Metal Detector Rental 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)
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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

 

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

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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About 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 27th, I received a text message saying, “Hi Jim, My name is Lyndsey and I heard you are an excellent ring finder. Any chance you are available near OIB (Ocean Isle Beach)”.  I called the number and talked with Lyndsey to get the details. She said her friend, Sean, had lost his wedding band while playing catch with her son in the dry sand. She said Sean had told her he had the ring on until he removed the ball glove and within minutes realized his ring was gone. The last thing she mentioned was that their group spent about 45 minutes looking for the ring with no luck. I told her I’d be there in 35-40 minutes, grabbed my gear and headed out. She texted me her address as I was driving out of my neighborhood.

I arrived about 6 p.m. and met Lyndsey in her driveway. She told me that Sean didn’t know that she had found somebody to try and find his ring and hoped we could surprise him. She walked me out to the beach and showed me the area they had been in. I asked what type of ring and she said she was pretty sure it was white gold. I knew the VDI (Visual Display Indicator) number range I was looking for so I started a grid search parallel to the tide line. Plus, since the ring had only been lost within the last couple of hours, it should be within a couple of inches. I completed the area passing up numerous deeper targets outside the range I was looking for. I confirmed the white gold and the time period and the only thing Lyndsey wasn’t sure of was the metal. She texted someone and found out the ring was made from Cobalt. I had no idea what Cobalt was, so I called a friend to see if he had any ideas on where that would show up on the VDI. He had no idea either, so I did another grid search perpendicular to the tide line over the same area expanding east, west and north. This time it took a little longer because I was checking some of the targets I hadn’t check before. While I’m searching, Lyndsey was checking her pictures on her phone and found one that saved the day! She moved me to search further east, which I did. About 3 more grid lines I hit a shallow, solid 9 on the VDI. On my second scoop, I saw the silver looking ring sticking out of the sand. Boom! After almost an hour and twenty minutes, I had Sean’s ring in my hand.

On the way back to the house, Lyndsey and I devised the surprise return, needless to say, Sean was Surprised! Lyndsey was taking the reveal video and didn’t want Sean to see her so the beginning of that part of the video is filming the floor.

Lyndsey – Thank you so much for trusting me to help find Sean’s ring and for taking the videos!!

Sean – happy belated 2nd Anniversary to you and your lovely bride, Kate. Wish you two all the Best.

Jim

 

 

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Man’s Sterling Silver Bracelet Lost, Found and Returned on Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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About 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday, July 14th, I received a text from Sean saying in part, “Hi Jim, lost a sterling silver bracelet this morning at OIB (Ocean Isle Beach). Lost it just off public access at Monroe St.” I tried calling him and got an immediate text back saying “sorry, I am on a work call at the moment. I’m off around 1:30, but if you did want to come detect before then, my wife could meet you at the beach and show you where we were.” I responded back “Was it in the dry sand or water?” His response was, “Dry sand, I am pretty sure. I did sit on the edge of water with my daughter but I have a hard time believing it came out of pocket. I took it off near chairs to go for a run, then forgot to put it back on when I returned. Lost when packing up I expect.” I text him back that I could be there in 40 minutes and he sent me his wife, Olivia’s, number for coordination purposes. I called Olivia and told her I’d be there in 40 minutes, grabbed my detector and was on my way.

When I arrived at the access, Olivia was waiting on me. She led me out to the exact spot where Sean suspected he lost his bracelet. I thought I’d have to work around the people already on the beach enjoying the day. Instead, there was a small clear area surrounded by groups of people on all 4 sides. I’m not sure if it was luck or prearranged by Olivia or Sean to keep the spot open, but it worked. I turned my machine on, took 3 or 4 steps and hit a nice target. Dug the target up, lightly shook out the sand and there was Sean’s bracelet in the bottom of the scoop. Olivia was kind enough to stand in for Sean and let me take a couple of pictures of her holding the bracelet. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to meet Sean, but it all ended with a happy return. On my way home I got a text from Sean saying, “Thanks! Delighted you found it. I had already contacted the seller and they didn’t have them anymore. Much appreciated!”

Sean/Olivia – Thank you for trusting me and The Ring Finders to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip home to Maine.

Jim

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Birthday Wish Comes True, Kind of, on Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Sam called me on Sunday, July 5th saying he had lost his gold wedding band in the ocean. My first questions were “what time” and “how deep?” His replies were around 4 p.m. and knee deep. Whew, these were good answers because low tide was about 2 hours before he lost it, so I felt like I had a fighting chance. We set it up that I’d meet him on Monday at 1 p.m. and I’d work the outgoing tide.

I called him as I was walking out on the beach and saw him waving. As we met and walked towards where he and his wife, Elizabeth had set up their umbrella for the day, I started asking more questions. Sam assured me that they were in the same spot they were yesterday and that he was straight out from there in knee deep water. He told me that when he lost his ring, he wanted to take one more swim before they left. He continued saying that as he was riding a wave in, another wave hit him and he felt his ring come off. I started a grid search and did 3 or 4 grid lines parallel to the beach to get a starting point. I then headed out in the rough surf in a perpendicular grid. I’m on my 6th grid line when I notice Sam out in deeper water, diving in an attempt to feel for his ring. When I got to him, I asked if he thought he was out that deep, he responded that he really thought he was. From his previous answers, my thoughts were he wasn’t, but I did a complete grid in the area to put his mind at ease. After finishing the area I continued on with my original grid search. After a few more lines, I noticed Elizabeth was standing at the water’s edge. I stopped and asked her what she remembered. She said she remembered Sam was more at an angle when she saw him frantically looking for something in the water, and she knew he had lost his ring. I knew then I needed to expand my search area to the west, just not sure how far. I knew I was in the hour and a half window before low tide, keeping in mind he was knee deep. So, I just kept plugging along and starting to second guess myself. Like, did I miss it, was I not out far enough, and all the other things that go through your mind when you’re looking for someone’s treasure. By now, I was at least 30-40 yards west of Sam’s suspected loss area. Then BAM!!!! I got the 16/17 on the Equinox 800 VDI I was looking for. One scoop and I had the target, I washed it out in the surf and there was Sam’s gold wedding ring, all by itself, sitting in the bottom of the scoop. I made it look like I was still detecting as I walked up to where they were sitting. I told them I needed a break, as I was grabbing my cell phone from my rolled up towel on the beach. I had his ring half way on my finger as I’m recording, waiting for his response. Elizabeth saw it first, but was speechless with her mouth open. It took Sam a couple of second as the video shows, and then all smiles.

Happy Birthday Sam, I’m sure it’s not the gift you wanted for your birthday, but it turned into a pretty good present!

Sam & Elizabeth – Thank you for trusting me to find your 2 year old treasure.

Jim

     

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

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

      

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Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I got a call from Matt Fry’s (TRF Myrtle Beach) wife, Sunny saying that Matt and she were on the highway and Matt just got a lost ring call. She asked if I could take it for him. I asked her to text me the man’s phone number. Shortly after getting the number, I called Randy to get the details. Randy told me his wife had lost her rings and wondered if I could help. I told him I’d be there in an hour.

When I arrived at their location and was walking out on the beach, I text Randy saying I’m here. As I walked on the beach I saw Randy waving his hand, so I made my way over to them. I introduced myself and asked what happened. Randy’s wife, Lesa, said the rings were within about a 6 ft radius and she had taken them off and put them on the towel, forgot them until she shook out the towel. I asked if the rings were separate or soldered together, she said they were separate and both rings were yellow gold. I turned my Equinox on and took 6 steps. First signal was a VDI of 16 so I knew I had one of the rings. Took a few scoops to get it, but as I lifted up the scoop I saw the small wedding band. I turned around and handed it to Lesa, who was trying hard to hold her emotions. A couple more swings and I got another signal, 12 on the VDI, scooped it up and had her beautiful engagement ring. As I handed her the second ring there was no more holding the emotions, a few tears fell, but they were happy ones! Total search time was about 30 seconds.

Lesa and Randy, thanks for calling The Ring Finders and so glad we could help. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Matt, thanks for the call, happy I could help.

Jim

   

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

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

 

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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)
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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

  

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Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned on Ocean Isle Beach NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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I received a late night email from Lindsay saying she had lost both her wedding and engagement rings the day before in the ocean, and asked if I was available to help. I had just gotten back home from an unsuccessful 4 hour search for another couple’s engagement ring. So, I had already planned on going back during low tide the next day and try again. I had also asked Jim Brouwer if he wanted to help because of the large search area, which he jumped at the chance. I responded back to Lindsay that I would be available, but I had another search I had to do first. I told her that I should be done by 10 am and I’d call her. I also asked her what time she lost her rings and how deep she was. Luckily, she lost them about 2 hours after high tide and was waist deep. With that information, I knew I wasn’t pressed to get to her location before the tide change, and we had a good chance of finding her rings.

After finishing up the first search with no luck, Jim and I drove the 30 minutes to Ocean Isle Beach. I called Lindsay and told her we were on our way. When we pulled in the driveway, Lindsay was anxiously waiting. I asked her to tell me the story of what happened and basically she got hit by a wave and her rings came off. I asked her what the rings were made of and she said white gold, so Jim and I knew we were looking for low numbers on our machines. Jim literally drew a line in the sand with his scoop to divide the search area in half, and jumped in the water to work the incoming tide. I started a grid search in the wet sand working parallel to the tide line. After a few grid lines, I thought I might be to high on the beach and moved to the water line and did about 3 grid lines in the water. Again rethinking the situation, I moved back out of the water and started another grid line just above my water line grid. About 5 steps and I got a very weak and erratic tone. The numbers on my Equinox were jumping from 1 to 3, a little lower than I was looking for, and nothing solid. I took a scoop of sand and still didn’t have anything solid. One more scoop, and I had a good 4-5 on my machine, but I couldn’t see anything. I shook a little sand out of my scoop and saw the tiny engagement ring. I gave a wink to Jim to let him know I had one of the rings, and then rinsed it off and called Lindsay over and let her reach in the scoop and pull it out. I confirmed, with her, that both rings fell off at the same time, and went back to the same hole. The hole was empty, so I slowly ran the coil around the area and got another very weak signal. A little more digging and moving the sand around and I saw the tiny wedding band lying in the sand. Washed it off and again let Lindsay remove it from the scoop. To say she was extremely happy would be an understatement. I got big hugs from Lindsay, and a very happy handshake from her husband, Drew.

A big thank you to Jim for his help, he’s always ready to lend a hand.

Lindsay and Drew, thank you for trusting Jim and me to help find your lost treasures. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. You now have one more chapter to add to the story of your rings.

Jim

 

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IPhone lost at Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found and Returned

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)
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Jessica called me a little before 9 am asking if I rented metal detectors. I informed her that I don’t, but I use metal detectors to help find things for people. She asked if I could find an iPhone she lost in the dry sand. We went back and forth with a few questions and answers, ending with me telling her I’d be there in about 45 minutes.

She gave me the address where she and her family were staying. When I pulled into the driveway she came out of the house with her friend, Maria and said to follow her to the beach access. Once we got on the beach, she said that she had left it on the beach the night before and had tracked it to a general area of where she had been. The area was roughly 20ft by 20ft, and thank goodness it was all dry sand. I started a grid search from the dry sand to the high tide line. On the fourth line I got a good signal, and the numbers were all over the place on the Equinox 800, so I knew I had found her phone. I used my foot to spread out the sand and uncovered part of the phone, and reached down and picked it up. She couldn’t believe it was found, thanks to her putting me in the right area, it made for a quick and easy search. When we found it, it had no power, so when she got back in her car and plugged it in, it started charging up. Thankfully, there seemed to be no damage.

Jessica, thank you for trusting me to help find your lost phone, and have a great rest of your vacation!

Jim

     

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