Any cachers ever find evidence of a crime?

[+gzfive]

While we were caching in a wooded area today, I was thinking to myself, "Wow, what a great place to hide a body!" Which got me thinking that someone always has to find the body hidden in a wooded area. It doesn't seem a huge stretch that a fellow cacher might have stumbled upon a weapon or other evidence of a crime while hacking his way through the woods.

 

So have any cachers had such an experience? Seems to happen to joggers all the time.

[+Knight2000]

No. See --> http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=127509&hl=

[+gzfive]

No. See --> http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=127509&hl=

 

Typical newbie--asking an already answered question. I did search before posting--apparently I didn't do a very good job of it!

 

Anyway, thanks for the re-direct, it was very educational. I had no idea that meth could be cooked outdoors. I will now be much more careful about letting the kiddos get ahead of me.

[+Retcon]

There was a law and order (or maybe CSI, who can tell the difference) episode where a geocacher found the body. later, nearby, the cops found some piece of evidence buried under some rocks or stick or something. My first thought was "No *way* a geocacher would pass that up!"

[nobby.nobbs]

what, apart from when a micro is placed where a large container could go?

 

 

i'll get me coat

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Exploring a dirt track that turned off of a local Interstate I found 16 huge pot plants growing amidst high, well, tall anyway, brambles.

 

I REALLY wanted to put a cache there but discretion got the better of me; I didn't want to get a cacher killed!

 

I mentioned it to our webmaster, a Deputy Sheriff, at an event. Not long after that the plants disappeared.

 

Not long after that our webmaster disappeared!

 

Not saying there's a link... just saying!

[+Indotguy]

Trash and litter is a crime.

[+Snoogans]

Funny you should mention that.

 

 

I found bullet holes, what could have been old, dried, and mostly washed away by desert monsoon, blood and a half a 50lb. bag of lime at this cache.

 

 

I figured there was a special kinda cache nearby. I kept picturing Joe Pesci spitting dirt out of his mouth in Goodfellas. I forgot to upload those pics. Gotta dig 'em up now.

 

 

BTW- The cop I told in Searchlight seemed totally uninterested.

Edited March 25, 2007 by Snoogans

[dutchmaster]

I was thinking to myself, "Wow, what a great place to hide a body!"....find the body hidden in a wooded area.

 

Those of us who've lived in the country our entire lives, fear the same thing when in the city. My neighbour has a perpetual fear of finding a body in the forest, she just moved from the city.

 

I've come across 2 grow ops, marginally illegal in Canada, in really braindead spots where I wouldn't even hide a cache unless it was a 1:1. Lots of poached deer remains, illegal vehicular traffic of various sorts and the everpresent littering but for the Hollywood stuff I'd have to go the big cities.

 

The forests as with anything else just appear spooky to the unintiated.

 

dutchmaster

[+Hotlanta]

Never seen any crimes while caching, but read a log at a cache I had been to a couple days before and thought it might fit the bill. War Eagle

[+edscott]

One body and one pot patch while Orienteering, but so far Geocaching hasn't yielded anything as exciting.

[+PJPeters]

Whilst caching in southwest Michigan (Yankee Springs area) last week, I came across numerous deer carcasses. Not road kill, but (most probably) victims of poaching. I think I found more dead deer that day than caches - and I found quite a few caches. Not something I'll forget for a while.

I'd rant about poaching, but it probably wouldn't serve much purpose here.

Edited March 26, 2007 by PJPeters

[+Cpt.Blackbeard]

Yea, I checked on my Hickory Hill cache today, hidden on my own property, and discovered that someone has been riding an ATV all through my woods without my permission, tearing up the muddy ground and leaving grooves that will become washouts in my hillsides. They've been coming in from the south, an area where six families went together to buy 40 acres of land and build their homes. They entered my land very close to the cache site, no doubt while I'm at work. I bought and nailed a No Tresspassing sign up where they came across and another out at the road where the perps can't miss it, but hopefully any Geocachers approaching from the right direction won't see them. If I catch it happening again I will prosecute the survivors.

[+briansnat]

I've heard of two instances of geocachers finding bodies of murder victims. Maybe if I have some time I'll search the forums for the links. Both happened a few years ago.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Yea, I checked on my Hickory Hill cache today, hidden on my own property, and discovered that someone has been riding an ATV all through my woods without my permission, tearing up the muddy ground and leaving grooves that will become washouts in my hillsides. They've been coming in from the south, an area where six families went together to buy 40 acres of land and build their homes. They entered my land very close to the cache site, no doubt while I'm at work. I bought and nailed a No Tresspassing sign up where they came across and another out at the road where the perps can't miss it, but hopefully any Geocachers approaching from the right direction won't see them. If I catch it happening again I will prosecute the survivors.

Nail spike strips work pretty well to keep folks off of our hunting leases. Just sayin.

[+Wadcutter]

I've heard of two instances of geocachers finding bodies of murder victims. Maybe if I have some time I'll search the forums for the links. Both happened a few years ago.

A cacher didn't find the body but in 2002 a body was found about 50 ft from a cache (GC56A1). Drug deal gone bad. His buddies sliced his throat from ear to ear and he then ran down the trail not far from the cache before he bled out. His body was found along the trail.

[+CYBret]

I've found two meth labs in the woods while caching. Reported them both.

 

Bret

[+Evil Chicken]

We found a safe that had been forced open & emptied at one cache

 

At another, we found a series of plants in pots that looked suspiciously like marijuana. A few days later, another cacher noted that police were watching the area and were very interested in folks going in and out of the corner of the park.

[+The Stainless Steel Rat]

found a spoon and a bottle off amonia under a log near a cache, left note when I logged it warning about possible needles ect in the area as I suspected some kind of drug use but no reply by the cache owner.

worse because the trail is very close to a school.

[+trailpuppy]

I found some stolen power tools near the back corner of a city park recently while caching. I did my civic duty and reported my "find" to the police.

[+briansnat]

I've heard of two instances of geocachers finding bodies of murder victims. Maybe if I have some time I'll search the forums for the links. Both happened a few years ago.

A cacher didn't find the body but in 2002 a body was found about 50 ft from a cache (GC56A1). Drug deal gone bad. His buddies sliced his throat from ear to ear and he then ran down the trail not far from the cache before he bled out. His body was found along the trail.

 

Here is one thread.

[+Juicepig]

I found a body, but it turns out it was a suicide (Thankfully.. I would have looked very suspiscious 2 hours from home, under a bridge at 4am...)

[+Arndtwe]

hey i've read that story, pretty scary.

[+Renegade Knight]

All the time. Drug paraphanelia, vandalism, grafitti, dogs off leash, kids on skatboards. No bodies though.

[+Cpt.Blackbeard]

Yea, I checked on my Hickory Hill cache today, hidden on my own property, and discovered that someone has been riding an ATV all through my woods without my permission, tearing up the muddy ground and leaving grooves that will become washouts in my hillsides. They've been coming in from the south, an area where six families went together to buy 40 acres of land and build their homes. They entered my land very close to the cache site, no doubt while I'm at work. I bought and nailed a No Tresspassing sign up where they came across and another out at the road where the perps can't miss it, but hopefully any Geocachers approaching from the right direction won't see them. If I catch it happening again I will prosecute the survivors.

Nail spike strips work pretty well to keep folks off of our hunting leases. Just sayin.

 

Actually that WAS the first thing I thought of as well, but I decided to be nice and give tem a chance to stop it first. Posted or not, common courtesy says you don't ride ATVs anywhere without permission from the land owner/manager.

[+CACHE KRAWLER]

I was thinking to myself, "Wow, what a great place to hide a body!"

 

 

I have hidden a body yah um, got---to---go- now.

Edited March 27, 2007 by JEEOCASHER

[QuigleyJones]

While we were caching in a wooded area today, I was thinking to myself, "Wow, what a great place to hide a body!" Which got me thinking that someone always has to find the body hidden in a wooded area. It doesn't seem a huge stretch that a fellow cacher might have stumbled upon a weapon or other evidence of a crime while hacking his way through the woods.

 

So have any cachers had such an experience? Seems to happen to joggers all the time.

You must have never heard of the saying "Never mess with a geocacher. We know all the best places to hide a body."

Edited March 27, 2007 by QuigleyJones

[+VeryLost]

Typical newbie--asking an already answered question.

 

No worries - many of the old-timers regularly argue over the same silly things they've argued over dozens of times before. No difference.

[ATMouse]

Yea, I checked on my Hickory Hill cache today, hidden on my own property, and discovered that someone has been riding an ATV all through my woods without my permission, tearing up the muddy ground and leaving grooves that will become washouts in my hillsides. They've been coming in from the south, an area where six families went together to buy 40 acres of land and build their homes. They entered my land very close to the cache site, no doubt while I'm at work. I bought and nailed a No Tresspassing sign up where they came across and another out at the road where the perps can't miss it, but hopefully any Geocachers approaching from the right direction won't see them. If I catch it happening again I will prosecute the survivors.

Nail spike strips work pretty well to keep folks off of our hunting leases. Just sayin.

 

Actually that WAS the first thing I thought of as well, but I decided to be nice and give tem a chance to stop it first. Posted or not, common courtesy says you don't ride ATVs anywhere without permission from the land owner/manager.

 

In my state you must have written persission to ride an ATV on someone else's property and be able to show it if challenged.

[+redcoyote12]

Found a cache today in the desert and about 15 feet away were 4 large jugs of dirty motor oil. Looks like someone dumped them off instead of recycling it. What an idiot. I am going to call it in today but I should email the cache owner, in case he wants to move the cache first.

 

Man that's aggravating to see that. Not exactly the kind of thing you can CITO though.

[+Cpt.Blackbeard]

Found a cache today in the desert and about 15 feet away were 4 large jugs of dirty motor oil. Looks like someone dumped them off instead of recycling it. What an idiot. I am going to call it in today but I should email the cache owner, in case he wants to move the cache first.

 

Man that's aggravating to see that. Not exactly the kind of thing you can CITO though.

 

On the plus side at least they didn't pour the oil out.

[+Cpt.Blackbeard]

Yea, I checked on my Hickory Hill cache today, hidden on my own property, and discovered that someone has been riding an ATV all through my woods without my permission, tearing up the muddy ground and leaving grooves that will become washouts in my hillsides. They've been coming in from the south, an area where six families went together to buy 40 acres of land and build their homes. They entered my land very close to the cache site, no doubt while I'm at work. I bought and nailed a No Tresspassing sign up where they came across and another out at the road where the perps can't miss it, but hopefully any Geocachers approaching from the right direction won't see them. If I catch it happening again I will prosecute the survivors.

Nail spike strips work pretty well to keep folks off of our hunting leases. Just sayin.

 

Actually that WAS the first thing I thought of as well, but I decided to be nice and give tem a chance to stop it first. Posted or not, common courtesy says you don't ride ATVs anywhere without permission from the land owner/manager.

 

In my state you must have written persission to ride an ATV on someone else's property and be able to show it if challenged.

 

Wonder if I can "confiscate" them, they on my land they belong to me now.

[+redcoyote12]

Found a cache today in the desert and about 15 feet away were 4 large jugs of dirty motor oil. Looks like someone dumped them off instead of recycling it. What an idiot. I am going to call it in today but I should email the cache owner, in case he wants to move the cache first.

 

Man that's aggravating to see that. Not exactly the kind of thing you can CITO though.

 

On the plus side at least they didn't pour the oil out.

 

Oil cans are now gone. I called my city waste dept. and they connected me to the Environmental Office. I met a guy today, who was showering me with praise for calling it in, and we moved the buckets to the road where he's having a truck come in a day or so. I was shocked and impressed he came so quickly, but he said he didn't want any more leakage into the soil.

 

Happy ending to a disgusting tale, I guess. My CITO story of the week.

[+nekom]

I'm not sure if it was a crime, but on one cache hunt I found something decidely fishy. What we found was a plastic garbage bag containing information about a person, and I mean EVERYTHING. Copies of driver's license, criminal records, court papers, social security, college degree, EVERYTHING. I took it to the police, and they did call back once to verify where exactly it was that I found it, but i never heard anything else of it.

[+Chamma]

I found a femur at a cahce in Czech Republic

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Wonder if I can "confiscate" them, they on my land they belong to me now.

Check your local law, but I think it is likely that you can!

 

In Alabama trespassers can be placed under Citizen Arrest for prosecution (carefuly!) as described here (Pages 13-19)

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/aaes/communicatio...ars/circ250.pdf

 

http://www.narf.org/nill/Codes/ftmcode/ftmcodech75civil.htm deals with this issue in Wisconsin,

 

and

 

http://www.narf.org/nill/Codes/ftmcode/ftmcodech75civil.htm addresse forfeiture of vehicles for trespass on Indian lands.

 

I expect, based on that quick Google search, that there will be information on your state's laws available.

 

I know that the State of Alabama and civil authorities can and do confiscate and demand forfeiture of vehicles and weapons used for trespass, I do not know if civilian property-owners can.

 

In Alabama any vehicle blocking access to driveways and roadways can be confiscated, how that might apply to vehicles that are parked on your property but not blocking the road I don't know.

 

On our hunting lease any vehicle found blocking our gate or road can be towed, but I doubt that we could keep it!

Edited March 28, 2007 by TheAlabamaRambler

[KABarash]

Nothing while caching yet, but I did once come across some poor guys "junk" (yes all of it!) nailed to a tree in the woods!

[+Kryten]

Was out caching in the woods and came across two bunches of flowers secured to the base of a tree. Next to it the outline of a blue rectangular of area 6ft x 2ft spray painted on the ground and nearby on the path, the outline of a couple of blue painted circles about 1ft in diameter.