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Bomb Squad Visits Another Cache

JohnnyVegas
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JohnnyVegas

+JohnnyVegas

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well, another cache was found by LEOs and removed. This one was found last week. They called use NERDS!

This was in the Sacramento bees, on of the local cachers is a LEO in the area.

 

Public safety watch: Device turns out to be clue in scavenger hunt

By David Richie -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, March 5, 2006

Story appeared in Citrus heights orangevale section, Page N2

A suspected explosive device that turned out to be a clue in a scavenger hunt stopped evening rush-hour traffic on Oak Avenue in Citrus Heights for nearly an hour Tuesday.

Citrus Heights police hammered the item with a water cannon in an attempt to disarm it before determining that it was not a Global Positioning System device as they suspected, but rather part of a game called "geocaching."

a complicated scavenger hunt for nerds," said Bob Landry, Citrus Heights police chief.

The item appeared to be a plastic box containing a toy and GPS coordinates to the next cache. As players find each new hidden cache, they uncover coordinates to the next cache and use their GPS devices to find them. Neighbors in the area near the 8100 block of Oak Avenue were not in on the fun when they noticed people acting suspiciously near a storm drain outlet. Later, they found what looked like some kind of a device duct-taped inside the top of a drainpipe.

The residents alerted the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, which in turn alerted police, who subsequently called in the bomb squad.

Landry said his officers had to err on the side of caution.

That meant shutting down Oak Avenue about 5 p.m. while a robotic machine with a water cannon was brought in to neutralize the erstwhile game piece.

This is the cache in question, I spent some time looking for it not knowing it was Gone.

Gnarly cache

Edited by JohnnyVegas
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uperdooper

uperdooper

Posted
Posted

Well, another cache was found by LEOs and removed. This one was found last week. They called use NERDS!

This was in the Sacramento bees, on of the local cachers is a LEO in the area.

 

Public safety watch: Device turns out to be clue in scavenger hunt

By David Richie -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, March 5, 2006

Story appeared in Citrus heights orangevale section, Page N2

A suspected explosive device that turned out to be a clue in a scavenger hunt stopped evening rush-hour traffic on Oak Avenue in Citrus Heights for nearly an hour Tuesday.

Citrus Heights police hammered the item with a water cannon in an attempt to disarm it before determining that it was not a Global Positioning System device as they suspected, but rather part of a game called "geocaching."

a complicated scavenger hunt for nerds," said Bob Landry, Citrus Heights police chief.

The item appeared to be a plastic box containing a toy and GPS coordinates to the next cache. As players find each new hidden cache, they uncover coordinates to the next cache and use their GPS devices to find them. Neighbors in the area near the 8100 block of Oak Avenue were not in on the fun when they noticed people acting suspiciously near a storm drain outlet. Later, they found what looked like some kind of a device duct-taped inside the top of a drainpipe.

The residents alerted the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, which in turn alerted police, who subsequently called in the bomb squad.

Landry said his officers had to err on the side of caution.

That meant shutting down Oak Avenue about 5 p.m. while a robotic machine with a water cannon was brought in to neutralize the erstwhile game piece.

This is the cache in question, I spent some time looking for it not knowing it was Gone.

Gnarly cache

 

yeesh! they never get it right. some of us are GEEKS, not nerds.

 

i'd like to see him call criminal a nerd to his face. :)

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Team Noltex

+Team Noltex

Posted
Posted (edited)

Allow me to be the first one in the thread to say

 

"At least they didn't blow it up."

 

-Thank you

 

Actually, the water cannon referred to in the story IS the equivalent of "blowing it up", a term which is actually a misnomer. Rarely do they actually detonate a device. They just blow it apart with a blast of water. Actually.

Edited by Team Noltex
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bogleman

bogleman

Posted
Posted

Allow me to be the first one in the thread to say

 

"At least they didn't blow it up."

 

-Thank you

 

Actually, the water cannon referred to in the story IS the equivalent of "blowing it up", a term which is actually a misnomer. Rarely do they actually detonate a device. They just blow it apart with a blast of water. Actually.

 

The cache has been "disrupted" :laughing:

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AndrewRJ

+AndrewRJ

Posted
Posted

[Citrus Heights police hammered the item with a water cannon in an attempt to disarm it before determining that it was not a Global Positioning System device as they suspected, but rather part of a game called "geocaching."

 

Maybe someone can explaine this. So all GPS devices are automaticly suspect and needing to be disabled? Remind me to never leave my GPSr lying around. And since when do they have an explosive potential?

 

Poorly written article IMO.

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uperdooper

uperdooper

Posted
Posted

Actually, I find them to be getting kind of FUNNY. I was always known as a dork though, not a geek or a nerd. The only geocachers that are nerds are the ones with over 10,000 posts in the forums!

 

no! people with more than 10,000 posts are not nerds. they're sociable people who either post from work, or can't cache 24 hours a day for various reasons.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted (edited)

Actually, I find them to be getting kind of FUNNY. I was always known as a dork though, not a geek or a nerd. The only geocachers that are nerds are the ones with over 10,000 posts in the forums!

 

I beg to differ. I only scored a 9.46 on this test and rated "Joe Normal" on this test.

 

I'm glad because I don't want scavengers hunting for me.

Edited by briansnat
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S A M

+S A M

Posted
Posted

That gives me an idea :)

I can place a cache in a deer carcass and also get scavengers to find it....Cool :D

Secret Agent Man :P

 

______________________________

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."

- Voltaire

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RREngineer

+RREngineer

Posted
Posted

Boy are you all missing a good chance to do some good PR for Geocaching. Instead of sitting here complaining and making snide comments, you should be out there rectifying the stituation or making sure it doesn't happen in your area. It appears the Chief is knowledgeable about what we are doing. And I don't see any negative comments by him, trying to ban Geocaching, or going after the person that placed the cache. I don't have that problem where I live. I make a point of meeting with the LEO's in each area that I place of cache, if it might cause them some concern. Sometimes I have had to go back numerous times to make sure all the officers are informed but it sure saves a lot of problems for the searchers. It is easy to sit and complain but it takes work to do what is right and needed. I have never been told I can't place a cache in those areas. The only thing some want to know, is where they might be placed. It is easier to inform them ahead of time than later having to go back and doing a lot of explaining after the fact. If they aren't happy with the idea when presented, you know they certainly won't like it when they get called about a potentially hazardous item.

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uperdooper

uperdooper

Posted
Posted

Boy are you all missing a good chance to do some good PR for Geocaching. Instead of sitting here complaining and making snide comments, you should be out there rectifying the stituation or making sure it doesn't happen in your area. It appears the Chief is knowledgeable about what we are doing. And I don't see any negative comments by him, trying to ban Geocaching, or going after the person that placed the cache. I don't have that problem where I live. I make a point of meeting with the LEO's in each area that I place of cache, if it might cause them some concern. Sometimes I have had to go back numerous times to make sure all the officers are informed but it sure saves a lot of problems for the searchers. It is easy to sit and complain but it takes work to do what is right and needed. I have never been told I can't place a cache in those areas. The only thing some want to know, is where they might be placed. It is easier to inform them ahead of time than later having to go back and doing a lot of explaining after the fact. If they aren't happy with the idea when presented, you know they certainly won't like it when they get called about a potentially hazardous item.

 

i've already done this in my area. all LEO's around here know about caching. kinda stupid to destroy a cache when they are aware of caching in the first place. :P a simple check of the website might have saved the cache.

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Renegade Knight

+Renegade Knight

Posted
Posted

RREngineer,

 

A couple of years ago I offered to show our local sheriff's office geocaching. No takers. It was a sheriff who later decided to prosecute a cacher for a cache that was called in. As the saying goes "you can lead a horse to water" hell I brought the water to the horse and had no luck.

 

For the past several years I’ve chased down the occasional lead when these things happen to see if I can work with a LEO to produce a guide about hiding caches and having them reported. While I have my own ideas I lack the LEO perspective. Thus far I’ve never had a taker. The few LEO's who dispence advice turn around and say that same advice in the form of a guide is pointless.

 

The one success I have had is working with a local state trooper who does training and we have come up with a presentation which will happen in April. That is the first success I’ve had and hopefully it goes well, and we can build on that.

 

As for calling the police chief a dork because he took the time to call geocachers nerds I meant every word. Aside from being a dork the guy seems pretty reasonable as represented by the press.

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Clan Riffster

Clan Riffster

Posted
Posted
I beg to differ. I only rated "Joe Normal" on this test.

Results for Clan Riffster:

"Outcast Genius

69 % Nerd, 52% Geek, 82% Dork

Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).

 

Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.

 

Congratulations!"

 

If they only knew... :D:D:D

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hoeboe

+hoeboe

Posted
Posted

Man am I glad I don't live in a society that is just waiting for the bad stuff to happen. It seems to me that after the 911 stuff that the US law enforcement is looking at absolutely everything that could possibly be a bomb. (even if it is a tube of lipstick at the bottom of a pond). Seems like the terrorists got exactly what they wanted. that is; everyone running around waiting for the sky to fall. I love the US but man!, your law enforcement is paranoid. It's just nice to know that we won't have to worry about that stuff for another 25 plus years up in the great white north.

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welch

+welch

Posted
Posted (edited)

[Citrus Heights police hammered the item with a water cannon in an attempt to disarm it before determining that it was not a Global Positioning System device as they suspected, but rather part of a game called "geocaching."

 

Maybe someone can explaine this. So all GPS devices are automaticly suspect and needing to be disabled? Remind me to never leave my GPSr lying around. And since when do they have an explosive potential?

Poorly written article IMO.

I noted that phrase too, I think either it's misquoted from whatever website it came from, or whoever wrote the artical got it wrong since it makes no sense.

If it was really a 'Global Positioning System device' wouldn't they be in trouble with whatever government office runs the ground parts of the GPS system??

Edited by welch
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Bluejaytoo

+Bluejaytoo

Posted
Posted

...I don't have that problem where I live. I make a point of meeting with the LEO's in each area that I place of cache, if it might cause them some concern. Sometimes I have had to go back numerous times to make sure all the officers are informed but it sure saves a lot of problems for the searchers...

 

Sumterville? That's where my parents live! I'll have to look for some of your caches next time I'm down there. I suspect the reason you don't have any problems with your local LEOs is, they're all too busy out there setting up speed traps!

 

A few months ago, I contacted one of our local police chiefs, and asked him for some suggestions on what geocachers should look for regarding meth labs (it's a problem here in the woods). To this day, I've heard nothing from him; nada, zip.

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magellan315

magellan315

Posted
Posted

RRengineer, this is a typical situation when the police destroy a cache suspected as a bomb only to ifnd out it is a game piece and their are thousands in the area that they never knew about.

 

Tends to play out like this

1.Police destroy possible bomb threat

2.Find out its a 5 year old game and their are thousands in the area.

3.Local media asks how come they didn't know about this

police make comments about pressing charges against the cacher, only to find out its not worth it.

4. Police call us nerds or geeks because it involves the web and an electronic device.

5. Everyone forgets it ever happened a week later.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

Man am I glad I don't live in a society that is just waiting for the bad stuff to happen. It seems to me that after the 911 stuff that the US law enforcement is looking at absolutely everything that could possibly be a bomb. (even if it is a tube of lipstick at the bottom of a pond). Seems like the terrorists got exactly what they wanted. that is; everyone running around waiting for the sky to fall. I love the US but man!, your law enforcement is paranoid. It's just nice to know that we won't have to worry about that stuff for another 25 plus years up in the great white north.

 

Just draw some cartoons and you'll be on the hit list quicker than you can say Denmark.

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