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Ever been ripped off while caching?


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Unfortunately, I got reminded of this thread the hard way this weekend. As I said in my log for The End Is Just The Beginning, "Left lots of broken glass; took a police report."

 

Back on March 10, bluespreacher wrote

quote:
Last year while disc golfing some fine citizen knocked the window out of my brand-new (4day old) Saturn LS

 

I wonder if Saturns are more likely than average to be bashed? My 2001 SL1 was parked all by its lonesome in the parking lot. My wife stashed her purse under her camera bag, and we took the camera with us. I suspect the dirtbags involved looked in the window, saw the camera bag, smashed grabbed, realized it was empty, then grabbed the purse instead. Fortunately, we were able to cancel the cards and cell phone within 60 minutes, and before they'd been used. They did make off with her Handspring Visor, though. icon_mad.gif

 

I'd visited another cache in this park in January, and there were homemade signs up in the area indicating that car thefts had happened there before. Should'a known, I suppose.

 

The worst part: as I'm on The1Nub's cell phone talking to the insurance company, he disappears for 30 seconds and comes back with the ammo box icon_rolleyes.gif

 

It's a beautiful park, though, and still an excellent place to hunt for a cache.

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Well, we didn't get "ripped off" while we were geocaching recently, but we found an item of someone who had been ripped off.

 

While at THIS recently, in the dark, Steak shined his flashlight in the hollow of a tree. What he found wasn't the cache, but instead someone's personal organizer. Looking inside, we noticed that the owner of the organizer is an 18-year old female. Maybe I watch the Discovery Channel's "Justice Files" too often, but my first thoughts were that there might be a body in the woods near the cache, or something equally horrorific.

 

Fortunately, when we called the number listed in the address book, Ashley answered and, after asking us to agree to meet her in "someplace busy", she picked up a friend and met us at a local McDonald's. She had had the organizer stolen from her office, of all things. It had been sitting in that park, miles from where she works, for nearly a month. She was very happy to get it back and I was glad to see that she took the time to bring someone with her.

 

Something else...

What if someone stays in the vehicle while the main group is caching? That could be just as dangerous. Often I end up staying with the truck because my back is bothering me after having done too many caches in one day, or whatever, or our little one has decided to take a nap on the drive between caches and I stay while he sleeps. Steak and I keep in touch via radio (Amateur 2-meter), and that way he doesn't have to take the print out of the cache with him. But I have found myself sitting in park parking lots getting the evil-eye from folks. Unsavory folks. We don't keep a gun in the car, not with kids, but I'm beginning to wonder if we should. The person who stays behind might seem just as appealing to a criminal, as someone to hurt, or so they can 'jack' the vehicle.

 

Be Careful out there!

----------

Lori aka: RedwoodRed

KF6VFI

"I don't get lost, I investigate alternative destinations."

GeoGadgets Team Website

Comics, Video Games and Movie Fansite

 

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quote:
Make up this sign and put it a highly visible place inside before you leave your car/truck:

 

"THERE IS NOTHING INSIDE THIS VEHICLE

WORTH DYING FOR. I AM ALWAYS ARMED."


 

Don't make it a bluff! Travel armed! If more people did the crooks would not know who was armed and be less likely to take the risk.

 

Mt pickup has NRA, GOA, and Paramedic stickers on it. icon_eek.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by para2medix:

 

Mt pickup has NRA, GOA, and Paramedic stickers on it. icon_eek.gif


 

I had my NRA sticker, NRA hat, and Air Force hat, sitting by an American Flag on the back deck of the car...these folks knew exactly who they were stealing from. Just an update..at the last totaling, the crooks got away with $1600 in merchandise they charged on the stolen credit cards before we got to report them stolen.

 

Some people just have no respect. We didnt let it bother us though, we returned 2 weeks later and finally placed that cache! After all that, only one person went after it so far.

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Just last month I was in California visiting my parents. I borrowed their car to go hunt for the Indepenence Trail cache near Nevada City. When I came back the window was busted out, my passport, purse, traveling cash and my mom's golf clubs were all gone. This parking spot was right on a busy mountain highway. Lots of cars around and still, they broke into 2 parked cars there. I at least carried my pack, wallet and half of my cash with me. It's hard to decided... do I carry it all with me incase the car is broken into or do I leave it locked in the car incase I'm mugged on the trail?

 

I started a thread under "The Hunt" if you'd like to also see it: Bummer of a Break In

 

txjacksons.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

Glad you didn't. I hear the guy who went after that cache had a really good time. icon_smile.gif


 

We were discussing that last night. If no one finds alluvial or combination before we do the next one, we are naming our 3rd cache after you BP!

 

Glad you had a good time...we hope everyone else does too. (not getting you car broken into will help in that respect)

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The Rotweiler is not a bad idea, but I found a very real looking fake snake. I put him in a very prominent place on the front seat. I don't even lock the doors anymore. Short of that. I've found that not leaving anything in the car and not locking the doors works well. This way nothing is missing and they don't have to tear up your ride to search.

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It is odd, at some of the parks around here, youy will see a lot of men in their cars in the parking lot. One will have his car facing out, and the other will have his car facing in and will be one spot away.

you definately have to be prepared for this kind of stuff. I don't know what these guys are doing but something tells me that, they aren't breaking into cars, I think they are there to meet Mr. Wonderful icon_wink.gif

Have you ever thought of placing an old Web Cam on the dashboard with a sign in the windsheild that says "This car under 24 hour surveilance(sp)"

People are scared to death of cameras, car alarms are a joke. When awa the last time you heard a car alarm going off where you thought, oh my gosh someone is breaking into that car.

Well thats my 2cents worth. Make them think they are on video.

 

46113_400.jpg

The KGB

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car alarms are a joke eh??

 

ever heard a police siren? ever heard the electronic BONK BONK airhorn in a police car? try ignoring that. the siren boxes are available at police supply stores for about $100, the speaker is about another $100. in most states using a siren is illegal unless youre in public safety but the electronic airhorn is legal. you set the box to airhorn or wire into the airhorn switch and conect that via relay or whatever to you car alarm. these things put out deafning amounts of audio. for best results remove the shock sensor and depend solely on opening of doors,hood or trunk so you dont get any falsing. if it goes off you know its real.

 

one of my ham radio buddies has this setup. someone tried to broke into his blazer and it went off, the screwdriver was laying on the ground when he came out.

 

i have no pitty for theives. just think about the scenario.. your adrenalin is pumping, your looking everywhere and a police airhorn goes off. i'm sure that shaved a few years off that guys heart. would sure make me feel good to know i took something from him he can never get back.

 

i'm currently working a jeep cherokee that will be used for ham radio disaster response. it will be loaded with radio gear. its getting the airhorn in the passenger compartment as well as outside under hood.

 

URBO

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I apparently dropped my rental car keys just before I left to go caching in Erie, PA. Like an hour later I came back and freaked because they weren't in my pocket.

 

The keys weren't in my pocket, but they were sitting next to the car!

 

79791_400.JPG

 

Wow! Can you say lucky? My car was the only one in the lot. Kind of obvious who they belonged to!

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quote:
Originally posted by urbo:

car alarms are a joke eh??

 

ever heard a police siren? ever heard the electronic BONK BONK airhorn in a police car? try ignoring that. the siren boxes are available at police supply stores for about $100, the speaker is about another $100.....

 

URBO


 

I was referring to a car alarm, not a foghorn from a lighthouse. Car alarms are constantly going off, so much so that I wouldn't even turn my head if I heard one going off. If you have to after market you after market car alarm, then you obviously know what I am talking about

 

46113_400.jpg

The KGB

guy.gif

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Good news is if a geocacher gets robbed they may find a logbook entry...

 

Took 2001 Ford 350 Crew cab with gps mount on dash

Left pile of broken glass

 

NO ONE wants my truck, 86 ranger with 3 colors and a lotta dents. I NEVER lock it NEVER gets messed with. I left a portable stereo in the back for almost 9 months and it was never touched.

 

SirRalanN

 

Now where did I set my GPS???

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quote:
Originally posted by Shinola:

Somebody smashed the window in on my sedan a couple months back while I was placing a cache.

 

The thing that really upset me (other than it was cold that day and the open window made life miserable) was that they *didn't* take anything.


 

This would burn me more than actually getting ripped off, too. While I don't condone it, I can at least understand the motivation behind theft. The person wants something for free.

 

But with vandalism, the person walks away with nothing (other than the 'pleasure' of having done the deed). I will never understand how a person can get enjoyment out deliberately hurting others who've done them no harm. icon_confused.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by makaio:

I highly recommend you never leave valuables of any kind in the vehicle. If you don't want to carry them into the forest, you can carry a small ammo can in which to place your valuables, then stash it in the weeds nearby - just don't forget it when you leave icon_smile.gif


 

Maybe taking a waypoint wouldn't be a bad idea, either...in case you don't remember about it until the next day, and have to go back for it. icon_wink.gif

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Zuckerruebensirup, there was no point in getting me getting mad about it. The only folks around when I found the car were the ones I took caching with me, and they sure wouldn't deserve my anger.

 

Instead, I funneled my emotions into a drive to make sure everything was taken care of as quickly as possible, and towards looking at the lighter side of the situation.

 

It was a nice sunny day, which was a good reason to drive with the window down... er... gone. And Dragofli's new drivers license photo looks a lot better than her old one icon_smile.gif

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Hey, do you think my hubby would fall for it, if I smashed out my truck window, and told him my purse was stolen? I could get rid of my current nasty driver's license picture, and have an excuse to get a new purse to boot! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Hmmm...maybe it would be cheaper, and less trouble, to just buy a new purse, and keep my current license hidden way out of sight. icon_wink.gif

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