anyone have trouble with police or landowners while caching?

[nobby.nobbs]

I was approached by a LEO who got a call from a muggle who was reporting that a "suspicious woman was entering the woods with her baby". I had the baby in the stroller and was going on to a trail in a wooded area in the suburbs. Anyway, I explained goecaching to him, and then he watched as I made the find and then got back in my car.

I get really irritated with geomuggles who feel like they have to stop to ask what I am doing or if they can help me when I am out traipsing around on a trail or in a field with my kids. I guess it is good that people are so concerned with what others are doing, but sometimes I think they are too concerned for no reason. I think bringing along the children sometimes makes me look less concerning, but obviously in the situation above, it is what set off the red flag for someone! I always wondered what did that person think I was going to do in the woods with my baby that the cops needed to be called for?

 

and the day the person calls in an abducted kid being taken into the woods they will be praised for making the call.

 

it never did you any real harm and it's always best to be on the safe side.

[+simpjkee]

I'm a 25 year old guy and I typically cache between 11pm and 3am. I've had a couple runins with rent-a-cops but no actual police

[+simpjkee]

I was approached by a LEO who got a call from a muggle who was reporting that a "suspicious woman was entering the woods with her baby". I had the baby in the stroller and was going on to a trail in a wooded area in the suburbs. Anyway, I explained goecaching to him, and then he watched as I made the find and then got back in my car.

I get really irritated with geomuggles who feel like they have to stop to ask what I am doing or if they can help me when I am out traipsing around on a trail or in a field with my kids. I guess it is good that people are so concerned with what others are doing, but sometimes I think they are too concerned for no reason. I think bringing along the children sometimes makes me look less concerning, but obviously in the situation above, it is what set off the red flag for someone! I always wondered what did that person think I was going to do in the woods with my baby that the cops needed to be called for?

 

and the day the person calls in an abducted kid being taken into the woods they will be praised for making the call.

 

it never did you any real harm and it's always best to be on the safe side.

 

I disagree. I'm all about "being on the safe side", but not when it calls for the harassment of civilians for no apparent reason. I don't appreciate being harassed when I'm doing nothing illegal because some geomuggle is trying to "be on the safe side". Keep your unworthy fears to yourself. Don't unnecessarily bring me in to it.

[CABass]

I was meeting with a group of railfans (train watchers - one of my other hobbies) at a campground this past afternoon and while there I decided to place a cache. At the mention of geocaching, one of the guys looked at me funny. He told me about an incident that happened with a geocacher at a nearby railroad tunnel. I didn't believe him so I googled it and found that this one has to take the cake for trouble with police or landowners while caching:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=21328

 

Briefly, for those not wanting to read all the logs, the cacher placed a geocache near the entrance to a railroad tunnel. Said cache was in an ammo box. Some cachers were observed by a member of a train crew while they were replacing the cache as a train exited the tunnel, a call was made to law enforcement, the town was alerted, the railroad and highway was shut down, the bomb squad blew up the ammo box. Apparently through the Geocaching.com lable that was on the ammo box, law enforcement tracked down the cacher who placed the cache, arrested him, charged him with Terrorism, Criminal Trespass and Criminal Vandalism (he had spraypainted a rock with the name of the cache on it). After talking with the cacher they dropped the Terrorism charge.

 

To quote the logs: "The sentence was then read. It goes as follows: 1 year jail time, 1 year on probation to stay out of any kind of trouble, 1 year license suspension in the state of California, and to pay all the expenses incurred for the bomb squad, the railroad having to change 2 crews out because of a 4 1/2 hour detainment and closing down of Hwy. 97. They had to taxi 2 crew men in to change shifts and 2 crew men had to be taxi'd into K.Falls and put up in a motel for the night then be taxi'd back to Redding the next day. The expense just for that was $1650.00. With all the fines and fees attatched to all of this, the grand total was $2030.00, which we had to pay right then and there. To be kind, for the moment, the judge told him he would drop the 1 year jail time. "

 

Unquote. It sort of makes me a bit uneasy!

Edited September 16, 2007 by CABass

[+Rattlebars]

I have a ton of stories since I'm a "nightcrawler" (see avatar) when caching. One of the best is a geocache that was almost two miles from the nearest parking way out in farm country along a power line right of way. It was the dead of winter and it got dark at dinnertime so I wasn't out too awflully late. I'm making my way back to the truck when my cell phone rings. It was my wife calling me to tell me that a cop had called her and asked her why my truck might be parked where it was. She had explained "adult treasure hunting" to him and told him that's what I was up to. When I got back to the truck, he was very interested in hearing about this "treasure hunt" thing. We talked for about half an hour and I think he actually went to Target the next day to buy one of those GPS things. Least he said he was going to anyway.

 

I've had about 10 encounters, all pleasent. It's YOUR attitude that will key the LEO's attitude every time. Just smile and be calm and polite.