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The Official Travel Bug Obituary....


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Anybody interested in getting rid of lost Trackables can adopt them to The_Boatman . . . . I will ferry them across the river . . . RIP

 

Ah, get in line.

 

Besides I'd be happy to re-release a bug and let them keep ownership. One of the services I provide.

 

Previous examples provided upon request.

 

 

Edit: Added quote due to Norm!

Edited by BlueDeuce
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Yikes! I got on the forum trying to find out if there is some way to find the bug with the most mileage and on that note, if anyone knows please tell me where.

 

But what do I see is the TB Morgue. I lost my first and still favorite bug "Westward Crow" to a muggled site. I now try and make it clear on the tag to keep my bugs the H away from those travel bug hotels. :D

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I have an interesting situation;

I had picked up a travel bug three years ago, and had it in my car so I could easily take it places. I happened to get into an accident shortly thereafter, and my car was totaled, along with the travel bug it seems.

I was away from Geocaching for almost 4 years until recently, and remembered this travel bug.

 

I feel awful that it was lost in this way. I'm sure it got recycled into a nice piece of car scrap. :)

 

The owner has not logged in in a while, nor tried contacting me, but I left a note saying it was gone on the TB's page.

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I have an interesting situation;

I had picked up a travel bug three years ago, and had it in my car so I could easily take it places. I happened to get into an accident shortly thereafter, and my car was totaled, along with the travel bug it seems.

I was away from Geocaching for almost 4 years until recently, and remembered this travel bug.

 

I feel awful that it was lost in this way. I'm sure it got recycled into a nice piece of car scrap. :unsure:

 

The owner has not logged in in a while, nor tried contacting me, but I left a note saying it was gone on the TB's page.

 

The owner logged in back in December so they might not be out of the game. If they don't eventually grab it away you can get the bug out of your drop inventory by posting a note on your cache and Dropping the bug.

 

Now access the bug page and under Trackable Item Options you see the option to mark the bug as missing. Select that and then return to the bug page and delete the log where you Dropped the bug so it doesn't get invalid mileage. You can also delete your cache note and the bug will stay out to the unknown location.

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:rolleyes: I have 6 trackables out there, mmm, apparently make that 4 now. One Generic Geocoin made one move about 117 miles to the next city, and disappeared into a black hole, I guess. Actually, I have a better guess than that ... but I'll leave it at that, no accusations.

 

Just found out today that my Candy Cane coin was "lost" when a cache was muggled. The entire container is MIA, owner moved my coin to Unknown.

 

Worrying about the status of two more. I'm not sure if I will send out more or not, right now I'm a little disillusioned. Hey, reality check, I know. Hope for the best but expect the worst...

 

eta: Are you supposed to receive a log email if someone puts the TB or coin into "unknown location", because I didn't. I was just checking online and saw that on my TB list.

Edited by dixiedawn
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It's really hard for Mom or Dad to say: "Comon now, we have to let this one go" Especially if the bug is some cuddly, soft, Teddy Bear, or Dinasour.

 

That's pretty sad, really. My son has really loved some of the bugs but when it has been a little while bugs have to go back in a cache. I don't care if he had a tantrum. I would just put him in his room until he was done with the tantrum. Oh well, I guess not everyone deals with kids in the same way. Letting them keep a TB would be like looking the other way if they stuck a candybar in their pocket at the store IMHO.

 

Great analagy

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I need to vent because I am QUITE frustrated.

 

When our little baby girl was born I made a TB in her honour from a baby rattle from the DOLLAR store. It was picked up by a cacher in my town the next day and HE STILL HAS IT. He emailed me once saying he was going caching that same day and would drop it off...that was four months ago.

I emailed him and said if he isn't going to release it I'll gladly take it off his hands and re-release it myself..but to no avail.

The <insult removed by moderator> is intent on keeping my baby rattle for some odd reason and it REALLY ticks me off.

Edited by Eartha
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I did all the "right" things with my first placed TB. But still it's missing after only 1 month and no moves. It's not in the cache I put it in, and it's not logged as being snatched and moved. BOO HOO, I was hoping Grandma Sue's TB would get to Arkansas from CA by May 17th, but I guess not. Oh, well it will be interesting to see if she ever does show up down the line. No use crying over lost bugs. :lol:

Don't give up hope. I found a T.B (TBGHGZ) that had been missing for 3 years. The cacher found it when he moved back to the states, and dropped it in a cache. Another lost it in his apartment for about 6 months! It's cool when they do reappear. I think specific destinations and deadlines will lead to frustration. A general theme is better, as it may lead to interesting photos on boats or fire trucks, or whatever you list. Hang in there. The rumors of your T.B.'s demise may be exaggerated.... :unsure:

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Alas, poor Museum Hopper. I knew it, Horatio...

 

I'm actually pretty proud of that bug; it took a little bit of work. Got picked up out of one of my caches and moved to a cache in Okinawa...which was promptly muggled.

 

I still hold out hope that it'll turn up some day. Maybe, just maybe, it'll find its way into the hands of someone who will know enough English and show enough curiosity to actually check out the web site. Note to self: include a translation of the TB notice in Japanese on the plastic bag label I tape to my TBs' ziploc baggies.

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the logic of stealing a tb or coin escapes me. i stopped by a cache today, one that i had already found, to discover and photograph the coin that is supposed to be in the cache. of course it is gone.

 

also of course, it was full of crap items. can someone explain the "fun" of putting a gun casing or shotgun shell in a cache? or how about a beer bottle cap or broken piece off an atv. WHY BOTHER!

 

why play the game if you can't at least play with honor. if this was a one-time thing then i wouldn't wonder so much. but i read the same thing over and over in forums, all over the world.

 

makes me think more and more than mankind is basically NOT good. little things like how you treat your caches, your spouse, kids, all are connected. it is man's basic downslide.

 

little things add up into big behaviours!

 

ok, off my vent now.

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Well I've read too many sad stories, and I need advice. I am about to release 5 travel bugs. What should I do to help with their longevity. On a trip last week we visited a TB hotel that was suposed to have 20 bugs placed in it and what did we find ......JUNK! Thanks to anyone with advice.

You can find a lot of tips here

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=64691

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the logic of stealing a tb or coin escapes me. i stopped by a cache today, one that i had already found, to discover and photograph the coin that is supposed to be in the cache. of course it is gone.

 

What you may have found here is called a geocoin proxy. Sometimes people send out photos of their coins instead of the coins themselves to protect their investments. Sometimes people send out a proxy when the original coin has been stolen.

 

Proxies are a loaded topic. People usually either hate them or love them. If you do a search you'll get plenty of feedback. :)

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I have found one that tops your frustration. It seems that this teenager has 22 bugs being held prisioner. Mine included. ;)

 

http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=d6...5b-0d303cf5ee28

 

Is it time to bombard such cachers with messages.

And also maybe post a note on the TB "Believed to be stolen, been in the hands of the same cacher for FAR longer than the 2 week courtesy period"

 

I have found that sending first a polite "Glad to see you are looking after...... so well. Looking forward to seeing which cache you place it in soon",

followed a week or two later with a more direct approach, gets about 50% of my stalled Trackables moving again.

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I have a TB that was released long ago, but vanished in 2006. It is logged as being at a cache that it clearly is NOT at. (I.e. someone picked it up, but never marked it as such). How do I go about marking that it is NOT in that cache any more so that people don't keep going there trying to get it? I see no option either at the cache or under my TB stuff for it to say that it is not there.

 

I did see that there is a "fake" cache for dead/lost TBs. Should I pick it up from the one and place it there? Is that the best way to do it? Or is there another option?

 

Thanks!

 

- John...

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How do I go about marking that it is NOT in that cache any more so that people don't keep going there trying to get it?

 

Go to your TB page. There is a drop-down box that says 'recalculate distance' by default. If you click it, there is another option called "mark item missing".

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I don't want to give false hope here but we came upon a cache accidentally that had not been found for two years - a well meaning muggle/tourist had moved it to the campground office where they didn't know what to do with it - after talking a while they asked us if this was what we were hunting - gave it to us and we replaced it to its co-ords (plus a deviation to prevent this happening again) - there were two TB's in it that had been lost during that time - we grabbed them and started them on thier mission again - Don't give up hope they may show up again - I have a couple that are 'lost' as well - I live in hope :blink:

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I don't want to give false hope here but we came upon a cache accidentally that had not been found for two years - a well meaning muggle/tourist had moved it to the campground office where they didn't know what to do with it - after talking a while they asked us if this was what we were hunting - gave it to us and we replaced it to its co-ords (plus a deviation to prevent this happening again) - there were two TB's in it that had been lost during that time - we grabbed them and started them on thier mission again - Don't give up hope they may show up again - I have a couple that are 'lost' as well - I live in hope :blink:

 

Sweet! Great news.

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I'm sure this isn't the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever done, but it definitely is high up on the list.

 

I decided to launch my (only) travel bug in Arizona while visiting down there in March. I thought I'd just try one out to see if it was worth doing anymore because I know they don't always move along as planned. The person who grabbed it from the cache I put it in didn't know how to log it, and posted the tag number in their log! I politely emailed them, explained how to log it, and said it's considered bad form to post the tag number. He was nice about it, took the tag out, but still didn't log it. Another month went by, and he finally logs it out of the cache it was in. He said he was going to take it to Georgia at the end of April. A few days ago, I get some emails with some new activity. Turns out he gave it to a friend, who apparently dumped it on the ground somewhere in Texas. He logged a "did not find" on a cache, and put this in the post, along with logging the travel bug into that cache:

 

"2 dissapointing days in a row. I left a travel bug within 50 ft down hill near a lg bag of trash I collected from the area. Some one bring a trash bag for trash out part. Trashiest area I've seen in TX. No clues here"

 

I really want to email him, but I just don't see the point. I can't even fathom what this person could have been thinking. I'm guessing my travel bug is pretty much done for... if it's sitting with a bag of trash, I'm guessing it will become part of the trash before anyone can go looking for it someplace 50 feet away from the coords! Is it really that difficult to maybe take some time to find out the rules of the game before you start playing? *sigh* Oh well.

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I haven't read all of this thread, but it seems to be a good place to ask this question.

Does GC.com do anything if a cacher's e-mail bounces back to them?

I've sent multiple e-mails through them, and haven't received any reply. It might be that the cacher has changed e-mail accounts, and hasn't received any of my pleas to put the TB back in action.

I would think that when an e-mail is sent through them, they would find out if it wasn't deliverable, and could at least de-activate the e-mail link on that cacher's page.

I'd really like to know if I'm being ignored, or if they don't even know that I'm wondering.

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Hrm. I didn't get an email from you, BlueDeuce. I get all kinds of email from the site, so I don't know why it wouldn't have gone through. I wonder if the "send email" thing is kind of buggy?

 

huh, I'll see if I got a copy, if not then I'll check my drafts folder!

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I haven't read all of this thread, but it seems to be a good place to ask this question.

Does GC.com do anything if a cacher's e-mail bounces back to them?

I've sent multiple e-mails through them, and haven't received any reply. It might be that the cacher has changed e-mail accounts, and hasn't received any of my pleas to put the TB back in action.

I would think that when an e-mail is sent through them, they would find out if it wasn't deliverable, and could at least de-activate the e-mail link on that cacher's page.

I'd really like to know if I'm being ignored, or if they don't even know that I'm wondering.

did you check your junk or trash folder??sometimes email filters send them there as junk.

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I haven't read all of this thread, but it seems to be a good place to ask this question.

Does GC.com do anything if a cacher's e-mail bounces back to them?

I've sent multiple e-mails through them, and haven't received any reply. It might be that the cacher has changed e-mail accounts, and hasn't received any of my pleas to put the TB back in action.

I would think that when an e-mail is sent through them, they would find out if it wasn't deliverable, and could at least de-activate the e-mail link on that cacher's page.

I'd really like to know if I'm being ignored, or if they don't even know that I'm wondering.

did you check your junk or trash folder??sometimes email filters send them there as junk.

 

As a politician once said: "I feel your pain". My first tb covered over 18,000 miles and then some person (I refrain from calling them a cacher) took it from a cache with promises to place it. That was a year ago. I have sent numerous nice e-mails asking to please just reply to me. I would gladly pay postage for the tb's return. I have had NO response. What can I do? I can't drive to Australia and hunt him down like the travel bug stealing varmint he is! Oops, sorry, I got carried away there for a minute.

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Hey....Just noticed something and wonder why, in the last week or so, my personal TB that I use to track my mileage, suddenly it dosen't add in mileage. No matter how far I go....1 mile or 100 miles the mileage dosen't recalculate automatically or manually if I select that option. Any ideas guys?

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Hrm. I didn't get an email from you, BlueDeuce. I get all kinds of email from the site, so I don't know why it wouldn't have gone through. I wonder if the "send email" thing is kind of buggy?

 

huh, I'll see if I got a copy, if not then I'll check my drafts folder!

 

Hey BlueDeuce - I got your email - if you want to drop the cacher who left my bug on the ground a "friendly" email, go for it. I've thought about it more than once, but I just can't think of anything nice to say.

 

On that note, I got a really weird email today about someone's geocoin that's apparently been picked up by a newbie cacher (who only found one cache), and now the owner of the coin is emailing everyone who found the cache on that same day as the newbie to ask them if they know the newbie cacher, and can remind that person to please move the coin along. I have to wonder if they ever bothered to email the newbie cacher - and no, I don't know the person. Heh. Took me about 5 reads to even figure out what the heck was going on! Oh well. B)

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Hey, I got your response, which I thought was pretty darn funny. Couldn't agree more, but yes it probably wouldn't help :o

 

On that note, I got a really weird email today about someone's geocoin that's apparently been picked up by a newbie cacher (who only found one cache),

 

I wonder how long it's been since it's been picked up. More than 3 weeks I hope.

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some one should make a map of where travel bugs have gone missing and that way we can identify areas to avoid

Ummmm, my remote control doesn't reach my TBs and I will not harass a TB holder. A bug has a destiny of its own.

 

You're right though. There are hot zones of TB MIAs.

 

There's always the dozen cache wonders too.....

 

Sn :D:D gans

 

I think I have the shortest... Put my wifes first TB in our own TB Hotel. Person signed log stating they took the TB. After a month of nothing I check the logbook and then find out that they have been members since 2003 and have NEVER recorded a cache found or any other information. Attempted to contact them and of course never heard from them. Just sucks that this was my wifes first and now she wants nothing to do with TBs.

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My first travel bug did well for a few months. Then it was logged at a cache event and has been there for 2 months. Having looked at the event site, there is a bug that has been there for over 9 months. Is this normal for cache events that they just hang on to the bug. I've been to events and when a bug is passed out it is logged and usually moved along in a reasonable time. I e-mailed the event organizer and he claims he only has one bug that is not his. His event site list 6 bugs. Shouldn't the person who took it from the event log that they have the bug? I read that 2 or 3 weeks was acceptable to hold a bug.

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Well I should have read Snoogans stuff sooner, We took six TB's to Geowoodstock. I have really enjoyed reading where some have ended up and some really nice people picked up 4 of them! Pretty good odds. But the one that meant the most to us, a cute little travel gnome with a charm on it that was from a friend who has now passed on totally never surfaced. I drilled a hole clean through him and super glued the dog tags on AND I am still holding out hope as one of the geocoins we left was just posted yesterday YAY! But I took the time to print the story of our friend we were honoring and why and I thought it was really meaningful, we watched it placed in the bins at the event and it didn't last 10 minutes. I think I should have waited around to accost the individual taking it and FIND OUT WHO THEY WERE at least for the first of its journey. I knew the odds and decided to risk it but I am so disappointed. :P

Okay.. .letting it go (trying to) and really appreciating the folks who took TB's and posted about the part they played in starting them on their journey and how much I enjoy the photos of the TB's in new locations.

 

Thanks for letting me vent

Alicia

team kurdogso

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Well I've been frustrated by a new cacher who grabbed my TB ~Cougar~ and then has sat on it since January. After a few months I emailed and politely asked him to move her on soon and he sweetly replied that he would get to it ASAP. Well four months later it still hasn't been placed back in a cache. Now I've emailed (politely) and asked him to mail it back to me. It doesn't have a mascot so it would just fit in an envelope...that was a month ago. I emailed again today and asked the same thing. He only has four caches to his "count" and the last one was where he pulled the TB. Grrrrrr. I have not received any reply from either of those emails. Believe me, I was sticky sweet in both of them! This guy lives in an area where cache density is high so he could easily drop it in a cache without too much trouble....

 

This is the second time it has gone off the radar screen. The first time someone took it from a cache and never logged it. A coworker happened to see it sitting on their desk and managed to get it back in circulation, but it disappeared for a year with no trace.

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2007 was a bad year for my TB's

 

Buckmark= was picked up by a cacher with 15 finds who hasn't returned e-mail. E-mail was to ask that he edit cache log in which he used TB #. Cache log remains but he deleted TB log.

 

Hula Popper= cacher with 13 finds used discovered log on TB page but states he retrieved in cache log.

 

Wiggle Wart= cacher with 8 finds, same as above. Discovered on TB page, cache page shows they picked it up.

 

Blue Fox= may turn up eventually, cacher with 7 finds over a long period of time so they don't appear to be real active.

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Hi fellow GCs,

We're fairly new at this and not sure if this particular question even belongs in this topic but it's as close to being applicable as any other topic on the board so here goes....

We recently returned from vacation in Nova Scotia/Newfoundland and recorded a few finds across the country from our home on the west coast. One of the items we picked up was a TB from a cache called "Tolt View" on the east coast of NL.

When we got it back to our hotel & tried to input the tag number to record the find, the resulting page informed us that the item hadn't been activated.

We looked through the logs for the cache to ascertain who may have placed it and came up against dead ends with each possibility.

We emailed the cache owner hoping to gain some info or advice on the subject and haven't seen a reply. It's 3 weeks later now, we're back home, and it would appear as if the owner has abandoned or forgotten about this TB. We of course can't activate it as we don't have the activation code found on the packaging when the TB was purchased.

In case someone reading this post knows something about the particular TB, the 'dog tag' number is: 596373. The keyfob attached to it is a brass-coloured pewter fob in the shape of a house which bears the name of an "adult lifestyle community" called Sandycove Acres.

If anyone has any advice on what do do with this TB (other than giving it a proper burial) or has any idea who it might belong to, we'd appreciate the response.

Thanks & Happy Geocaching !

 

LeoTrio

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Hi fellow GCs,

We're fairly new at this and not sure if this particular question even belongs in this topic but it's as close to being applicable as any other topic on the board so here goes....

We recently returned from vacation in Nova Scotia/Newfoundland and recorded a few finds across the country from our home on the west coast. One of the items we picked up was a TB from a cache called "Tolt View" on the east coast of NL.

When we got it back to our hotel & tried to input the tag number to record the find, the resulting page informed us that the item hadn't been activated.

We looked through the logs for the cache to ascertain who may have placed it and came up against dead ends with each possibility.

We emailed the cache owner hoping to gain some info or advice on the subject and haven't seen a reply. It's 3 weeks later now, we're back home, and it would appear as if the owner has abandoned or forgotten about this TB. We of course can't activate it as we don't have the activation code found on the packaging when the TB was purchased.

In case someone reading this post knows something about the particular TB, the 'dog tag' number is: 596373. The keyfob attached to it is a brass-coloured pewter fob in the shape of a house which bears the name of an "adult lifestyle community" called Sandycove Acres.

If anyone has any advice on what do do with this TB (other than giving it a proper burial) or has any idea who it might belong to, we'd appreciate the response.

Thanks & Happy Geocaching !

 

LeoTrio

 

A little investigation reveals that Sandycove Acres has a web site at http://www.sandycoveacres.on.ca/ Also, that it is located in Ontario. The cache you mentioned, where this was found, was visited 10/10/2007 by cachers (cavecats and beginsters) who are from the area of Sandycove Acres. Perhaps going back to the cache logs for the cache and PMing those two cachers - one of them may have left it. If it was beginsters TB - they seem to be fairly nean and may not have realized it needed to be activated.

 

Good luck and hope this helps.

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