Metal Detecting Service Holden Beach NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Man’s Platinum Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/26/25 right at 6:30 pm, I received a text from Rachel saying, “Hi, My husband lost his ring in the ocean at about 4:15 pm on Holden Beach, Low tide. Do you think you can help or is it pointless to try? What do you think?” We went back and forth with questions and answers, like how deep, how did it come off, what kind and metal is the ring, and if they would be there the next day at low tide. Unfortunately, Rachel and Henry, her husband was leaving the next day at noon and low tide wasn’t until 4:05 pm. I also learned that Henry was at least waist deep when he lost it. Neither one of the situations were good. I had to rely on Google earth maps to try and pinpoint the location, and I don’t like going in the ocean without someone keeping an eye on me. I also ask Henry and Rachel to see if their landlord would allow me to park at the rental.

Meanwhile, I called my good friend Burwin, who has helped me more times than I can count. In fact he’s taken many of the calls I couldn’t because of vacation, busy with another call, or I just wasn’t available, and he has always come through. This time was no different. When I called him, about the only questions he had were, where and when are we going and what are we looking for. I told him that Henry had lost his Platinum wedding band in about waist deep water on Holden Beach. As always, he agreed, and I told him I’d pick him up the next day about 2:15 pm.

The next morning, I got word from Rachel that the landlord agreed to us parking in the rental driveway, which was a huge help. I picked Burwin up at 2:15 and we headed up to Holden Beach. On the way, Burwin and I discussed the game plan, and Burwin mentioned the fact that the wind would be blowing from the south. Since Holden Beach runs east and west, a south wind meant that any wind would more than likely kick the waves up making a more interesting search. When we arrived and found our way out to the beach, Burwin would do an east/west parallel to the beach search starting at waist deep water. I took a north/south search perpendicular to the beach going out to about waist deep. Even the best of plans needs to be tweaked, and this was no different. At waist deep the waves were breaking over our heads and pushing us around like we were bobbers. After about 30 minutes or so, I went up the beach to check my grid lines and make sure I was still online. As I’m coming back down the beach, I noticed Burwin was coming out of the water. Burwin doesn’t come out of the water unless he’s finished, or he’s found what he’s looking for. As soon as I looked at him, he had the smile! I knew he had it. With everything said and done, Burwin was chest to shoulder deep, waves breaking over his head and getting knocked off the target about 3-4 times and still came up with Henry’s ring. Great Job Burwin! A platinum ring should usually be stamped on the inside, but neither Burwin nor I have good enough eyesight to see it. We ended up asking a young lady sitting on the beach and she confirmed it was stamped Platinum. I took a picture of the ring sitting on a shell and sent it to Henry and Rachel saying “KA-Boom!”

Monday, I put the ring in the mail, and they got it today, Wednesday.

Burwin – Once again, Thank You!

Henry/Rachel – Thank you for contacting me. Wish you two only the best!

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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Saint Christopher’s Medal Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On 7/20/25 around 9 pm, I was enroute to finish up a prior ring search when I received a text from Christine. Her text read, “Hi Jim. My husband lost a St Christopher necklace today at Holden beach while swimming about 10 feet from shore. It was his father’s necklace who passed away last summer – and had an inscription from his mother to his father on the back. The necklace itself isn’t worth much of anything, but the sentimental value is priceless. Is this something you might be able to help with? I’m not even sure of the chances of finding it, but we are Desperate. Christine” I immediately called her and told her I was on another search but could come up after that. I told her it might be late and asked her what’s too late for them. She didn’t have a problem with it being too late.

I was able to finish off the previous ring search successfully and pretty quick and called Christine. I asked her for her address and plugged it into my GPS. I told her I could be there at 11:11 pm and she was good with that. After the almost 2-hour drive, I arrived at their rental and met both Christine and her husband Brent in the driveway. On the way out to the beach in the pitch blackness of night, I was told the back story of the St Christopher medal. Brent’s mother, Roberta had given the medal to Brent’s father, Mark roughly 50 years ago when he took the Bar Exam and Mark had worn it since. Mark had passed away last summer, and Roberta gave the medal to Brent who’s worn it since. Brent was out enjoying vacation, doing a little body surfing when a wave took the necklace right off his neck. Brent, Roberta and Christine   had been devastated all day. I think Christine made it her mission to find a way to get it back. I had Brent give me an east and west boundary line and started on the east side. Hearing about what time this happened, which was about high tide, and looking at the current situation which was right at low tide I thought we had a good chance of finding it. This area had a high sloop so I was thinking the medal would be just about in the middle of the slope and out of the water. Brent thought I needed to go out deeper where the surf was braking on the sand bar, which in the dark at 11 pm wasn’t going to happen. I was going from just off the top of the sloop out to about thigh deep. The tide was coming in pretty quick, and thigh deep was getting more like waist deep. I was just about halfway across the search area when I hit a solid 30 on the detector’s VDI (visual display indicator). The medal was Sterling Silver which would hit upper 20s to lower 30s. I knew I had Brent’s St Christopher’s medal. I carefully dug out the target so I wouldn’t mess up the chain. Had the target on the beach, spread the sand and St Christopher was looking up at me. There was no chain attached nor was it still in the sand. I picked up the medal, and walked over to Brent, cleaning the sand off it. Christine had gone back to the rental, so it was just me and Brent. When I got to Brent, I held out my open hand so he could see it. He was overcome with every emotion. He hugged me so tight and lifted me off the ground. About that time Christine had made her way back and got the word and she got very excited. Next, we had to let his mom know. As we’re walking back to the house, his mom was on the back porch of the rental, I’m not sure if she’d been there the whole time but when she heard the news, I’m sure happy tears flowed. It’s such a great feeling for me when I can help make these kinds of things happen.

Roberta, Brent, and Christine – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find your truly lost treasure.

Jim

 

 

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White Gold Necklace with Diamond Pendant Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This was my second call of the day, and it started with a text from Emma saying, “Hi I saw the website and I lost a necklace. I’m not sure of your pricing. I lost a necklace, it’s very sentimental to me and I will pay anything just to find it again. We’re in North Myrtle. Is there any way we can pay you to help me. Just give me a call back or text messages. Thank you. Have a good one!” I called the number attached to the text to get more details. One of the things she told me was that the necklace and pendant were stainless steel. Emma explained that her mother had gotten her the necklace and that her mother has since passed away. I told Emma I had a slight delay but would be there as quick as I could.

When I got there, I met Emma at the boardwalk to the beach, and we walked out on the beach. Emma told me that she had taken the necklace off and given it to a friend. The friend put it in a hat and set it on the beach. As they were leaving the beach, the friend picked up the hat and put it on his head. At that point he remembered the necklace, but it was too late. The necklace quickly disappeared into the dry sand. They spent a lot of time looking for it with no luck, hence the phone call to me. I started outside the search area, but Emma moved me a little lower on the beach. A couple of grid lines, I hit a solid 10 on the metal detector. Since she said it was stainless steel, I was expecting a signal in the 20s. I moved the sand with my foot looking for the item. Finally, I got a little glimmer of something shiny. I reached down and pulled out Emma’s Necklace and handed it to her. I told Emma that I thought her necklace was white gold instead of stainless steel based on the number I got on the detector and what I was looking at. Regardless of the metal it is or isn’t, Emma got her very precious necklace back and was very happy.

Emma – Thank you for calling me and letting me help find your very sentimental necklace back where it belongs.

Jim

 

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Man’s Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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This adventure started when I saw a FB post on the Holden Beach FB Group page stating the author Susie’s nephew had lost his wedding ring while playing catch on the beach. I commented on the post saying, “Call me if I can help” along with a link to my Blog in TheRingFinders.com web page. I also sent her pm with the same information. A short time later Susie responded to my pm and we went back and forth with questions and answers. At the end, I told her I was on my way and gave her my eta.

I arrived shortly before 830 pm and messaged Susie saying, “I’m here.” I met Susie’s nephew, Bailey in the driveway and we walked out on the beach. By now it was getting dark, but Bailey was able to show me the suspected area where he had been playing catch. He said that he and his brother had been playing catch and at some point, his ring slipped off his finger. Luckily, he caught it and put it back on his finger. He then said when they were finished playing catch; he went back to where the family was sitting and joined them. The suspected area wasn’t huge, but it was big enough and it was pitch black by then. After 2 hours of doing grid searches in both the suspected area and where the family had been sitting by headlamp, I wasn’t having any luck. I called it a night, thinking I’d be back the following day with a much larger and expanded search area. I didn’t convey my plan to Bailey when we said goodbye. I had a few things I needed to get done the next day and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t making a promise I couldn’t keep.

Today, Thursday everything had worked out and I let Susie know by messenger that I was coming back up, which she agreed to. Then I called my good friend, Burwin and told him what was going on and asked if he wanted to come along. He quickly agreed, which he always does when I ask. We got there shortly after 5 pm and I showed Burwin the 2 areas. I took the Family gathering spot and Burwin started a grid search in the suspected area. While I’m working my area, Burwin was expanding his grid search across the top of the beach along the high tide line. Burwin then started working an east/west gird search down the sloop towards the oceans, which was about mid tide by then. A short time later, I look to see where Burwin was and I see him raising his arm, which only meant one thing – He Found It! Where he found it was completely on the opposite side of the suspected area of the beach. I knew Bailey, Susie and the rest of the family were at dinner, so I took a picture of the ring and sent it to them. Within a couple of minutes, I got a message from Susie saying “OMG!!!!! They are so happy!!!!” I responded that I was leaving the ring under a shell on a table on the back porch. Another happy ending and a vacation saved.

Burwin – Thanks Buddy!! I appreciate you and all your help!

Bailey – Thanks for trusting us to help get your ring back where it belongs.

Jim

     

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`Woman’s Yellow Gold and Diamond Wedding Ring Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Thursday, August 24th, I woke up to a text saying, “Good morning. Yesterday I lost my wedding ring at Holden beach to the left of the pier about 100 yards just about the high tide water mark in the soft sand. I posted on Face book, and some posted your contact information. Is this something you are able to help with?” I called the number and talked with Shannon, who had lost the ring. She confirmed that the ring was lost in the soft sand. I got a few more details and we agreed to meet at noon. I got ready to go and invited my wife, Jan to come along. She loves looking for shells and shark’s teeth at Holden Beach.

When we arrived at the pier, Shannon was waiting in the parking lot. As we walked out on the beach, Shannon said that she had been sitting out on the beach the day before and had the ring on. Later that evening, when she was back at the rental, she realized her wedding ring was gone. She was pretty sure her ring came off at the beach where they were sitting. She also mentioned that she did walk the beach for a short distance. Her and her friends set me up in the dry sand where they had been sitting. After I started a grid search, they started wondering if they were a little east or west of the spot in the area I was searching. I asked if they had taken any pictures and thankfully, they had. Shannon showed me one picture that I was able to use to line up directly behind one of the beach houses. I continued my grid search working west in relation to what I saw in the picture. After a few more minutes I hit a solid 15 on the VDI (visual display indicator) but it was showing about 8 inches deep. I had the number I was expecting, but deeper than I was expecting. I took a big scoop of sand and dumped it out on the beach and saw the gold in the sand. I reached down, picked it up and held it up for Shannon to see. She got so excited; she gave me a big hug and big smiles.

Shannon – so glad I could help find your lost treasure and get it back where it belonged. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Jim

   

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Platinum Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Saturday, July 29th around 1030 a.m. I got a text saying “Hey Jim, my wife lost her rings on Holden beach this morning. Are you able to help us find them?” Instead of texting back and forth, I called the number. I talked to Preston, who explained, either on the phone or after I got there that his wife, Ashley had taken her 2 rings off and set them in the seat of her chair. After doing so, she applied sun screen to their two year old daughter. Ashley had forgotten about her rings until her daughter told her she had thrown them into the sand. That started the family searching for the rings in the sand. Unable to find either ring, Preston took to Google to find a metal detector that he could rent. I don’t remember how, but he eventually found me through The Ring Finders. I told him I’d be there in an hour.

When I got there, Preston was waiting for me in the driveway and we walked across the street to the beach. Once in the area of the loss, I got to meet Ashley and their little culprit. I started a grid search and cleared one possible area and moved on to the more probable spot. A couple of steps, and I got the VDI (visual display indicator) I was expecting. Took a scoop of sand and dumped it out on the beach. I had one target out of the hole, which turned out to be the wedding ring that I handed to Preston. Next scoop out of the hole held the engagement ring. Both Rings recovered and back where they belong.

Preston and Ashley – thank you for allowing me to help find your treasures. Have a great rest of your vacation.

Jim

   

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Yellow Gold Diamond Engagement Ring Lost in the weeds, Found and Returned Holden Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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On Friday, June 16th, I received a call from Jacob saying he had lost an engagement ring off the back deck into some bushes and asked if I could help. He also said that a friend had gone to rent a metal detector. I told him I’d wait to see if they could find it themselves and I’d check back with him. About an hour later, I called him to find out how they were making out. He told me they had been looking for about 3 hours and hadn’t had any luck and asked that I come on up and help. I told him absolutely and I’d be there in about 45 minutes. Got his address, grabbed my gear and hit the road.

When I got there, Jacob and his bride to be, Peyton, were sitting on the outside stairs. We introduced ourselves and they walked me around the back of the house. I was expecting to see a second story balcony, but fortunately the porch was on the main level. Jacob explained that he was standing at the rail looking at the engagement ring and it slipped right out of his hand. He told me he saw it hit the deck and roll off into the weeds and bushes. He had pulled some of the weeds in his effort to look for the ring. I turned on my Equinox and went to work. At one point I used my Gold Bug, but found it to be useless with all the nails, a few bottle caps and pull tabs, that over the course of time had been thrown off the porch. I thought this would be easier than it was or easier than what I was making it. Finally, after almost an hour and researching the weeds that Jacob had cleared out, I moved left towards the end of the porch. I finally got a double signal. I was looking for a VDI (visual Display indicator) of 8-10. I was getting a signal of around 15 and one at 9 within inches of each other. I turned on the pinpointer and started sorting out the targets from the dirt. Bingo! I pushed her buried ring out of dirt. I think we saw it about the same time and I snatched it up. Jacob said something like “here it is.” Peyton, who had been sitting on the ground very patiently, jumped up. She asked me if she could give me a hug and I jokingly told her it was mandatory before she got the ring back. Seeing the joy and excitement on their faces, made this entire search worth every second.

Jacob and Peyton – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. I wish you both all the best in your lives together. Have a safe drive back home.

Jim

   

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from a very upset Emily saying she had lost her engagement ring and wanted to know if I could help. I asked her what beach she lost it and she replied, “Wrightsville Beach.” I told her it’d take me about an hour and fifteen minutes to get there. I also asked her if she could meet me on the beach and she said she could. I got the beach access number and told her I was on my way.

I got there a little faster than I thought, my heavy foot on the gas helped. I texted her and told her I was there and she immediately texted back, saying we’ll be there in 10 minutes. I asked her which way do I need to go when I get on the beach and she told me to the left and up to 50 yards from the access. When I got to the beach, I cranked up the Equinox 800 and started an east/west grid from the access entrance north. About my 4th grid line, a lady came up to me and said that there had been a young couple who had lost her engagement ring earlier in the day. I explained that the young lady had called me and I was there to help find the ring. I asked if she knew about where the couple had been, and she pointed up in the dry sand about another 10 yards from where we were standing. As I’m heading up to the new spot, Emily came running out on the beach. We introduced ourselves and I asked the description of the ring and where she thought she had lost it. She said the ring was a yellow gold engagement ring with a diamond and had fallen out of a shirt pocket. She then pointed to the same area the lady had shown me. I walked up and swung the coil, and immediately hit a target showing a solid 14. Yellow gold is going to show a VDI (visual display indicator) in the low to mid teens. Unfortunately, a pull tab shows a solid 14, so I wasn’t sure if I had a pull tab or her ring. One scoop of sand and there was her beautiful engagement ring. Emily had made her way down towards the water trying to eyeball her ring lying in the sand. Mike, her fiancé, was standing there and I showed him the ring asking if it’s the one. When he said yes, I held the ring up and yelled at Emily, “Is this what your ring looks like?” She came running!!! She was so excited, with tears rolling down her cheeks she said, “`She had been crying all day.” I replied but now they’re tears of joy.

Emily – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure, its back where it belongs.

Jim

     

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2 Rings (Gold Class Ring w/Black Onyx and Gold Ring) Lost at Holden Beach NC – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Lose a special ring or other sentimental piece of jewelry, cellphone, keys or other metal object. Call or Text Jim Wren ASAP at 843-655-5889.

On Tuesday at 6:28 p.m., I received the following text message. “Hi! My name is Leah. I am in Holden Beach until Thursday with some friends on a breach trip! We just graduated college and I lost my class ring in the sand. Was wondering if you were in the area/available to help me search??” I tried calling her and it went to voice mail. So, I responded to her text asking her to call me. When she called, she told me she had lost 3 rings but her and her friends were able to find 2 of them. She knew the area and they were lost in the soft sand. I told her it should be a piece of cake to find it and I could be there in 45 minutes. She agreed and said she’d pin the area and send it to me. So, I grabbed my 2 Equinox 800s (one as backup) and headed out.

When I arrived, I called her and she said she’d be there in about 5 minutes. She told me her rings were a little to the right of the beach access and straight out but not past the drop off (erosion). When she arrived, I was already on the beach doing an east/west grid search. We discussed the area and how she lost her rings. She moved me further to the west and stated that her rings were in a bag that had a hole in it, unbeknownst to her until she realized it later. She had marked the 2 spots where the other two rings were found, which helped. So, I refocused and changed me grid search to a north/south search. Within 4 grid lines I hit a little gold ring. Not what I was looking for, or so I thought. About 2 steps away, I hit another good signal and pulled her Gold Class ring w/black onyx out of the sand. I held it up and asked, “Is this yours?” She came running over with her hands over her mouth and said, “That’s it!” While we were standing there talking, I told her I had found another little gold ring. That’s when she told me she had actually lost 4 rings, but really wasn’t concerned about the 4th ring. She also said she wasn’t sure if it was gold or not. When I got the original signal, the tone and numbers from the machine indicated gold. But nonetheless she was thrilled she had all 4 of her rings back. She also told me she had just gotten her class ring in the mail a few days earlier. She was so happy and excited to get her rings back.

Leah – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasures. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip home. Best of luck to you in your future!

Jim

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