TB missing

[+The Chubblees]

if i have a travel bug that is lost can i use the copy one that came with the TB can i use the same name or do i need to change the name

many thanks

 

the chubblees

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

You may. That is what the copy is for.

 

A couple of caveats:

 

You really should wait for quite a bit before releasing a copy. Many think that a year is suitable, some less.

The reason being, if the lost becomes found, then you have a job getting one or the other back out of circulation. Having two travelers using the same # could result in it being locked out altogether!

 

You may change the name, you can use a different hitchhiker, but it is still the same Travel Bug. Make a note log on the TB page of the "change" and why (if you want). This is to keep the 'old' log history intact, including logs and records of those who moved it before loss.

 

Good Luck.

 

EDIT INFO: If you are talking about TB2RNNR, it has only been listed as missing three days. Have you made any attempt at locating this "Jack T"?

I really think you should do some investigating before you jump to a re-release. Being newly lost, it is easier to find than one lost for a year or more!

Edited May 29, 2010 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+The Chubblees]

Hi yes we have only listed it missing for 3 days but technically its been missing over a month..Yes we have tried contacting Jack T with no results. He has'nt even made any kind of post of any sort.

I dont really want to leave it a year as all our daughters put a TB out and now this one is missingis unfair on her.

So what we might do is nip and look at the cache where we placed it.

 

thanks for the reply.

 

 

the chubblees

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Just so you know, having a TB held by somebody for a week, weeks, or months is not all that unusual. Sure, they should move it quicker than that, but not everything is perfect. There have been travelers that have "reappeared" after absences of up to 7 years, that I am aware of.

 

Your TB has been "missing" for a month. The only reason it is listed as missing is because it is not in the cache you put it in. Some people (thankfully rare cases) can wait a month or more before logging anything.

 

To put it short, a month is nothing!

 

I do understand that you have an attachment to the TB (rather your daughter does) but truly, patience is the key here. In all "fairness", these things do happen in life. You (or she) should release a different (new) one.

 

This is my opinion, certainly it is not engraved in stone. It is your TB and you have every right to send out the copy. I just think it is too soon. That's all.

[+isjustus4]

If your worried about being "unfair" to your daughter, yes I can understand, buy another tag for the time being. Travel bugs, should be LONG lost before being re-released.

[+jazzmonster]

Thanks for this thread - I was wondering what to do about a TB I released for my niece. It's part of a race and hers was doing rather well until the cache it was placed in got muggled. I don't think there is much chance of it ever re-appearing but I think I will do as you say and release another in it's place. Once a year has passed I will release the copy if there is still no sign of the original. Thanks for the advice.

[+Twitch Hugs Trees]

This is kind of a similar question, regarding the "copy" tag for a travel bug.

 

One of my travel bugs is gone, probably forever (the cache was destroyed by some very unfriendly muggles). I've heard of people who take a travel bug with them to be discovered at events and such, wearing the tag as jewelery (or a tattoo!). I'm going to GWVIII, and I would like to take a bug as a personal tag in that manner.

 

My question is: since my bug is gone, can I use the COPY tag as my personal bug? I understand that if the original somehow reappears (here's hoping!) I'll have to take out the copy, and this seems like an easy way to keep my bug active without having to worry about retrieving an extra tag from circulation.

 

Thanks for any help.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Nothing wrong with getting another set of TB tags.

 

Missing of 3 months isn't really being "lost" as of yet. True, you probably suspect that it won't turn up again, but stranger things have happened. Saw one a while ago jump up on the radar screen after a 7-yr hiatus.

 

Just keep this one thing in mind -- if you start using the "copy" and your original DOES show up, you must REMOVE one from circulation. Therein is the dilemma -- which one?

 

Both of us (Gitchee and Gummee) have a personal, as well as others that are moving, and some that seem rather static at the moment.

 

That's our suggestion, start a new one as a personal. After a good amount of time, re-release the one that is currently missing.

[+BlueDeuce]

Wait a year if the bug simply disappeared from a cache or is being held in the hands of another cacher. If the cache was destroyed - flood, fire, muggle you can re-release right away.

 

Using you previously release travel bug as a personal TB is just fine.

 

You can change the traveler, name, photo, description, mission/goal, just don't delete the logs of the people who previously assisted your bug.

Edited June 13, 2010 by BlueDeuce

[+Twitch Hugs Trees]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, the cache was destroyed (stomped on, smashed up on the ground) so I'm pretty much positive that it's gone for good. I think I will use the copy tag as my personal bug, at least for now. I'll probably get a new one eventually; definitely if the old one shows up. Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.

[+TitusLlewelyn]

I usually mark them as missing and wait about a year. A business in Phoenix, AZ makes new trackable tags with the old numbers and I get them to make me new tags. I keep the copy as a reminder of what bugs are out there. Then I send them out again (most times with a new theme).

 

There is new site online (tb-rescue.com) that has helped me get a few bugs moving again. They only accept those in caches.

 

For those that cachers show in their inventory it is hard to get a response. I had one that showed a bug grab and they have never logged a cache find. They also never confiremd their email address at geocaching.com so it is just plain lost.

 

For one, they should not allow a cacher to log TB grabs or cache finds without confirming their email address. By the way, we have seen new caches published foir owners with no confirmed email address.

[Andronicus]

...

 

For one, they should not allow a cacher to log TB grabs or cache finds without confirming their email address. ...

Well if someone takes a TB, you want them to log it online even if there is no e-mail address. Maybe a better way is to prevent a user from viewing coordinates until the e-mail address is verified.

[+Global Voyager]

Is there a way to get the TB removed from the cache listing?

I have a TB showing in my cache since Sep 09 but it has not been seen in nearly all that time.

 

Cheers, P

[+Global Voyager]

Is there a way to get the TB removed from the cache listing?

I have a TB showing in my cache since Sep 09 but it has not been seen in nearly all that time.

 

Cheers, P

[+BlueDeuce]

Is there a way to get the TB removed from the cache listing?

I have a TB showing in my cache since Sep 09 but it has not been seen in nearly all that time.

 

Cheers, P

 

If you are the cache owner and you have verified the bug is missing, access the bug page and under Trackable Item Options you will see the option "Mark item Missing". Click Go. An automated message stating the bug has been moved will be posted in the bug log.

[Bolivar Bill]

I had one turn up today that has been missing for over three months.

[+Global Voyager]

Many thanks,

 

P

[+V&BVan]

we found 2 TB one has been missing for almost year and the other one around 4 months so wait for awhile it might show up. We also have a mystery geocoin tag that you can stamp a tracking number onto the back to replace a lost TB.

Edited June 26, 2010 by V&BVan

[+Keymaster007]

I just picked up one that had been missing for 3 years. Thinking someone picked it up and now 3 years later realized what it was and dropped it off a cache unlogged. So don't give up hope