Bomb squad called in for an actual grenade

[+ByronForestPreserve]

I hiked out in a park to do yearly maintenance on a cache, and decided to take the scenic route back. Walking along the river, I saw this a couple hundred feet from my cache:

 

 

Is that a--??

 

After a few calls between myself and the Sheriff's office, they found a couple of available Deputies and sent them out. I walked them to the location, where one poked it with a stick and the other yelled at him for poking it with a stick. They conferred with the Sheriff, and the bomb squad was called in from the next county over. I didn't stick around, because it was getting dark. Probably a dud? I almost dug it out before I thought, That would be the dumbest way to die....

 

This brings my total up to several intact bullets and one grenade found while geocaching. I've never found those kinds of things while just hiking (shotgun shells don't count), and not even while metal detecting; it's weird. Does anyone else see a pattern of strange things you find while caching? Refrigerators, hubcaps, abandoned boats?

[+T.D.M.22]

Isn't the first rule when you find anything to poke it with a stick?

 

Anyway I don't think that's a real grenade. Or at least inactive. It doesn't look right, plus the part on the left is where the spoon/detonator device would be is nothing.

 

I've never found anything really cool like a grenade or bullet. I've found the occasional geocache. But once as a group we found a cache in a car. On solid ground there was about 1 foot of the roof with he cache underneath. But the rest of the car was buried. Nothing special, but I thought it was a bit cool.

[+narcissa]

I think geocaching definitely makes us more inclined to spot weird stuff. For us it's license plates.

[+CascadeHandmade]

For me it's always abandoned homeless camps. Dirty old blankets occasionally accompanied by a makeshift mattress or couch cushions. Trash strewn about. Food wrappers and containers, sometimes clothing.

[+hzoi]

. . . I don't think that's a real grenade. Or at least inactive. It doesn't look right, plus the part on the left is where the spoon/detonator device would be is nothing.

 

It's not a grenade. The shape is wrong for the old pineapple grenades, they tapered in at the top where the spoon and fuse attached; this one curves back out. However, better safe than sorry -- I would have called this in as well.

 

As far as the original question, some cachers have found bodies. I thankfully am not one. The only corpses I've found while caching were deer. So many dead deer. I'd find bones and organs all the time on back roads in Oklahoma, and did again up in northern New Mexico.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

<...>

 

As far as the original question, some cachers have found bodies. I thankfully am not one. The only corpses I've found while caching were deer. So many dead deer. I'd find bones and organs all the time on back roads in Oklahoma, and did again up in northern New Mexico.

 

You're not SUPPOSED to find the bodies.

 

Haven't you seen that geocaching T-shirt?

[+ByronForestPreserve]

T.D.M.22--I was 73% sure it wasn't an active grenade, but I don't know enough about them to risk it. I figured having been in the water and buried in mud it would be safe, but ya never know, I guess. There was an Army camp upriver that operated until the 1940s, and it's one of the areas where caching isn't allowed because of buried munitions. That gave me enough pause to make the call to the Sheriff.

 

That car cache sounds awesome!

 

narcissa--license plates! That's exactly the kind of thing this made me wonder about. I mean, yeah, I see certain trash repeatedly, but I think it's interesting that certain people find certain things. One of my friends finds dog collars all the time, while I've never found a dog collar or license plate.

 

CascadeHandmade--eek! I've never found a homeless camp, either, though there's a cache nearby where the CO used to find items left by train-hopping hobos years ago, apparently.

 

hzoi--I've read the dead body thread. That was part of the origin of this thread, wondering what else gets found that's not quite the norm. I find skeletons all the time, but usually just the bones. The last couple hikes I've been finding what must be deer kneecaps without the rest of the skeleton nearby. No idea why.

[+narcissa]

For me it's always abandoned homeless camps. Dirty old blankets occasionally accompanied by a makeshift mattress or couch cushions. Trash strewn about. Food wrappers and containers, sometimes clothing.

 

I have had to archive two caches because of this and I have another one that people complain about but every time I look it's like a beer can and some cardboard where people had a party.

[+bflentje]

For me it's always abandoned homeless camps. Dirty old blankets occasionally accompanied by a makeshift mattress or couch cushions. Trash strewn about. Food wrappers and containers, sometimes clothing.

 

I have had to archive two caches because of this and I have another one that people complain about but every time I look it's like a beer can and some cardboard where people had a party.

 

Archival is the easy way out. I would have upped the ratings.

[+narcissa]

T.D.M.22--I was 73% sure it wasn't an active grenade, but I don't know enough about them to risk it. I figured having been in the water and buried in mud it would be safe, but ya never know, I guess. There was an Army camp upriver that operated until the 1940s, and it's one of the areas where caching isn't allowed because of buried munitions. That gave me enough pause to make the call to the Sheriff.

 

Will you be able to find out what the outcome was?

[+AustinMN]

For me it's always abandoned homeless camps. Dirty old blankets occasionally accompanied by a makeshift mattress or couch cushions. Trash strewn about. Food wrappers and containers, sometimes clothing.

 

I have had to archive two caches because of this and I have another one that people complain about but every time I look it's like a beer can and some cardboard where people had a party.

 

Archival is the easy way out. I would have upped the ratings.

 

+1. Maybe put a "not kid friendly" attribute on it.

Edited May 12, 2016 by AustinMN

[+The A-Team]

I think geocaching definitely makes us more inclined to spot weird stuff.

The very nature of geocaching increases the likelihood of us running into weird stuff. Geocachers generally try to hide their caches in out-of-the-way places where there's less of a chance of the average passerby stumbling on it, right? Guess what type of area the homeless, thiefs, and illegal dumpers look for?

 

You're not SUPPOSED to find the bodies.

 

Haven't you seen that geocaching T-shirt?

When you think about it, if one geocacher knows of a good place to hide a body, doesn't it stand to reason that other cachers will also know about that spot?

[+NanCycle]

For me it's always abandoned homeless camps. Dirty old blankets occasionally accompanied by a makeshift mattress or couch cushions. Trash strewn about. Food wrappers and containers, sometimes clothing.

 

I have had to archive two caches because of this and I have another one that people complain about but every time I look it's like a beer can and some cardboard where people had a party.

 

I had a Needs Archived logged on one because a homeless camp sprang up right where the cache was. But that one and another one earlier I was able to move enough to get them out of the problem areas.

 

I've found quite a few skeletal remains of deer and small animals like rabbits, etc.

 

Dog poop in parks where people are supposed to clean up after their pets.

[+narcissa]

For me it's always abandoned homeless camps. Dirty old blankets occasionally accompanied by a makeshift mattress or couch cushions. Trash strewn about. Food wrappers and containers, sometimes clothing.

 

I have had to archive two caches because of this and I have another one that people complain about but every time I look it's like a beer can and some cardboard where people had a party.

 

I had a Needs Archived logged on one because a homeless camp sprang up right where the cache was. But that one and another one earlier I was able to move enough to get them out of the problem areas.

 

I've found quite a few skeletal remains of deer and small animals like rabbits, etc.

 

Dog poop in parks where people are supposed to clean up after their pets.

 

Why do people put the poop into the bag and then tie the bag to a fence? Ugh!

 

Animal skeletons, antlers etc. are always kind of neat. No human skeletons so far, thank goodness.

[+The A-Team]

Why do people put the poop into the bag and then tie the bag to a fence? Ugh!

I've seen filled poop bags in the following spots:

• Sitting on the edge of the trail
  
• Sitting in the middle of the trail
  
• Sitting within 5 feet of a garbage can (or even on top of the garbage can!)
  
• Hanging from a branch on the side of the trail
  
• Hanging from a branch waaaaaay off the side of the trail (was Randy Johnson walking his dog or something? )
  

 

Animal skeletons, antlers etc. are always kind of neat. No human skeletons so far, thank goodness.

Yep, I've seen many different sizes of skeletons, and many other separate bones. I always try to identify what the animal was. It tends to be deer most of the time around here, but occasionally there are smaller animals like birds and squirrels. It's very unpleasant coming across the leftovers from deer hunters, though you usually know about it well in advance due to the smell.

[+ByronForestPreserve]

T.D.M.22--I was 73% sure it wasn't an active grenade, but I don't know enough about them to risk it. I figured having been in the water and buried in mud it would be safe, but ya never know, I guess. There was an Army camp upriver that operated until the 1940s, and it's one of the areas where caching isn't allowed because of buried munitions. That gave me enough pause to make the call to the Sheriff.

 

Will you be able to find out what the outcome was?

 

Nothing in the news or on the Sheriff's blog. I'm very curious, but may never know. :C

[+Isonzo Karst]

I went through a phase of finding refrigerators, once posted:

 

"I've thought about doing a series on the slowly disintegrating carcasses of the ancient migrating herds of Frigidarous freonia, now much depleted and rarely seen. I wonder if there's really much interest in this sort of Natural History?"

 

Have found Meth lab stuff in the deep woods, twice, once looking abandoned, and once looking active. More recently, found odd bits and pieces of some kind of processing, in the most awkward and remote postage stamp of dry land in the deep swamp ("beyond the Lanier Bridge"). Given the location, I'd bet prohibition era still, but just not enough of anything there to be sure.

[+The Leprechauns]

The last couple hikes I've been finding what must be deer kneecaps without the rest of the skeleton nearby. No idea why.

Those come from deer who don't make their loan payments.

 

"Oh deer... I herd you don't have the doe for me this week, eh? Well, by the time me and the boys finish with yooz, we will take every buck you have."

[+ByronForestPreserve]

The last couple hikes I've been finding what must be deer kneecaps without the rest of the skeleton nearby. No idea why.

Those come from deer who don't make their loan payments.

 

"Oh deer... I herd you don't have the doe for me this week, eh? Well, by the time me and the boys finish with yooz, we will take every buck you have."

 

Those are the best puns I've seen all week.

[+AustinMN]

The last couple hikes I've been finding what must be deer kneecaps without the rest of the skeleton nearby. No idea why.

Those come from deer who don't make their loan payments.

 

"Oh deer... I herd you don't have the doe for me this week, eh? Well, by the time me and the boys finish with yooz, we will take every buck you have."

 

Those are the best puns I've seen all week.

 

Now, let's not start fawning over his jokes...

[knowschad]

"I walked them to the location, where one poked it with a stick and the other yelled at him for poking it with a stick."

 

I chuckled. I think I've seen the movie.

[BFG99]

One of the strangest ones I've seen so far...was just last week. There were several human-sized bones strewn about the LZ of a cache deep in an urban wooded area. To err on the side of caution I actually called the local police to have them check it out, then when they got there THEY couldn't tell whether they were human or not. We ended up determining they were deer bones but it was still creepy.

 

But the creepiest one of all time had to be three years ago. I was in another urban wooded area (this time, a wooded area formed by a multi-highway interchange), and 20 feet away from the cache was a tree whose base was surrounded by a perfect circle of 12 dog skulls. There were also random markings in the tree's bark. I crushed the skulls as well as I could then got the heck out of there.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Twice I have found the remains of Santeria rituals. Dead chickens in a bag.

[+KatnissRue]

I found someone's pet dog that they had buried. The smell was the first thing I noticed and I then I got a sick feeling in my gut when I saw a shallow grave with a blanket in it. I really thought I was going to find a body.

[+hzoi]

Lincoln, Nebraska bomb squad just rolled up a pill bottle.

 

Geocaching causes scare in Lincoln on Wednesday

 

Apparently it was this one. Derp.

[+The A-Team]

Lincoln, Nebraska bomb squad just rolled up a pill bottle.

 

Geocaching causes scare in Lincoln on Wednesday

 

Apparently it was this one. Derp.

LOL at the bomb tech lifting the skirt. I should try that for the "Stealth required" caches. Nobody would consider bothering you if you're gingerly lifting the skirt while wearing a bomb suit!

 

Another example of lazy journalism. No, the container wasn't "taped to a light pole"; your station has video showing the container, and a quick review of that would have shown that it wasn't fastened to the pole at all. If the reporter did any research at all, they would have realized geocaching isn't a "faddish" game. Heck, why didn't they get their colleague Dave Roberts to help them out with the story, since he's mentioned at the end as having done quite a bit of caching?

 

One thing I find odd about this is that the owner only disabled the cache. Personally, if this happened with one of my caches, I wouldn't even consider replacing it and would immediately archive it. It's been demonstrated in one of the worst possible ways that this isn't a good place for a cache, but are they seriously considering replacing and enabling it? Would any of you replace it if this happened to one of your caches?

[+ByronForestPreserve]

 

One thing I find odd about this is that the owner only disabled the cache. Personally, if this happened with one of my caches, I wouldn't even consider replacing it and would immediately archive it. It's been demonstrated in one of the worst possible ways that this isn't a good place for a cache, but are they seriously considering replacing and enabling it? Would any of you replace it if this happened to one of your caches?

 

That was my first thought when I clicked the link to the cache (along with thoughts that have been well-covered in other posts about permission, LPCs, labeled containers, etc etc).

 

On the other hand, that might be the best spot now, for if the bomb squad gets another call for that location, they'll know it's a geocache!

[+noncentric]

Another example of lazy journalism. No, the container wasn't "taped to a light pole"; your station has video showing the container, and a quick review of that would have shown that it wasn't fastened to the pole at all. If the reporter did any research at all, they would have realized geocaching isn't a "faddish" game. Heck, why didn't they get their colleague Dave Roberts to help them out with the story, since he's mentioned at the end as having done quite a bit of caching?

Did you watch the news report? It was pretty entertaining, for a news story. The reporter showed the website and went out searching for a few, although they were mostly DNF's until he found an MKH-GRC cache. He even 'admitted' it was pretty fun. In the news video, he didn't seem like a cacher with over 1k finds.

 

That was my first thought when I clicked the link to the cache (along with thoughts that have been well-covered in other posts about permission, LPCs, labeled containers, etc etc).

Good point about properly labeled containers. However, I'm not sure permission would matter much in this case. I'd wager that the construction worker didn't go into the store to ask about whether someone had permission to use the lamppost in their parking lot before he called the bomb squad. Of course, after the bomb squad rolled in, then the store manager could've told them "don't worry, it's just a geocache".

[+TeamRabbitRun]

If I were the CO I'd be pissed at the news coverage.

 

Worst...

 

spoiler...

 

ever.

[+The A-Team]

Another example of lazy journalism. No, the container wasn't "taped to a light pole"; your station has video showing the container, and a quick review of that would have shown that it wasn't fastened to the pole at all. If the reporter did any research at all, they would have realized geocaching isn't a "faddish" game. Heck, why didn't they get their colleague Dave Roberts to help them out with the story, since he's mentioned at the end as having done quite a bit of caching?

Did you watch the news report? It was pretty entertaining, for a news story. The reporter showed the website and went out searching for a few, although they were mostly DNF's until he found an MKH-GRC cache. He even 'admitted' it was pretty fun. In the news video, he didn't seem like a cacher with over 1k finds.

I did watch it, but not all the way through. I just did, and I see what happened now.

 

The on-site report and video was done by Dave Roberts, whereas the written article was written by Andrew Ozaki. This odd disconnect of different reporters working on the story is where some of the confusion came from. When Andrew Ozaki wrote the article and mentioned that Dave Roberts "signed up to play Geocache and found more than 1,000 items", he's actually referring to the search Dave Roberts did on the website that resulted in 1107 caches around Omaha. Dave Roberts didn't actually "find" them, he just "found out" that there are ~1000 caches around Omaha. Had Dave Roberts - the one who actually did the field-work - been the one who wrote the article, things probably would have made much more sense. I now retract my "lazy journalism" comment and replace it with "poor management" for allowing or assigning someone unfamiliar with the story to write the article.

[+Cachez]

You might find this interesting:

 

http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14392179.VIDEO__Large_explosion_as_grenades_destroyed_in_North_Weald_field/

 

These grenades were found in an ammo can very similar to an actual cache quite close to where the bombs were. The area, while rural, is very popular with walkers and there are other cache trails nearby. It looks as though someone dumped the can there recently rather than it having been there undiscovered for years.