Stolen Geocaches

[csusbflyboy]

I now have had two creative geocaches stolen from their locations. I hid them in the desert and would only be found if it were on purpose, geocachers. This leads me to believe that cachers are stealing my caches (which I can't believe I even have to say). I absolutely love the sport but am being dissuaded from ever placing more caches again. I don't like placing caches that are typical (like an altoids can in a lightpost). I want to add something to the Geocachers day but am afraid more of them will go missing. Any suggestions?

[+Max and 99]

I am just a little bit confused. I looked at your disabled/archived caches, and you seem to be indicating on at least some of them that they are easily accessible from the road, easy park and grabs. Wouldn't those be the kinds of caches most easily found by muggles?

Never say never, though. It COULD be geocachers stealing your caches, I'm just wondering why you seem so sure it wasn't a muggle.

[+Don_J]

I now have had two creative geocaches stolen from their locations. I hid them in the desert and would only be found if it were on purpose, geocachers. This leads me to believe that cachers are stealing my caches (which I can't believe I even have to say). I absolutely love the sport but am being dissuaded from ever placing more caches again. I don't like placing caches that are typical (like an altoids can in a lightpost). I want to add something to the Geocachers day but am afraid more of them will go missing. Any suggestions?

 

All of your caches are along the main road in your community. I know the area and I know that it is pretty lonely, but sometimes, that can work against you. If I stop to find your cache and one of the locals drives by, they are going to wonder what I am doing. They may just come and check it out after I leave. I have no idea why non cachers remove caches but the fact is, they do. Don't assume that it has to be a geocacher that is doing it.

[+barryadams307]

So Cachers take caches that are "gay" not there kinda caches not saying yours is haven't looked at it could be a cacher that dosent like you or something but there's nothing you can do about it that's the sad thing

[+Steve 'n' Nancy]

We have also done some very creative caches that get us rave reviews from cachers, some lasting up to a year before being taken. We have replaced one particular cache four times,"Joe's Old Boat" (GC118FB), due to it's highly active location it get lots of action and many votes for best cache found by numerous cachers. We have the attitude that "You Meet The Nicest People Geocaching!" But there will always be that minuscule number of cachers that do not play the game fairly and ruin it for everyone. So we have kept replacing it for the pleasure of those who hear about it and plan to find it some day when they get down our way.

[+EdrickV]

Given what I saw on the maps of the caches I took a look at, I'd think it was more likely non-cachers that took them. (Maybe local business owners or maybe locals who were suspicious of all these people stopping at one spot, or even someone cleaning up along the roadside and throwing out what they think is just trash.) In my opinion, the easier a cache is to find, the more likely it is someone (or something) will walk off with it. For that matter, depending on what containers you use, it might even be animals taking the container.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Out in the desert, eh?

While they may well be in the desert, I dunno about the "out in the desert" claim. They look to be all P&G's to me, along a major thoroughfare too boot!

 

You put 'em along the road, muggles are going to see cachers caching. Curiosity reigns supreme ya know. They see somebody at it, they're coming back. Bet on it.

 

All missing have numerous logs, so it's my bet muggles are watching.

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

So Cachers take caches that are "gay" not there kinda caches not saying yours is haven't looked at it could be a cacher that dosent like you or something but there's nothing you can do about it that's the sad thing

Please don't write like that again. My head hurts.

[knowschad]

So Cachers take caches that are "gay" not there kinda caches not saying yours is haven't looked at it could be a cacher that dosent like you or something but there's nothing you can do about it that's the sad thing

 

Fresh out of punctuation, Barry?

[Pup Patrol]

I now have had two creative geocaches stolen from their locations. I hid them in the desert and would only be found if it were on purpose, geocachers. This leads me to believe that cachers are stealing my caches (which I can't believe I even have to say). I absolutely love the sport but am being dissuaded from ever placing more caches again. I don't like placing caches that are typical (like an altoids can in a lightpost). I want to add something to the Geocachers day but am afraid more of them will go missing. Any suggestions?

 

Um, I'm a little confused.

 

You set up a series of park-and-grab caches, strictly to boost the finders' numbers. When I read "in the desert", I thought you meant caches that would take some effort to find, perhaps some hiking or atv'ing.

 

From your cache page write-ups:

 

This series of caches were designed to be a quick grab and go, for number's sake.

 

Beware of suspicious, high-speed muggles.

 

This series of caches are not ment to be difficult and are easily accessible right off of Phelan road.

 

Here in the forums, you are accusing other cachers of stealing your caches, but on your archive logs, you say the caches have gone missing "due to some cachers moving the caches to "a better spot"."

 

It looks like a series of roadside park-and-grabs, that can be found by non-cachers, road crews, etc, etc. It's not surprising that they don't have a long life expectancy.

[Pup Patrol]

So Cachers take caches that are "gay" not there kinda caches not saying yours is haven't looked at it could be a cacher that dosent like you or something but there's nothing you can do about it that's the sad thing

 

"Gay"? Huh?

 

Run-on sentences are difficult to understand normally. This one goes to a different level with that "gay" thing thrown in there.

[knowschad]

So Cachers take caches that are "gay" not there kinda caches not saying yours is haven't looked at it could be a cacher that dosent like you or something but there's nothing you can do about it that's the sad thing

 

"Gay"? Huh?

 

Run-on sentences are difficult to understand normally. This one goes to a different level with that "gay" thing thrown in there.

 

WHOAH!! How did I miss it? That "gay" thing is actually surrounded by PUNCTUATION!!!

[+The Blorenges]

Watch it folks, the dog is getting excited - Capitals, italics and three exclamation marks.

 

Back off a bit...

 

Maybe throw him a milkbone...

 

 

MrsB

[+Vater_Araignee]

So Cachers take caches that are "gay" not there kinda caches not saying yours is haven't looked at it could be a cacher that dosent like you or something but there's nothing you can do about it that's the sad thing

whaaaaa? bwain sellz dyz juz reedin.

[Mr.Yuck]

I now have had two creative geocaches stolen from their locations. I hid them in the desert and would only be found if it were on purpose, geocachers. This leads me to believe that cachers are stealing my caches (which I can't believe I even have to say). I absolutely love the sport but am being dissuaded from ever placing more caches again. I don't like placing caches that are typical (like an altoids can in a lightpost). I want to add something to the Geocachers day but am afraid more of them will go missing. Any suggestions?

 

All of your caches are along the main road in your community. I know the area and I know that it is pretty lonely, but sometimes, that can work against you. If I stop to find your cache and one of the locals drives by, they are going to wonder what I am doing. They may just come and check it out after I leave. I have no idea why non cachers remove caches but the fact is, they do. Don't assume that it has to be a geocacher that is doing it.

 

I'm confused by this thread. First of all, wouldn't a "gay" Geocache be prohibited as an agenda? Second, I agree with several posters, all roadside park-n-grabs, regardless of the fact the town is in the desert itself. I like Don's post I'm quoting. We place caches, and people notice the activity. And sometimes they go over and investigate. Many cache placers never stop to think gee, what are the nearby residents going to think when all of a sudden, starting one day, and endless parade of people drive up and go over to the same spot?

 

And of course I'm sure there are many cache thieves who wouldn't consider themselves Geocachers, who own a GPS, use it to find caches, and steal them.

[Keystone]

Let's redirect our attention away from barryadams' poorly constructed and poorly worded post, and get back to discussion the subject raised by the OP. Thank you.

[+GeoBain]

Any suggestions?

 

Don't hide caches where they can be easily muggled. This includes locations where the cache itself is easily found and locations where cachers are easily observed looking for the cache. Those locations will dramatically increase the chances of the cache going missing.

[+briansnat]

I now have had two creative geocaches stolen from their locations. I hid them in the desert and would only be found if it were on purpose, geocachers. This leads me to believe that cachers are stealing my caches (which I can't believe I even have to say). I absolutely love the sport but am being dissuaded from ever placing more caches again. I don't like placing caches that are typical (like an altoids can in a lightpost). I want to add something to the Geocachers day but am afraid more of them will go missing. Any suggestions?

 

You will be surprised by how out of the way caches caches can be and still be accidentally found by non geocachers. I've encountered caches miles into the woods and nowhere near a trail that had logs from non-geocachers who accidentally encountered them. And your caches don't seem to be off the beaten path at all.

 

Geocachers generally find geocaches, they don't steal them. The sport wouldn't last very long if stealing caches was a common practice among geocachers. The only common exception to this is when there is bad blood between certain cachers. I've heard of one geocacher having a war with another that devolved into cache theft. So unless you've ticked off another geocacher recently I wouldn't be so quick to blame other geocachers.

[+Huntleigh]

Geocachers generally find geocaches, they don't steal them. The sport wouldn't last very long if stealing caches was a common practice among geocachers. The only common exception to this is when there is bad blood between certain cachers. I've heard of one geocacher having a war with another that devolved into cache theft. So unless you've ticked off another geocacher recently I wouldn't be so quick to blame other geocachers.

 

Geocachers aren't the only ones who can use gc.com to find caches. There was a group in the UK who considered geocaching to be geo-littering and were going around removing caches.

[sdarken]

I have a cache that requires 10 miles of hiking in a very lightly used area including 2 miles on an abandoned overgrown fire road and a 500ft scramble down wooded hillside where there's no trail at all. My cache was discovered and logged by people looking for mushrooms.

 

I had another cache that required 10 miles of hiking in a lightly used area. It was well hidden off an obscure social/deer trail that was reachable by a similarly obscure social/deer trail. That cache was visited once or twice over a few month period and then it disappeared.

 

After those experiences I believe that it's possible for any cache to be muggled.

[+kniezgoda]

I have hide several caches in locations in Northern Wisconsin Wooded areas and in town only to have them stolen several times. I make unique cache containers that usually blend very well with the surrounding im placing the cache in, only to find them gone after a few days . How mean people can be.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I have a cache that requires 10 miles of hiking in a very lightly used area including 2 miles on an abandoned overgrown fire road and a 500ft scramble down wooded hillside where there's no trail at all. My cache was discovered and logged by people looking for mushrooms.

 

I had another cache that required 10 miles of hiking in a lightly used area. It was well hidden off an obscure social/deer trail that was reachable by a similarly obscure social/deer trail. That cache was visited once or twice over a few month period and then it disappeared.

 

After those experiences I believe that it's possible for any cache to be muggled.

 

One of my favorite logs was on one of my mystery caches. Not a particulary easy mystery. About 30' down a steep slope. Not an area where you normally expect muggles. It was found by a letterboxer loking for a spot to hide a leterbox. I thought that hilarious!