Is this a find?

[+rdw]

See PID HB1687. The tower is gone, but the footings are still there. So I found where the mark would be even though it's not there. This is proof enough to submit an official missing recovery report, which I think should be a find.

 

Should this count as a find?

 

rdw

[iryshe]

I say yeah.

 

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location

[+EraSeek]

Yes. I've posted recovery on this type of thing before. If you find some reminant of the mark, then you can inform others of what is left there. I've done this with day markers before.

 

[+rdw]

Thanks for the feedback people. I have changed it to a find.

 

rdw

[+Web-ling]

What if we find an obvious hole where the benchmark was removed from? See CS1699 .

 

[survey tech]

Hello everyone, Im here to promote, and to thank you for, your interest in Land Surveying.

 

Regarding missing markers:

While its true that many, and perhaps most, of the markers set over the last 100 years are now gone, due primarily to development activity, finding a hole does not always mean that it is gone. Many markers have been buried by fill dirt along the slopes of roadways. It may be down in the hole or the hole may have been made by someone else looking for it. It may be nearby and will not always be at the base of the indicator post.

 

For further information on Land Surveying, please feel free to visit us at rpls.com and ask any questions you may have.

[+Web-ling]

quote:

---

Originally posted by survey tech:

...finding a hole does not always mean that it is gone. Many markers have been buried by fill dirt along the slopes of roadways. It may be down in the hole or the hole may have been made by someone else looking for it. It may be nearby and will not always be at the base of the indicator post.

---

 

The key word is "obvious." This one was OBVIOUSLY the correct hole. It was located in a lawn in a residential neighborhood. The hole was exactly where the benchmark should have been (...IN FRONT OF HOUSE NUMBER 2121 RIVERSIDE, 18 INCHES WEST OF THE WEST CURB OF RIVERSIDE, 5 FEET NORTH OF A FIRE-PLUG AND ABOUT 30 FEET WEST OF THE CENTER LINE OF RIVERSIDE...), and was about 2 feet deep. I dug out all the accumulated leaves, but no disk. The disk had been found in 1995. The fireplug and curb were significantly older than that. According to Jeremy (above), finding the footings of an old tower counts as a find; What about an OBVIOUS hole?

 

"Find," or not?

 

[survey tech]

Did you try digging in the hole or at least probing the bottom deeply with a wood or metal rod? It sounds highly unlikely that this marker is gone, if all the objects around it remain undisturbed. The only explanation would be deliberate vandalism or theft, which is rare, particularly when the marker is in someones front yard. A hole like this can fill back in with a foot or more of dirt in just a few years. They can often be several feet deep, especially in developed areas.

[+Web-ling]

quote:

---

Originally posted by survey tech:

Did you try digging in the hole or at least probing the bottom deeply with a wood or metal rod?

---

 

Yes, I did. I stuck my hands in the hole, pulled out the accumulated leaves, dug a few more inches with my fingers. Nothing but dirt. According to the data sheet, the disk should have been 3 inches below the surface of the lawn. I was down at least 2 feet. No disk, no concrete, just dirt. Someone apparently yanked the marker, concrete and all, out of the ground. The hole was precisely (I measured...) 18 inches west of the curb, and 5 feet north of the fireplug...EXACTLY where the disk should have been.

 

[survey tech]

Well, that one is pretty clearly a goner then. Whether or not you are entitled to score any points for your effort is up to the admin people here. I see you are in Texas. You may have better luck if you venture a little farther afield. The safest markers are the ones farthest from people, since we are not only their creators, but also their worst natural enemies. If their are any large tracts of public land near you, that would be a good choice. Isnt it more fun to get out into the wilderness to test your navigation skills and enjoy the beauty of nature along the way, rather than just doing it in town anyway? I wish you better luck and good hunting!