Lost my ring North Myrtle Beach SC Tag | The Ring Finders

25th Wedding Anniversary Vacation Catastrophe Averted – Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Wednesday at 1:24 pm I received a text from Kimberly saying, in part “Hello are you a metal detector service?  My husband’s ring just slipped off his finger in choppy ocean. Not sure if it’s even possible to find, Holden Beach.” I didn’t see the text until an hour later and responded that I was and to please call me. After a while and no response, I called her and she put her husband, Jeff on the phone. Jeff said he was in about waist deep water between 1 and 1:30 pm. Taking a quick look at the tide charts, high tide was going to be close to 3 pm and the next low tide was a little after 10 pm. I told Jeff I’d be there at 8 pm and got the address. As the afternoon progressed, I started thinking about the dropping tide, the time he lost his ring and what time sunset would be. Getting there at 8 would give me less than an hour to search before it was dark. I normally don’t have a problem searching at night, but this year there’s been terrible rip currents along the east coast. I didn’t want to become a statistic hunting at night because I couldn’t keep an eye on the ocean conditions. I also thought that since he lost his ring within 2 hours of high tide, that 4 hours after high tide the ring should be reachable. So, I text Jeff saying I’d be there by 6:45. I showed up on time and met Jeff. As we walked out on the beach is when I learned that he had been throwing a football. My first question was “are you left or right-handed?” He responded right-handed, which meant he didn’t throw the ring off. He said he actually saw the ring come off his finger and sink. He tried diving for it but to no avail. As I’m walking out to the surf I noticed the sea breeze really kicking up the waves – not good! Jeff pointed out the area and I started with a parallel grid search to the surf, and after 4 or 5 lines, I switched to a perpendicular grid search heading out in the ocean. I was having a horrible time trying to keep a straight grid line because of the waves and current. After 2 hours of searching with no luck, losing daylight, and just plain getting beat to death with the waves and current I called it a night. I knew the ring was there, but with the noise and interference I was getting in the headset from the detector, I was sure I walked right over the ring and didn’t hear a tone. I told Jeff I’d be back at 9 the next morning.

The next morning came quick, but I was ready for the task. I showed up a little early and hit the beach. This time I brought my White’s PI, a great machine but it doesn’t give any indication of depth or type target it hits, just a solid tone. So, there’s a lot more digging involved than with the Equinox 800 that I used the day before. I started a perpendicular grid search straight out from the beach as far as I could get out before hitting the last sand bar where the waves break hard. Probably about 35-40 minutes and half way through the search area, I got a solid steady tone. I was pretty sure this had to be Jeff’s ring; normally trash (bottle caps, pull tabs, and other junk) doesn’t make it out as far as I was away from the shoreline. Two scoops of sand and I had the target out of the hole and in the scoop. I shook the sand out in the water, looked in the scoop and BINGO, I had a gold ring in the scoop. I had seen a picture that Jeff’s son had posted on a FB page showing Jeff’s ring and I knew I had his ring. I packed up my stuff from the beach and headed up to their rental house to give Jeff the good news. About half way up the beach I looked up and saw Jeff walking my way, he didn’t say a word. I made the comment that it was starting to get rough, as I reached in my pocket, pulled out his ring and held it up for him to see. No doubt, he was more than excited. I handed him his ring and he turned around towards the house, held it in the air, and yelled “He found it!” His entire family had been watching me and saw when I stopped searching and started digging. Then everyone watched as I walked out of the water, picked up my stuff and started walking their way. My understanding is they thought I might have found it but no one wanted to say it. Within seconds, Kimberly came running down the beach to hug Jeff. There were a couple of tears being wiped away, but they were happy tears. I’m not sure if this was actually their 25th Anniversary vacation with family but they are celebrating 25 years of marriage in Oct.

Jeff/Kimberly – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. An early Very Happy Anniversary to you both and now you have one more chapter to add to your ring’s story. Best wishes to you both. And Thank You for Everything!

Grandma – Thank you for all your prayers, they helped.

Jim

 

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First Day of Vacation, Alan’s Damascus 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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Just as I was sitting down to dinner, I got a frantic call from Alan. He said he had just lost his wedding band in the ocean and asked if I could help find it. Looking at the tide table, it was just coming up on high tide at 8:15 p.m. which was in less than an hour. Alan said he had been playing with his 3 year old son in the water when his ring slipped off his finger. He also said he knew the exact area he lost it. This was looking like it would be a quick search and recovery with an outgoing tide, knowing where he lost it and playing with a 3 year old in shallow water. Well Mother Nature had a whole different plan. I told Alan I’d meet him at 10 p.m. and work the outgoing tide.

I met Alan just before 10 and he walked me out to the beach and pointed to the area he had lost his ring. This is when I realized Mother Nature had reared her ugly head. The wind was blowing straight into the beach causing 2-4 ft swells. The tide hadn’t gone out like I expected and it just wasn’t looking pretty to find a lost ring. Alan said he thought the ring was still another 40-60 ft out in the ocean from where we were standing. I started a parallel grid search along the beach, trying to work the outgoing tide, and then switched to a perpendicular grid. After about 30-45 minutes, I felt bad that Alan was sitting there watching. Knowing that his excitement rose every time I dug a target only to have it dashed when I pulled out a piece of junk. I suggested that he go back to his rental and I’d call him when I either got too tired or I found it, he agreed and left. I kept working the outgoing tide, and was being as careful as possible. It was dark, with a little bit of moon light, waves were still high, and the surf was still a little rough. I had worked my way out where I was about knee to thigh deep and got a great signal on my White’s PI. I was right in line with where Alan said he was, so I started scooping out sand. After 4 scoops of sand, I had the target in my scoop. I let the waves wash the sand out of the scoop and turned on my headlamp. Boom!! I saw a beautiful ring mixed with the shells. I wasn’t sure of what the ring would look like. Alan said it was a Damascus wedding band and was made from silver, copper, rose and yellow gold. What I was sure of is I had a beautiful man’s wedding band in my scoop. I walked out of the water and grabbed my cell phone. I tried to take a couple of pictures that I could send to Alan. It was close to midnight but I sent a picture with a text asking “Is this yours???” I got an immediate response saying “Coming out now!!! That’s it!!!!” I think it took him seconds to show up. He was very excited when I handed him back his treasure. He said his wife had gone to bed but he was going to wake her up and surprise her.

Alan – Thanks so much for allowing and trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

  

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Diamond Stud Earring Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Just after 4:30 pm on Wednesday, I got a text message saying in part, “This is Vicki H. Can you please come and try to find my diamond earring. Thanks. We are on 6th Avenue. Just down from Maritime.” Instead of texting back and forth, I prefer to call so that’s what I did.  As her phone was ringing, I’m saying to myself, please let this be in the dry sand. When she answered, that was the first question I asked her, and her response was “Yes!”  Got her location and told her I’d be there in 10 minutes. I grabbed my Gold Bug 2 detector and headed out.

When I arrived on the beach, I met Vicki and her sisters Nan and Judy. They showed me the 10×10 ft area and said they had been looking for the earring for about 40 minutes before they called me. I tested Vicki’s other earring to ensure I could get a signal, there was very little metal to try and detect. After a successful test, I started a very slow walking grid line. I could tell that they had been looking for the earring and I was concerned that they either moved it or buried it deeper in the sand. I got a couple of bottle caps and some small pieces of foil but didn’t hit her earring on my first pass over the area. Vicki and her sisters reconfirmed the area and I started my second attempt. I got a faint bleep in the sand and hand shoveled the sand onto a plastic strainer I brought. I re-checked the area and the strainer with the detector and had the target in the strainer.  I started finger sifting the sand trying to feel the earring with no luck. As I stood up to detect the area again, I got a beautiful sparkle as the sun hit the diamond in the sand. I reached down and picked it up, and realized how easy it was to miss it with my fingers. I held it up in front of me and Nan noticed it first and then Vicki. There were big smiles and the “I can’t believe it” words from all three ladies.

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

Jim

   

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