Metal detecting service Ocean Isle Beach NC Tag | The Ring Finders

Sentimental Silver Ring Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a call about 2:30 pm from an Indiana phone number which could only mean one thing a “Lost Item!” When I answered the phone, Joni, the young lady on the other end said, “my friend lost her ring, can you help?” For some reason I thought she said earring, so I needed details. The biggest question, was it lost in the dry or wet sand, or in the water? She said they were playing volleyball and it came off. Again, I asked just to confirm it was in the dry sand. She said yes. I told her I could be there in about 45 minutes. She was talking to someone in the background and turned back to me and said ok. Still thinking I was looking for an earring I grabbed my Gold Bug detector as well as the Equinox 800 and hit the road.

When I got to the beach and walked off the boardwalk, Gracie came walking up to me. She introduced herself, saying she was the one who had lost the “ring.” Ok, it was a ring I was looking for. Unfortunately, I left my sand scoop in the car figuring it would be of little use with an earring. Gracie walked over to the far side of the court and showed me where she had been standing and how she had hit the ball. She then moved about three quarters left on the court and showed me where a friend had found her identical gold ring in the sand. I started a grid search from where she had been standing and covered that side of the court with no luck. I then moved to the opposite side of the court and searched that entire area and still no ring. It had to be somewhere, so I started a cross grid. When I got to the end of the court, I did about 4 more grid lines in the out of bounds area. I got a strong hit and was confident it was the ring. Without my scoop, I had to get down in the sand and start feeling through the sand for the ring. It took a couple of seconds, but I found it. Gracie was so excited and happy. She shared that her mother bought her that ring when she graduated from the 8th grade, and she’s worn it ever since. So happy to get the ring back to her and continue its story.

Joni – Thanks for calling me!

Gracie – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

 

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

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

   

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

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

     

White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Sunset Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

Friday, Sept 2nd, I got a call from Monicka asking if I was the ring finder. After replying yes, she asked if I could help find her wedding band that she lost earlier in the day. I asked her how and where she lost it. She said she put her ring in the cup holder of the lounge chair and when they left the beach the ring wasn’t there. I asked her if it was lost in the dry sand and if there was any chance it could be covered up by the incoming tide. She assured me they were far enough up in the dry sand that the tide wasn’t a concern. I told her I’d be there by 7:45 pm.

My wife and I finished our dinner, I drove her home and grabbed my Equinox 800 and headed out. I arrived about 10 minutes early and met Monicka and her brother in the driveway of the rental where they were staying. As we walked out on the beach, Monicka pointed out the area where the family had been sitting. I confirmed I was looking for a white gold band and started an east/west grid search. I knew the VDI (visual display indicator) would show somewhere from 5-9, depending on the size of the ring. I was just about to finish my second grid line when I got a solid 7 on the VDI. I gave Monicka a look that said “I got it!” I took a small scoop of sand and gently shook out the sand and saw the ring in the bottom of the scoop. I held the scoop out so Monicka could retrieve her ring. Got a Big smile and hug from Monicka.

Monicka – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your precious treasure.

Jim

   

Wedding Celebration Contributes to Lost Wedding Band in the Ocean 8 hours after saying “I Do”

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

On Sunday afternoon, I received my second call of the day for a lost ring.  This one had been lost in the very early hours of Sunday morning on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. The call came from Jim, the groom. He said that he had lost his wedding band in the ocean after an evening of celebrating his and he’s new bride, Marie’s 6 pm wedding. At exactly the same time, I was talking with Jim, I was getting a text from Cindi, Jim’s mother. She had done the research and found me through The Ring Finders web site. She had sent my information to her son, and both of them were trying to contact me. At some point Jim passed the phone to Marie’s dad, Jim, and I learned that Jim had lost his ring in waist deep water at 2 am. A quick check of the tide table showed low tide was about 10:30 pm Saturday night, so I’m thinking this might be a tough search. I advised one of the Jim’s and Cindi that I had another ring search at 6 pm and that I’d be there as soon as I got finished with the other search, which was probably going to be about 8 pm with travel time.

I got to Ocean Isle about 7:45pm and met Jim (father), Marie and Jim (bride and groom), and a few of their friends. To help as much as possible with my search, I needed to get a consensus, from everyone that was there when he lost the ring. I needed to know the time, the location, and how deep Jim was. I started my grid search parallel to the beach, trying to work the outgoing tide. Within a couple of hours, it was pitch black on the beach and both the wind and waves had picked up to the point I wasn’t comfortable out there by myself. So, I called it a night and called Marie telling her I and a buddy would be back out around 9:30am the next day.

At some point I had called Jim Brouwer, a good friend that has helped me in the past, to see if he was interested in giving me a hand on this one. The search area wasn’t huge but with all the circumstances, it’d be great to have 2 of us looking. When Jim Brouwer and I got there around 10 am, I showed him the area and we drew a line in the sand where Jim (groom) suspected he entered the water. Jim B. took the north side and I took the south. After about 2 hours and almost at dead low tide, I see Jim B digging a target in about thigh deep water. Considering the time we were out there, I had dug just one bottle cap and Jim hadn’t dug anything, so this was a good sign. As I watched Jim search through his scoop, he raised his head and gave me the “yes” nod.  Thank you, Jim!!

Marie and husband Jim went to get Jim B and me some water, so when I tried to call Marie she didn’t answer. I called Cindi to see if the kids were with her, she said no and then asked if we found the ring. I told her yes but I wanted to surprise the kids. Cindi said she was coming down. Marie called me and I asked her if she’d come down. The plan was to tell Marie and Jim that we were done with the search while I was pointing out the areas we had searched with my index finger. The whole time I had Jim’s ring on that finger. It took a few minutes and I finally said “Follow my finger down.” Jim saw his ring first, and then Marie. Beautiful reactions from both and a few tears ran down their cheeks.

Jim and Marie, Thank you so much for trusting me, Jim Brouwer, and The Ring Finders to help find one of your most treasured items. In just two days, your rings have started the stories of your lives together, and what stories they are. Best of Luck to you both, I wish you only the best.

Jim

    

Man’s Tungsten Wedding Band Lost on Ocean Isle Beach NC – Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a late evening e-mail from Kim advising that her husband, Dondi had lost his Tungsten wedding band. Her e-mail included a description of both the ring and the likely area it was lost in. The area she described was between a local Inn and the pier at the beach access with two red poles. I had a good idea of the search area, but was unfamiliar with the two red poles. I responded to her e-mail, asking a couple of questions and sent a Google earth map picture with the area broken down in a couple of squares. My initial impression was this was going to be a tough search. Luckily, she eased some of my concern when she responded that the search area was about half what I thought it might be. She also told me that her and Dondi had left to go back home. So, I was looking for a ring that had been lost 2 days before, within a 3 hour time line, and from the dry sand to beyond the low tide line. Plus, they weren’t going to be there to actually put me on the spot. Not a big deal, but I thought it’d be a good idea to get a little help. I called Matt Fry, the Myrtle Beach Ring Finder, who already had other plans, so I gave Jim Brouwer a call. Jim’s always up for a challenge and someone I can trust and depend on.

Shortly after talking to Jim, I got a referral off Face book. These were a lady’s white gold wedding and engagement rings that were lost the day before, in the dry sand, and just 4 blocks from my other search. Now, I’m glad I called Jim and got some help.

After a short attempt at finding the lady’s rings, because of the crowd, we decided to go after Dondi’s ring. When we got to that search area, we found the red poles, and divided the search area in half. I took the west side and Jim took the east side. It was just about low tide, so we started our grid searches. I started about knee deep in the ocean, Jim started above the low tide line, this way our detectors wouldn’t interfere with each other. After about an hour, I had finished my search area. I went back to the water’s edge and started a cross grid of both search areas, working my way up the beach. Meanwhile Jim was working his way up to the high tide line. Another 15-20 minutes, I see Jim walking down the beach towards me. Jim doesn’t give up, so I knew that meant only one thing, he found the ring. Sure enough, he walked up and dropped the ring in my hand. I took a picture of the ring in the sand, added a text saying “BINGO,” and sent it to Kim. I then called her; I could clearly tell she was overwhelmed. She told me she was gardening when she got the picture, and she screamed and jumped up. Dondi and her neighbors thought that she had gotten snake bit, thank GOD that didn’t happen.

Later, Kim told me that a friend of hers had told her about the ring finders, and that’s how she found me. She also mentioned that she hadn’t told Dondi that she had contacted me until they were on their way home. She confidently told him that she really felt like I was going to find it, because she had been praying for 2 days. Kim, to be honest, I had a little conversation with the Big Man upstairs as we walked out on the beach, no doubt it helped!

Kim and Dondi, Thank you for trusting The Ring Finders, and Jim and me to find your lost treasure!

Jim – Thanks so much for your help.

Jim   

Wedding Band Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned at Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

My wife and I had just sat down and ordered dinner when I got a text message saying “Hi, is this Jim the ring finder?” I called the number and talked to Blythe, who stated she was on the beach taking photos and when she stood up and brushed the sand off her pants, her Tungsten wedding ring went flying. I told her that I’d be there between 9:30 and 10.

After dinner, I dropped my wife off at home, grabbed my gear, texted Blythe telling her I’d be there in about 30 minutes. When I got to the beach, I met Blythe, Cassi and their dog, Jasper. It was very dark as we made our way out to the beach and the area both Blythe and Cassi were sure they were when Blythe’s ring came off. I turned my Equinox 800 on, literally took two steps and got a solid 17 on the machine. I knew I had Blythe’s Tungsten ring. This is the type of ring searches we pray for – lost in the dry sand, and the owner putting us in the exact spot! I scooped the sand up, checked the hole and knew I had the ring in the scoop. As I shook the sand out of the scoop, I heard the familiar sound of a metal ring clanging in the bottom of the scoop. Cassie and Blythe heard it too. I walked over to Blythe, holding the scoop out for her to pluck her wedding band out. Cassie kept saying “you found it already?” Big smiles and hugs, and I think Jasper even got a little excited.

Blythe and Cassie, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure! Have a great rest of your trip and a safe drive home.

Jim

      

Man’s Rolex Watch Lost and Found in the Lockwoods Folly River, NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a text message from Mark on Thursday, Aug 29th saying that he had lost his Rolex watch, while fishing, in the Lockwoods Folly River and wondered if I could help. At some point, Mark told me that his wife, Joanna, had gotten him the watch as a present and it had a great deal of sentimental value attached. He knew the watch, itself, could be replaced, but not the memories.

I was concerned about the depth of the water and what the bottom of the river was. He said the depth was about 5 feet at low tide, which is pushing my limit, and didn’t know about the bottom. A lot of the marsh bottom in North and South Carolina has what’s called “Pluff Mud.” In earlier century’s it was called “Plough Mud,” because it was used to fertilize cotton fields that were depleted of nutrients. Anyway, it is nasty, it’s made up of dead grasses, fish, crabs, shrimp, and anything else that dies and decays in the water, it stinks, literally! When you step in it, it sucks you down, and what was at your ankles is now at your knees or thighs. So I was real anxious about searching in those kinds of conditions, but agreed to meet him on Saturday. I talked to my son-in-law, Donnie, who is a certified diver, about it and was thinking of him taking this call, but decided I’d give it a shot. Donnie has helped me on a number of searches, and I knew he’d jump at the chance of this search.

On Saturday, Mark and Joanna picked me up at one of the boat docks in Holden Beach, NC and we took a 20-25 minute boat ride to get the search area. Matt told me that the evening he lost his watch that he was having problems with his outboard motor so he was getting his trolling motor ready to use to get him back home. At some point in the process, he hit the trolling motor with his watch making the clasp come apart sending his watch in the water. When we got to the search area, Mark beached his boat and told me the search area was within 15 feet of the stern of the boat. We were bucking a strong current, but managed to search the area for a couple of hours or so. After searching what I could, I knew I was in over my head, and I’d need Donnie and his scuba diving abilities to help. While we were waiting for the tide to come back in, because we were now high and dry, and grounded on the beach; I called Donnie. I let him and Mark work out the details on the date and times both were available.

Fast forward to Monday, Donnie and Mark met at the same boat dock and headed out around 6:30am. I got a text from Donnie about 11:30 saying “No luck” but he was going to get lunch, fill up his air tanks and go back out with Mark and try again. At 6:22pm Donnie texted: “found it!” I got a few details from Donnie about his search, and the picture and video of him and Mark.

Donnie – thanks so much for your help and your “awesome” scuba skills and “fantastic” underwater metal detecting services.

Mark and Joanna – so happy and excited for you that Donnie was able to find and recover your lost treasure!

Jim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=LAk1V40FH2Q&app=desktop

     

Sentimental Diamond Stud Earring Lost on Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a call from Daniel early this morning, July 21st, saying his wife Ashley had lost a Diamond stud earring, and asked if I could help find it. He said that they had been walking from their rental across a wooden boardwalk leading, over the dunes, out to the beach. I haven’t had much luck finding small stud earrings, so I told him I didn’t think I’d be able to find it. After thinking about it for 30 minutes, I called him back and told him I’d give it a try but it wouldn’t be until about 10 pm that evening. I also told him to bring his wife’s matching earring so I could test it with my machines to see if one of them could detect it.

Shortly after 9 pm, and after having dinner with family members here for a family reunion, I grabbed my Gold Bug II, and my Equinox 800 and headed out. I called him en route and got his address. Shortly after arriving, we met up on the street and he led me to his rental house, where I met Ashley. She had the other earring so I laid it in the sand next to the driveway and turned on the Gold Bug, wham, I had a strong signal. Ashley lead the way out on the boardwalk stopping at the spot she said that she felt something hit her chest, then she heard it hit the wooden boardwalk. She reached up to her ear and didn’t feel the earring. The spot we were standing at was about 8 feet high above the sand dunes. I made my way out to the beach and came up on the other side of a neighbor’s access. It was a small search area and I was very careful not to damage or destroy any of the undergrowth in the search area. I got a good signal and started sifting the sand through my hand as I continued to check the area. When I hit hard ground I knew it wasn’t the earring. I took a few more steps and got a strong signal and again sifted the sand through my hand. At one point I saw the earring move as I grabbed some sand. I reached down through the sand until I felt the earring, I picked it up, blew the sand off, and held it up for Ashley to see and reach down for. After making my way back up to the boardwalk, I got a big smile and hug. She told me her mother had gotten those earrings for her, and later Daniel had bought her a matching necklace. She was very upset that she had a beautiful necklace and only one earring. Now she has both earrings back and both Ashley and Daniel are an extremely happy couple again, which is why I do this.

Ashley/Daniel – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe trip back home.

Jim

 

White Gold Engagement Ring and Anniversary Ring Lost at Ocean Isle Beach, NC – both Found and returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

When I checked my email first thing this morning, I saw mail from Debbie saying she had lost her rings at Ocean Isle Beach, NC and was wondering if I could help. She had put her phone number in the email so I called her to get the details. She said that she had been in the soft sand, took her rings off and put them on top of a cooler. At some point someone lifted the lid on the cooler and the rings fell into the sand and disappeared. I was so excited these were lost in the soft sand, and not chest deep in the ocean.  I told her it’d be a piece a cake and I’d be there in 35-40 minutes.

I met her on the beach and she gave me an area she thought she had lost her 2 rings. One was her engagement ring and the other was an anniversary ring. I drew a line in the sand with my scoop, and started a grid search. On the third row I hit a high signal, which wasn’t what I was looking for for a white gold ring. I dug a scoop and spread the sand out with my foot, when I did I was then getting two separate signals, one the low sound I was looking for. I took a scoop of sand, lightly shook it out of the scoop and saw her engagement ring. I showed her her ring and she flew out of her beach chair with a giant smile on her face. I got a quick hug and went back to get the second ring. I spread out the sand again, this time with my hand and saw her anniversary ring. She now has both rings back and couldn’t be happier, she was sure they were gone for good.

Debbie, thanks so much for trusting me to help find your lost treasures. Have a great rest of your vacation and a safe drive home.

Jim