrtle Beach almost a year ago by a gentleman. I skimmed the article and realized that this was no novice just messing around, this guy must be a true professional given the circumstances of that recovery. That’s when I located his number and dialed it. On the third ring, I was greeted by Jim. Confirming he was in fact the “the ring finder man.” He proceeded to ask where I was, and I gave him details of what had just happened. It was 4:20pm, and he said stay put, I will be there in 20 minutes. He dropped his plans with his wife and immediately came to us to help.

Exactly 20 minutes later, Jim called me, and I watched as he walked out on the beach – “to the rescue.” He came up introduced himself and immediately my wife and I felt a sense of calm. He was super friendly, lighthearted about the situation so that we were able to laugh about it and at the same time. He obtained details and immediately set forth on his mission. Starting from a point we indicated, he worked in and out south. His grid patterning from the boundaries that we provided was evident that this was “not his first rodeo!” We anxiously watched and waited.

After close to a dozen in-and-out passes, from the beach to waist deep, out past where we told him I would have been standing. He came ashore, asked more questions from myself and my brother-in-law, and redirected his search north from where he started. On the second pass headed out, he stopped, right about where I would have been standing, now knee-deep. His waving motion of his detector had stopped. He was holding it still on something. Moving the detector aside, he took his scoop and made one dip into the water and up came a “scoop full of sand.”  He carefully washed away the sand from the scoop and reached inside it. Turning around to walk ashore, he looked at us and “did a little dance!” That’s when we knew, bingo!

Jim came ashore, walked up to me and held out his fisted hand, and dropped my ring in my hand. Mission accomplished recovery complete. Everyone seemed shocked that he found it, myself included – however, I really and truly had faith in Jim from the time I talked with him on the phone. I would have been more shocked if he wasn’t able to recover it, that’s how much I trusted his skill. I had not read his biography at this point, nothing other than the skimming of that one story online. Later, we learned that Jim served our wonderful country for many years in the United States Coast Guard and also working in the federal government.  He has continued his selfless service to people along the Grand Strand area for many years in his retirement – what a kind gesture to put his skills to work in such a way to help those in a panicked time of need.

“Thank you” was simply not enough to express my gratitude for his help. I went to shake his hand, and instead he leaned in and we exchanged a “bear hug!” A friendship was sparked. I gave Jim some cash that I hoped would be enough monetary compensation for his time, effort and ultimate success. He didn’t count it, but instead held it up and said “whatever this is, just know that ten percent of it will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in honor of you and your wife!” Such a kind gesture, once again.

In less than an hour and a half, a ring was “lost” by me and then recovered by a true professional and class act, Mr. Jim Wren. A one-of-a-kind college ring now really is a conversation piece, with a story to tell! Something that I will be able to pass down.

God Bless You Mr. Jim, you deserve all the best my friend!

Sincerely,

Travis

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Silver Promise Found on Holden Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from Aaron saying that Joe Denton had referred me to help find a lost silver promise ring. The story went that his girlfriend Olivia had tried to pass the promise ring to a friend to hold for safe keeping. Unfortunately, Olivia was standing in a trough that was about 5 feet deep while the friend was standing on top of the ridge. The handoff missed and the ring sank to the bottom of the ocean buried in sand and shells. At first I told Aaron I’d be there closer to low tide, which was about 3 hours later. After thinking about it, I called Aaron back and said I was on my way. I was hoping that by getting there early, I could work the outgoing tide and maybe come across the ring.

When I got there I met Aaron and Olivia in the parking lot. As we walked out to the beach, Aaron said that he had made a sand mound to mark the spot Olivia went into the water. As we got closer to the spot, the mound was gone. Where the spot was now 2 kids playing and unknowingly destroyed the mound. There was just enough of the mound left that Aaron was sure we were in the right spot. Not knowing what I’d be up against, I brought both my White’s PI and my Equinox 800. I grabbed the PI and headed out in the water to find the trough. About the same time I found the trough, I got smacked by a pretty good wave that soaked me and just about knocked me over. New plan, I grabbed my 800 and started working the slope and parallel with the beach. Aaron said they were going to go eat dinner and I assured them if I found it I’d give them a call. After about 20 minutes, I grabbed the PI again and started working the tide line seaward. The waves were still breaking with force, plus the current was stronger than I willing to fight with. I moved south to start a wider search and Boom!!! I hit a great signal, but with the PI it could be anything. I dug the target out, walk up the beach and dumped the scoop out. Ran the coil over the area and found the target again, pushed the smaller amount of sand in the scoop with my foot and shook it out in the surf. There it was, Olivia’s beautiful promise ring staring up at me. I called Aaron and he asked if I found it. I told him that I thought so and was sending him a picture. Bingo, he said it was Olivia’s. I told them I’d meet them at the restaurant they were at and drop it off. When I got there they were both waiting in the parking lot with huge smiles on their faces.

Aaron and Olivia – thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Wish you both the very best in life.

Jim

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iPhone Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call this morning from Sarah saying that she had contacted Joe Denton, Minelab Distributer in Little River, SC to buy a metal detector to find an iPhone. Joe recommended me and she was wondering if I could help. She said her friend Shelby had lost her phone in the dunes and they knew the exact area using the “find my phone” app. I told her I’d be there in 15 minutes.

When I got to the Cherry Grove Beach, Shelby and Sarah were waiting at the beach entrance. We walked out on the beach and directly to the area where the iPhone was lost. The story was that they were on the beach the night before and Shelby’s phone fell out of its “safe place” and disappeared in the sand. They searched in the dark with no luck and started again first thing this morning. Unfortunately, the phone was lost in the dunes, which can get you a nice little ticket if you get caught by the beach patrol. So, as I detected, I used extreme caution so I wouldn’t cause any damage. There was no doubt that her phone wasn’t there. In my head I thought this would be a quick and easy find, but it never works out that way. I kept expanding my search area north and south but wasn’t finding her phone. Finally, Shelby saw a wrapper she remembered from the night before that she thought was her phone. Sure enough, just a few feet away, buried in an upright position and covered with sand, I got a solid 15 on the VDI. Using my hands to dig under the sand, I pulled it out. Both Shelby and Sarah were thrilled to say the least. After I gave the phone back to her, she immediately opened the case to ensure her driver’s license was still there, thankfully it was.

Sarah – Thanks for giving me a call.

Shelby – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great break from your studies at Duke and enjoy the beach.

Jim

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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A little after 10 p.m. on Friday, I received a call from Murali saying he had lost his gold wedding band and wondered if I could help find it. I asked him for the details and he stated he was cleaning the sand off his son and felt the ring slide off his finger. I asked him his location and he told me he was at 75th Ave in North Myrtle Beach. We figured out he was actually in Myrtle Beach, so I needed to call Matt Fry, the TRF for Myrtle Beach. Since it was late, I figured Matt was already down for the night, but I called anyway. I didn’t get an answer from Matt so I called Murali back and told him I’d be there in 20 minutes. I grabbed my Equinox 800 and was on my way.

When I got to the beach I called him and told him I was there. It was dark but luckily he had a flashlight and started signaling me. We met and he showed me the area he thought the ring came off. He also had marked the area he cleaned his son up but was sure the ring wasn’t in that area. I made two grid lines across the area he had marked off with no signals. Since I was next to the area where he cleaned his son, I thought I’d go ahead and clear that area. BOOM! I got a 13/14 on the VDI, which is either a thin gold ring, or a pull tab. In this case it was his wedding band. I dug a scoop of sand, shook the sand out and saw his ring. I held the scoop up and let him remove his ring. He was extremely surprised as well as overwhelmed with happiness.

Murali – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Jim

 

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Man’s Cobalt Wedding Band Lost on Ocean Isle Beach NC – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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About 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 27th, I received a text message saying, “Hi Jim, My name is Lyndsey and I heard you are an excellent ring finder. Any chance you are available near OIB (Ocean Isle Beach)”.  I called the number and talked with Lyndsey to get the details. She said her friend, Sean, had lost his wedding band while playing catch with her son in the dry sand. She said Sean had told her he had the ring on until he removed the ball glove and within minutes realized his ring was gone. The last thing she mentioned was that their group spent about 45 minutes looking for the ring with no luck. I told her I’d be there in 35-40 minutes, grabbed my gear and headed out. She texted me her address as I was driving out of my neighborhood.

I arrived about 6 p.m. and met Lyndsey in her driveway. She told me that Sean didn’t know that she had found somebody to try and find his ring and hoped we could surprise him. She walked me out to the beach and showed me the area they had been in. I asked what type of ring and she said she was pretty sure it was white gold. I knew the VDI (Visual Display Indicator) number range I was looking for so I started a grid search parallel to the tide line. Plus, since the ring had only been lost within the last couple of hours, it should be within a couple of inches. I completed the area passing up numerous deeper targets outside the range I was looking for. I confirmed the white gold and the time period and the only thing Lyndsey wasn’t sure of was the metal. She texted someone and found out the ring was made from Cobalt. I had no idea what Cobalt was, so I called a friend to see if he had any ideas on where that would show up on the VDI. He had no idea either, so I did another grid search perpendicular to the tide line over the same area expanding east, west and north. This time it took a little longer because I was checking some of the targets I hadn’t check before. While I’m searching, Lyndsey was checking her pictures on her phone and found one that saved the day! She moved me to search further east, which I did. About 3 more grid lines I hit a shallow, solid 9 on the VDI. On my second scoop, I saw the silver looking ring sticking out of the sand. Boom! After almost an hour and twenty minutes, I had Sean’s ring in my hand.

On the way back to the house, Lyndsey and I devised the surprise return, needless to say, Sean was Surprised! Lyndsey was taking the reveal video and didn’t want Sean to see her so the beginning of that part of the video is filming the floor.

Lyndsey – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find Sean’s ring and for taking the videos!!

Sean – happy belated 2nd Anniversary to you and your lovely bride, Kate. Wish you two all the Best.

Jim

 

 

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Property Markers Found – Little River SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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One of my neighbors, Linda, asked me if I could possibly find 3 property markers on her daughter’s property in a different neighborhood development. She said she wanted to install a small shed next to the house but wanted to ensure she was within her property boundaries. I agreed to go out the next day and see what I could do. Luckily, Linda gave me a property plat map showing the distance between the markers. She said one of the rear markers was sticking up above the ground and I should be able to find it. Shortly after I arrived, I found the rear marker which was no more than 2 ft from the rear corner of the house.  I measured off the 47 ft to the front marker. There was nothing else to go by on the map plat, like the location of the house. So, I had the distance from the back marker but didn’t know the direction of the property line. I tried using my Fisher’s Gold Bug but there were 2 water meters, within 6 inches of each other and each one was installed inside a metal box buried in the ground. Needless to say, both my detector and pin pointer were absolutely useless. So after a good hour and a half of using my digging knife to probe under the grass I finally found the marker. The county had put the water meter boxes on each side of the marker with one box less than 2 inches from the marker rod.  When I first hit the rod with the knife, I thought I was hitting the metal box. One marker down, 2 to go. I went back to the back marker and measured off the 73.9 ft across the back of the house.  Again, I didn’t know where the property line went, but at no point was it more than a foot off the back of the house. So this measurement ended up right in the middle of the power and the cable boxes and the wires that went with them on both sides of where the marker should be. I still couldn’t use the detector or the pin pointer and had to use the knife to probe. I had to be a lot more careful because I didn’t want to stab or cut a wire, especially the power wire. I made a joke asking Linda if she knew CPR just in case, she replied “No.” After about another hour, I called it a day and told Linda I’d be back.

A couple of days later I went back determined to find the 3rd marker without cutting Linda’s electricity or cable off and me getting electrocuted. I remeasured the distance and after about 30 minutes I found the marker rod within an inch from the power box. The 4th marker is somewhere under a huge bush about 8 ft in diameter. Linda has wanted to cut the bush down for a while so now she has a reason and will call me when it’s gone.

While I was there on the second trip, a neighbor, Delores came over and asked me if I’d mind finding one of her property markers. A different neighbor was having an issue with her about an area that needed to be cleaned in which he insisted was on her property. She said he was so adamant about it that he was going to the HOA. It took me about 5 minutes, after measuring, to find her marker. Needless to say, her neighbor will be very disappointed. While I was talking with Delores, she said that she was one of the first homeowners in the development 31 years ago. She said when the builders built the houses, they built 7 houses per acre, which explains why no one had a back or side yards.

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