MYRTLE BEACH -- Charles Shelton Jr. never planned on becoming an expert in shark tooth hunting.
A West Virginia native, he started hunting for the tiny dark triangular fossils when he was a toddler during his family's annual Myrtle Beach vacations. As he got older, Shelton and his mother started competing for fun over their respective findings, and his collections grew.
Today, his decades-long hobby has evolved into a passion project called "Myrtle Beach Shark Teeth." Shelton, who moved to the Conway area about two years ago, holds dozens of free workshops and other events every year at local shops, museums and state parks, teaching hundreds of people about sharks, shark tooth hunting and other fossils.
Shelton has been featured on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. He also created a "Myrtle Beach Shark Teeth" Facebook group, which has over 46,000 members.
"What's humbling is now, due to the page, the amount of people that's coming here for that reason," Shelton said, regarding shark tooth hunting in Myrtle Beach.
The pro shares his secrets
Shelton said Horry County and northern Georgetown County are often packed with shark teeth and fossils. He specifically mentioned the Cherry Grove area of North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach and south Myrtle, Garden City and Litchfield Beach as being hot spots, and some of the best places are typically near piers.
Various kinds of shark teeth can be found in these places, including those from megalodons, mackerel sharks (including great whites and large mackerel), ground sharks (including sand tigers), angel sharks, saw sharks, frilled sharks and cow sharks, Shelton said.
But shark tooth finds are also common in other areas of the Palmetto State's 2,876 miles of coastline, including Edisto Beach, Folly Beach, Morris Island and Charleston. Within these areas, hunters are likely to find megalodons, great whites, bull sharks, sand sharks, lemon sharks and reef sharks, according to the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
When looking for ideal hunting conditions, Shelton said he looks at wind conditions, tides, and shell beds to determine if he'll get a good find that day.
"It's very seasonal so you might go today and it's garbage," Shelton said. "You might go back there two weeks from now, and due to the current, due to the time, due to the wind conditions, it's a great day where you have great shell beds, too. When you go to the areas and there are no shell beds, the likelihood of you finding teeth are a lot more slim."
Shelton typically checks tide charts before hunting, and the time of the tides will determine when he goes out. When he does go hunting, he often hunts in the morning, ending at around 10 a.m. High tide can be better for hunting, and king tides can severely impact how buried the fossils are, he said.
"Right now, we're buried by about a foot, meaning the shell beds are buried that deep, because we've had a lot of king tides coming in," Shelton said. "A king tide does two things: It either exposes (the shell bed) when it's pulling out, or it covers up really bad."
In a single hunt, Shelton said he typically visits six or seven beaches, and he recommends that hunters visit more than one beach when hunting. Too often, tourist families who plan a shark tooth hunting trip find nothing because they only hunt at the beach near their hotels, he said.
And for those looking to purchase tools, like shovels, sifters and scoops, Shelton said there are pros and cons to each, and he recommends that people find what works best for them. He always uses his hands to dig, but keeps a small shovel in case he wants to dig beneath the top layer of sand.
"You can get as much as you want, but it's a learning curve," Shelton said. "My hands work great because I'm a surface-find person, meaning everything I find is on the surface. But I know people that all they do is dig, and what they come home with can fill that bucket."
But Shelton emphasized that those who dig on land outside of a public beach need to obtain permission before digging. Also, county and city beach regulations across the state require beachgoers to fill up any holes they create before leaving the beach.
The hunt continues
Over the past three decades, Shelton has collected tens of thousands of teeth, jaws and fossils from sharks, megalodons, horses, mastodons, crabs and oysters. He also likes to wear a homemade necklace that features a great white shark tooth he found in Myrtle Beach.
"It's humbling," Shelton said, describing the moment he discovers a cool find. "It's a part of history. You're hoping (you found) something that is so unique that nobody in the world has. And that is the case, because each thing you find has its own identity."
Kaitlyn Emielita, director of the North Myrtle Beach Area Historical Museum, has invited Shelton to hold workshops several times over the past year. The museum, located along Second Avenue North, also has a display of some of Shelton's many findings.
"That's one thing we were really lacking," Emielita said, referring to shark teeth. "It's a little bit of a prideful thing, and no one really wants to donate it. He showed me his collection, and it's phenomenal. He's so passionate about it, and especially too, since he's more knowledgeable, that was the perfect person to set up that display."
Emielita said there is a lot of buzz and interest around finding shark teeth in the Grand Strand, but a lot of people may not know where to start. She said dozens of people show up to the workshops each time in the hopes of identifying what they have found and learning Shelton's hunting tips.
"He gives such great advice," she said.
Shelton encouraged aspiring hunters to keep an open mind with what could look like a tooth or fossil. Some fossils can look like ordinary rocks from one side, while hiding mastodon teeth or another hidden gem on the other side.
Though most shark teeth are black, some can be different colors, like cream or sand, orange, red, blue or even green, depending on how long ago it was shed and the phosphorous levels of the sediment it has stayed in, he said.
Shelton said his passion for learning about the ocean's secrets inspires him to keep educating others, and he encouraged other hunters to share their findings as well.
"I have an itch to educate and be educated," Shelton said. "I want to keep this knowledge growing because it's a dying breed."