Ring Lost in the Ocean – Found in the Wet Sand at North Myrtle Beach SC
I got a call on September 6th from Amy asking if I could help find her daughter Adrianne’s engagement ring that was lost in the ocean during the incoming tide. After finding out the resort location I was on my way and arrived in about 15 minutes.
I got there about 6:30 pm and found out Adrianne was on her way back home for work the next day so I met Adrianne’s younger sister Samantha (Sam). Sam gave me a general location and explanation on where and how the ring was lost. She also told me the ring was “silver” with a diamond on it. The story was that Adrianne was playing catch in about knee deep water an hour or so before high tide. Adrianne attempted to catch the ball which she miscalculated just a little jamming her ring finger when she felt her ring slip off.
It turned out to be a long night, a couple of heavy storms with wicked lightening moved through and I wasn’t having any luck finding the ring. After 4 hours of grid searching (north/south, east/west and circular) I called Amy and let her know I’d be back around 7am the next morning. Thinking I was going to have to expand my search area quite a bit and that it probably wouldn’t hurt to get some help. I e-mailed TRF member Matt Fry (Myrtle Beach) and friend Jim Brouwer, author of the book “Gold Beneath the Waves, Treasure Hunting the Surf and Sand” asking if either of them would be available the next morning.
I got back the next morning at 6:45am and started another north/south grid. Around 9:30, after getting rained on again, I looked up to see Jim walking down the beach. At this point I could have literally kissed him for showing up but refrained because the condo patios and the beach were getting pretty crowded with people. Anyway, I gave Jim the lowdown on where and what. Suggested he start looking in the area going north and I’d go south. Two hours went by and I see Jim walking towards me again, wasn’t sure if he was calling it a day (which I doubted knowing him) or he found it. When he got to me he asked if I was sure it was a “silver” ring that we were looking for and that he got a 12.04 hit on his CTX 3030. Owning a White’s PI I had no idea what a 12.04 was, but Jim informed me it wasn’t “silver”. Ok, so I asked if he found it at which time he dropped this beautiful 14K White Gold w/approximately a 3/4 Karat Diamond on it. Wow, my instant hero!! I asked where he found it and I’m almost positive I had gone over that area at least 4 times between last night and this morning. I did a quick test with my PI and I got a very faint signal with the ring on top of the sand so I very likely could have missed it buried the inch Jim found it at which I’m not sure why. My PI should have easily picked it up.
After thanking Jim at least 10 times for his help, I slipped the ring over my little finger and dropped my gear off at the car. I found my way up to Amy and her husband Brian’s condo room and knocked on the door. Amy came to the door and I started giving her a song and dance about how we’ve been searching for so long and that it was raining again and then I paused to let it sink in. Then I stuck out my hand with the ring and said “And we found it”!! I can’t describe her excitement other than to say it was awesome. Sam quickly texted Adrianne who was busy at work. Another fantastic outcome thanks to a friend’s help. Thank you Jim Brouwer!
I got a text from Amy a little later saying Adrianne was speechless, she breathed the biggest sigh of relief. That’s what this is all about!!
Brian and Amy thank you so much from both Jim and me for the very generous reward.

Thank you for reading my blog.
Jim Wren


Friday morning I received a phone call from Marilyn asking if I would help her find a very special ring. As I listened to her story I could not help but hear the pain and disappointment in her voice as she explained the details. Earlier in the week the family was down at the beach, swimming and enjoying the beautiful Daytona Beach sand and surf, when Chante noticed that her anniversary ring was missing from her finger. They tried searching for the ring but soon realized the futility of such a search and then one of the family members thought to purchase a metal detector. They tried the detector but were unable to get it to work properly. They had been taking pictures all day and soon figured out that Chante had her ring on when she went into the water but no longer had the ring when she came out of the water carrying her surf board. The next step was the web and during her search she came across the ring finders. She told me that after reading some of the recovery stories under my blog she knew right away that I was the one to call. (That sure made me feel good!!) So during our phone conversation I realized that “Time was of the essence” and the sooner I got out there and started searching the better.







Received a call from a dad who lost a platinum wedding band while practicing soccer with his son in Highland Park, IL.


