The Official Travel Bug Obituary....

[+GeoRoo]

*reluctantly steps to the podium* Uhm...is this thing on? *taps microphone*

 

Hello Obituary Threaders, my name's Yime... (Helllllloooooo, Yime)

 

Uhm, would it be okay if I verbally jumped for joy because my missing TB showed up after 4 months?  Or should I just stand here and let you all hit me with the tomatoes of envy? 

 

Punch Buggy Yemon LIVES!!! 

Yime, that gives me hope for one of my bugs. Fly Away#2 I've messaged and e-mailed and nobody knows where it's gone.

 

My sad story is my other 2 TB's made from souvenir key chains have come up missing also. One almost a year and another in April. 4 out of 7 TB's released in the past 1.5 years are missing now.

 

 

I can understand how one could get misplaced or muggles could find, but 3 of mine were geocacher related MIA. I know life goes on, but it still angers me to think they were stolen by fellow geocachers.

 

I know I'll think twice about making a TB out of anything "attractive" now.

[+Skip_]

Well, my first TB commemorating my first batch of homebrew seems to have died an early death, or at least gone missing. After travelling quite a distance in a few hops, it was brought to an event cache and whoever took it from there hasn't seen fit to log it for over two months. It's a beer cap with a small hole punched in it to accomodate the TB chain and tag. If anyone sees it, grab it, but I'm losing hope as the days continue to pass with no sign of it.

[+ParrotRobAndCeCe]

Well, my first TB commemorating my first batch of homebrew seems to have died an early death, or at least gone missing. After travelling quite a distance in a few hops

No pun intended, I'm sure

[+Skip_]

What, me pun? I can barley stand the things. In fact, usually I'malt-ogether disgusted by them.

[+q22q17]

I know I'll think twice about making a TB out of anything "attractive" now.

I've spent a fair amount of money for keychains to make into travel bugs. I'm keeping my geo-fingers crossed. I know as I release them, they may never make it, and some of them are downright cute. Too bad that fellow geocachers are out to spoil the fun.

 

In the meantime, I still believe that there is hope for the masses. Yes, I am a Pollyanna, and I hope that if you pick one up, you log it, and help it travel on. Cache on!

[+lillaurel]

Gosh darn it! Right away

My travel bug is M.I.A.!

 

So we'll see what happens, but it las last seen in River's Edge. It is a tad disappointing to be honest. It was one of the first ones i put out (it was the second actually, put out the same day as the first). Oh well, hopefully it will turn up somewhere!

[+Skip_]

Gosh darn it! Right away

My travel bug is M.I.A.!

 

So we'll see what happens, but it las last seen in River's Edge. It is a tad disappointing to be honest. It was one of the first ones i put out (it was the second actually, put out the same day as the first). Oh well, hopefully it will turn up somewhere!

That's pretty sad. Such a short life, but no reason to give up hope. Yours is definitely cuter than my missing one (For that matter, you're probably cuter than I am too,) and more attractive to the kidlets too probably. I don't know many kids who become obsessed with used beer caps from homebrew.

 

Seriously though. It's less than a month since it's been dropped and just because nobody noticed it in there doesn't mean it's not there. Also, some people take their time logging stuff for whatever reason. I didn't lose hope for mine until two months plus after it was brought to an event and taken but never logged. Keep the faith! There's no need for an obituary yet.

[+yale-peabody]

We've sent out several TB's but none so close to our hearts as our first. It made it from Ohio to Arizona on it's first hop but has not been heard from since. People visiting its last drop off, report there is no sign of it. Why were we so fond of this one - because we handcrafted it ourselves - a wood TB in the arrowhead shape of the National Park Service symbol, painted and stained to look like the real thing. We wanted it to visit as many of the NPS units as possible, then be dropped of in a nearby site. It went to the Grand Canyon and then disappeared. Maybe someday it will surface. But if it's the case that someone kept it because they are a fan of national parks and thought it was cool, shame on them. We think the national parks are cool too, and that's why we made the bug to look like it did and travel where it did, so more people would visite and appreciate national parks.

[+Big JohnP]

I had put a nice one out in the Plattsburgh NY area. It was a nice die-cast light blue 64 Mustang convertible (Mustang Sally) about the same size as the white jeeps. A nice couple found it, then put in in the Causeway Cache in Vermont and it disappeared within two days.

 

Must have blown a head gasket or rolled over in a ditch somewhere.

 

Anyway, from now on, I'm not putting out any more fancy stuff. I'll stick to regular items that seem to last a little bit longer. If by chance, any of you happen to stumble upon the Mustang, give me a shout, I'll send the tow truck.....

[+seesfar n hot lips]

iknow that it is hard when your tb goes missing and there are always going to be someone who spoils the fun for us at one point or other. but us that have the sense of fair play must hold our heads up and not give in to the ones who get a kick out of taking the fun out of our lives maybe the devil made them take it and maybe one day god or whatever higher being that you may beleive in will give them a swift kick in the rear and your bug will reappear.

[+prairieview_IL]

Well I have one TB that I released, the very first people that grabbed it, have never released it. So it has logged zero miles since the beginning of July. I have sent them several e-mails. I read somewhere in the forums a good idea, that if someone won't respond to your e-mails, post a note in one of their cache logs. I have tried that but their one cache has been DNF for months so I wonder if they are even reading it anymore. Looks to me like someone irresponsible who started caching, grabbed some bugs, posted a cache and now has just dropped the whole thing. I guess since they don't care about caching they sure don't care about someone else's travel bug they are holding.

[+BoredKitty]

I've had 3 out at one time and they were all very nice TBs. I did not have to mutilate them in any way. I think I just got the right cachers who respected their wish to travel and took joy in posting pictures instead of stealing them. I do not use TBs that would entice a child and they are all very tiny and fit in a micro so maybe that's why they've never been nicked.

 

I've found a couple of TBs in my time that I sorely wanted to keep but instead I emailed the owner and asked them where I might obtain a similar object that I could purchase for myself. I actually had one owner send me an exact copy of that object for free!

 

-BK

[+sevenfooter1]

19 miles? 19 friggin miles? What the heck? Someone's gonna pay!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Wow, 19 miles...that's a dream to me. I placed my very first TB in a cache and it hasn't moved yet. It's been about a year and the person that has it appears to have quit geocaching. My other TB has traveled a whopping 35 miles.

 

The way my luck has been with TBs I don't think I'll buy anymore. If I do I'll be sure to make it a virtual TB. I think this is a great idea, because there's nothing to get lost and it can be tracked the same way a regular travel bug can be tracked.

[+q22q17]

I've picked up 2 TB's recently in Southern Calif that made it here from Minnesota. The person who dropped them, never logged them as dropped. So, I emailed both owners of my find, neither replied, and I have sent one on it's way, and the other will venture with me on the holidays next week. If the TB owners don't care about their TB's, I DO!

[+GeoJunkie]

I've picked up 2 TB's recently in Southern Calif that made it here from Minnesota. The person who dropped them, never logged them as dropped. So, I emailed both owners of my find, neither replied, and I have sent one on it's way, and the other will venture with me on the holidays next week. If the TB owners don't care about their TB's, I DO!

You can log it so that it shows up in CA. Just do a "grab" on the travel bug, then enter a note on the cache you picked it up from, so you can "drop" it there and then retrieve it. That way the miles are logged and the owners know where it is.

[+EleriandBlade]

Bugaroo Banzai seems to have been set upon by Hanoi Xan's minions.

[BRTango]

One TB that I placed simply disappeared from the cache... within 5 days it was gone. The next cacher to log an entry for that cache mentioned that it was not there. So it either got up and walked away... or someone visited, took the TB and didn't even mention their visit. Anyway... it's been about 6 months now. I've marked it as MIA and am now about to have a funeral and bury it in the TB Graveyard.

[+NevaP]

Posted in loving memory of EntSoc Bug Seven, a beautiful big dragonfly, released in the fourth year of my tradition, in the city of the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America, with the gaol of traveling to future meeting cities.

 

This poor bug was placed in a nice Ft Lauderdale cache, which contained a number of other bugs (I liberated three, including a white jeep) and not long after the owner checked the cache and reported no bugs present. There have been no logs. So EntSoc Seven is now officially location unknown.

[+Bandit & Magna]

We went to a TB Hotel, put a TB in and tooka a spoon TB out. I filled out the paperwork and He put everything back in the cache.

 

We got home and started logging - OH crap - No spoon travel bug. I looked everywhere. i finally gave up and told him he must have put it back with the other stuff accidently.

 

A couple weeks later it moved fromt he hotel. "Wheeeeew" What a relief. Even thought we knew that could be the answer, we were not sure until it moved. We were terrified we might have misplaced someones bug, or worse, dropped it on the ground for anything to kill it.

 

At least this story had a happy ending.

[+Mrs Rusty]

I've become very frustrated with TB's. I only have one that was in honor of the First New York Captial Region Geocachers.

 

"Do You Have Any Bugs?"

 

Less than a year, this tb found it's way out of New York and into the area of Virginia. I've found that not everyone reads the tb information sheets. My frustration and anger comes when this tb was picked up on 9-11-05 and has not been dropped. I have e-mailed the holder several times with no response. I can only tell that it has been several months since this cacher has done any caching at all. I guess I have to let go, neither willingly or graciously.

 

Goodbye to my one and only tb...........

[+TeamVilla5]

Well, I'm here to whine a little... and cuss... and throw a little two-year-old tantrum...

 

I followed Snoogans's advice and poked holes in the TB's... yes, they were plush, but I don't think their "cuteness" factored into their disappearance in any way. I poked holes in places in them that made them much less cute & would prob. leak stuffiing if you took out the chain or keyring attached... I put our name on them in Sharpie.

 

BUT... I think I made a BIIIIGGG mistake (that I will NOT make again, mind you) by trying to release them in a TB "hotel" (although it was called a "treehouse")... GRRRRR... It was an ammo box inside a birdhouse in a thick thicket of cedar trees... but the whole thing was taken...

 

They never got to go ANYwhere before someone kidnapped them... BOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! Yeah, I know...

 

Anyway, live & learn... and go release another bug!

 

Happy caching!

Lori V.

TeamVilla5

[+claud4]

sad to say , i feel American Tourist-er may have made his last ( as well as his first ) trip . he made it from Atlanta , Ga to Portland , Or ... a one way trip ( guess his return trip ticket fell through ) .

thanks to GoJaybee for trying and taking him to a geocache meeting . who knows , some day AT may return , but for now im taking him out of the meeting cache ( which was many, many months ago ) and letting him lay in repose at the Travel Bug Graveyard .

R.I.P AT.

c4

[+mb3]

My TB was picked up by a first-time geocacher. He indicated that he was going to take it to CA but he has not logged ANY caches (even the one that I placed my TB in).

[+KT1I]

Yes, two of my travel bugs have gone missing. If anyone has them please get them going again. TB AK Salmon last seen in Logicache in AZ and BMX Bike last seen in Outstanding in its Field in OH. Oh, well.

[+rowanf]

 

Follw this link:The TravelBug Graveyard and give your bug a burial at sea.

 

 

There are a lot of TB Graveyards around the world. My bug that went missing in New Zealand is going to the Austrailian TB Graveyard rather than halfway around the world to the Atlantic Ocean. There is a UK one, a Scandinavian one and many others I'm sure. I'd be tempted either to put it in th nearest or the one that most closely fits the TB's goals.

[+DrHogg]

I'd like to say R.I.P. for my first ever travel bug "Oui Oui Wiener Dog." He was a really cute fuzzy little wiener dog with an even cuter name and an even cuter goal. (Go to Paris and be kissed by a REAL French Poodle.) He was so cute he was stolen by the first person who saw him, and ended up logging a grand total of zero miles in a year and a half of "travelling."

 

So long, Oui Oui! Your duplicate dog tag is now attached to the ugliest most boring thing I could find. I even moved it around to a few of my own caches just so you could accumulate SOME miles. Those 12 miles are yours, buddy, rest in peace!

 

--DrHogg

[+Joypa]

I have a question. I previously was able to move my lost and destroyed TB's to "Unknown" to put them in permanent limbo. This move enabled me to avoid recording false mileage of transporting the bug to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. When my latest lost TB became known, I could not remember how I transported my bugs to "Unknown". I put them in the Atlantic graveyard but I'd still like to know the procedure for getting them to "Unknown" since I apparently have a short term memory. Can anybody enlighten me? I promise to write it down for reference this time.

[+Joypa]

Enabling notifications of reply. See how quickly I forget?

[+GeoJunkie]

On the page for your bug, you'll see "Travel Bug Owner Options". Pull down that list and select "Mark bug missing". Click Go and you're done!

[+Joypa]

On the page for your bug, you'll see "Travel Bug Owner Options". Pull down that list and select "Mark bug missing". Click Go and you're done!

 

Thanks. That worked. I have done it before but could not remember how.

[+team siata]

Just to let you know, we picked up Travel Dawg in New Zealand while we were there on vacation Mar 9-Apr 19. We are just getting ready to place him in Northern California and he has over 31,000 miles at this time!

*********

 

The first travel bug I picked up (just a few days ago) was Travel Dawg. A cute beenie baby type toy. He has traveled over 13000 miles so far mostly because he has flown overseas and back. Guess the owner has been lucky as people seem to keep moving him along though the travel tag is only on by the chain and I could see some small child wanting to keep him. Hope he does not end up MIA.

[+Bandit & Magna]

Well, it is time for my first sad story. I ride a Honda Magna motorcycle so I wanted my first bug to reflect that. I searched and searched until I found a wonderful bike to make a bug out of.

 

Collette Bug

 

I made the worst beginner mistake there is - make a bug too good. She traveled over 500 miles before someone took her life.

 

On a bright note, I bought two bikes that day so I have it's twin right here with me.... I don't think I will send it out. No use giving them a matching set.

 

She hasn't been missing for very long - I will always hope they have a change of heart and let her go. But I have a feeling this one wont be back.

Edited May 5, 2006 by Bandit & Magna

[+MtnProf]

Took this from another thread: thought it would be useful...

 

I've definitely decided though, that if your bug is cute, drill a freaking hole right through the middle of it. That wil tend to discourage some from taking it as a free toy for their kids to play with. For the life of me, I can't imagine what that guy is doing with Rusty Spike now. No emails returned ever. I even offered to pay for postage to have it mailed back to me.

 

I'm thinking about getting another rusty spike and sending out the copy tag.

Wow, what a great paper weight that spike will be! Let me know when you place it

[+Carmapau]

So, is there anyway for Geocaching.com to kick someone off the website that seems to be collecting TBs?

 

I was checking on someone from Canada having a TB of my daughter's for over a month. I noticed this person never posts in English and has collected 6 or 7 TBs and a Geocoin and hasn't placed 3 TBs and the Geocoin. Luckily, some of the ones they actually placed have been retrieved from caches by them after they collected the TBs they haven't placed yet.

[+gaylemae]

Does a MIA bug ever reappear? The one I made for my father had gone almost 12,000 miles. It was a brass jingle bell, had a laminated tag with mission, and the dog tag attached. Everything I thought would make it last as least as long as the remaining time my father has. Is it ok to reissue a missing TB?

[BugMan501]

I've just had a TB reappear! My " 'Hunchback' Battlemech TB " was in a cache that appeared to have been muggled, and was missing for several months, still logged in the inactive cache.

Luckily, a cacher that already had the cache location info printed out, happened to find the cache lying in the open, and grabbed my TB.

 

I was worried for a while, especially after seeing someone elses Battletech-style travel bug get lost. THAT one was a real story...Bug owner was inactive, I emailed the last logged bug holder a few times with no response...eventually he replied, the bug was lost in a car accident over a year ago.

 

Then, some Cheat-o-cacher logged a find of the bug, and passed it off to a few of his buddies at a geo-event. Seems that the three of them have had a LOT of contact with missing bugs, especially bugs that have the TB number in a photo!

 

Sad, and the cheatocacher's bio talks about how much his kids enjoy caching with him.

 

...possibly for the free toys?

[charissa1066]

We're getting ready to send our first travel bug out on his own. Our son, Wolfgang wanted to send out a wolf with the goal of returning to his birthplace, San Diego, and the traveling around the world. We searched and searched. We finally found the cutest fuzzy little wolf at the Toledo Zoo and bought two, one to go on the journey and one to wear the matching tag. After reading about some of these sad tales I'm concerned that the wolf may be too cute. I'd hate to have Wolfie's first experience sending a Bug out be disappointing. What do you experienced folks think?

Edited June 4, 2006 by charissa1066

[+BlueDeuce]

We're getting ready to send our first travel bug out on his own. Our son, Wolfgang wanted to send out a wolf with the goal of returning to his birthplace, San Diego, and the traveling around the world. We searched and searched. We finally found the cutest fuzzy little wolf at the Toledo Zoo and bought two, one to go on the journey and one to wear the matching tag. After reading about some of these sad tales I'm concerned that the wolf may be too cute. I'd hate to have Wolfie's first experience sending a Bug out be disappointing. What do you experienced folks think?

 

You take your chances and release it. I think the best thing you can do is properly mark it with clear handling instructions, fastened securely to the bug.

 

If it's something you really don't want lost, then you might consider using something else. Like a photo of the wolf instead.

Edited June 4, 2006 by BlueDeuce

[+leppard]

**shuffles feet** Hi **moreshuffling, eyes down** I have come here today to say..confess..that I kept a very cute TB for waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long (booing) . I did try to send it back to the original owner as I have been ill and not caching which is a lame a** excuse. **Holding up three fingers in the Girl Scout salute** I promise to never do that again. And guess what, he's going free tonight!!!

[Voigt54601]

People are dumb, that's the only conclusion I've come to. How did I get to that conclusion? When a travel bug going to New Orleans from Wisconsin ..... currently in Illinois ...... winds up in Michigan from a guy that is no newb. It got kidnapped for the 'geobash' up north ... the bash must stand for how they treat the integrity of the game.

 

That was example one.

 

I had my first geocoin go out, I even took a drill to it, and mashed it with a hammer so it would not go missing, after reading the 'how-to' on how to make it last a long time. Didn't help. My first coin wound up in a cache that just poof, is now gone. Yes, it happens, but over and over starts to get lame.

 

That was example 2.

 

I put out 2 travel bugs early in the spring. One of them, I put out with a new cache I placed. The cache had had 8 visitors, and I had heard no mention of the travel bug I left. So, I emailed the last logger, and they said they had seen no TB. So, I emailed the previous 7 and asked them. Zuma! emails me back that he took it and hadn't logged it. Weeks go by, I emailed him again. Weeks go by and he replies that he must have misplaced it, hopefully it will show up. It still has not shown up, and he is no newb. Just a moron that is more concerned about his numbers than the integrity of the game.

 

That's example 3

 

That covers the 3 travel bugs I have put out, suppose if I buy more, I'll have more 'bad examples' to share.

 

TNLNSL from now on only (as well, there are those people that have traded with me from my cache ... they leave a rock and take a pure rogers silver antique item ......

[+BlueDeuce]

...

Edited July 4, 2006 by BlueDeuce

[robnaud]

I've just had a TB reappear! My " 'Hunchback' Battlemech TB " was in a cache that appeared to have been muggled, and was missing for several months, still logged in the inactive cache.

Luckily, a cacher that already had the cache location info printed out, happened to find the cache lying in the open, and grabbed my TB.

 

I was worried for a while, especially after seeing someone elses Battletech-style travel bug get lost. THAT one was a real story...Bug owner was inactive, I emailed the last logged bug holder a few times with no response...eventually he replied, the bug was lost in a car accident over a year ago.

 

Then, some Cheat-o-cacher logged a find of the bug, and passed it off to a few of his buddies at a geo-event. Seems that the three of them have had a LOT of contact with missing bugs, especially bugs that have the TB number in a photo!

 

Sad, and the cheatocacher's bio talks about how much his kids enjoy caching with him.

 

...possibly for the free toys?

I think that these "cheat-o-cachers" caching handle should be told to everyone. Above I read that someone is holding 35 TBs, but the person that posted this info did not say "who" was holding the TB. Put the name out there! If someone sees that cachers handle in a log book they will know not to leave a TB there.

[+MtnProf]

>I think that these "cheat-o-cachers" caching handle should be told to everyone. Above I read that >someone is holding 35 TBs, but the person that posted this info did not say "who" was holding the TB. Put >the name out there! If someone sees that cachers handle in a log book they will know not to leave a TB >there.

 

I agree with the idea but we also must be careful of accusations that we can't verify. Must be some way to do that.

[Voigt54601]

[quote

Edited July 10, 2006 by Voigt54601

[+BoredKitty]

I was putting one of my TBs into my cache when a cacher showed up, talked to me, took it and I never saw it again! She logged it in as a find and I've sent her emails for the past 3 months but no avail! My poor dad's ring is lost forever! It's so #$%^* annoying!!!! -BK

[+biosearch]

Hate to say it but there is a cacher "?" out there that apparently has one goal in mind, to kill travel bugs. "cachethiefinky" I discovered him because I was looking up a jeep bug (white jeep). He listed it as "killed" and his profile says that if he/she finds one he/she will "kill" it.

 

I don't understand. Why would someone purposefully do this. I can understand (to some point) taking one and losing it, not passing it on in right away, etc. But this just makes no sense. The only thing that can be done is to snatch them in this area (Bowling Green, KY) and move them before they can get their hands on them. Bowling Green is a college town and there is a likelyhood that this is a college student that has nothing better to do with their time....

 

If anyone has any idea how to stop this, I'd like to hear it. Even if geocache got rid of their user id, they would still be able to go to the caches and take them.

 

Makes me not want to release one, at least not in this area.

 

So be warned, Bowling Green, KY has someone who is purposefully taking them and not releasing...

 

There are morons out there, and then there are MORONS...

[+monkeynuts16]

This is possibly the WORST Week in Caching history (at least since I've started.) For two months now I've been tracking down 3 of my six TB's never really giving up hope on people (all these fellows moved about 200 mi.) . I have tracked one to a couple that have logged 6 caches and haven't logged since picking up my bug in feb. I asked nicely 2 weeks ago for them to move it on log it out.... something and still it sits in a cache that it is not in I've given up hope. Lost this week (muggled cache) a second bug. It's moved twice the last time to a cache that the person picking it up planted and it was muggled hours after posting. thirdly is one that also moved twice and has not been seen since.

Also lost this week were 4 bugs in a hostle I set up down the street. the whole cache was muggled I don't get it... a 18 inch green-Turd-looking-thing gone with all of its content. I feel horrible about that one, I am frustrated about my own.

Am I cursed? did I anger the Caching gods what do I have to do to make right in the universe.

Sigh thanx for letting me vent I feel better now.... I think.

[+NatureGuy360]

I lost my first two Travel Bugs before they could ever make it out of the state. As I have learned the hard way attaching a Travel Bug to a cool toy almost guarantees the bug's demise. Oh well back to the drawing board again for a new Travel Bug idea.

 

Farewell "Cleared for departure" and "Cleared for takeoff."

[+WeatherBug & XRN]

We have also found a bug with a xerox copy of a tag instead of the metal one. Is that ok?

Edited August 14, 2006 by WeatherBug & XRN

[+WeatherBug & XRN]

We are new to geocaching and really wanted our own travelbugs. After purchasing 8 bugs and attaching them to items with the usual warning about not taking tbs unless you plan to move them to another cache, 1 is missing after being moved once, two are in the hands of geocachers who seems to want to hold on to them (one of them has had it over a month and has not responded to my e-mail), and the remainder are sitting in caches. My question is : How long should I wait until deciding to reissue the copy tag for a missing bug? Or is that kosher to do so? Personally, I do not take travelbugs unless I plan to move them soon.