Yesterday, I had a reverse-encounter with the police. I went to them, rather than the other way around.
In this case, I found a rather significant illegal campsite in a Chicago-area forest preserve while bushwacking to a cache. The camp site looked suspicious, so I high-tailed it to civilization, and called the authorities. The police took great interest and after seeing my iphone screenshots and my GPS waypoints, the police asked if I could lead them to the site the next day.
So earlier today I found myself serving as the guide for three armed officers tramping through the woods. Once we got near the site they asked me to stay back while they checked it out with hands on their holsters. The site was empty, so they let me come. GZ was a few feet from the camp, so naturally I first went to find the cache and sign the log. The cops collected some evidence, then began to dismantled the camp and clear out the area (tents, tarps, chairs, tools, dozens and dozens of beer cans, peanut butter and even a can of beans). I pitched in and helped in what will likely be the largest CITO haul I'll ever be part of.
The police were very appreciative, knew a little about Geocaching ("we get called out when there are people running around in the parks at night with flashlights") and had a mostly positive impression of the hobby. For me, it was kind of fun riding to and from the staging area in the perp-seat of a squad car (the back seat behind the barrier).
Turns out the people (likely homeless) that had set up the camp were likely related to recent burglaries in the area.
Link to listing and log: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...cc-88fee0bf15f9
