Cache destroyed by bomb-disposal unit in Berlin, Germany

[romar158]

Friday, Dezember 4th, 2009

 

Berlin, Germany

 

This is a free translation of today's article in "Berliner Morgenpost".

Wednesday evening, a cache near Lichtenberg station was destroyed by a bomb-disposal unit of federal police.

Police opened an investigaton, subject: breaking of the public peace.

A police-spokesman threatened the geocachers which deposited this plastic container, that the cost of this action might be billed on them, if they are found.

A plastic container, showing two electrical wires, was mistaken for a bomb. Two platforms of the station and two lanes on the bridge spanning over the tracks were blocked. The container was opened wit a high-pressure water-cannon. Its contents was found to be harmless. (Followed by a lengthy explanation of geocaching).

Here the german article in full:

http://www.morgenpost.de/printarchiv/berli...-Geocacher.html

[+Castle Mischief]

GC number?

[+Metalman1007]

That's crazy... I wondered when something like this would happen

[+Castle Mischief]

That's crazy... I wondered when something like this would happen

 

Stick around, it happens about once a month.

[romar158]

GC number?

 

Coordinates extrapolated from description in newspaper article: N 52.5112 E13.4989

[knowschad]

That's crazy... I wondered when something like this would happen

New in town, huh?

 

 

I was wondering when the next incident would take place, actually.

[+delphic]

GZ map

 

There is a disabled micro nearby, but nothing under the bridge mentioned in the article. Anyone able to translate some of the recent logs...its all in german.

 

Edit: Just looked at the map again. Zoom out the map and there is a small mystery cache to the west. But is was disabled months ago.

Edited December 4, 2009 by delphic

[+Isonzo Karst]

Cache has been retracted.

[+delphic]

Cache has been retracted.

 

Does Groundspeak have some sort of "black-ops" splinter group that can make a cache disappear? They pull up in a black van, toss the container inside, and it's never heard of again? Then the say the cache was "retracted?"

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Cache has been retracted.

Huh?

[+cottonmouth]

There is a thread in the German speaking forum:

Bombenalarm in Berlin

 

This cache is the suspect: GC1Y89D

It was archived shortly after the bomb squad blatantly disregarded the rules for found caches.

 

Many of the logs indicated that the cache was attached to a bridge and it took either sportive actions or equipment to retrieve it. It seems like the owner made staying undetected easier by selecting a spot with lots of traffic. Obviously many cachers succeeded in attracting attention. One quote from a logs jumps to my mind: "suddenly two police muggles where approaching from out of nowhere and their car parked right next to the curb". One has to be surprised that the cache met its destiny .

[knowschad]

There is a thread in the German speaking forum:

Bombenalarm in Berlin

 

This cache is the suspect: GC1Y89D

It was archived shortly after the bomb squad blatantly disregarded the rules for found caches.

 

Many of the logs indicated that the cache was attached to a bridge and it took either sportive actions or equipment to retrieve it. It seems like the owner made staying undetected easier by selecting a spot with lots of traffic. Obviously many cachers succeeded in attracting attention. One quote from a logs jumps to my mind: "suddenly two police muggles where approaching from out of nowhere and their car parked right next to the curb". One has to be surprised that the cache met its destiny .

Yup... retracted. The link shows that the cache has not yet been published! Actually, I supposed it could be true that it has not yet been published.. a cache could be found and blown up while waiting for it to be published.

[+Castle Mischief]

There is a thread in the German speaking forum:

Bombenalarm in Berlin

 

This cache is the suspect: GC1Y89D

It was archived shortly after the bomb squad blatantly disregarded the rules for found caches.

 

Many of the logs indicated that the cache was attached to a bridge and it took either sportive actions or equipment to retrieve it. It seems like the owner made staying undetected easier by selecting a spot with lots of traffic. Obviously many cachers succeeded in attracting attention. One quote from a logs jumps to my mind: "suddenly two police muggles where approaching from out of nowhere and their car parked right next to the curb". One has to be surprised that the cache met its destiny .

Yup... retracted. The link shows that the cache has not yet been published! Actually, I supposed it could be true that it has not yet been published.. a cache could be found and blown up while waiting for it to be published.

 

Which could be true if it weren't for the found logs mentioned in the post above yours.

 

Strange. I guess this one slipped past the reviewer. It happens. Stranger still that other cachers didn't raise a flag.

[+Renegade Knight]

...Yup... retracted. The link shows that the cache has not yet been published! Actually, I supposed it could be true that it has not yet been published.. a cache could be found and blown up while waiting for it to be published.

 

That happned with a cache on the Rainbow Bridge here in Idaho. The owner was setting up the cache and had not yet submitted it for review when it was found by a maintenance crew. Ultimatly they were fined for "disposing of debris on state property" by the sheriff.

[+Renegade Knight]

...Police opened an investigaton, subject: breaking of the public peace.

A police-spokesman threatened the geocachers which deposited this plastic container, that the cost of this action might be billed on them, if they are found....

 

It pays for the police to remember that it was their choices that broke the public peace not the choices of the cacher. The container was harmless and remained harmless.

 

I've had a cache reported and instead of being blown up, the narcotics side of the sheriff's office responded. No drugs were found so they were perfectly happy and told me to enjoy my caching. Had the other division responded they may have blown it up and the sherrif jumped up and down about it. Alas all those choices that led to who responded were entirly out of my hands. Same as ever other cache that gets a responce because we live in a world where a few people try to cause real harm. It's those folks who are a problem. Not us cachers.

[knowschad]

Yup... retracted. The link shows that the cache has not yet been published! Actually, I supposed it could be true that it has not yet been published.. a cache could be found and blown up while waiting for it to be published.

Which could be true if it weren't for the found logs mentioned in the post above yours.

Ah, yup. You're right. I missed the part about the logs in my hasty reading.

[+Hildy Boys]

Stories like this make me worry about the future of our beloved game! How many times is thie going to happen before th government puts and end to it!

[+cottonmouth]

It pays for the police to remember that it was their choices that broke the public peace not the choices of the cacher. The container was harmless and remained harmless.

It´s a matter of cause and effect. The cache should not have been there in the first place. The police responded and chose to play it save. They have a SOP that is geared to prevent humans from getting harmed and avoid damage to inanimate objects. A bridge which handles substantial traffic is a poor choice for a regular sized cache container, doubly so if the container is a "pipe with some wires hanging from it". In hindsight a little less would have done this time.

The change that there was an appropriate permission for this cache is pretty anorexic. It may be interesting to know that police authorities publicly requested geocachers to remove urban caches from sensitive locations to avoid that kind of misunderstanding. That request was discussed in german forums so it was noticed by the community. If the cachers have to pay the price, it is an expensive case of "play with fire, get burnt".

[knowschad]

It pays for the police to remember that it was their choices that broke the public peace not the choices of the cacher. The container was harmless and remained harmless.

It´s a matter of cause and effect. The cache should not have been there in the first place. The police responded and chose to play it save. They have a SOP that is geared to prevent humans from getting harmed and avoid damage to inanimate objects. A bridge which handles substantial traffic is a poor choice for a regular sized cache container, doubly so if the container is a "pipe with some wires hanging from it". In hindsight a little less would have done this time.

The change that there was an appropriate permission for this cache is pretty anorexic. It may be interesting to know that police authorities publicly requested geocachers to remove urban caches from sensitive locations to avoid that kind of misunderstanding. That request was discussed in german forums so it was noticed by the community. If the cachers have to pay the price, it is an expensive case of "play with fire, get burnt".

I can't speak for the bridge (which, if it were a traffic-bearing bridge and the reviewer knew that, would not normally be approved, at least here in the U.S.) but I can speak for the "wires" comment, having once been the last finder on a cache that was investigated by a bomb squad and said to have wires coming out of it. The cache, a pill bottle, had been hung from a branch from a single piece of wire. This pill bottle with a short piece of wire coming out of the cap was the so-called "bomb".

[+Castle Mischief]

Stories like this make me worry about the future of our beloved game! How many times is this going to happen before the government puts and end to it!

 

Welcome to the game! See my comment in post #4. Rest assured, there are plenty of privately-owned locations that allow caching. The "government" won't be taking those away anytime soon. More likely, there will be a system of permits and regulations (as has already happened in some locations).

[+Renegade Knight]

It pays for the police to remember that it was their choices that broke the public peace not the choices of the cacher. The container was harmless and remained harmless.

It´s a matter of cause and effect. The cache should not have been there in the first place. The police responded and chose to play it save. They have a SOP that is geared to prevent humans from getting harmed and avoid damage to inanimate objects. A bridge which handles substantial traffic is a poor choice for a regular sized cache container, doubly so if the container is a "pipe with some wires hanging from it". In hindsight a little less would have done this time.

The change that there was an appropriate permission for this cache is pretty anorexic. It may be interesting to know that police authorities publicly requested geocachers to remove urban caches from sensitive locations to avoid that kind of misunderstanding. That request was discussed in german forums so it was noticed by the community. If the cachers have to pay the price, it is an expensive case of "play with fire, get burnt".

 

I understand you point. However it's SOP that's the cause. Not the cache. Like I pointed out choices made early on resulted in one version of SOP as opposed to another one. As for the description of the cache, I've never read a single incident that didn't spin. In other words I Don't read "the container was marked geocache and clear plastic with the cache sheet visible, we susepcted it was a cache so we did'nt shut down the road and instead flagged traffic for the 30 seconds for a clear distance of 300' when we destroyed the container to play it safe per SOP". Instead for that same container I read "The contents were obscured (by the cache log) but Xray revealed wires (in the mcToy that would get through airport security) so precautions were taken (we shut down the bridge) and the suspisious object was destroyed. We will be trying to prosecute the person who disrupted the peace"

 

The same train of events can happen if a lady drops her purse. It's not "play with fire" it's no harm was ever intended and we do police ourselves for the more obvious reactions like a cache on a bridge.

 

Permission has nothing whatsoever to do with how a responce plays out. SOP rules the day.

[+cottonmouth]

I understand you point. However it's SOP that's the cause. Not the cache. Like I pointed out choices made early on resulted in one version of SOP as opposed to another one.

 

...

 

The same train of events can happen if a lady drops her purse. It's not "play with fire" it's no harm was ever intended and we do police ourselves for the more obvious reactions like a cache on a bridge.

 

Permission has nothing whatsoever to do with how a responce plays out. SOP rules the day.

 

I respectfully disagree. Maybe we are not referring to the same thing. "breaking public peace" does not necessarily mean that you caused the disturbance directly. The offense is defined as threatening to commit certain crimes or - despite better knowledge - acting in a way that creates the impression that certain crimes (e. g. cause explosions, compromise traffic, damage important infrastructure) are about to be committed. Placing the container under the bridge triggered a response. Even having to flag the traffic to a clear distance and investigate is sufficient. The cachers who deliberately placed the container should have known better. They should have noticed lots of broad hints for that. The permission is important for judging the knowledge. If you have one, you no longer act despite better knowledge.

Policing ourselves sometimes fails. When that becomes a problem for the authorities, they will react.

[+DeRock & The Psychic Cacher]

I've never run across a cache that has been found being retracted. Did the 47 finders of that cache lose a find when it was retracted?

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher

[+Harry Dolphin]

I've never run across a cache that has been found being retracted. Did the 47 finders of that cache lose a find when it was retracted?

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher

 

I have found two caches that were later retracted. Both are still on my list of caches found.

[+popokiiti]

Is this the first "blowing up" of a cache outside North America?

[Mr.Yuck]

I've never run across a cache that has been found being retracted. Did the 47 finders of that cache lose a find when it was retracted?

 

Deane

AKA: DeRock & the Psychic Cacher

 

Seen it once, with a handful of finds. Yes, I'm quite sure the smiley seekers lost their smiley. Then again, I think it was later published. I guess the Dolphin would now better.

 

Is this the first cache blown up outside of North America? I can't think of any examples, but I'm sure it's not.

Edited December 5, 2009 by TheWhiteUrkel

[Rocketsteve]

There was an ammo can cache located about 1/2 mile from where I live, and last year, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's bomb squad came out and blew it up because a nervous muggle spotted it and called it in. With all the emphasis on combating global and domestic terrorism, things like this are bound to happen.

[+Lil Devil]

Is this the first "blowing up" of a cache outside North America?

It's the first one to hit the forums that I am aware of.

[+sbell111]