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Another fall, in Spokane


ZeroHecksGiven

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Just saw this on Twitter and figured I might post it here. My condolences to the family and their loved ones, be careful out there, I want to meet you at some point.

 

http://www.kxly.com/news/21632442/detail.html & http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=11516698

 

SPOKANE VALLEY -- A local man out hiking with his wife in the Dishman Hills Natural Area is dead after he fell from a 100-foot cliff early Monday afternoon.

 

Around 1 p.m, the 56-year-old man was out geocaching with his wife in the Dishman Hills Natural Area. The couple were out hiking on top of a hill near the water tower when the man slipped and fell off a 100-foot cliff.

 

The man died of his injuries at the scene.

Edited by NWCREW
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"Stuart Anderson and his wife were geocaching - a high-tech hide and seek game where people use GPS devices to find containers hidden around the world - when he slipped and fell about 100 feet down a cliff." (http://www.kxly.com/news/21632442/detail.html)

 

I don't know off hand who it is, or exactly which cache he was searching for. I do remember a cache up where they were searching, but don't remember its GC code. I Think it was a puzzle though.

 

The Steaks

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"Stuart Anderson and his wife were geocaching - a high-tech hide and seek game where people use GPS devices to find containers hidden around the world - when he slipped and fell about 100 feet down a cliff." (http://www.kxly.com/news/21632442/detail.html)

 

I don't know off hand who it is, or exactly which cache he was searching for. I do remember a cache up where they were searching, but don't remember its GC code. I Think it was a puzzle though.

 

The Steaks

My takeaway, from talking to the Spokane cachers, is that they don't want to publicize the cache or owner, as they are understandably upset. I support this; I'd be devastated if this happened to someone seeking one of my caches, and also concerned about liability issues (never can tell what folks will do, as a newscaster oh-so-helpfully pointed out). Yes, the cache is now archived.

 

They also were not comfortable releasing the victim's name or other information, as they don't know him (might have been new), although one can certainly find it through news channels, as you did.

 

Lookout Lisa was interviewed by Spokane's NBC TV station for their 11 pm broadcast (I think that's when), and I'm sure the Spokane folks will tell us more when they feel ready, including whether there's anything we can do to help the victim's family.

Edited by hydnsek
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Yes, the cache is now archived.

 

Lookout Lisa was interviewed by Spokane's NBC TV station for their 11 pm broadcast (I think that's when), and I'm sure the Spokane folks will tell us more when they feel ready, including whether there's anything we can do to help the victim's family.

 

Being one of the "Spokane folks" I wanted to know which cache it was, and to see if I had done the cache already. The other thing is that seeing a persons real name in a sport filled with screennames will tell some people that already knew their real name, but I remember cachers by their caching name better. I wanted to know if i knew them or not.

 

We moved this last spring from the area, and are 'regretting' in some ways the move. As I remember, we on the East side of the state don't have issues with withholding info from another. Some just don't remember or know at the time of their post.. These are Learning Experiences. It is just sad that a cacher lost his ability to cache in this world.

 

The Steaks

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Obviously this is all still too new to probably know much about funeral arrangements. It would be nice to have a contingent of local cachers pay their respects and represent geocaching (if it wouldn't be too upsetting to the family.) Maybe a written note would be better from the local organization.

 

If anyone has any information, I'd like to send a card.

 

It is very sobering news indeed. :)

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All we can do right now is look at our own caching behavior and be more careful. I hope my wife never has to see this. As a former Spokane Cacher I remember the cache and it wasnt that bad I've been on worse.

But you have to feel some pain for the hiders eventhough IT ISNT THIER FAULT. This game has become a big part of my life and when I heard that someone fell my heart sank not just because there is a good chance I could have known them, but it makes you think about the danger that is involved in this game. Be safe and keep playing. I hope there is a way the caching family can help the family of the fallen cacher.

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...My takeaway, from talking to the Spokane cachers, is that they don't want to publicize the cache or owner, as they are understandably upset....

 

I understand this, and they are free to not speak about or publicise the cache. They aren't however free to obfuscate things to prevent folks who are wondernig about the circumstances for any reason. If a single person can avoid the kind of accident that claimed this cacher by learning from the events and circumstances then something good would have come of things.

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...My takeaway, from talking to the Spokane cachers, is that they don't want to publicize the cache or owner, as they are understandably upset....

 

I understand this, and they are free to not speak about or publicise the cache. They aren't however free to obfuscate things to prevent folks who are wondernig about the circumstances for any reason. If a single person can avoid the kind of accident that claimed this cacher by learning from the events and circumstances then something good would have come of things.

 

Please clarify what you are trying to say or imply.

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"Stuart Anderson and his wife were geocaching - a high-tech hide and seek game where people use GPS devices to find containers hidden around the world - when he slipped and fell about 100 feet down a cliff." (http://www.kxly.com/news/21632442/detail.html)

 

I don't know off hand who it is, or exactly which cache he was searching for. I do remember a cache up where they were searching, but don't remember its GC code. I Think it was a puzzle though.

 

The Steaks

My takeaway, from talking to the Spokane cachers, is that they don't want to publicize the cache or owner, as they are understandably upset. I support this; I'd be devastated if this happened to someone seeking one of my caches, and also concerned about liability issues (never can tell what folks will do, as a newscaster oh-so-helpfully pointed out). Yes, the cache is now archived.

 

They also were not comfortable releasing the victim's name or other information, as they don't know him (might have been new), although one can certainly find it through news channels, as you did.

 

Lookout Lisa was interviewed by Spokane's NBC TV station for their 11 pm broadcast (I think that's when), and I'm sure the Spokane folks will tell us more when they feel ready, including whether there's anything we can do to help the victim's family.

 

Please let us know when and how the goecahcing community can do something for the family.

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...My takeaway, from talking to the Spokane cachers, is that they don't want to publicize the cache or owner, as they are understandably upset....

 

I understand this, and they are free to not speak about or publicise the cache. They aren't however free to obfuscate things to prevent folks who are wondernig about the circumstances for any reason. If a single person can avoid the kind of accident that claimed this cacher by learning from the events and circumstances then something good would have come of things.

 

Obfuscation is the concealment of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, intentionally ambiguous, and more difficult to interpret

 

really how did you get that from what has and hasnt been said?

maybe all that we "need" to know is be careful. And maybe our curiosity is not the most important thing here.

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...My takeaway, from talking to the Spokane cachers, is that they don't want to publicize the cache or owner, as they are understandably upset....

 

I understand this, and they are free to not speak about or publicise the cache. They aren't however free to obfuscate things to prevent folks who are wondernig about the circumstances for any reason. If a single person can avoid the kind of accident that claimed this cacher by learning from the events and circumstances then something good would have come of things.

 

Obfuscation is the concealment of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, intentionally ambiguous, and more difficult to interpret

 

really how did you get that from what has and hasnt been said?

maybe all that we "need" to know is be careful. And maybe our curiosity is not the most important thing here.

 

Love the part in bold.

 

Maybe that's all we need to know, maybe we need to know more. You and most others aren't really in a postion to figure that out for me or anyone else. You can at best honor the wishes of those closer, but even those closer don't know who all a person touched. I don't know the caching name so I don't know if I know him via my circle of cachers. Others who do know are keeping mum, to protect some at the expense of others, not knowing if I or anyone else have ever crossed paths or exchanged emails. I don't even know where to direct a prayor or thought. I also don't know if we never crossed paths at all. Secrecy doesn't help.

 

I did use google to find the article and answer my questions that relate to caching. Complete and utter accident in a recreational location used by rock climbers. That didn't help me one bit on the first part though.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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...My takeaway, from talking to the Spokane cachers, is that they don't want to publicize the cache or owner, as they are understandably upset....

 

I understand this, and they are free to not speak about or publicise the cache. They aren't however free to obfuscate things to prevent folks who are wondernig about the circumstances for any reason. If a single person can avoid the kind of accident that claimed this cacher by learning from the events and circumstances then something good would have come of things.

 

Obfuscation is the concealment of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, intentionally ambiguous, and more difficult to interpret

 

really how did you get that from what has and hasnt been said?

maybe all that we "need" to know is be careful. And maybe our curiosity is not the most important thing here.

 

Love the part in bold.

 

Maybe that's all we need to know, maybe we need to know more. You and most others aren't really in a postion to figure that out for me or anyone else. You can at best honor the wishes of those closer, but even those closer don't know who all a person touched. I don't know the caching name so I don't know if I know him via my circle of cachers. Others who do know are keeping mum, to protect some at the expense of others, not knowing if I or anyone else have ever crossed paths or exchanged emails. I don't even know where to direct a prayor or thought. I also don't know if we never crossed paths at all. Secrecy doesn't help.

 

I did use google to find the article and answer my questions that relate to caching. Complete and utter accident in a recreational location used by rock climbers. That didn't help me one bit on the first part though.

You quoted the part of my reply that said the cache owners didn't want to be identified, but you seem to be asking about the identity of the victim. Perhaps you missed my second paragraph, which said:

They also were not comfortable releasing the victim's name or other information, as they don't know him (might have been new), although one can certainly find it through news channels, as you did.

No secrecy conspiracy here. :) They don't know the cacher, and didn't feel it was their place to release info about him (the news outlets took care of that, anyway). If nobody in the Spokane area knows him or his caching name (and it's a large group with active communication lines), it's a good bet the rest of us probably don't.

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We are primarily trying to A ) be sensitive to the family, and B ) be sensitive to the cache owners.

 

We know the gentleman's real name; however, we do not yet know his caching name. Thus, we cannot help you.

 

As to learning *something*, the information that is freely available gives all we need to know to extrapolate any lessons.

 

As for the details, they will no doubt come, in time. Please be patient.

Edited by nelson crew
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We are primarily trying to A ) be sensitive to the family, and B ) be sensitive to the cache owners.

 

We know the gentleman's real name; however, we do not yet know his caching name. Thus, we cannot help you.

 

As to learning *something*, the information that is freely available gives all we need to know to extrapolate any lessons.

 

As for the details, they will no doubt come, in time. Please be patient.

Agreed. Thank you Nelson Crew and Hydnsek for your words and understanding in this horrible time. (Edit for typo!)

Edited by Lookout Lisa
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My thoughts and prayers are with they family and cache owner and all the other geocachers during this rough time. It is all ways tough to loose an individual let alone another geocacher. May everybody stop for a moment and send out a prayer to the family. May Mr Anderson find the big cache in heaven.

 

Antiqueman

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:) I too am a past Spokane cacher. I used to live at the base of the Dishman Mica area. I never attempted the caches located there because of their rating. I did find most of the ones around the surrounding area. My heart stopped a beat when I heard of this and wondered if it was one of my friends. My prayers go out to the family and the caching community in the tragic loss.

 

Be safe geocachers....making a find is not worth your life.

 

WARedBear

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Renegade Knight:

I understand this, and they are free to not speak about or publicise the cache. They aren't however free to obfuscate things to prevent folks who are wondernig about the circumstances for any reason. If a single person can avoid the kind of accident that claimed this cacher by learning from the events and circumstances then something good would have come of things.

 

I don't get all the tip-toeing around the subject. Do you want to know what cache it was or not? You seem upset that some are holding important (to you) information hostage, but you never come out and ask for the information. If you want to know, just ask.

 

edited to add that the quote was from Renegade Knight

Edited by DatCrazyMongoose
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I think I understand where RK is coming from. I hadn't noticed that it was mentioned that this was a cacher that a lot of people don't know/possibly is a newbie.

 

It's just kind of hard for "semi-locals", as in, those of us who live in the NW and may or may not know the cacher who died but isn't part of the Spokane cachers and so isn't privy. The first thing that happens in a tragedy like this if you live nearby, is you say to yourself, "do I know that person?". As I mentioned in the other thread about this, I did that with Red Bear, until I realized he was fine and doesn't even live in Spokane anymore. So, you start going through the people you know in that area in your mind. It's doubly hard because in geocaching, we don't always know people's real name, even though we may know them fairly well through geocaching. Odd, but true.

 

So it is stressful to people like us who are on the outskirts of being local and not knowing all the facts of the situation (even what cache it was..."have I been to that cache? could that have been me at another time?"...etc.). When we hear that there are facts being held back, it can be hard for us.

 

Just trying to maybe explain a bit, hopefuly I did. I understand that it's a sensitive issue, so I didn't say anything (yet). And now I understand about the person maybe being new, so that helps.

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As an Ex-Spokane cacher I came here hoping to find out what cache was involved to see if I could remember having done it. I also hoped to find the victims Geocaching name to see if I might know him or if he'd ever commented on any of my hides. Nothing morbid, just natural curiosity.

 

I understand that the owner would be devasted by this but I would never blame him or her for this tragedy. There are so many caches in that area I don't know if you can even be sure what one he was after. He may have found the one closest to the accident site and was headed for another.

 

We all know what the risks involved in finding some caches are and I'm sure following the arrow has put many of us in some tricky spots on more than one occasion. I got into a lot of those spots before getting detailed Topos loaded into my GPSr.

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The only archived cache I can locate in that area was archived 4 months ago so that's obviously not it. I think the cache in question has been archived in a "different" way. I'd have liked to had a chance to read the logs of people who had previously found it. Taking it off the site totally (if that's what's been done) causes me to wonder: 1) Had there been warnings about potential danger posted in prior logs or 2) Had everyone loved it. The answers to those questions are important to me.

 

Someone seems to have decided that is something we don't get to know. :lol:

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1) Had there been warnings about potential danger posted in prior logs or 2) Had everyone loved it. The answers to those questions are important to me.

 

Someone seems to have decided that is something we don't get to know. :lol:

 

it's there and no there were only a few who didnt find it or it was to slipery in thier logs most people liked it. lets leave it alone there is no "cover up"

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1) Had there been warnings about potential danger posted in prior logs or 2) Had everyone loved it. The answers to those questions are important to me.

 

Someone seems to have decided that is something we don't get to know. :lol:

 

it's there and no there were only a few who didnt find it or it was to slipery in thier logs most people liked it. lets leave it alone there is no "cover up"

 

I'm sure that details will be forthcoming... just wait...

 

HHooligan, you did the cache in '04. The terrain rating and cache description accurately portrays any hazards and the cache was a very straightforward hide. The poor guy just took a bad step, it seems, and went down. I'm pretty sure that I discovered who he was. He was a brand new cacher who started at the beginning of this month. He has one logged find.

 

There really is no "cover-up". I think I can speak for the rest of the community by asking everyone to just wait. We really don't have any hard facts and speculation is pointless. Just give it a little bit for more info to come in.

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The only archived cache I can locate in that area was archived 4 months ago so that's obviously not it. I think the cache in question has been archived in a "different" way. I'd have liked to had a chance to read the logs of people who had previously found it. Taking it off the site totally (if that's what's been done) causes me to wonder: 1) Had there been warnings about potential danger posted in prior logs or 2) Had everyone loved it. The answers to those questions are important to me.

 

Someone seems to have decided that is something we don't get to know. :lol:

First, there's no need to be upset. Second, there is no different way to archive a cache except to completely remove it and that would mess up the find counts. It's there and it was archived yesterday. It took me only 10 minutes to find it following clues already provided by the media.

 

There was a warning on the cache page and frankly, one should never go past their comfort zone to look for any cache. That's strictly up to the finder to make that determination. Don't put that responsibility on anybody else but yourself.

 

The cacher slipped on pine needles. That could have happened at anytime any place. I have slipped many times on pine needles. It is unfortunate this slip tragically ended a life and should act as a reminder for all to be aware of your surroundings AND your footing.

 

Finally, HikerNbiker, thanks for the heads up.

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Just saw this on the Spokesman website:

 

"A memorial fund for Stuart Anderson has been set up at Spokane Teachers Credit Union. Donations can be made at any branch in Anderson’s name."

 

So if you are able, this is one way to help the victim's family.

 

Peace

Our local WSGA chapter is meeting tomorrow to see about joining this memorial fund or something else. We are also awaiting word back from the family as to what they would like.

 

If you would like to do something right away and not wait, I would recommend this memorial fund for the family.

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I'll do you one better, here is your log:

 

March 13, 2004 by HHooligan (350 found)

Parked at Appleway and Sargent then hoofed in out of sight of the nearby houses. Great spot. Glad to finally find a semi-rural cache again. Seems all the new caches are being placed in the most urban spots imaginable lately and I much prefer ones like this one. TNLN. Thanks.

 

The cache owners are understandably very upset about this.

 

EDIT to remove inflammatory statement.

Edited by nelson crew
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My thoughts go out to the family. What a tragedy and a great loss to the entire geocaching community.

 

I have done many up there is the dishman hills. I have also been geocaching here in the couer d Alene area as I have moved out here. I am still actively searching in spokane as well. Hopefully people will see the need to move some of these as winters coming and I have seen alot lately that will be VERY dangerous when it is slick outside. I am just hoping these people move these to different locations that could be safer. There is one that I know of for sure that is located in couer d alene that is right on the edge of a cliff that could be brought down for the winter and then moved back up in the spring. I have messaged the owner with no repoly as to moving or taking over the cache. I would hate for another geocacher to get hurt.

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1) Had there been warnings about potential danger posted in prior logs or 2) Had everyone loved it. The answers to those questions are important to me.

 

Someone seems to have decided that is something we don't get to know. :lol:

 

it's there and no there were only a few who didnt find it or it was to slipery in thier logs most people liked it. lets leave it alone there is no "cover up"

 

I'm sure that details will be forthcoming... just wait...

 

HHooligan, you did the cache in '04. The terrain rating and cache description accurately portrays any hazards and the cache was a very straightforward hide. The poor guy just took a bad step, it seems, and went down. I'm pretty sure that I discovered who he was. He was a brand new cacher who started at the beginning of this month. He has one logged find.

 

There really is no "cover-up". I think I can speak for the rest of the community by asking everyone to just wait. We really don't have any hard facts and speculation is pointless. Just give it a little bit for more info to come in.

 

Thanks for the info Chumpo. I think it's worth noting there have been more than 150 finds on that cache. What a tragedy. My sympathies to everyone involved.

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OK, after seeing the posts for the past two days, I guess it’s time to add my 2 cents. I did this cache back in 2004, and though I recall the cliffs on one side, I didn’t see it as anything different than I’d expect in this type of terrain. You see, the Dishman Hills are somewhat unique in Spokane – a “Steptoe” remnant with steep eroded granitic cliffs, beautiful chasms of ferns and wetlands, trails that wind up and down the Ponderosa pine forest and views that are hard to beat. It’s like an oasis in a city that attracts hikers and mountain bikers alike. And, Geocachers too. This was not a cache that made you climb a tree, wade through raging waters, or hang from a cliff – the terrain rating was well suited to the task.

 

I, like many of our local cachers, were very upset over the news of the fallen geocacher. It hit home to many of us, as we’ve combed these hills and have slipped and fallen, picked ourselves up again, and grabbed that ammo can hidden in the rocks. We’ve no need to blame anyone, point out problems with this hide, or make others feel bad. Yes, there are many things we can learn from this incident, and perhaps most importantly is to remember why we are geocachers in the first place. We are here to enjoy the great outdoors, explore new places, challenge ourselves, make new friends, and be ourselves. But we also know the risks of the game, and that is part of the enjoyment (IMO). If all the steep, dark, scary, challenging caches were forbidden from this game and all we had were urban micros on flat boring terrain, well, I’d be signing away that last log and saying goodbye to GC.

 

Please respect the Spokane Geocachers who are feeling a great loss, and are trying our best to deal with this incident. We greatly appreciate the posts by those who are supportive of our geocommunity here. As Chumpo said, the details will follow at some point and we really don’t know much more than you do about why or how the accident occurred. And as Lookout Lisa said, the local IE board will be meeting soon to discuss how best we can help the fallen Geocacher’s family and perhaps consider ways to make Geocaching a safer hobby for all in the great Inland Empire.

YA

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