North Myrtle Beach SC Metal Detecting Tag | Page 3 of 4 | The Ring Finders

Man’s Platinum w/Gold Wedding Band Lost at High Tide, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

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

This ring journey started when I got a text message from my son-in-law about a lost ring. I called him and got the location and was on my way. I got to the beach about 10 minutes later and got a brief ring description, search area, the name of the owner, Christian, and his phone number. I started a north/south grid search from the low tide line, working my way up the beach towards the dry sand. After about an hour and a half of searching, I was running out of the wet sand to search and daylight to see. I finally hit a great signal and dug it up. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my headlamp with me, but I could definitely hear the heavy metal sound of the ring rattling in the scoop as I gently shook out the sand. I reached in the scoop and removed the ring, lit it up with the flashlight on my cell phone, and was pretty sure I had the right ring.

I called Christian and introduced myself and confirmed he had lost his ring. I asked him to describe it, and when he did, I knew we had a match. He sounded like he was more in shock than excited that his ring had been found. He and his wife, Erika showed up within 20 minutes to claim his ring. Big hugs, a few tears, and huge smiles all around.

Christian/Erika, it was great getting to meet you both. Best of Luck to you two and so happy we got the ring back where it belongs!!!

Jim

Prescription Glasses Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

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

It had been a great weekend with family in town and sadly as they all left, I wanted to do a little metal detecting. I had just received my new quest scoopal sand scoop in the mail and attached an old wooden handle and was ready to go. There were plenty of people on the beach; the problem was, there weren’t any places to park. After driving to three different spots, I finally found a parking spot and hit the beach. I had my new scoop in one hand and my new Equinox 800, third time out with it, in the other hand.

I hit my first target, stuck my new scoop in the sand, and wouldn’t you know it, my handle broke. I then remembered why the handle wasn’t attached to my T-Rex scoop, I had cracked the base of the handle and changed it out last year. Luckily, I still had my T-Rex in the trunk and headed back to the car. On my way off the beach, Betty approached me wanting to know if I had found a pair of kid’s prescription glasses. I hadn’t, so I got the description of the glasses and found out they had been lost within the last 10 minutes. I told her I needed to change scoops and that I’d be right back and see what I could do. There’s usually very little chance of finding freshly dropped glasses. Glasses are so light; they get pushed and pulled by the surf until the metal frames finally settle in the sand and get buried. Also, as they’re getting pushed and pulled, the lenses get scratched up rubbing against the sand.

 When I got back to the site, I started doing a grid search in the surf, hoping to visually spot the glasses. After a pretty extensive visual search, I told Betty that I’d be there for a while, working the outgoing tide, and if I found the glasses, I’d leave them with the lifeguard. As I’m working the tide line, I walked north of the lost area and spotted the glasses laying on top of the wet sand about 20-30 yards away from the original area. I picked up the glasses, verified they were the right ones, checked for damage, and headed back to find Betty. Betty and I spotted each other about the same time, and I held up the glasses. She and Annie, the mother of the girl that lost the glasses, both came running towards me. Both were very excited and called Kamila to come down from the hotel and get her glasses. While we were waiting, I found out they were on vacation from Illinois and were originally from Poland. I didn’t learn the relationship between Betty, Annie, and Kamila, but it didn’t matter. Once Kamila showed up, she identified the glasses and checked them for damage, everything was okay. Found out from Annie that she had called her husband who was going to overnight a spare set of glasses the next day.

Kamila, so happy I was able to help get your glasses back where they belong.

Jim

14K Man’s White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach, SC

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

My wife and I had just arrived at our oldest daughter’s house to see our three granddaughters for an afternoon of fun. As we’re walking in the front door, I heard my daughter, who was on her phone, say; “Hold on, he just walked in the door.” As she’s handing me her phone, she says it’s one of her co-workers, Sandra who had a lady in her office reporting a lost ring. When I talked to Sandra, she informed me that a young couple had lost his wedding band in the sand in front of the resort, and the young lady was extremely upset. I got a description of the lady making the report (tall, blonde hair, and wearing a cowboy hat). I told Sandra I’d be there in 15 minutes. Luckily, I had thrown my PI machine in the trunk before we left home because I had intentions of hitting low tide after we left our daughter’s house.

After finding a place to park, I walked out on the beach looking for a tall blonde wearing a cowboy hat, and not seeing one. As I’m walking down the beach, I see a young man walking towards me with a big smile on his face. He asked if I was there to find a ring when I said yes, he introduced himself as Rob and he leads me up the beach to the soft sand. As I’m walking up, I see his wife, Anna, who is about six months pregnant and crying, sitting in the sand running her hand back and forth over the top of the sand, trying desperately to find his ring. Their story was that his ring was sitting on a towel and when she picked up the towel to shake it, his ring went flying. Rob showed me the small area and on my second grid line, BANG! When I got the signal I looked over at them and smiled, they knew. I let Rob reach in the scoop and get his ring back. Now Anna’s tears were tears of joy.

Rob and Anna – thank you for trusting me to find your lost ring and the very best to you two and your new addition!

Jim

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

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

It was a little bit before 10 p.m. when I saw an email from Jennifer saying she had lost her rings and wanted to know if I could meet her sometime the next day and possibly look for them. I immediately sent her a response saying I could be there in 20 minutes and to call me. If at all possible, when I get a call on a lost ring, I want to start the search as soon as possible. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong, the longer the wait. Jennifer called me 20 minutes after I sent the email and we agreed to meet. We met at a McDonalds since her and her family were staying in a gated resort and I’d need an escort to get into the resort area.

As we’re riding in the elevator to get from the parking garage to the main level, Jennifer filled in all the details of her losing her rings. She told me that her future son-in-law, Noah, had previously asked her and her husband’s permission for their daughter, Aly’s hand in marriage. Tonight was going to be the night Noah was going to propose. The family was on the beach and Jennifer, who’s a photographer, was snapping pictures of the kids, waiting for the big moment. Jennifer had been laying in the sand taking some pictures, and when she stood up and started brushing the sand off the front of her pants, her rings went flying. The temperature on the beach was in the low 40s, so her hands and fingers had swiveled up making her snug rings fly off her finger. She continued telling me that she spent an hour searching with other members of her family to no avail. Jennifer said that Aly was thinking this might be the big night, and this was all part of the surprise, and she’d end up finding her new engagement ring. Jennifer had to convince her that her rings really were lost. At some point during the search, Aly and Noah went to Bass Pro and bought a metal detector, which proved ineffective. After another hour of searching and freezing, Jennifer googled lost ring and found me through The Ring Finders website.

We made our way out to the beach and Jennifer showed me exactly where they were all at when she felt her rings come off. It was obvious they had been searching hard because the soft sand was all dug up and thrown around. I started a north/south grid about 10-15 feet from where Jennifer said she was standing and on the first pass got a great signal. Dug a couple of scoops of sand, shook out the scoop and saw the 14K white gold wedding band staring up at me. Jennifer came running over to me to see what I found, and I handed her the ring, she was very excited. Ok, now to find the diamond engagement ring. I continued my grid search in the small 15 by 15-foot square working towards the area where Jennifer had been standing with no luck. So I went back to my starting point and moved one step in the opposite direction and BAM! Dug a scoop, shook it out and WOW!! I walked towards Jennifer and let her remove the ring from the scoop. She was completely surprised we found both rings and elated we had. Big hugs. Total search time was around 10 minutes. 

Jennifer said she was very disappointed that during all this, Noah didn’t get to pop the question. Since he didn’t get to ask Aly, Jennifer asked me to hold off on posting this story until after the kid’s big moment.

Jennifer sent me a text tonight saying Noah popped the question and Aly said yes and when Noah proposed, Aly didn’t drop her ring in the sand!

Jennifer, thank you for entrusting me to help find your lost treasures. It was a pleasure meeting you, and I wish Aly and Noah all the best in their future endeavors. 

Jim

  

TEARDROPS IN THE TIDES; The Journeys of a “Ring Finder”

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

Just wrote and published a book about some of the ring find and returns I’ve had over the last few years.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732003904/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520041884&sr=1-1&keywords=teardrops+in+the+tides

Man’s Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean at Ocean Isle Beach NC, Found 3 months later and Returned

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

I had originally received an e-mail from Katy L. on Sept 23rd telling me her husband had lost his wedding band while body surfing on Sept 15th. They were back home in Tennessee after a family vacation on the beach when the accident happened. We exchanged quite a few e-mails back and forth, one being a very special and extremely sentimental picture and story from Katy. After reading the story and seeing the picture my heart melted and I was determined I would give it my all to find this ring. I got to the beach and conditions were horrible, the waves were big and crashing on the beach. I waded out and was getting hammered by the waves when I got a good signal (which was not the ring). In the process of trying to dig the target I literally got picked up by a wave and slammed down in the water causing me to try and catch myself and ended up breaking the arm cuff to my detector. Anybody that metal detects knows how difficult it can be in rough seas without an arm cuff. So basically I was without a machine for the surf and called my son-in-law, Donnie and asked for his help. When he showed up he did the surf, getting knocked around and I did the wet sand with no luck.

A few days later, still without an arm cuff for my machine, I borrowed a detector from Matt Fry, TRF Myrtle Beach to give it another shot. When I got to the beach the conditions were just as bad as the first try. Again I waded out in the waves, getting pounded as I went. At some point I again got lifted up by a wave and slammed down. This time I tried to brace myself but buried Matt’s coil into the sand and ended up breaking the shaft holding the coil. Ok this was not turning out to be an easy recovery but I got both machines fixed and was ready to go.

Meanwhile, we had been getting some big hurricanes and storms off the coast that was driving tons of sand up on the beach. From the details I got from Katy on where her husband lost his ring, I knew it was there but getting buried deeper by all the sand. I was bound and determined I was going to find this ring so I kept going back hoping for better conditions and less sand.

After at least 7 trips by me and a couple from Donnie, today (Dec 18th) was the day. When I got to the beach at low tide I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Calmer seas (at least for this beach), at least a foot to a foot and a half of sand off the beach and a big cut in the sand. I started a north/south grid search from low tide out to about thigh deep, the water was cold!!!! Worked my way up the beach and started an east/west grid. Probably about 7 grid lines and I got a so-so hit on my White’s Dual Field PI that I dug. The target was down a good 12-15 inches and when I pulled it out of the hole I thought I had a bottle cap because it was covered in sand. I shook the scoop and bingo there was the lost ring. I knew in an instant I had the right one. I just stood there in awe, 3 months and 3 days, 8th trip and I had it. Even I couldn’t comprehend this one.

I flew home to check the picture Katy had sent me and I had her husband’s ring in my hand. I called Katy and reintroduced myself and said I’ve got 2 questions. First, what is your husband’s name and secondly what’s the address to mail his ring back to him. She lost it, made me lose it and neither one of us could talk. Then we had a true serendipity moment, her and her family were just finishing up with an early Christmas, opening presents, etc. when I called. She put me on speaker phone and I think everyone there was in shock. She also informed me a little later that on Dec 28th her and her husband, Will will be celebrating their 4th Wedding Anniversary. The timing on finding their ring, calling at the moment I did and getting their ring back to them before both Christmas and their Anniversary couldn’t have been better. This is exactly the reason I’m a member of The Ring Finders, it does NOT get any better than this!

Will and Katy – Merry Christmas and Happy Anniversary, hope you have many many more of both!!!

Katy, thank you for contacting me and trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. I wish you and Will all the best.

Katy gave me permission to post this very special picture.

Jim

Gold Wedding and Engagement Rings Lost and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

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

My wife and I were on a little get away in Gettysburg PA on Friday the 13th when I noticed I had a missed call with a voice mail. Listening to the voice mail, Frank D explained that his wife Diane was in North Myrtle Beach with some friends and had lost both her wedding ring and engagement ring in the surf. I called Frank back and explained I was out of town but I could contact my son-in-law Donnie and was pretty sure he could go look for me. I called Donnie and explained the situation and gave him Diane’s number.

My understanding was that Donnie and Diane had talked and were to meet on the beach a little later that evening. Not hearing anything from Donnie wasn’t giving me high hopes that he had found them. Donnie called later that evening and said he had no luck and was very sure he was in the right area and convinced he had covered the area very thoroughly. Fast forward to 8:15am Saturday morning and Donnie texted me a picture of the rings saying “Found them”. Come to find out Donnie had gone out early Saturday before he had to go to work and just happened to run into one of Diane’s friends walking the beach who told Donnie that she thought they were maybe 10 or so feet further south. Donnie told me on his second pass over the new area he got a strong signal and knew it was one of the rings, about a foot away he found the second ring.

Donnie – thank you so much for filling in for me, you do a fantastic job and are a great resource I can count on when I’m not able to answer the call.

Frank & Diane – thank you for allowing us the opportunity to find and return your lost treasure.

Jim

14K Man’s Wedding Band Lost in Myrtle Beach, Found and Returned

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

I got a call from Hunter about 3pm about his lost wedding band which turned out to be in Matt Fry’s area. I told him that one of us would call him back shortly. I called Matt and gave him the information and he told me he had some things going on and to go ahead and take it, so I did. I called Hunter back and we agreed to meet at 7pm.

Hunter and I met in his front yard and he told me the story. Their family heirloom wedding rings, which had quite a story attached to them, belonged to his wife Michelle’s aunt who passed them on to Hunter and Michelle as a wedding present. Michelle and Hunter got married on July 6th of this year and Hunter’s ring was too small for his ring finger so he wore it on his pinky finger. At some point during the celebration of their wedding and partaking of adult beverages the ring fell off his finger and has been lost since. Hunter had contacted another metal detectorist, not associated with The Ring Finders, a week after the loss who was unable to find the ring. He told me I was the last resort because their lease was up at the end of the month and they were moving. As I got started in my search Hunter handed me Michelle’s ring which was smaller but an exact duplicate that I tested with my AT Pro and got a solid 53 on the meter. A 53 on this machine is exactly where a nickel would ring up as. About 45 minutes later and after finding a buried nickel I got a second solid nickel reading and dug down through the grass and dirt to about 2-3 inches and this time it was Hunter’s ring. I cleaned it off and walked up to Hunter who was sitting on the porch. I showed him the ring and he flew out of the chair and gave me the biggest bear hug I’ve ever had. I took the ring back to get some pictures while he ran inside to tell Michelle. She came outside in utter shock and more hugs. How can it possibly get any better than this other than Michelle told me she had just found out she’s pregnant with twins. Wow!!

Hunter offered me a very generous reward but I agreed to take a portion if they’d use the rest to buy their new twins something from me. They agreed. Very happy ending all the way around!!!

Hunter and Michelle thank you for trusting in me to find your lost treasure and the very best of luck to you in all your future endeavors. Good luck with the twins!

Michelle’s wearing Hunter’s ring on her first finger for the picture, right after the picture it came off and put away until they can get it sized.

Jim

Man’s 14K Wedding Band Lost, Recovered and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

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

Got a call this morning from Jimmy asking if I could help find his lost wedding band. His wife Crystal had googled “Lost Ring Ocean Isle” and up popped The Ring Finders website which lead to finding me. Jimmy told me he and his family were on vacation from Virginia. He went on to say that he lost the ring in about thigh high water yesterday while throwing a ball back and forth with his son Caleb. We agreed to meet in about an hour and I was on my way.

When I got to the beach Jimmy, Crystal and Caleb met me at the beach access. On the way out to the beach I got a few more details and then Caleb walked us out to the area his dad was at when the ring slipped off his finger. The big question was whether Jimmy was right or left handed and did the ring slip off his finger or get slung off as he threw the ball. Luckily he’s right handed so it made for an easier search. I did a north/south grid line at the low tide line first knowing it probably wasn’t there but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity just in case. I then moved up the beach at the high tide line because people were starting to show up and I didn’t want to miss that opportunity either. After a few search lines I moved to an east/west search grid and after about 5 or 6 lines I hit it. Jimmy’s son was close and saw me hold up my hand towards Jimmy and came running over. He checked the inscription to confirm it was his dad’s ring and we had a match.

Jimmy was extremely happy he had his ring back to continue the 24 year story it held. Hugs and handshakes all around.

Jimmy and Crystal thank you so much for trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. Caleb, thank you buddy for putting me in the right area and best of luck on your new career, I think you’re going to do great!! Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe trip home.

Jim

   

14K Man’s Wedding Band Lost and Recovered in Cherry Grove, SC. Returned to Owner in Indiana

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

On Sunday, July 16th I got a heartfelt e-mail from Sarah W. wondering if I had found a Man’s 14K wedding band in the Cherry Grove area of North Myrtle Beach SC that had been lost the previous Thursday night, July 13th. I wrote back that I hadn’t and asked her for some details, time it was lost and where her husband Eric was in relation to the beach (dry or wet sand or in the water). We went back and forth with numerous e-mails including google satellite maps with areas of the beach highlighted. Every ring call is very very special in its own way but occasionally you get one that tugs at your heart strings for whatever reason. When she wrote saying that her husband’s original ring was getting too big for him so she had bought him this new one and gave it to him on his birthday last month, she had me. We ended our e-mails with me telling her that “I can’t promise miracles but I do promise you I’ll give it my best shot”. A few hours later I was on the beach working from the dry sand to the mid-tide area that was highlighted on the google map going outside the area on all four sides. After a little over 3 hours and finding very little I called it a night knowing I was going back out first chance I had. I had sent Sarah an e-mail saying I hadn’t had any luck not letting her know I was planning on going back out. Monday morning I got an e-mail from her thanking me for looking and offering gratuity for time and gas. I wrote back telling her thanks but it was my pleasure and that I was planning on going back out.

Fast forward to Tuesday morning, I woke up early so I could be out on the beach working the outgoing tide to low tide. Another 3 hours plus and again I’m not finding very much of anything after going from thigh deep at low tide to the high tide line doing both north/south and east/west grids. By now I’ve got about 40 yards of beach left to search, the crowds are starting to show up taking some of my search area away and really no place else to search. BANG, I get a booming signal on my stand-in Gold Quest machine. Dug a scoop and flipped it out on the sand and there it was, I was 99% sure I had the right ring. Sarah had told me about the very special inscription she had put on the inside of the ring but I didn’t have my glasses and there was no way I could read what it said. I walked down the beach to a small pool of water and washed the ring off. I then walked up to a much younger man playing with his son and asked him if he could tell me what the inscription said giving him the first 2 words, he read the rest and I had it.

I had already played it over in my head on how I was going to tell Sarah I found it. So, I sent her an e-mail saying my e-mail was acting up and if she’d call me or give me a number to call her because I had a couple more questions. When she called I gave her a little pity story about how I’d been searching, blah, blah, blah and then I said I’ve got a couple of questions to ask 1-what is your husband’s name and 2-what address do I send his ring back to? She caught on instantly “you found it?”, and tears of joy rang out. I got it in the mail today and it’s on his way home!! A little later in the afternoon she sent me the following text that put a smile on my face – “And you said you couldn’t promise a miracle!”

I got a text message today, Friday from Sarah that she had received the ring and giving me another big Thank you. Mission Complete!!!

Sarah and Eric thank you for trusting in me to help find your lost treasure. Best of luck in all your future endeavors.

Jim