whereissit

We have often worried about what we might find as we bushwhack off of various trails into dense woods and thickets. Our worst fears came true for several hikers who were geocaching on July 23rd at the base of Thomas Creek Bridge on the Oregon Coast. The hikers discovered the body of Michelle Ashlee Dickson who had been previously reported missing. According the Associated Press Dickson's body was identified by the Del Norte County Sheriff's office after hikers found it while geocaching Wednesday at the base of the Thomas Creek Bridge on the Oregon Coast. State Police investigators, who are leading the probe, have labeled the case a suspicious death. Curry County Sheriff John Bishop says it is clear Dickson plunged from the bridge, but unclear whether she jumped or was dropped or thrown off. Dickson has been missing since her burning car was found on the side of a road last week. The police made an arrest yesterday of an aquaintance of Disckson's. Josiah Miller, 27, is a suspect in the case after authorities found blood in his car. This is truly sad and we hope the proper charges are sought against Mr. Miller.

The city of Florence Alabama is the latest to to deal with a poorly placed cache. Alabama Department of Transportation workers were inspecting the O'Neal Bridge in Florence when they spotted a package wrapped in duct tape and called police. Of course we all know what comes next. Enter the Bomb Squad!! See the news report . "[it was an] about 8 inches square Tupperware container wrapped in duct tape," said bomb squad commander Capt. Marty Dodd. And of course it was determined to be a geocache. This wasn't the first time the bomb squad had to destroy a geocache. Last June an ammo container was found on the campus of the University of North Alabama. Special Agent Kerry Straub of the FBI also said the game is harmless, but he asked everyone who plays to clearly label their container so law enforcement officers would know what it is.

Here is a great article in The Jamestown Sun on the life of a travel bug. The article tells the story on Barb Sand, who placed a travel bug in a geocache in California back in 2004. In 2007, Sand's travel bug came back to South Dakota and North Dakota, but not back to her hometown of Jamestown, ND. Sand wanted to see the travel bug return to North Dakota and pick up a souvenir at each stop along the way. According to the article the travelbug is now several times its original size and has traveled over 7400 miles. Four years later the travelbug returned home to the Frontier Village Cache. The cache was hidden by Sand and has logged nearly 200 visits.

Is a bottle in a tree mysterious? Or is the tree actually holding the bottle even more suspicious? According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Colorado a 74-year-old man reported a suspicious activity to Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies at 4:21 p.m. May 22. The man, who lives on the 9500 block of Swarthmore Drive, told the deputies he saw someone leave something in a pine tree in a nearby park. A short time later, someone else removed the item from the tree. The deputies investigated the tree and found a small prescription bottle wrapped in camouflage tape. Inside the bottle was a small book with initials in it. The deputies determined the bottle was being used in a game of geocache and that no criminal activity had occurred. Good for the Sheriff's Office for not calling out the bomb squad and understanding the issue without creating a large-scale scene. It appears the cache, called What Quincy Lake???.

We had an idea and wonder if it has been done before. There are numerous geocaches using private and public webcams. Does a webcam geocache exist where the webcam itself is not the cache, but the cache can be viewed from the webcam? In a sense, you can watch people attempting to find a cache from a public or private webcam over the internet? Anyone know if one exists?

A Fox affiliate in Houston, TX follows a couple who look for geocaches in their area. Nothing really new here, but it is always interesting to see how Fox's style differs from other affiliates. Lots of quick pans, zooms and throw in a rack focus for good measure. See the story here. Have you noticed every cacher interviewed uses the overused quote of, I use multimillion dollar satellites to find tupperware in the woods or some variation of it?

Did anyone see Lost last night (5/15/08)? It featured the first ever geocache. Well, sort of. In the scene, Ben is searching for the orchid with Hurley and Locke. Ben all of the sudden looks at a pile of rocks. He kneels down and uncovers a box. Inside is a mirror that Ben uses to communicate with someone. Hurley grabs a package of crackers and begins to snack away. Ben remarks that the crackers are 15-years-old. So, the cache was hidden years before Dave Ulmer hid his items in Portland, Oregon back in 2000.

Here are two that I know of.... Lacey V.Martin in Ocean City, MD. Last accessed in August of 2007. And Miss Blue's Dog Haus near Lovettsville, VA.

This past weekend members of the community near Tigertail Beach in Southwest Florida held a clean-up day as part of the 18th Annual Bay Days. They cleaned up a number of items including cigarette butts, fishing line and clothing. Among the unusual items, a bong, underwear and a Geocache!! According to the article in the MarcoEagle, the most intriguing find was a geo-cache, a stash hidden for use in a game requiring a Global Positioning System or GPS. This one was a plastic jar titled “Tiger Tail (sic) Treasure” and filled with trinkets and a finder’s logbook. It contained a start date of March 18, 2008, and a list of eight treasure hunters who had visited the cache. “Geo-caching is usually a harmless pursuit that links modern technology to the thrill of an old-fashion treasure hunt,” said Gail Fox, an employee at Everglades National Park. “We don’t allow items like this to be left in our park, but enthusiasts can play the game using natural landmarks like a large tree.” For this geo-cache, leaving it in a Collier County Park also is not allowed. “We clean up anything that is not natural,” said Camden Smith from Collier County’s information center. “We want to keep our parks all natural so visitors can recreate with nature undisturbed.” The Tiger Trail Treasure appears to be the loser in this clean-up day. But as we all know, this is what happens when you don't get permission to place a cache. The cache has yet to be marked unavailable. The sad thing is there appeared to be at least one geocoin in there.

Hunt Leads to Shocking Discovery in N.J.! We saw the headline on-line and were intrigued. Did a cacher find a body? Had one of those fictional books about GPS serial killers come true? No, apparently the shocking discovery was shocks itself. Apparently 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine had a geocache contest where the finder received a metal plate with a phone number to receive the free set of shocks. The magazine's "GeoStash" contest is part of a growing hobby called geocaching where a GPS is used to find a cache of various items according to the article.

Check out this audio clip from Voice of America (VOA) regarding an Earth Day inspired geocaching event in Kentucky. The piece follows a Park Ranger who started a geocaching weekend at Kentucky's Cumberland and Dale Hollow State Parks.

GIZMODO has a feature regarding a cemetery's plan to use GPSr's to locate a dead loved ones burial plot instead of marking it with a gravestone. When you die, instead of having your grave marked by granite, you can now peg it to something even more immutable: latitude and longitude. The idea is part of a trend towards eco-friendly burials. According to an article on Metro.co.uk , the coffins used will be biodegradable and those wishing to visit the site at a later date will need to use GPS coordinates provided by the cemetery. The burial plots will be located in bush land in a protected koala sanctuary adjacent to the cemetery. GIZMODO adds the graves, located at Lismore Memorial Park Cemetery in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, will be unmarked but recorded in coordinates, and spaced at 5 meters to ensure you're kneeling at the decomposing remains of the right person.

This only made the daily crime report for Albany, OR, but it is big news in the world of geocaching. According to the Albany Police Log the agency received a call about 3:30 p.m. April 12 about an individual “stashing” something under a bench. The caller said he checked the area later and found a magnetic keyholder containing a paper with a list of names and dates. According to a dispatch report, officers looked at the box and determined it was a geocache, part of a game in which participants use a GPS to find a hidden “treasure.” AND THIS IS OUR FAVORITE PART The item was returned so as not to disrupt the game. Kudos to the Albany Police Department!

This only made the daily crime report for Albany, OR, but it is big news in the world of geocaching. According to the Albany Police Log the agency received a call about 3:30 p.m. April 12 about an individual “stashing” something under a bench. The caller said he checked the area later and found a magnetic keyholder containing a paper with a list of names and dates. According to a dispatch report, officers looked at the box and determined it was a geocache, part of a game in which participants use a GPS to find a hidden “treasure.” AND THIS IS OUR FAVORITE PART The item was returned so as not to disrupt the game. Kudos to the Albany Police Department!

I think my advice is quite obvious. If the cacher received permission from Costco, they would say to the authorities "oh, that is a geocache". Instead he chose to leave it next to a busy store and parking lot. If law enforcement had the same reaction to a device left in the woods away from the public, I would have a different opinion. The best idea, as stated in my previous posts on this subject, is to mark the caches appropriately and think about where you are leaving them.

Ancaster, Ontario, Canada in the city of Hamilton is the latest area to respond to a suspicious device and discover it was really a geocache. According to an article in thespec.com, Hamilton police say a device found hanging in a tree behind a Costco store in Ancaster was a geocache, not a homemade bomb. The Explosives Disposal Unit was called out yesterday morning when a small sealed tube covered with green camouflage tape and a wire sticking out of it was found hanging in a tree behind Costco in Ancaster’s Meadowlands. Bomb technicians used a robot to photograph the object and realized it was part of a worldwide phenomenon called geocaching. It appears this cacher may have broken one of the geocacher's codes by not respecting property rights and not seeking permission where appropriate. We refer you to the geocachers creed for being a safe-legal and ethical geocacher.

We were reminiscing the other day of games we used to play when we were kids (we are over 30). One game, which I don't think we ever had a name for, had some similarities to geocaching. The game we played involved hiders, seekers, time, and explosions (not really). We separated into two teams, hiders and seekers. The hider team would take an old-fashioned kitchen timer (not digital), set it for 5 to 10 minutes, and place it in a well hidden spot (bushes, trees, etc). The yard was typically the boundaries. The seekers had to find the kitchen timer before time expired. If they didn't, it blew up! Or at least that is what we pretended happened. Did you play any games similar to geocaching when you were a kid?

[ How did this cache near a bridge closed to vehicular traffic violate the listing guidelines? At the time I reviewed this cache, I saw the bridge on the map and put the cache on hold to quiz the hider about it. I published the cache once I learned the bridge was for pedestrians only. There are hundreds if not thousands of caches like this. I can also point to any number of cache hides in other states that are hidden on or under bridges on the Interstate Highway or US Federal Highway systems. Those hides present clearer cases for violations of the "Off Limits" guideline. Apart from the bridge, can you point me to a nearby government building, school or playground that I missed during the review process? A photo would help. Also, playgrounds are not a guidelines issue unless they are school playgrounds. Although I am not familar with this area, it is my understanding there is a water treatment plant that is in close proximity. This is what was reported on the day of the incident.

Otsiningo Park in Binghamton, New York has added faux foxes to scare away the geese. Are they the next great hiding spot for geocaches? If you were with a group, would you draw straws to ensure it was not a really "still" living fox? We found a fake squirrel key holder used as a cache once. It did make us take a step back. We still see those beady little eyes.

In March, a suspicious package call in Bridgeport, OH created quite a raucous as emergency responders reacted by calling out the bomb squad. It turned out the 'suspicious package' was a geocache. Initially, police said the group playing the game would likely face inducing panic charges. It is now being reported that charges are unlikely in the case as it would be nearly impossible to prove the cachers intended to cause any sort of panic. We should all remember the geocachers creed before placing your next hide. In this case the hider broke all three of the suggestions. Don’t place a cache near schools or government buildings unless the administration and staff are fully aware of the placement. Use caution where children play. Parents are understandably concerned when strangers are near their children. Don’t place a cache near critical infrastructure that might be considered a terrorist target, or create a cache that could be mistaken for a terrorist device (e.g. a pipe bomb).

We have heard a lot about geocaching documentaries. Recently, we learned of a feature film thriller involving geocaching. GPS: The Movie, also known as G.P.S., follows a group of adventure seeking college kids who embark on a GPS treasure hunt in the Northwest wilderness. They are led to believe they will find two million dollars in cash. When they arrive at the treasure location they find what appears to be a grave. They dig up the grave to find a small coffin. What they find inside is shocking. Are the contents of the coffin real or is it all part of the game? From the trailer it appears to be a mix of a James Patterson novel and The Blair Witch Project. Despite its low budget look, it has received some positive reviews on IMDB. The film was the winner of the Best Local Film at the Tacoma Film Festival. Currently, it is only being screened in Texas. Has anyone seen this movie?

Kit Fox, sorry I was not clear. It should read "it does contain one bad word."

You have to love the subtle humor of the British. This (deleted by moderator), posted today, is titled 'Bad Day Geocaching'. It's no wonder we steal most of our television shows from the British. The most notable include Cheers, The Office, Trading Spaces, Three's Company, and Welcome Back Kotter, to name a few. Note: The video is :21 long and includes foul language (one bad word). (Profanity is not acceptable in this forum, and neither is linking to it. Further explanation below...)

Here are some of mine, with the corresponding lyric that matches up with my hunt... I Get Around - 2PAC- "Round and Round, Round We Go." Searchin' -Lynyrd Skynyrd- " I Asked the Wiseman One Sunny Day, Can you Help me Findy My Way." Run Around -Blues Traveler- "Why You Wanna Give Me a Run-Around, Is It a Sure-Fire Way to Speed Things Up, When All It Does is Slow Me Down." I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For -U2- "I Have Crawled, These City Walls, Only To Be With You, But I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, But I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For You Can't Always Get What You Want -Rolling Stones- "You Can't Always Get What You Want, But If You Try Sometimes-You Might Just Find, You Get What You Need" Amazing Grace - "I Once Was Lost, But Now Am Found."

Why does it appear that all works of fiction involving geocaching also involves serial killers? I submit to the court: evidence A and evidence B The plot of Cache of Corpses involves a hunt for a killer who is using the latest in global positioning devices in a macabre scavenger hunt. Abomination, soon to be in paperback, is another novel involving geocaching and murder. How about a National Treasure style work of fiction involving geocaching. Please, no more mass-murderers.