the ring finders of north myrtle beach sc Tag | The Ring Finders

Sprinkler Solenoid Valve Found Carolina Shores NC

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

I got a call last Wednesday from a repeat customer asking if I could help him find a sprinkler solenoid valve in his yard. We agreed that I’d meet him today, Thursday, Oct 29th. When I arrived, Jim was waiting for me in the yard. He showed me the suspected area where the solenoid was buried. He told me that he had had some landscaping done and the protective boxes had been covered up with dirt and rocks. When I turned on my Equinox 800, I was getting all kinds of EMI (electromagnetic interference), so I turned down the sensitivity. Luckily, Jim had another solenoid that he had already found that I used to test. I knew I was looking for negative numbers and probably in the -4 to -5 range on the VDI. The valves are mainly plastic with very little metal (basically screws, a spring, and some copper wire) in them. When I ran the coil over the exposed solenoid, I wasn’t getting much of a signal. I cranked the sensitivity back up to 25 (max) and was able to get enough of a signal I could distinguish the signal from the interference. After checking a different signal that turned out to be nothing, I swung over an area more into the bushes. I got the low grunt sound and the numbers I was looking for. Jim started digging and after a few inches of dirt and rocks, he spotted the cover protecting the solenoid.  We found exactly what he was looking for. Jim for holding on to my number and giving me a call. So glad I could help.

Jim -Thanks, for holding on to my number and giving me a call!

Jim

       

Tags:
Category:

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

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

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

     

Tags:
Category:

Lady’s White Gold Wedding Ring Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

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

On Saturday night, August 31st at about 11:15 pm I received the following text, “Hi! I lost my wedding band today at ocean isle. Can you help tomorrow?” I responded with the normal questions, what time it was lost, where – soft sand or in the ocean, and if in the ocean how deep she was? She responded that it was in the dry sand. At that point I called her to make sure I had all the details and set up a time for the next morning for a search. This is when she told me that both her wedding band and engagement ring were stuck in a pouch on the beach chair. When she got back to the rental is when she realized the wedding ring was missing.

This morning, Sunday, I arrived at the address she gave me and met her in the driveway. She led me out to the area they had been sitting and I started a north/south grid search, extending the search area out on all four sides. She had told me when I started the search it was a white gold ring, so I knew I was looking for a signal between 6-8 on the machine. After completing the search area with no luck, I decided to start an east/west grid search. Now I’d be covering the area between where she was sitting and going across the beach towards the beach access point. On my second pass of the new grid, I got a solid 7 on the machine. Bingo. I dug out a scoop of sand and laid it on the beach, smoothing it out with my foot. I immediately saw her ring, reached down and picked it up. I held it up for her to see and she couldn’t believe it. She was so grateful and trying to hold back the tears of relief. This search ended with one happy young lady, a found ring and a hug.

Jessica – Thank you for allowing me to help find your lost treasure. Enjoy your last day of vacation and have a safe trip home.

Jim

   

Tags:
Category:

White Gold Wedding Band Set Lost in the Dry Sand, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC (with Video)

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

This recovery started on Monday, Aug 27th about 1:10 pm, with a text message from Rachel saying, “Hi Jim. Am I able to hire you to search around our beach chairs for my wedding rings?” The text had her phone number, so I called her to get a little more detail. She told me that she took her ring set off and put them in her cover-up pocket to put on suntan lotion. A short time later she took the cover-up off, forgetting about the set. Within seconds, she remembered about them being in the pocket, and they were gone. She was sure they were around the beach chairs. Unfortunately, I wasn’t available for at least an hour or two, but she said she wasn’t going anywhere until she was sure the area was checked.

I called her back about 1:45 pm saying I’d be there in 30-45 minutes. When I got there she was in the parking lot talking to friends. We walked out on the beach and across the sand to where her husband Rob was sitting. The search area was maybe 1.5X1.5 ft.  I had my Equinox 800 with me, turned it on and started swinging. With the ring set being white gold, I knew the VDI (Visual Display Indicator) would show between 8-12, depending on the size of the rings. Within seconds I had an 11 VDI and a strong signal next a beach chair. I asked Rachel if she’d move the beach chair so I could be sure I wasn’t getting interference from it. I swung my machine back over the spot and BINGO! I had to take 2 scoops to get the target out of the hole. I didn’t ask, but I assumed that Rachel and Rob had tried to find the ring set and moved enough sand to bury the ring a little deeper. When I spread the sand out on the beach, Rachel spotted her ring before I did and quickly picked it up. There were a few very happy tears of relief and a big hug from Rachel, who didn’t think she’d get her precious treasure back.

Special thanks to my son, Mike, who’s visiting from CT and took the video for the story.

Rachel and Rob – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great rest of your vacation!!

Jim

   

Tags:
Category:

Gold Coin and Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost, Found and Returned Oak Island, NC

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

This little adventure started on Thursday, Jul 25th about 9:30pm when I got a text from Megan. Her text said, “Hello we are inquiring about a lost ring, chain, and coin in Oak Island NC. What is your pricing and are you available tonight or tomorrow.” Her phone number was on the text message, so I called her. She told me, in so many words that her husband Tyler and his brother were having a brotherly love moment when things escalated a little. It continued to escalate across the top of the beach in the dry sand, down the slope and into the ocean. When they finished, both brothers had lost their gold chains. The chain belonging to the brother had a cross pendant attached and Tyler’s chain had a 10-dollar, 14 oz gold coin and his yellow gold wedding ring. Unfortunately, Megan and Tyler were leaving to go back home the next morning, and the tide wasn’t right for a search until the next afternoon. Megan arranged for her father-in-law, Jim to meet me the next afternoon.

My daughter, Lisa and her family were in town visiting and she loves to go on my ring calls with me. I’ve shown her how to use the Equinox 800 and she’s gotten pretty good at using it. When we got there, we met Jim and Nia, the brother’s younger sister. Both Jim and Nia filled in some blanks and showed Lisa and I the approximate route the boys went to get to the ocean. I had Lisa doing a grid line in the soft sand and I started working the slope down to the ocean. At some point Nia had told Lisa that she had lost one of her earrings while taking the family portrait a few days earlier. While I’m detecting, I see Lisa and Nia all excited and jumping up and down in the dry sand. Lisa had found the earring. We both continued our grid lines with no luck. A very short time later a big storm was moving our way with lightening, thunder, and heavy rain. We made it to the car just in time and waited out the storm. There was still lightning and thunder out over the ocean, but I got tired of waiting. Continuing my grid line, I finally hit a solid signal which showed up as an 18/19 on the Nox. Dug out a scoop of sand, spread it out with my foot, and Bingo! I had the 10-dollar gold coin. Lisa joined me a short time later and she continued her grid in the dry sand. I took a quick picture of the coin and sent it to Megan. About another 5-8 yards I got another 18 on the Nox. I dug a scoop and Boom; I had Tyler’s wedding ring. Sent another picture to Megan and then called her. She and Tyler were very excited. I gave both the coin and ring to Jim who was going to get it to Megan and Tyler. Lisa and I continued looking for the chains and other charm with no luck. The next day, I took a buddy, who uses the Deus II back up and we both searched for the chains and pendant and weren’t able to find them.

Megan/Tyler – Thank you for calling me to help find your lost treasures. Best wishes to you both.

Pictured below is the Obverse and Reverse of the gold coin.

Jim

     

 

Tags:
Category:

White Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Ocean, Found and Returned North Myrtle Beach SC

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

Thursday night about 9 pm I got a text from Kayla saying, “Hello! Sorry for the late text but I just found your phone number online – I lost my wedding ring today at North Myrtle, would you be able to help us try to find it tomorrow?” I text her back asking her to call me and included my phone number. I didn’t hear anything else until this morning when I woke up to the following voice mail. “Good morning, Jim, my name is Kayla. I had texted you last night. I thought you could possibly help me find my ring that I had lost yesterday on the beach. We are staying at the Tide Master Condos here in North Myrtle Beach and the ring was lost yesterday while I was kind of in very very shallow waters. I was with my daughter, and it just slipped off my finger. So, I was hoping maybe you could help us. I don’t know it might be lost forever, but if you wanna give me a call back, thank you.”  I checked yesterday’s tides and saw low tide was around 11 am and high tide a little after 5 pm. Today’s tides would be around noon and 6 pm. It was already a little after 10 am when I called her, and I asked her two of the three more important questions. She already told me how deep she was, so I asked about what time she lost it, and did she know the area. She responded she lost it about 2 pm and she knew the area. I told her I’d be there about 11:30 pm. Two pm put it right about mid-tide. We’ve had some horrible surf conditions, with strong sea breezes, and rip currents. I knew that a lot of sand would have been pushed up on the beach, making any targets buried deeper than normal.

I actually arrived a little early, and as I made my way out to the beach, I called her and told her I was there. We met on the beach, and she showed me the suspected area she lost her ring. I started an east/west grid search just below the slope on the beach working perpendicular to the beach. I was finding very few targets and as expected they were deep. She told me her ring was white gold with diamonds. Ladies’ white gold can range from low single digits to low teens depending on size, on my Equinox 800. After a couple of hours, I had detected the entire lower portion of the beach all the way out to the south end and wasn’t finding her ring.  I decided to change course and started a parallel grid search starting from my perpendicular grid at the bottom of the slope working towards the high tide line and covering the entire area behind the resort. At some point, a young gentleman came up and started talking to me, who I learned was Kayla’s husband Matt. Matt told me he had a metal detector but hadn’t brought it with him. In the process of our conversation, I asked him what he remembered and what time he thought she lost it. He said he thought it was around 3:15-3:45 pm. Good info because that would put it a little higher on the slope. Kayla had joined us, and we talked a little bit and they both went back up to their spot on the beach. A little while later I got an iffy and faint signal that was jumping from 9 to 13. Ok, I’m in the zone of white gold. I dug four to five big scoops of sand out of the hole, each time checking the hole. Which the hole had grown to close to a foot deep before I finally got the target out of the sand. I spread the sand out with my foot and ran the coil over the area. Boom, I had a solid 10 reading and looked through the sand. There it was, just lying there waiting to be found. I hollered at Kayla who didn’t hear me the first time, so I yelled again. When she heard me and turned around, I held her ring up in the air. She flew down the beach! I asked her what her ring looked like, and she explained it as I held it closed up in my hand. Then I showed it to her and asked, “Look like this?” Her happy tears started flowing and I got a huge hug. Matt followed shortly and shook my hand. I heard loud applause coming from the upper beach from the people that had been watching me for the last 3 hours. A few ladies even came down to see what was going on.

Kayla and Matt – So happy I was able to find and return your lost treasure. Thank you for trusting me to help.

Jim

   

Tags:
Category:

Tungsten Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Myrtle Beach SC

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

Corey called me around 4:45 pm on Sunday, asking if I could help find his wedding band he had lost. The first question I always ask is, “was it lost in the dry sand, wet sand, or in the water.” He responded, “Dry sand.” This was the second dry sand call of the day, which I like – A lot!! I ask him where he was at, and he told me the resort name in Myrtle Beach. I told him I’d be there in 20-25 minutes, grabbed my Nox 800 and was on the road.

When I got to the resort and made my way out on the beach, I called him. He told me he was in a white hat, and I saw him waving. As I got to the spot, I noticed one of the ladies in his party on her hands and knees searching for the ring. As I got closer, I told her she was wasting her time. Corey showed me the 2X6 foot area and told me that he was moving stuff out of a child’s playpen and noticed the ring had come off. I turned my machine on and jokingly said “20 seconds.” Tungsten rings usually are 18 on the Nox, so I knew what I was looking for. A couple of steps to the left and I got a strong 22 but showing too deep to be a ring lost within the last hour or so. That signal turned out to be a Yeti cup sitting in one of the chairs. I turned around and scanned the area around the playpen. Two swings and I got the 18 I was looking for. Scooped it out of the sand, shook the sand out and got the rattle of his ring in the scoop. He looked so relieved and said his wife was up in the room upset. They still have almost a week on vacation, so this will be a great vacation now.

Corey – Thanks for trusting me to help find your lost treasure. Have a great vacation.

Jim

     

Tags:
Category:

2-Month-Old Yellow Gold Wedding Band Lost in the Sand, Found and Returned Ocean Isle Beach NC

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

On Sunday, at 12:45 pm, I got a call from Connelly asking if I was available to help find his wedding band on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. My first question was, “dry sand, wet sand, or in the water?” He replied, “In the dry sand,” which is a blessing when you don’t have to get in the ocean. I asked where on Ocean Isle and he replied next to the pier. I told him I’d be there in about 30-45 minutes. Grabbed my Equinox 800 and was on my way.

When I arrived, I met Connelly in the parking lot of the Inn they were in front of on the beach. As we were walking out on the beach I asked him for details. Basically, they were setting up their little spot and he noticed his ring had fallen off. We got to the spot, and I met his wife, Stephens. Connelly showed me the 3 x 5-foot area the ring should be in, and I asked him what type ring it is. He stated yellow gold and 14k. Turned on my machine and looked at him and Stephens and said, “Under a minute.” With yellow gold, I was expecting a VDI (visual display number) in the high teens, around 17-19. Two steps and I got a banging 20, dug it up, shook the sand out of the scoop and heard the rattle of his ring. Handed him his ring and got an instant smile on both his and Stephens’ face. Vacation was back on track. Stephens told me he’d only had the ring for 2 months, so now they have another chapter for their story of their rings. I asked how they found me, and Connelly said that Stephens is a good friend of a repeat customer, Cori I’ve had. Stephens had text Cori and told her about the lost ring and Cori told her to call me.

Cori – Thank you!!

Connelly and Stephens – Thank you for trusting me to help find your lost treasure.

Jim

 

Tags:
Category:

White Gold Wedding Band Lost On Holden Beach NC

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

On Sunday, July 7th, I was driving the 40-minute drive home from a combined 4-hour back-to-back ring searches when I got the following text. “I am at Holden Beach. My adult daughter has lost her wedding ring this afternoon, we think in or around the pool. Can you help? Thomas” Before I turned around and made the 50 plus minute drive to Holden, I had a stop to make. I also planned on stopping by my house and at least saying hello to my wife, who refers to herself as ‘The Ring Finder Widow,’ who I hadn’t seen all day. I called Thomas to let him know my plan and in the course of the conversation I started asking questions. I found out that his daughter was throwing a ball to her son when she noticed the ring gone. I asked if the pool had a drain in the bottom or a filtering system. His response was no drain, and the filtering system was on the top part of a side wall. Next, I asked what was around the pool, concrete or grass. He responded that there were wood slats and that her ring wouldn’t fit between the slates even if he tried pushing it through. Ok, process of elimination, I asked what was beyond the wooden slates. He stated that there was a little bare area and then rocks. Ah ha! I told him I had a couple of stops and would be up there in about an hour and a half. Before we hung up, I told him that when I get there the rocks are going to be the first place I’d look.

When I got back in the car from the first stop, I checked my text. Tom had sent me a text saying “We found it! In the rocks. Your logical approach solved it.” I immediately called him, and he thanked me for my help. I wish all my searches were this easy!

Tom – Thank you for calling and trusting me to help find your daughter’s ring. So happy it all turned out good!

Jim

Tags:
Category:

One Year Anniversary Vacation Saved, Myrtle Beach SC

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

Shortly after 11 am on Tuesday, July 2nd, I received a text from Lora that said in part, “What kind of fee do you charge? My husband lost his ring!!!” I responded telling her, “I do this on a reward/gratuity basis. Call me so I can get the details” along with my phone number. When she called, I found out her husband, Mike had lost his ring the previous evening at about 8:30 pm while looking for shells. She gave me the hotel name and I told her I could be there in about 15 minutes. When we got off the phone, I looked up the hotel and found out it’s in Myrtle Beach and not North Myrtle Beach like I thought. I called her back to confirm Myrtle instead of North Myrtle, which she did. Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle beach are too separate cities but have exactly the same street numbers, so it gets confusing for both locals and tourist. Now that I got it straight, I told her I’d be there in about 30 minutes. She told me that her and Mike were out and about and they wouldn’t be there to show me the area. She was able to give me a pretty good idea of where I needed to search so I wouldn’t be wondering around aimlessly.

I text her when I arrived on the beach, and she responded back that they were heading back. Looking at the tide tables when Lora first called, Mike lost his ring about 2 hours before low tide. By the time I arrived I was about an hour after low tide, so I didn’t have a lot of time to search. I started a north/south parallel to the beach search right at the water line. When Lora and Mike showed up, I got a few more details. Mike was in the water, maybe shin deep and taking cupped hands full of water and throwing up towards the beach. With this new info, I changed to a perpendicular east/west grid search and a few yards outside the suspected search area. I told Lora and Mike that they didn’t need to stick around, and I’d call them either way. With the east/west search I was getting in the water to about thigh deep. I knew Mike’s heavy Titanium ring would ring up in the mid 20’s on the Equinox 800, so I was confident I had found his ring. After digging a scoop of sand and spreading it out on the beach, I saw Mike’s ring peeking up through the sand. I took a picture of the ring and sent it to Lora saying, “Kiss and make up.” I called her and all she could say was “OMG” about 4 times. Then she said, “we’re on our way.” When they arrived, I got a big hug from Lora and a strong handshake from Mike. That’s when I learned they were in Myrtle Beach celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary. This will be one they will never forget!!!

Lora/Mike – Thank you for trusting me to find your lost treasure. Wish you all the best and many many more Anniversaries, but none to match this one!

Jim

 

Tags:
Category: