The Ring Finders Blog

This adventure started when I got a voice message on October 12, 2026, at 9:23 a.m. saying in part, “This is David calling. I lost a ring in the ocean. We’re staying at the Dayton resort in Myrtle Beach. I’m wondering if the ring can be found or we can at least try.” I answered the call mid-sentence and talked with David. He advised me that he lost the ring last Wednesday, which was 5 days ago around 12 to 1 p.m. in waist deep water.  A quick look at the tide table for last Wednesday showed he lost it right at low tide. He also said he was between waist to chest deep and wasn’t really sure of the area. There were a whole lot of bad possibilities with this search. One, waist to chest deep at low tide, Two, not real sure of the area, Three, we just had hurricane Isaias that brought in lots of sand and heavy surf, Four, lost 5 days ago, and Five that part of Myrtle Beach is heavily detected, especially after a storm. Ok, it was worth a shot, plus I have a hard time saying “no” to someone asking for help. Looking at tide tables again, I saw today’s low tide was going to be around 3:30 p.m. I asked David if he could meet me there about 2:30 to show me the area. He agreed and we set the time for 2:30 p.m.

When I arrived on the beach, I met up with David, his wife Donna and their two daughters Janaya and Aundrea. Aundrea was the one that found me through Google and referred me to her dad. Janaya is the one that first realized her dad had lost his ring. They were sitting around the pool and Janaya asked her dad, “dad, where’s your ring?” Guess things went downhill from there, because he had been in the ocean and really had no idea where the ring had come off. Janaya had told me that her dad had gotten knocked down by the waves and used his left hand in the sand to push himself back up. So, I suspected that’s how his ring came off. I asked David where I should start the search and how far over I needed to go. He set me up at the corner of a resort that was getting remodeled and had cranes next to the building. His end point was the third resort down from there. All told, it was about a football field size area.  I started an east/west (shore to ocean) grid search out to where the waves were hitting the breakers and was about stomach deep. In the process, I ran into another three guys detecting. One, a friend said he had been out there Saturday and there were 7 other people with detectors. Something I’ve noticed though, is most people detecting stay in the wet to dry sand, I rarely see anyone in the ocean detecting. After about 2 hours with no success, I met up with David. He asked if I’d mind starting at my original starting point and work a little more to the north. I was probably 5 or 6 lines north of my starting point and waist to stomach deep when I hit an iffy signal. Knowing I was looking for a man’s thin gold wedding band, I was expecting anywhere from a 13 to an 18 on the Equinox VDI (visual display indicator). This target was jumping from 13-15. It took me 3 full scoops of sand to finally get the target out of the hole. On the third scoop, I washed the sand out and heard the distinct sound of metal rattling in the metal scoop. I looked in and saw a thin yellow gold wedding band that matched David’s description perfectly. BINGO! I walked out of the ocean trying to figure out a good surprise for David and Donna when I ran into Janaya and Aundrea walking up the beach. I put myself between them and David and Donna, who were sitting up in the dry sand and told them, “Don’t show any excitement, but is this your dad’s ring,” as I held it up. Their eyes got big and both said “yes” at the same time. I told them, “Let’s go surprise your mom and dad.” We walked up to David and Donna, and I don’t remember how I did it, but they were both shocked and amazed that his ring was found. We took lots of pictures and their Anniversary vacation was saved. I love returning people’s special treasures when they thought they were gone forever.

David, Donna, Janaya and Aundrea – You are an amazing family, and I am so glad I could help find David’s treasure back where it belongs. Plus, I got a chance to meet you all. Thank you for trusting me to help find his ring.

Jim

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