US Virgin Islands
Lost a wedding ring in the US Virgin Islands?
Whether it was Magens Bay, the Trunk Bay snorkel trail or the Cruz Bay ferry dock, the first question is which island.
Plenty of visitors to the US Virgin Islands see two islands in a day, with a ferry in between, and that makes a lost wedding band feel impossible to place. It can still be searched for. The odds turn on how far you can narrow the day down: first the island, then the beach, then the stretch of it where you last had the ring on.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in the US Virgin Islands.
Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Sheltered bays and open water on three islands
On St Thomas, Magens Bay on the north side is sheltered, and its water is exceptionally calm. Hull Bay, on the same North Shore, gets rough Atlantic water and is one of the places to surf on the island.
Trunk Bay, Maho Bay and Francis Bay are on the north shore of St John. Maho and Francis are in general less affected by winter swells than elsewhere on that shore, though a north swell can stir them up and cut visibility. On St Croix, Cane Bay on the north shore has a reef snorkelers can reach and the Cane Bay Wall dropping into deeper water just offshore.
How we take it from here
You keep one number
The person who answers your first WhatsApp message stays with the case, including when the search is over.
The order of your day goes along
Beyond your pin and photos, the detectorist hears which island you were on and in what order you did things, beach, boat or town.
Deep water, said out loud
A piece that went down off a boat or over deep reef is a hard case. We say so in plain words, and the choice to go on is yours.
Two answers to have ready
The last moment you are sure it was on you, and roughly how long after that you noticed it was gone.
Costs, spelled out
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Across St Thomas, St John and St Croix
The list at the end adds beaches without a card of their own. Two protected places, Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge and Buck Island Reef National Monument, are left as they are.
Where a day out usually goes
Charlotte Amalie waterfront, St Thomas
The Charlotte Amalie waterfront looks onto the harbor, and behind it run Main Street and its cobblestone side streets. Here nothing is lost in sand: what matters is the way you walked, from the waterfront to the shops and back.
Magens Bay, St Thomas
Magens Bay, on the north side of St Thomas, is a mile-long curve of white sand around a horseshoe-shaped bay. The center of the bay is clear and sandy, and its edges are rocky, so a swim in the middle and a snorkel along the sides are two different searches.
Sapphire Beach, Coki Point and the East End
Sapphire Beach, near Red Hook on the East End, has long stretches of soft sand, and snorkelers go in from the shore to the rocky points at either end, with the best coral on the eastern edge. Coki Point Beach sits on a small peninsula on the northeast side of St Thomas, with calm, shallow water and reef life a few easy kicks from the shore.
Cruz Bay and Honeymoon Beach, St John
Every ferry from St Thomas arrives at the Cruz Bay dock. Trails lead from town to Salomon Beach and Honeymoon Beach. Honeymoon is a white-sand beach with a narrow reef along the shore to its east.
Trunk Bay, St John
Trunk Bay, on the north shore of St John, has white sand, crystal clear water and a gently sloping beach. Its underwater snorkel trail follows the west side of Trunk Bay Cay and then turns back toward the beach. The reef carries on to the northern tip of the cay, and the water tends to be rougher the farther out you go.
Cinnamon Bay and Hawksnest Bay, St John
Cinnamon Bay is the longest beach on St John. A small cay sits in the middle of the bay, with shallow sandy areas on its south side that make a resting spot before the swim back. At Hawksnest Bay, three fingers of coral reef reach out directly from the shoreline, and the water right over them is shallow.
Maho Bay and Francis Bay, St John
Maho Bay is a shallow bay with a long beach and seagrass beds in its middle stretches that are home to green sea turtles, and coral along the western side toward the point between Maho and Cinnamon. Francis Bay has calm water from the west end of its beach all the way to Little Maho Beach.
Christiansted and Mermaid Beach, St Croix
Christiansted has cobblestone streets and a waterfront wharf area with a boardwalk, where some boat trips pick people up. Mermaid Beach, with powdery sand and calm, clear water for wading, is at a resort, and you do not have to be a guest there to use the beach.
Cane Bay and Frederiksted, St Croix
Cane Bay Beach, on the north shore of St Croix, is narrow and lined with palms, and the reef near shore is within reach of snorkelers. Frederiksted is a waterfront village on the western end of the island. Fort Frederik Beach, a short walk from downtown, has soft sand and calm water, and snorkelers head to Frederiksted Pier nearby.
Places we cover in the US Virgin Islands
- Charlotte Amalie waterfront, St Thomas
- Magens Bay, St Thomas
- Sapphire Beach, East End, St Thomas
- Coki Point Beach, St Thomas
- Lindquist Beach, East End, St Thomas
- Brewers Bay Beach, St Thomas
- Hull Bay Beach, St Thomas
- Red Hook, St Thomas
- Cruz Bay, St John
- Honeymoon Beach and Salomon Beach, St John
- Hawksnest Bay, St John
- Trunk Bay, St John
- Cinnamon Bay, St John
- Maho Bay, St John
- Francis Bay, St John
- Christiansted waterfront and boardwalk, St Croix
- Mermaid Beach, St Croix
- Cane Bay Beach, St Croix
- Frederiksted and Fort Frederik Beach, St Croix
- Rainbow Beach, St Croix
Lost somewhere on St Thomas, St John or St Croix
From fingers, ears and necks
- Wedding bands
- Engagement rings
- Oura rings
- Gold chains and pendants
- Hoop and stud earrings
- Link bracelets and anklets
Gear for a beach day
- Phones
- A rental Jeep key
- Dive watches
- Smartwatches
- Sunglasses and glasses with a metal frame
Between the ferry and the reef
- The Cruz Bay ferry dock
- The snorkel trail at Trunk Bay
- Watching turtles over the seagrass at Maho Bay
- Paddleboarding on Magens Bay
- Shore snorkeling at Cane Bay
- A walk along Main Street in Charlotte Amalie
Four steps, one chat
Steps one and two take a few minutes on your phone.
A message about the day
Open a WhatsApp chat with the item, the island, and whether you were swimming, snorkeling, on a boat or in town.
Island, pin and pictures
Drop a pin on the beach, dock or street, and add any photo you took there that day, plus one of the piece itself.
The right person for that island
St Thomas, St John and St Croix are separate trips, so we find a detectorist who can get to yours and hand them your pin and pictures.
After the search, the plain facts
You agree the day, the detectorist goes out, and we tell you what was covered and what turned up, even if that was nothing.
Questions about the US Virgin Islands
How long is the snorkel trail at Trunk Bay? My wedding band came off partway round.
The trail follows the west side of Trunk Bay Cay for about 300 feet and then turns back toward the beach, so the ground is contained. Tell us whether you noticed on the way out or on the way back, and whether you swam on past the end toward the tip of the cay.
Magens Bay is long. Is 'near the north end' precise enough for a lost Oura ring?
It is a start, but on a mile-long curve of sand it leaves a lot of beach. A photo from where you sat helps us place you along it. Say too whether you swam in the clear, sandy middle of the bay or along the rocky edges.
Our phone went into the water as we stepped off the ferry in Cruz Bay.
Every ferry from St Thomas lands at the same Cruz Bay dock, so tell us which crossing you took and roughly when, and pin the part of the dock where it fell. Ask the ferry line as well, in case it hit the boat instead.
Which part of Maho Bay has the turtles? A bracelet slipped off while we were watching them.
The seagrass beds in the middle stretches of the bay. So you were most likely over the middle of this shallow bay, not the coral on the western side. Pin where you went in.
Is a detectorist any use for sunglasses? Mine slid off a float mat at Coki Point.
If the frames have metal in them, a detectorist can look for them; plastic frames are a job for eyes and a mask. Coki Point is calm and shallow, with reef life a few kicks from the shore, so say whether you had drifted out over the coral.
My dive watch came off at Cane Bay, either on the reef near shore or out at the Wall.
Those are very different cases. Snorkelers find coral in as little as five feet of water off the beach, shallow enough for a detectorist to search. The Wall lies some 200 yards offshore and drops dramatically into deep water, so a watch that went down there is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
The Jeep key was in a pocket when we took a kayak out at Cinnamon Bay.
Think about where you landed. There is a small cay in the middle of Cinnamon Bay, with shallow sandy areas on its south side where people stop before heading back. Tell us whether you went ashore there and where you launched from.
US Virgin Islands
Start with the island and the beach
Drop a map pin on the beach in a WhatsApp message to us, and if a ferry to St John was part of the day, mention it, because the dock and the beach are searched separately.