Should I Or Shouldn't I...?

[+Wandering Bears]

I've got a fun travel bug that I put into play because some LOTR characters were making the rounds through local caches. Problem is he went 18 whole miles before a n00b with 1 find found him and has gone missing. I have sent emails twice and gotten no response.

 

Should I email him and offer to pay the shipping to get the bug back, or just consider it gone?

 

This sure is frustrating.

[+blackjack65]

Hello,

 

You should do is try to contact him. Send him an email,

and a PM on the forums (if he uses it he'll see it there as well)

and offer to pay shipping, or ask what his intentions are.

Unfortunatly, newbies will sometimes pick a TB up

and think it's a souvenir rather than a traveler.

This has caused many people much frustration.

 

Another possible issue that may have arose is the fact he's new,

he may have in fact placed it in another cache, but has not yet

(or simply doesn't know how) logged the move.

 

There are a lot of people on the TB rescue team in various area's.

FreeWheelin4x4 is a member in South Central Pennsylvania.

If he can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact him.

 

We hope your TB gets recovered! Good luck on its location.

[+Colorado Cacher]

Welcome to GC! I had a gnomad I turned loose in Colorado stolen at the second stop. I'm still @#$%!!! Have also had seven of eleven TB's disappear. I no longer contribute to the cause.

[+the hermit crabs]

I've got a fun travel bug that I put into play because some LOTR characters were making the rounds through local caches.  Problem is he went 18 whole miles before a n00b with 1 find found him and has gone missing.  I have sent emails twice and gotten no response.

 

Should I email him and offer to pay the shipping to get the bug back, or just consider it gone?

 

This sure is frustrating.

Here's another thing you could try: there's a remote possibilty that cacher fairchance16 knows the cacher who has your bug (bobfvfd16). You could try emailing him/her and asking.

 

There were a few leaps of logic to jump to this conclusion, so it may not pan out at all. My train of thought was this:

• bobfvfd16 and fairchance16 both logged that cache on the same day.
  
• according to fairchance16's profile, he or she works in the fire/EMS dept and lives near the town of Fairchance.
  
• according to a web search, Fairchance has a volunteer fire department.
  
• the name "bobfvfd" could possibly stand for "Bob, Fairchance Volunteer Fire Department", so maybe they work together. (edit: I just noticed that on bobfvfd16's profile page under "Hobbies" it says that he's a volunteer firefighter, so this wasn't a bad guess after all.)
  
• both of these cachers have "16" at the ends of their names. (no idea what the significance of that would be -- could just be coincidence, or maybe it's a number related to their fire department?)
  
• their logs for that cache are written in a similar style, both in all-caps. fairchance16 has logged three other caches, and none of them were in all caps, so this one is unusual.
  

Like I said, it's pretty flimsy, but it wouldn't hurt to send a friendly email to fairchance16 asking if they know bobfvfd16.

 

(If this were a detective TV show, then of course they'd know each other , but in real life sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence, or, in this case, maybe four coincidences are just four coincidences.)

Edited December 22, 2005 by the hermit crabs

[+cache_test_dummies]

Note to self: Do not ever challenge the hermit crabs to a game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

 

Especially if there is wagering involved.

[+Wandering Bears]

Good suggestions all. Have emailed both users. Send shipping info to bob. Will let y'all know how it plays out.

[+Eartha]

HermitCrabs, where DO you find the time!?

[+welch]

Note to self: Do not ever challenge the hermit crabs to a game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

 

Especially if there is wagering involved.

No kidding

[Mustcache]

Here's another thing you could try: there's a remote possibilty that cacher fairchance16 knows the cacher who has your bug (bobfvfd16). You could try emailing him/her and asking.

 

I tried something like you're suggesting. The two that cached together were sisters. The one that was holding my TB was not responding to my emails. After a few tries, I emailed the sister.

She was gracious enough to forward my request.

 

When I finally received a reply from the one holding the TB, I received the most rude terse email. I was informed of all sorts of defects in my character and mental stability. How dare I send the email to her sister!! And I thought I asked respectfully!

 

Anyway, the TB never made it back into the mainstream.

 

[+the hermit crabs]

HermitCrabs, where DO you find the time!?

 

Insomnia

[+blackjack65]

I also once sent, after a few weeks of inactivity, a nice and polite message

each to 2 members of a Team who had found my TB together,

and one had grabbed it from the other.

 

I received a very aggressive message from the 1st cacher that threatened

to isolate my TB in a very remote cache never found but by the

2nd who actually helped place it with a 3rd cacher,

at which occasion he had already stranded someone else's TB.

 

That 3rd cacher then grabbed the TB, and dropped it virtually in another remote

cache in the middle of a swamp that the 2nd cacher actually found, but not the 3rd.

 

I went to retrieve it myself, as indeed it was there, and put it in circulation again.

 

That 2nd cacher then went on to grab another TB of mine,

and kept it secret untill I myself, once again, went to that other cache,

and confirm it was missing. He then went on to perform virtual

drop and retrives in various caches, and has finally dropped it in

a virtual cache of his that he probably has not even requested to be activated.

A Virtual Private Parking, in effect.

 

I have since went and recovered a 3rd TB of mine from a nearby cache,

fearing that they would kidnap that one as well. I will drop it out of country soon.

 

So you see, getting a 3rd party involved may not always be a good idea,

as the culprit may feel ashamed in front of his peer, and thus react aggressivly.

[+ScoutingWV]

I just saw this thread while I was looking for some other info and had to post ...

 

I know Wandering Bears through Geocaching and have found a couple of his caches. I happened to meet Fairchance16 while at a cache site not long ago. (geesh - talk about six degrees of separation!)

 

The Hermit Crabs power of deduction is SPOT ON! Very spooky!

 

I wish I you could help me find some of my old DNF's that way.

[+srt4guy]

HermitCrabs, where DO you find the time!? 

 

Insomnia

to many mcdyver and team spoonhead puzzle caches.

Tim

Edited January 2, 2006 by srt4guy

[+Wandering Bears]

Scouting,

 

Too bad you can't retroactively get them to get ahold of my TB.

 

Both emails went unresponded to.