Geocaching Helping to Solve Crimes

[+colleda]

I haven't come across this topic elsewhere here.

I envisage a scenario where a crime is committed and LEOs find that there are geocaches hidden near the scene.

LEOs check cache logs and find there were geocachers in the vicinity at the time and, obtain description/s of possible offender/s whom they are able to identify leading to an arrest.

Anyone heard of this happening?

[Pup Patrol]

I haven't come across this topic elsewhere here.

I envisage a scenario where a crime is committed and LEOs find that there are geocaches hidden near the scene.

LEOs check cache logs and find there were geocachers in the vicinity at the time and, obtain description/s of possible offender/s whom they are able to identify leading to an arrest.

Anyone heard of this happening?

 

How could they identify potential witnesses from some nicknames in a logbook?

 

B.

[Keystone]

There's been many examples over the years where geocachers have found dead bodies, stolen merchandise, drug stashes/growing areas/labs, and other activity that's been reported to law enforcement.

 

I don't recall any examples where law enforcement used a nearby geocache as a means for identifying potential witnesses. Under your hypothetical, the law enforcement agency would have created an account in order to see caches nearby their area of interest. So, they could send emails or messages through Geocaching.com to account names shown in the logbooks.

[+Manville Possum]

I haven't come across this topic elsewhere here.

I envisage a scenario where a crime is committed and LEOs find that there are geocaches hidden near the scene.

LEOs check cache logs and find there were geocachers in the vicinity at the time and, obtain description/s of possible offender/s whom they are able to identify leading to an arrest.

Anyone heard of this happening?

 

How could they identify potential witnesses from some nicknames in a logbook?

 

B.

 

Can you imagine going to your supervisor and telling them that you have a lead on a possible witness in the area code name Manville Possum?

[+colleda]

There's been many examples over the years where geocachers have found dead bodies, stolen merchandise, drug stashes/growing areas/labs, and other activity that's been reported to law enforcement.

 

I don't recall any examples where law enforcement used a nearby geocache as a means for identifying potential witnesses. Under your hypothetical, the law enforcement agency would have created an account in order to see caches nearby their area of interest. So, they could send emails or messages through Geocaching.com to account names shown in the logbooks.

Creating an account was what I was thinking they would do if they were geocache savvy. Some are but many aren't.

[+colleda]

I haven't come across this topic elsewhere here.

I envisage a scenario where a crime is committed and LEOs find that there are geocaches hidden near the scene.

LEOs check cache logs and find there were geocachers in the vicinity at the time and, obtain description/s of possible offender/s whom they are able to identify leading to an arrest.

Anyone heard of this happening?

 

How could they identify potential witnesses from some nicknames in a logbook?

 

B.

 

Can you imagine going to your supervisor and telling them that you have a lead on a possible witness in the area code name Manville Possum?

 

The super would hand them a thick pair of gloves and tell 'em to get on with it.

Edited February 22, 2016 by colleda

[+lee737]

Yes officer, I was there at 1430 hours, I had my face buried in my GPS the whole time... didn't see anything else.....

[+Manville Possum]

Creating an account was what I was thinking they would do if they were geocache savvy. Some are but many aren't.

 

You may be surprised how many free PM accounts there are out there for Law enforcement/park rangers to monitor geocaching activity.

[+Gill & Tony]

I was once searching for a cache in a park when a police car pulled up beside a parked car about 200m from me. One officer walked over and asked if I had seen who parked the car. Apparently it had been stolen and abandoned a few minutes before I started searching.

 

Unfortunately I couldn't help them.

[+Sol seaker]

I've called the police twice for things I've found while caching.

 

I don't know what ever came of those situations.

 

Actually one I do know. I gave them the coordinates of the cache to find the spot I was talking about. They actually called me from the cache site in a huge park with hiking trails. It was cute. They found the cache and sounded excited about finding it. I told them to sign it and then look for what I had called them about.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Sol seaker

[+Marcas_Found]

Slightly tangent to the topic but in the same vein: I do know where geocachers helped to find and save a missing person. A few years ago, a geocacher came to Hawaii from eastern Europe to visit and geocache. He was an experienced mountain climber, but Hawaii mountains can be quite unforgiving... He went missing for several days and the authorities were called in to search for him. Cachers were able to figure out where he last was and find the last cache he signed, immensely helping to reduce the search area. he was found a few hours later and airevac'd out.

[+Ben0w]

Happened here: a person was killed and left in the woods. Some weeks after the incident, police still hadn't a clue and called out for help to the local geocacher community, because there was a geocache in the wood, however in some distance. As far as I know, without success up to date.

[+The Rat]

I don't personally know of any real-life cases of law enforcement being assisted by geocachers or by knowledge of geocaching, but it certainly could happen. It has been written about in several geocaching novels, sometimes in surprising ways.