Missing Caches

[+Team Rat Pack (led by Miss Bi)]

We have had THREE micro caches stolen (not destroyed or plundered, just taken) in the past two weeks. The caches were evil micros which were so well hidden [ and or not what they seemed] that it would definitely take someone with a GPS to find them. Accidental finds would just not be possible. In addition some one hid a fake cache near one of our caches to throw off searchers. Oddly enough the they did not find the cache themselves. Very depressing.

[+JDandDD]

You may be right because there are some bad cachers out there who do destroy caches. However, I would also say that accidental find is always possible. I think we can all point to caches that have been muggles that we thought we impossible for muggles to find only to have that happen.

 

That said, it does hurt when some favorites go missing doesn't it and I can sympathize with your feelings.

 

JD

[nonaeroterraqueous]

There are lots of ways for a cache to go missing.

• Muggles (the first choice)
  
• Serial mugglers (prefer stealing the cache over logging it. Very rare)
  
• Total newbies who don't realize that they're not supposed to take it home
  
• Acts of God (sometimes the cache eliminates itself by falling into its own evil bottomless hole)
  

As for the fake cache nearby, that's just something that happens sometimes. Is it put there by people who just have to log a find?

[Grylls]

I'm a bit nervous myself about a cache that I placed yesterday. It is off the well traveled path, but I'm afraid someone, someday might find it. It has a disposable camera that I'm anticipating to develop.

[adampierson]

It's possible that you are right, but there could be less sinister reasons why. Muggles could witness cachers finding the cache then removing them afterwards.

[Clan Riffster]

Adam touched on the most likely reason evil micros get muggled. Evil micros are, by their very nature, difficult to locate. Cachers will show up and start poking around, which tends to draw attention to that spot. If a muggle sees the cacher removing something, then putting it back, chances are good they are gonna wait till the cacher leaves, then go find out what all the fuss is about. If these muggles are fidiots folks with poor character traits, then they might tote your cache off.

[+JennM]

I had a bunch of men here at work yesterday to fix my sign, and we got to talking about caching (there's a cache in close proximity to my place of business). One of the men, once I started telling him about it and what types of things we find, noted that he found a little magnetic container with a little scroll inside it once - yep, he found a micro on a sign he was taking down. He didn't know, and threw it away. I guess going foward if he finds another, he'll try to find its owner One of the other men in the group had a GPSr on him, and he dropped the waypoint of the cache near here - and I showed him the website. Guess we have another new cacher - he was extremely fascinated by this, and was shocked to hear that there are so many just in this immediate area!

 

So sometimes caches disappear by accident... but yeah sometimes they're stolen or otherwise tampered with.

 

Jenn

[+gpsblake]

Animals like Squirrels can make a micro disappear real quick if it isn't secured.

[+larryc43230]

Muggles could witness cachers finding the cache then removing them afterwards.

I'm guessing this is exactly what happened (without looking them up, I'm fairly sure I found all three of these evil micros before they went missing; it would have been extremely unlikely for anyone to come across them by accident, and AFAIK there hasn't been any construction at those locations that could have caused the caches to be removed). Most likely some cacher(s) who were looking for these hides somehow drew the attention of curious muggles, the muggles found the caches themselves after the cacher left, and just walked away with them. It's a sad fact of life that these caches can go missing when they're hidden in a relatively public place.

 

I'm hoping these were random events and not some actual cacher who's plundering caches in the area. I've really enjoyed Team Rat Pack's hides, and they don't deserve to be stolen.

 

--Larry

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

If it does prove malicious nothing but time will cure it - they get tired of their 'game', get over their mad.

 

We had it happen here, one cacher got ticked off at another, stole most every cache the guy hid for six months or so.

 

The culprit finally faded away.

 

Good luck!

Ed

[+Team Rat Pack (led by Miss Bi)]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and for commiserating with us. We have met some REALLY wonderful people in this sport/game/obsession which is a great deal of the fun. I don't think we have annoyed or angered any other cachers around here {yet anyway} so I think we are just going to try to think, and hope, it was random bad luck with muggles and add a note to the cache pages to remind finders to be careful. As Larry noted, the caches in question would not be likely to be muggled accidently or taken by squirrels. Two of them were firmly attached to something and the third would be too heavy for a squirrel to take. But they are in very public areas and so if cachers were seen it might draw muggle attention. We are all gulity Well at least the Pack is guilty of paying more attention to getting the find than watching for muggles sometimes. We posted our concern here at the suggestion of our local Groundspeak reviewer. He thought that if someone was targeting us that getting it out in the open might cause them to back off. But we are still confused as to why another cacher would create a fake cache and leave it near one of our caches saying that it is a fake but that the real cache is near. Any one have any thoughts about that?

 

Shelley

[+michigansnorkelers]

Animals like Squirrels can make a micro disappear real quick if it isn't secured.

 

That's right!

 

I've run into four caches that were destroyed by animals. One was a rubbermade type container, and three were small plastic bottles. They were chewed to shreds for some reason. Perhaps they had once contained food or other odorous substance?

[Digital_Cowboy]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and for commiserating with us. We have met some REALLY wonderful people in this sport/game/obsession which is a great deal of the fun. I don't think we have annoyed or angered any other cachers around here {yet anyway} so I think we are just going to try to think, and hope, it was random bad luck with muggles and add a note to the cache pages to remind finders to be careful. As Larry noted, the caches in question would not be likely to be muggled accidently or taken by squirrels. Two of them were firmly attached to something and the third would be too heavy for a squirrel to take. But they are in very public areas and so if cachers were seen it might draw muggle attention. We are all gulity Well at least the Pack is guilty of paying more attention to getting the find than watching for muggles sometimes. We posted our concern here at the suggestion of our local Groundspeak reviewer. He thought that if someone was targeting us that getting it out in the open might cause them to back off. But we are still confused as to why another cacher would create a fake cache and leave it near one of our caches saying that it is a fake but that the real cache is near. Any one have any thoughts about that?

 

Shelley

 

Shelley,

 

Sadly, there are way too many people out there the mentality that if it isn't "right" for them, then it isn't "right" for anyone and feel justified in pushing their views/beliefs on others. Also let's not forget that in "our" zeal NOT to attract attention from others we sometimes end up doing just that.

 

So sometimes it's best to just grab the cache and ignore the muggles in the area. Some of the suggestions from a thread on how to avoid muggles is to walk around with a clipboard, or other equipment that makes ya look as if ya belong there.

 

Digital_Cowboy

[+OB1kenOB]

All (both) the caches I have created got muggled last week.

one is gone totally.

the other is a little more interesting. some trash from it was found in the area (paper with discription of geocaching, package from a flashlight). when I went there to confirm it's fate, I found the container (cammo painted lock and lock) about 200 ft away from it's original location. tucked under a pine tree. the box was clean and dry, all swag was gone, but the log and pen where in the box, clean and dry. the vandal signed the log. "took - everything left - not a d@#@ thing. f$% you and your treasure hunt"

I thought it was odd that they

a- felt compelled to take a couple handfulls of silly cheap stuff

B- moved two very heavy concrete based sign posts 60 ft (the box was originally nestled between them)

c- left the container it's self undammaged, and semi hidden

d- made an entry (although a rude one) in the log

 

all in all, I'm not sure which one I feel better about, box just gone, or bizzare mystery.

Edited January 2, 2007 by OB1kenOB

[+briansnat]

I'm not saying this is the case with the OP's caches, but I often find caches that I'm amazed haven't been stolen. Just this weekend I found a regular sized , white Tupperware cache that was clearly visible sitting in the crotch of a tree just a few feet from a popular hiking trail. One cacher near me was using neon green and red containers and hiding them in heavily visited areas. I see the un-natural piles of sticks or rocks hiding caches that just beg non geocachers to "come check me out".

 

Sometimes these caches will defy the odds and last a long time, but they are usually not long for this world.

 

I'm willing to bet that 90 percent of cache thefts can be avoided simply by using a little common sense when hiding. You'll never stop the few miscreants who use a GPS to find and steal caches, but the "accidental thieves" can certanly be curtailed.

[+Team Rat Pack (led by Miss Bi)]

All (both) the caches I have created got muggled last week.

one is gone totally.

the other is a little more interesting. some trash from it was found in the area (paper with discription of geocaching, package from a flashlight). when I went there to confirm it's fate, I found the container (cammo painted lock and lock) about 200 ft away from it's original location. tucked under a pine tree. the box was clean and dry, all swag was gone, but the log and pen where in the box, clean and dry. the vandal signed the log. "took - everything left - not a d@#@ thing. f$% you and your treasure hunt"

I thought it was odd that they

a- felt compelled to take a couple handfulls of silly cheap stuff

B- moved two very heavy concrete based sign posts 60 ft (the box was originally nestled between them)

c- left the container it's self undammaged, and semi hidden

d- made an entry (although a rude one) in the log

 

all in all, I'm not sure which one I feel better about, box just gone, or bizzare mystery.

 

YIKES!!! It really disturbs me that a total stranger could muster up that kind of anger and hate toward something that has nothing to do with him. I have a hard time with that kind of thing. Taking your swag was stupid but the anger in the log they left is what really bothers me. Not to get all mired in this, but it almost feels like the same mentality that drives the road rage and general rudeness that is so common now. I got the same kind of creepy feeling when my three caches disappeared. If there had been some fragments left behind it would have been better somehow, but having them just evaporate felt like we were being targeted which is what the anger in the log book feels like too, but the anger is so much more intense. There are some deeply unhappy people out there aren't there?

[+Bad_CRC]

[+Bad_CRC]

Animals like Squirrels can make a micro disappear real quick if it isn't secured.

 

That's right!

 

I've run into four caches that were destroyed by animals. One was a rubbermade type container, and three were small plastic bottles. They were chewed to shreds for some reason. Perhaps they had once contained food or other odorous substance?

 

only four? we must have hungrier animals around here. It's REALLY common in this area.

 

just saw this one recently.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...80-682e9d438708

[dale hollow lake]

Animals like Squirrels can make a micro disappear real quick if it isn't secured.

 

I hunt a lot its not all unusal to find any type of plastic item, with pinpoint holes all about it from where a creature has chewed it, dont think its from just the material it stored This happens on everything from plastic oil bottels dropped by the loggers to clorox bottels, its almost like the animal has a need to preform some type of exercise, as an ex detective at one time I had a dealler who used magnetic key holder's in phone booths and restrooms, when your talking dillaudid or morphine pills, few of us could afford what a magnetic key holder could contain

 

That's right!

 

I've run into four caches that were destroyed by animals. One was a rubbermade type container, and three were small plastic bottles. They were chewed to shreds for some reason. Perhaps they had once contained food or other odorous substance?

 

only four? we must have hungrier animals around here. It's REALLY common in this area.

 

just saw this one recently.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...80-682e9d438708

[gulfscuba]

Maybe people just don't put them back where they found them? I stick a piece of paper in the caches spot if there are other places it could go.

[Digital_Cowboy]

YIKES!!! It really disturbs me that a total stranger could muster up that kind of anger and hate toward something that has nothing to do with him. I have a hard time with that kind of thing. Taking your swag was stupid but the anger in the log they left is what really bothers me. Not to get all mired in this, but it almost feels like the same mentality that drives the road rage and general rudeness that is so common now. I got the same kind of creepy feeling when my three caches disappeared. If there had been some fragments left behind it would have been better somehow, but having them just evaporate felt like we were being targeted which is what the anger in the log book feels like too, but the anger is so much more intense. There are some deeply unhappy people out there aren't there?

 

TRP,

 

Yes, sadly there are a lot of unhappy people out. Some so unhappy that they feel that if they're not happy no one should be. Or who because they don't see the sense in something think that it's "ok" to ruin it for others. I wonder what that person would have done had they met a cacher while they were destroying the cache? Or how they'd feel if someone trashed their favorite activity?

 

But given that there are a lot of them out there all we can do is to keep an eye out for 'em and ignore 'em as best as possible.

 

Digital_Cowboy

[+Team LaLonde]

This thread is a really good example of why member-only caches are sometimes a good idea. If you have a rash of disappearances in the area then try placing them as member-only and see if the activity stops. If someone is paying to see those caches and then destroy them, at least their money is funding website bandwidth, etc.

 

Only a real turkey would pay good money to an organization he is trying to undermine.

[+Team Rat Pack (led by Miss Bi)]

This thread is a really good example of why member-only caches are sometimes a good idea. If you have a rash of disappearances in the area then try placing them as member-only and see if the activity stops. If someone is paying to see those caches and then destroy them, at least their money is funding website bandwidth, etc.

 

Only a real turkey would pay good money to an organization he is trying to undermine.

 

I know you have a good point, but I would hate to resort to that. In 2002 we got hit hard by the high tech layoffs and were without income for 18 months. Had it not been for geocahing, which we could do with next to NO money,(a trip to the dollar store, a half a tank of gas our PPJ sandwiches from home and we were all set) we would have lost our collective, abet tiny mind. I hope we can keep our caches open to all. The only problem is, we have a good bit of money and time tied up in them and if we have to keep replacing, we may have take your advice on the members only thing.

[+edscott]

..... it would definitely take someone with a GPS to find them.......

 

Really?

[+edscott]

...someones server is sloooooow.

Edited January 3, 2007 by edscott

[+edscott]

double post... sorry...

Edited January 3, 2007 by edscott

[uber_bike_geek]

double post... sorry...

 

Double? I'm thinking it's more like "Triple"

 

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

 

Happy Caching!

Jeff

[+burchil]

Last year I went to find a micro cache in an interesting place. After a considerable amount of searching I left - I did not have much experience with micros and figured I just could not see it. I returned a couple of months later and actually found the cache. In the log book there was a note by a non-geocacher saying sorry - he had found the cache (film container) taken it home for some reason, looked inside to find a log and geocache notice. He signed the log and returned it to the original location with an explanation of what he had done. I happened to be looking for the cache the same day that it was taken home :-(.

 

Not all missing caches are gone for good, some come back with an interesting message.

[+BoredKitty]

My cache got stolen last week. It was a rusty hand painted Altoids tin with nothing in it but a log and a broken pencil. I would have suspected my gardener but this tin was set inside of a stepping stone that I made so someone had to actually wrench the tin out of the stone! People are weird! -BK