How to find a lost ring on Ocean Isle Beach NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Platinum Engagement Ring Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just after 5:30 p.m. on September 25, 2026, I received a call from Tricia saying her friend; Caroline had lost her Platinum Engagement ring in the ocean. Looking at the tide tables, she lost it about 2 or so hours before high tide. The next low tide wasn’t until just before 1 a.m. I’m not a big fan and neither is my wife, of me going out in the middle of the night, alone in total darkness and doing a possible water search. So again, looking at the tide tables, the next low tide was after 2 p.m. on Saturday. I asked Tricia to get me some landmarks from the houses behind her on the beach. She did one better and took a couple of pictures showing a couple of houses and where the ladies were set up on the beach. I told her that I’d be there the next morning at 11 a.m., this would be 4 hours plus after high tide and give me time to work the low tide line if necessary.

The next morning just before 11 a.m., I arrived at the house that Tricia, Caroline and another friend Isa were staying. Caroline and Tricia walked me down to the beach and showed me the area. Talking with Caroline she explained that she was about knee to thigh deep and had put her hands in the water to splash Tricia and Isa and felt her ring come off her finger. Unfortunately, she was facing the ocean which put the ring a little farther out. Looking at the pictures Tricia took; I lined myself up and started a north/south grid line. I covered the suspected area, taking the search out to knee to thigh deep. I expected, with the outgoing tide, her ring would be in the wet sand. After finishing that section and talking with Caroline, I moved past the west boundary and started another grid search. I still wasn’t finding her ring. The only area left was between my two grid searches. I started on the west side and worked east to my original starting point. On my last line and in the wet sand, I got a solid signal with a VDI (visual display indicator) reading of 16. I think all of my platinum VDI readings have been in the 11 to 12 range. Like all my targets, I dig everything. One scoop and I had the target out of the hole. Spread the sand out with my foot and saw a beautiful ring staring up at me. I picked up the ring and was sure I had Caroline’s ring. It appeared platinum and was heavy and thick, hence the high VDI reading. Caroline had gone back up to the house, so I showed the ring to Tricia and Isa who both thought it was Caroline’s. Isa verified that it was stamped with “PLAT” so I was confident we had Caroline’s ring. I think Isa took a picture and sent it to Caroline and Tricia called her just as Caroline was walking back on the beach. What a big smile Caroline had on her face. Caroline called her husband, Charlie to give him the good news. Charlie wanted to talk with me, and he thanked me for finding her ring. A funny little back story is that Charlie metal detects, but more relic hunting than beach. In the beginning of Caroline’s trip, he offered her the opportunity to take one of his metal detectors, but she wasn’t interested. Charlie and I have a future date to go metal detecting when they come down around Thanksgiving. I can’t wait.

Tricia – Thank you for contacting me to help get Caroline’s ring back.

Caroline – I’m so happy to have found your ring for you and to get it back where it belongs.

Jim

 

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Yellow Gold Engagement Ring Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On June 10, 2026, just before 4 pm, I received a voice mail saying, “Hi, this is Mark. I’m calling Mr. Wren about finding a lost ring at Sunset Beach, NC. You can call me back at this number. Thank you.” I immediately called him back to get the details. When I called, I talked to Mark’s wife, Annemarie and she stated that she was at the beach and decided to take a swim. When she reached the water, she realized she still had her mother’s engagement ring and her grandmother’s wedding band on. She walked back up the beach, took her rings off and rolled them up in a towel to keep them safe. After a long swim, she returned to her spot and grabbed the towel to wrap herself up in and get warm. She forgot about the rings until she saw one fly out of the towel. She was able to flag down a roving lifeguard who helped find the wedding ring. I asked her if she could meet me, but she wasn’t able to until the next morning. Sunset Beach gets heavily detected, and I told her if we wait until the next day there’d be a good chance the ring would be gone. She finally told me where she had been sitting, which was under the pier. So I grabbed my detector and made the 30-minute drive. When I arrived, a good friend had also decided to hunt Sunset Beach. He always detects under the pier and then moves out east or west. I told him what I was there for and we walked out to the pier. I wasn’t real sure which section of the pier she was under. I ran into the lifeguard that helped find her wedding band and he pointed out the area. I turned my machine on and made a couple of swings and got a solid 9, showing me a yellow gold target. One scoop and I had the ring. I called her and we made arrangements for me to deliver it at 9 am the next day, which we did.

Annemarie – Thank you for allowing me to help find your mother’s engagement ring.

Jim

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Man’s Tungsten Wedding Band Lost in the Soft Sand – Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On May 26, 2026, just before 6 pm, I received a call from Olivia about a lost ring. She said her husband Tyler had put his Tungsten wedding ring in a bag along with some towels and kid toys. Throughout the course of the day, things were removed and replaced in the bag. They suspected that at some point his ring had been accidently pulled out of the bag and fallen in the soft sand. She also said they had been sitting in the upper part of the beach and left the beach around 4 pm. This would have been right at high tide. To complicate matters, we’re in the King tide cycle, meaning excessive high and low tides. Olivia also stated that the high tide had come in and covered the upper beach, including the rental house stairs to the beach. I told her the best thing would be for me to come out around 11 pm to ensure the tide had gone back out. She agreed and we hung up. Around 7 pm, Olivia called me back concerned that I might have too late of a night. So, I asked her how about 9 pm and she agreed.

I showed up at 9 at the address she had given me. Tyler and Olivia’s uncle met me in the driveway. We walked about a block down to the beach access and out on the beach. We walked about another 30 yards east and they showed me the suspected area. Tyler confirmed his ring was silver Tungsten. I turned my Equinox 800 on, took a step and hit a solid 20 on the VDI (visual display indicator), definitely in the Tungsten ring range. I took a shallow scoop of sand, dumped it on the beach and took my foot and spread it out. With my headlamp on, I could see the outside of sand around a round object. I reached down and pulled Tyler’s ring out, turned around and handed it to him. He and Olivia’s uncle were both caugt off guard and completely surprised. We walked back to their house, enjoyed some conversation with Olivia and then I was on my way.

Olivia and Tyler, thank you for calling and trusting me to help find Tyler’s treasure. Best to both of you!

Jim

 

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Man’s 14K Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost at the Water’s Edge, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started on Sunday, Nov 30th around 11:30 am when I received a text saying, “Hi Jim. We lost a men’s gold wedding band at Ocean Isle Beach on Wednesday. Any chance it is findable? It was in the surf as the tide was going out.” I texted her back and told her I’d call her shortly. A short time later I called the number attached to the text and spoke to Susan. She told me that the ring was lost at approximately 3 pm on Wednesday, Nov 26th. A check of the tide tables for the 26th showed low tide was at 5:24 pm, meaning the ring was lost about 2 ½ hours before low tide. Susan also said that there was a couple of gentlemen metal detecting who had looked for the ring without success. Looking at the tide tables for Sunday, low tide was at 9:15 pm. I told Susan I’d be out there around 7 pm that evening. My next concern was finding a place to park, since Susan and her group had already left to go home. But I’d figure that out when I got there.

It was dark when I got there at 6:50 pm. I pulled in the driveway of the house and took a picture of it with the name, “Sea Wolf,” and sent it to Susan to let her know I was there. As I’m trying to figure out where to park, the cleaning crew was leaving. I explained what I was doing and was granted permission to park in the driveway. That problem solved. Made my way out on the beach and went through Susan’s text messages again to make sure I was in the right area. Up to this point, I was assuming the lost ring belonged to her husband. In her text she said that her son, Logan was the one who lost his yellow gold wedding ring 4 to 5 houses down from the house they were renting. So my plan was to go to the far side of the 6th house and work a grid back to the house they rented. I had just enough moon light to see my grid lines from dragging my sand scoop in the sand to keep me on track. I was working from the mid-tide line down to ankle/shin deep in the ocean. I passed the 5th, 4th, and 3rd houses with no luck, other than 2 pennies, 2 pull tabs and a tungsten ring that had been buried for quite a while. It was close to 9 pm and reaching dead low tide. As I was coming out of the water behind the 2nd house, I got a solid 16/17 on the Minelab Equinox 800 VDI (visual display indicator) and I knew I had Logan’s gold ring. After 4 days of sitting in the surf under the moving water and shifting sand, it took me a couple of scoops to get the ring out. Bingo. I sent a picture of the ring to Susan who sent it to Logan and he identified it. I got the ring in the mail on Monday and sent it on its way back home to Virginia with an estimated delivery date of today, Friday.

Susan – Thank you for contacting me to help find Logan’s ring.

Logan – So happy I could help find your ring and get it back where it belongs.

Jim

 

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Platinum Wedding Band, Engagement Ring and Spacer Rings Lost in the Sand, 3 Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Oct 26th, 2025, and just after 1 pm, I received a text message saying, “Hi Jim! I think I may have lost a set of rings on Ocean Isle beach this weekend. Any chance you’re available to attempt to recover them?” I called the number attached to the text and spoke with Allison. I got a few more details, including the address where she was staying.  I told her I was on my way with my ETA. About halfway there, I received a text from her saying, “We found 1!!!” I replied saying, “OK, how many more?” She replied two! A diamond band and my engagement ring. But they would all be in the same area! I responded, “OK, I’m on my way. If you would be real careful looking for them, because you could move or bury them.” She agreed and they stopped looking.

When I arrived, I met Allison at the beach access, and she walked me down to the suspected area. I also met a number of ladies that were with Allison, I guess they were on a lady’s mini vacation. Allison showed me the small, maybe 10×5 foot area and also told me there were 4 rings. Here Platinum wedding band, Platinum engagement ring, and 2 spacer rings. As I turned on my machine, I looked at her and said, “What do you think, less than 5 minutes?” She looked at me thinking I was nuts and gave a little laugh. I took about 2 steps and hit a strong signal, dug a shallow scoop of sand, shook the sand out of the scoop and had her wedding band. She was behind me, as I took it out of the scoop and reached around to hand it to her. She was shocked. Another step and I hit 2 separate signals and scooped out one of the spacer rings and her engagement ring. She was thrilled. She said she didn’t care about the other spacer ring; it was inexpensive and had no sentimental value to it. I continued looking anyway, as I hate to leave a ring in the sand. After no luck, we called it a success and I left. I had intentions of going back after I came home and had some dinner. I went back and covered the entire area including the walk back and forth from the beach access to where they were set up and still couldn’t find it.

Allison, thank you for calling and trusting me to help find your lost treasures, it was a real joy meeting you. Take care.

Jim

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Diamond Stud Earring Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/29/25 just before noon, I got a call from Nancy saying she had lost a Diamond Stud Earring on the beach and wondered if I could help find it. My first question was if it was lost in the dry sand. She responded it was. I only have one detector that can find stud earrings, my Gold Bug 2, and it’s useless in wet sand or the ocean because of the mineralization. Plus, there’s just a small post on stud earrings and it’s usually not enough metal for most detectors. So, I felt we had a good chance of finding her earring. I was just finishing up my yard work and told her I could be there in about 45 minutes. She agreed. Enroute to the beach, I called her asking if I could park in her driveway. Parking isn’t easy on the beach communities. She sent me her address and directions out to the beach to where she was.

When I arrived, it was a quick walk out to the beach to where Nancy was set up. She showed me the area. She explained that a bug was on her ear and when she went to brush it away, she hit her ear and the earring flew off. Before I got started, I asked if she had the other earring that I could test. She did, which made it a lot easier. I tweaked the Gold Bug detector and started searching a 5×5 foot plus area. To help me sift the sand, I brought along a child’s sand sifter with tiny holes. I got a few targets that turned out to be very tiny pieces of aluminum. I must have tested her other earring 4-5 times to make sure I was able to detect it. Finally, I got a signal that was good enough to check out. I laid down in the sand, ran the sifter under the small area and filled up the sifter with sand. I started feeling through the sand and uncovered Nancy’s earring. I was as shocked as Nancy was when I handed her earring back. She told me that her husband had gotten her those earrings when they were in Grad school and before they got married. She also said how they were very sentimental and special to her.

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

Jim

 

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IPhone 16 Lost in the Ocean, Recovered and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This recovery started on Saturday night about 9 pm when I received the following text. “Hi! My girlfriend lost her phone during a walk on the sand bar during low tide about an hour ago between 16th and 13th street in North Myrtle. The tide started coming in, so we had to limit our search to 10 minutes. We’re wondering if you’d be able to help us look for it during low tide in the morning. We know approximately where it was dropped. I know tomorrow is Easter, but please let us know if you are available.” I called the number attached to the text and talked with Maria, who lost the phone. First, I wanted to confirm the location, as to whether it was a North or South Ave in North Myrtle Beach. I also wanted to get some more details. Maria told me that her and her boyfriend, Joe, were walking on the sand bars and at some point, the phone came out of her pocket. When she confirmed she lost the phone on the side south, I decided to take a ride and look at the parking situation. I ended up stopping by the condo they were at and got to meet them. I learned the last location she was able to get from the phone was between 14th and 15th Ave South. She also told me again about walking on the sand bars and at one point she was on her hands and knees trying to feel for the phone in the water.

Today, Easter Sunday, I was on the beach at 6 am working the water between the sand bar and the beach. I ran into Maria and Joe around 6:30 as I was searching. I had misunderstood Maria and thought she lost the phone between the sand bars and the beach. She had actually lost it going through inlets between sand bars. I also thought and told her, that I suspected the phone would be lying on the bottom. The sand was hard packed, and I didn’t think the phone would settle in the sand, was proved wrong on that assumption. So, Maria got me squared away on where she thought the phone might be. I started checking the inlets between the sand bars and on the 3rd inlet I hit a strong target. I dug 3 full scoops of sand before I got the target out of the hole.  I had to be careful that if this was the phone, I didn’t want to break it with the scoop. As I pulled out the 3rd scoop of sand, I saw the red and white checkered case hanging out about an inch from between the sand. Maria saw it about the same time and reached down and pulled it out from the sand scoop. She was so excited. I’ve heard the newer I Phones are waterproof, and I guess they are. This one had been in the ocean, buried in sand for almost 12 hours and it turned right on, and she was able to call Joe’s phone. Vacation, her pictures and Easter Sunday all saved!!

Maria – Thank you for trusting me to help find your phone. Wish you and Joe all the best and enjoy the rest of your vacation.

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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2-Month-Old Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Sunday, at 12:45 pm, I got a call from Connelly asking if I was available to help find his wedding band on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. My first question was, “dry sand, wet sand, or in the water?” He replied, “In the dry sand,” which is a blessing when you don’t have to get in the ocean. I asked where on Ocean Isle and he replied next to the pier. I told him I’d be there in about 30-45 minutes. Grabbed my Equinox 800 and was on my way.

When I arrived, I met Connelly in the parking lot of the Inn they were in front of on the beach. As we were walking out on the beach I asked him for details. Basically, they were setting up their little spot and he noticed his ring had fallen off. We got to the spot, and I met his wife, Stephens. Connelly showed me the 3 x 5-foot area the ring should be in, and I asked him what type ring it is. He stated yellow gold and 14k. Turned on my machine and looked at him and Stephens and said, “Under a minute.” With yellow gold, I was expecting a VDI (visual display number) in the high teens, around 17-19. Two steps and I got a banging 20, dug it up, shook the sand out of the scoop and heard the rattle of his ring. Handed him his ring and got an instant smile on both his and Stephens’ face. Vacation was back on track. Stephens told me he’d only had the ring for 2 months, so now they have another chapter for their story of their rings. I asked how they found me, and Connelly said that Stephens is a good friend of a repeat customer, Cori I’ve had. Stephens had text Cori and told her about the lost ring and Cori told her to call me.

Cori – Thank you!!

Connelly and Stephens – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

 

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Man’s 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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On Saturday, June 15th at about 1:45 pm, I received a text message from Haley saying, “Hey I was wondering if you could help me. My husband lost his wedding band at Myrtle Beach while we were there. We know around what place he lost it on the beach, but we don’t have a metal detector and are actually home from vacation now.” I asked her to call me so I could get the details of when, where and how. During the phone call she told me the hotel they were staying at, the day it was lost and that it was lost in the dry sand. She was one of five calls I had for the day, but number two on the list due to the location. After a successful recovery and return in Wrightsville Beach NC I headed 80 plus miles to the address she gave me in Myrtle Beach, SC. She had also sent me a few pictures of the hotel. When I arrived, I started a grid search from the south end of the hotel working my way north. About halfway through the search I called her to verify about where behind the hotel they were sitting. She told me they were closer to the north end, which was good because I hadn’t gotten that far yet. Unfortunately, there was a lot of trash, coins and junk in the dry sand that took up a lot of extra time digging. Finally, I got a solid 10 VDI (visual display indication) on the Nox 800. Lower than what I expected for a tungsten ring but possible depending on the size of the ring. I dug the shallow target and bingo! I checked the engraving, both on the inside and outside and had a match from what Haley had told me. I took a quick picture and text it to her. She responded almost immediately saying “That’s it.” She called me and I got her address and told her I stick it in the mail Monday.

Fast forward to Thursday June 20th and I got notification through tracking that the ring was delivered to the PO Box. I text Haley and she was going to check and see if it showed up. She responded that she had gotten a yellow slip in the box, but she’d have to wait until the next day to pick it up. Today, Friday, she text me saying “I got the ring, and I will get a picture of me and Jake with it whenever he gets home from work.” A few hours later, I got a great picture of the happy couple holding Jacob’s ring.

Haley and Jacob – Thank you for trusting me to help find and return you precious treasure. Take care of each other!

Jim

 

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