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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