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Lost Tb's


Deepdiggingmole

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I was made aware last March (2005) that a TB of mine went missing :grin: - I tracked the logs and found that it had gone missing from a cache quite a distance from my location. :( I left a log on the cache site asking if anything had been mentioned in the log book - the next two visitors emailed me with details of the log which showed that although no mention was made online the TB had been picked up and the logged signed by the finders. :grin: I then emailed both persons in a hope that I will jog their memory and the item can be replaced or even sent back to me. :) I heard nothing for 6 months even though I noted that one of these 'cachers' was still active. I emailed again - I got a reply on one occasion to say 'yes they had found the TB but had forgotten all about it and will move it on'. I have heard nothing since. Despite many many emails to these two people. The one that emailed me is not an active cacher, but is the brother of the one who is active. I keep emailing them but do not get replies. Is this just plain ignorance or am I missing something here - is there anything I can do ? - Can I do anything about the active cacher to get them to recover this item. My annoyance isn't so much thae fact that the TB has disappeared - it will happen as I am sure many people have found out. No, my annoyance is to do with the lack of respect in replying to an email........... :D

Tim - ddm

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lots of people see TBs as trade items...there's not a lot you can do to change that, except try to make the bug less desireable as a keepsake, and more motivating to move along according to its mission...

 

(I believe that) people who take TBs as trade items know at some level that they are doing the wrong thing, and that is why they are reticent to respond to emails asking about the TBs...again, not much you can do except send emails every 15 minutes or mail packages of dead fish postage-due... :grin:

 

jamie

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Everyone that has TB seems to have this problem. We have three that are in the hands of active members yet they will not put the bugs back down. One even acknowledges that he has it, needs to put it down but does nothing. I guess you just have to move one and consider that some folks just don't get it.

Kcseagull

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Travel bug tags come in pairs. If you get no response from the people who picked it up, take the second tag and send it out with a new item(traveler) and edit the TB page. I have had to do this before. Face it, some people take them as trade items,lose them,or just plain forget. IMHO emailing them 1000 times is not going to bring your bug back.

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I have lost a few bugs, I am fed up with people picking them up and not following the directions even when they do log them. My plan is to not buy anymore TB tags. I have other things I can spend my money on other than TB tags that are going to get lost of stolen :ph34r:

Edited by JohnnyVegas
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I'm sorry that many have problems with TB's. I try to get them closer to thier goals when I pick one up. Right now I have a misfit elephant that's going to Ga. It was left in a TB hotel for a while. It was trying to get up to GA. by Christmas....I felt bad that it was already late to it's meeting. I'm taking it a bit closer to GA., but I can't take it all the way...I wish I could. :ph34r:

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I've come to just expect our bugs to eventually disappear. People forget they have them, or they lose them, or they didn't realize that their kids took it from the cache, or they drop out of caching without replacing the bug, or sudden health/job/family crises arise that make caching a very low priority. (And a few people are just malicious and will steal them on purpose, but that's pretty rare.) Or the caches that the bugs are in get muggled, or float away in floods, or get mistaken for trash by cleanup crews.

 

And I never expect anybody to actually go along with any of our bugs' goals, either, so I'm always surprised and delighted when someone actually does. Most of the logs are just "found it, will move along soon," regardless of the bug's goal.

 

So I think it's kind of ironic that while the non-ideal history of our bugs -- getting lost or stolen, or get stalled in the middle of nowhere, or having their goals ignored -- has not been enough to deter us from sending more than 50 of them out, Groundpseak's latest change might very well be the thing that makes us stop getting any more: I just hate the new format of 10 logs per TB page. Bug logs are not fun to look through any more with the constant clicking and waiting required. And if I'm not finding it fun, I can't see myself continuing to send more out. (I never thought I'd say that... I loved playing with travel bugs before this change.)

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I sent a TB to Detroit from southern IL for my husband to pick up when he was working up there. After many months, it got there and he picked it up when he was there. We thought this was pretty neat! This has been the best experience I have had with a TB. I have had brand new bugs just launched picked up, never to be heard from again; bugs sent in one direction go hundreds of miles in the other direction; bugs spend months in a cache or in a cacher's hands; etc. etc. My sister sent one from AZ to PA and it ended up in Europe (though we thought that was pretty neat.) I think you have to expect a very large attrition rate and just accept it.

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As I said before - it isnt the fact that the TB has gone missing - I know where it is (or more correctly I know who it is with) but what erks me is that emails to this active member are completely ignored. It doesnt take more than 5 minutes to write and explain that the TB has been lost, or they forgot about it, but to ignore the emails is ignorant. Anyhow - what I was hoping was that there was a way to contact a member other than by email and get them to move this item on (which is in fact property of another person, and as such keeping it could be seen as theft), by the responses so far - this does not seem possible

thanks all

Tim - ddm

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what I was hoping was that there was a way to contact a member other than by email and get them to move this item on (which is in fact property of another person, and as such keeping it could be seen as theft)

I don't think that it could be constituted as theft in a court of law, but then again, I doubt there is a precident set for such an issue :ph34r: Would it be an interstate crime if it were punishible?

 

I personally move TB's along their way - and always in the right direction. I spend time reading the TB's logs and viewing where it has been, and if a TB passes through my hands, I bookmark it in my browser and keep an eye on where it goes. I take the pictures requested, and submit them even if the TB's page doesn't mention anything about them. I think that being able to get a TB sent around the country or even the world is a wonderful thing, and I'd hope that all cachers would feel the same. I know that it's not always true, though.

 

I understand about the fact that people may forget or have life circumstances come up, but if the owner of the TB sends you an e-mail, you should at least be courteous enough to tell them what the problem is, and if you're leaving the whole caching activity for good, then don't keep the TB! If it's a cool item that the TB is attatched to, then go ahead and keep it if it makes your greedy heart feel better, but slap a 30-cent stamp on an envelope and mail back the tag - you'll make someone's day a lot better, and you'll feel better on the inside too.

 

Not sure why there are people who even bother to go caching if all they are going to do is mess it up for other people. I just purchased my first TB last night, and after reading this, I worry about sending it out.

 

As someone suggested earlier about sending out the second tag? I personally wouldn't do it, but that's just me. I'd like to keep my copy to make sure it doesn't disappear too!

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I'm in the same boat. I realize that people forget about them, lose them etc. but I have a bug that's been in the same guys hands for over a year and won't respond to my emails. :ph34r: I will no longer buy any tb's. I feel that if Groundspeak sells them they should try to help us in a case like this. Maybe suspend the account of the cacher that has the bug. I bet that would get the bug moving along. :ph34r:

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(And a few people are just malicious and will steal them on purpose, but that's pretty rare.)

 

I'm beginning to think this is not so rare at all... 3 of our 4 very first TBs were taken from their first caches with no logs, no nothing... POOF!!! And it was 2 different caches, 200 miles apart, the first cache being completely cleaned out of TB's and the second cache just being picked of MOST of the TB's...

 

I find it hard to believe that both of these acts were of someone with good intentions :) , and it makes me incredulous :huh: that some people can be so freakin' mean!!!!

 

Happy Cachin'!

Lori V.

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I think that the TB's are fun and we love to get them and move them along to see where they have been and where they are going.

 

I have recently purchased one of these and hope (pray) that it does not get muggled. I am sure it will from all of the posts that I have seen on this topic.

 

If it does occur, it will be the first and last one that I purchase. It seems that spending money on something that has a very good percentage to be muggled is not worth while.

 

I will continue to move these along as I stated they are alot of fun and my family really enjoys the hunt and the history.

 

Happy GC'ing everyone.

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I don't think that it could be constituted as theft in a court of law, but then again, I doubt there is a precident set for such an issue :) Would it be an interstate crime if it were punishible?

Theft - 'taking property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it' - I think that about sums it up. :)

Though proving intention would be the difficult bit, yet ignoring emails would evidence that I would suggest. :)

No, I too doubt that there is a precident

Interstate crime ! - not in my case as I live in the UK :huh:

 

I agree maybe Groundspeak could act here - we have no way of contacting the other party (those that we know are active members) but Groundspeak can, but I am not sure that they would want to get involved.

Tim - ddm

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If it does occur, it will be the first and last one that I purchase. It seems that spending money on something that has a very good percentage to be muggled is not worth while.

TBs can and do go missing - it's a fact of life. If you're really worried about one going missing then don't bother buying the first one. I would say about 1/3 of the TBs that I have releasesed have gone missing. What I did was wait a reasonable time and then re-released the TB with its copy tag and a new hitchhiker. Also, don't release a TB with anything attached that you're especially fond of. Most of my TBs are things I've found in caches.

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If it does occur, it will be the first and last one that I purchase.  It seems that spending money on something that has a very good percentage to be muggled is not worth while. 

TBs can and do go missing - it's a fact of life. If you're really worried about one going missing then don't bother buying the first one.

This would be fine if new cachers recieved a warning that thier tb's will more than likely come up missing and there's nothing that Groundspeak or anyone else will do about it. The problem is that I think that most people that buy tb's are excited newbies like I was when I bought my first few sets. Only after their tb's get stolen or placed in someones personal collection do they see the futilility of the whole situation.

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The problem is that I think that most people that buy tb's are excited newbies like I was when I bought my first few sets.  Only after their tb's get stolen or placed in someones personal collection do they see the futilility of the whole situation.

 

It's not "futile" unless you expect them to last forever. Just rid yourself of that notion and you'll get more enjoyment out of them.

 

It's kind of like tropical fish. You buy them, you put them in a tank, you do everything you can to make sure they're okay, but eventually they die in spite of all your efforts. But you knew they would... you're unhappy that they died, but it's what happens; you aren't surprised and shocked that they didn't live forver.

 

So you just get some more and put them in the tank, and watch them while they last.

 

And just like having one lone goldfish in a bowl is bound to end in disappointment, so will pinning all of your TB hopes on one bug. Having a bunch of bugs out there is like having a big tank with lots of different types of pretty fish swimming around. Every once in a while one floats to the top and you have to scoop it out, but the rest are still there to entertain you.

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It's kind of like tropical fish. You buy them, you put them in a tank, you do everything you can to make sure they're okay, but eventually they die in spite of all your efforts. But you knew they would... you're unhappy that they died, but it's what happens; you aren't surprised and shocked that they didn't live forver.

 

Good analogy... only in my family the tropical fish are FINCHES... :huh:

 

Anyway, I'd still be really mad if my first THREE fish all floated belly up the VERY DAY I put 'em in the tank... (as our first three TB's did... :) )

 

Happy Caching!

Lori V.

TeamVilla5

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This would be fine if new cachers received a warning that their tb's will more than likely come up missing and there's nothing that Groundspeak or anyone else will do about it.

Very good point. I once released a TB that did mean something to me Knee Puck. It was a leather slider off of my motorcycle racing leathers. When I gave up racing I decided to release it as a TB so other motorcycle enthusiasts could enjoy it but it went missing shortly after I released it. I'm trying to come up with something I can use to release with the copy tag but I haven't figured anything out yet.

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OK - all said and done we are all aware that these things go missing or are 'stolen' by whom no one knows, either by an unscrupulous cacher or a non-cacher plundering the cache - however my initial point was my TB has been removed by a geocacher who is registered with geocache.com and who signed the paper log at the last known sighting of the TB. Since that point this person / group has failed to release the TB - I know who it is (by ID only) and have emailed him many times - is there nothing that Groundspeak can do - if this person is not responding to emails it may be because they have changed email address - which i can do nothing about yet Groundspeak can write to them a they have their postal address.

To say - if you dont want to have your TB's taken then dont put them out - is defeatist and not in the spirit of geocaching. What next 'Dont hide any caches because they WILL be plundered' - well if caches arent hidden we wouldnt have a sport/hobby to enjoy, and for me part of it all is the moving of TB's around the world.

Soap box put away now :D

Edited by Deepdiggingmole
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...,y TB has been removed by a geocacher who is registered with geocache.com and who signed the paper log at the last known sighting of the TB. Since that point this person / group has failed to release the TB - I know who it is (by ID only) and have emailed him...
Have you tried emailing other geocachers that have cached with him on other occasions?

Perhaps they know hoe to get a hold of him.

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I put out 8 (PlayMobil) Vikings and I stated that they all wanted to go home to Iceland.

One was picked up moved 25 miles and has been in the hands of the same geocacher for months, since May 2005.

I have sent him three emails, but he ( I assume) is still sitting on it.

With the email, I offered that if the geocacher would mail it to me, I would appreciate it. Still not here.

I guess it is gone...

Of the other seven, one is outside of London and headed for Iceland. The others are all over North American.

Each of the Vikings was a representative of one of the Texas Vikings. We like watching and see who was going to be first to get to Iceland.

I think mine is in New Brunswick, Canada,

 

 

Thorolfurs Hitchhikers

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My TB was the very first I put out and in linking to my nickname and ID is a small plush mole :D . though my other TB's have target destinations this one did not. It had travelled about 800 miles within the UK when it got picked up but not logged (online - it WAS marked in the cache logbook, which is why I know who has it) I did get one reply from the person who has it (after many initial emails) who stated he was new hadn't been caching much since and will move it on when he can - the TB disappeared in March '05, he emailed me in August '05 and I havent heard since. His profile shows that this cacher is not active, however his brother (the other name in the log) is active and he has completely ignored all emails - I have asked them to send it back to me too but - to no avail.

Tim - ddm

 

Oh and good news - one of the other TB's which disappeared for three months has re-surfaced and is moving along again - so there is light at the end of the tunnels :lol:

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stories like these are why I'm hesitant to purchase any TB's Cachers in my area are good to bugs (I live close to MaxB, I think their good bug treatment rubs off on people here) but a for few bugs belonging to area cachers, once they got out of the state they went missing.

 

Sometimes stuff happens though, my brother died unexpectedly in November, on the day it happened I had picked up a TB from a local hotel, caching suddenly took lesser priority. I did drop it the next week in a new cache I placed, it didn't help it on it's goals but I wanted it out of my hands because I knew I wouldn't get much caching done anytime soon, it was soon picked up by a local and moved on.

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I really am amazed how commonly people behave badly with TB's. I don't understand the problem.

 

I enjoy picking TB's up and moving them; it's like a side-game you play with the TB owner. Trying to think of something neat to do with them, or a fun photo to take, or a cache to drop them in with an appropriate name. It could be as simple as telling them something about the place it passed through. (A kid's bug is always a special pleasure to pick up). I mean, it's a small and silly game, but it's fun.

 

I've got twenty out and I've managed to learn the "tropical fish" lesson with my own bugs (in my house, it's pet mice). But I think it's made me more willing to go out of my way for other people's bugs. Whenever I pick up one that is dedicated to somebody's son killed in action or something, I wince and say a little prayer to the caching gods. Like, please, please let people play nice with this one.

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I have four Travel-Bugs and all four are still on the road. I tried something unique (at least I have never seen anyone else use this technique) to create my bugs... Instead of using a physical object (toy, etc...) which might be collectable or desirable as a keepsake, I create an image (using photoshop, illustrator, etc...) and print it on photo paper. I take the printout to Kinko's where I have it laminated. The lamination is weatherproof and long lasting. I also include the Travel-Bug logo and tracking number as part of the image instead of attaching the physical dog-tag which means no-one can steal that either. The TB's goal is printed on the backside of the bug and the image/graphics on the front. The image can be anything, a photo, cartoon character, sports logo/mascot, whatever you want! You can make them as big or small as you desire and the possibilities are as endless as your imagination permits! Now when one of my bugs goes missing, I can easily reproduce it and get it back on the road!

 

My Chocolate Cheeseburger Travel-Bug traveled from California to Florida :P just in time to get eaten by a hurricane :P. After waiting for a bit (to see if it would pop-up on its own) I simply cooked-up a new one.

 

This technique might not be to everyone's liking, but it assures I can create original, non-collectable Travel-Bugs that are virtually muggle-proof!

 

B)

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I have four Travel-Bugs and all four are still on the road. I tried something unique (at least I have never seen anyone else use this technique) to create my bugs... Instead of using a physical object (toy, etc...) which might be collectable or desirable as a keepsake, I create an image (using photoshop, illustrator, etc...) and print it on photo paper. I take the printout to Kinko's where I have it laminated. The lamination is weatherproof and long lasting. I also include the Travel-Bug logo and tracking number as part of the image instead of attaching the physical dog-tag which means no-one can steal that either. The TB's goal is printed on the backside of the bug and the image/graphics on the front. The image can be anything, a photo, cartoon character, sports logo/mascot, whatever you want! You can make them as big or small as you desire and the possibilities are as endless as your imagination permits! Now when one of my bugs goes missing, I can easily reproduce it and get it back on the road!

 

My Chocolate Cheeseburger Travel-Bug traveled from California to Florida :P just in time to get eaten by a hurricane :P. After waiting for a bit (to see if it would pop-up on its own) I simply cooked-up a new one.

 

This technique might not be to everyone's liking, but it assures I can create original, non-collectable Travel-Bugs that are virtually muggle-proof!

 

B)

 

this is great--THANKS!

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I agree Groundspeak should take this more serious, if people stop buying those metal tags, that would be a big loss in revenue. I purchased a set, my first, and they are still in plastic, why? Because soon the format of them will change and these will be collectable, could explain the missing ones a bit. I plan on buying more of the old format soon, just for investment ... after the new ones come into play, the ones I have in plastic will go on ebay. The first geocoin that passed through my hands, I looked into it. Where had it been, where did they want it to go. Secondly, I wondered how much they were to buy about $5, that same 2005 coin was selling on ebay for $20 ... I would not be surprised to see it go missing. Hopefully the sweet picture of the owner of it with it, will hold some pull with could-be spoilers that would keep it (owner is a 8-yo girl).

 

These should be treated like personal property, and if you know who took it and has it, you should be able to call their local police and file a report. It's yours, you can prove it, you have the other matching one!

Until people realize we take it serious, they will continue to collect and auction off our goods :ph34r:

 

I do want to send my little buddah statue to Taiwan to meet some actual monks. Before I send it out, I am going to ugly it up ,,, it already has a busted piece out of it, then will drill a few holes in it... as well, will bend the tag a bit, drill it, and hopefully it will be ugly enough nobody will want to keep it to sell one day.

 

Team Snorkasaurus, Great idea!

Edited by Voigt54601
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Well I'm one step closer to heaven now. I found a TB that had been living under my car seat for a year! The bad thing is that we got it at an event and never got it logged into our hands. We actually didn't even remember getting it, but it was logged into the event and we were there. In this case, the owner wouldn't even know who to email. Just wanted to point out another way bugs can go missing.

 

- T of TandS

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Well I'm one step closer to heaven now. I found a TB that had been living under my car seat for a year! The bad thing is that we got it at an event and never got it logged into our hands. We actually didn't even remember getting it, but it was logged into the event and we were there. In this case, the owner wouldn't even know who to email. Just wanted to point out another way bugs can go missing.

 

- T of TandS

I have heard many stories of Travel-Bugs being resurrected from the TB Graveyard. Maybe we should call them ZOMBIE-BUGS! You never know when a lost bug might resurface...

 

:laughing:

 

(Mmmmm, BRAINS...)

Edited by Team Snorkasaurus
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Well - interesting news - apart from the one I mentioned earlier resurfacing after an absence of 3 months - I got a phone call from a cacher who I believed to be in possession of my long lost TB (well I believed it to be his brother who was in actual possession) - anyways, he advised me that he had got a call from a friend to say I was trying to get hold of him (which was as a result of me placing a note on here asking if anyone knew of anyone who cached with the guy who had taken the TB - I got one reply to say that possibly a certain cacher may have been out with the first guy - so I emailed him - he told his friend and I got the call) confused, yea no probs, just be heartened by the fact that asking the right questions on this forum produces results - amyway - I got the call, he didnt recall picking up the TB but he will speak to his brother and hopefully as a result of that I will get my TB back in circulation - 11 months after it disappeared. OK, OK so it hasn't happened yet but I will let you all know when it does re-surface. If you are interested that is :(

Is there a record for the longest period that a TB has been lost for and eventually resurfaced back into the caching curcuit ???

 

Tim - ddm

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