Fastest Disappearing Act?

1.8k · March 4, 2004

Last Saturday, we planted a multicache in a parking lot behind an abandoned grocery store. It was approved Monday morning. On Monday afternoon (less than 48 hours after we placed it), it was reported missing. When we went back, somebody had removed EVERYTHING from the area and the final cache was nowhere to be found.

Needless to say, we had to archive this one before anybody had even logged a find!

So, has anyone else has had one of their caches disappear as quickly? Or have we set some sort of really pathetic record?

March 4, 2004

Congrats on the new record!

It's too bad that this happened, but obviously you couldn't have been very surprised when it did. You mentioned on the cache page "we're not sure how long this cache will last, but we thought we'd give it a shot and see nonetheless!" What made the area so risky and what have you learned from your mistakes? (Wow, that was quite a 'dad' comment! )

Edited March 4, 2004 by ghOzt

March 4, 2004

OUCH! I have had a cache muggled too, but not as quick as yours!

2.3k · March 4, 2004

I placed a micro on a phone booth, went back 2 days later to double-check the coords, and the phone booth had been completely removed by the communications company that owned it. I didn't even get a chance to list the cache online.

38.2k · March 4, 2004

I recently placed a multi cache and one stage was a Bison cylinder hanging from a branch in a cedar tree. Went back two days later and it was gone. Not sure if it blew off, or was stolen. The snow was pretty deep at the time so it could have been lost in the snow. Still not sure. I probably should go back now that the snow's gone and check.

3.1k · March 4, 2004

I replaced one of my twice the first week it was active and then archived it as I wasn't going to keep replacing it. I think mine was spotted by a muggle as it was in a park and they just kept taking it.

4.1k · March 4, 2004

We had a very similar experience, except...we had put a little sum of money into the hide as well as some nice things in the box. It was placed one day out in a rural setting & the next morning it had been approved. It had been snowy & windy when we hid it, so we decided to check on it to make sure it weathered the night o.k. only to find it had been taken, totally gone! So this can happen even out in rural areas too.

So, we disabled it to see if the person that had taken it might put it back after reading the logbook & GEO paper inside....wishful thinking I know...so, several days later we replaced it with a micro...not much $$$ involved this time.

Good news on this one, it has now had 4 different people find it since Feb. 6th. & with good logs (one not on-line).

I loved Team 360's story...the entire phone booth gone! Can you imagine the shocked look on his face when he realized that it was gone?? This makes ours seem somehow less important.

Thank you Team PerkyPerks for this thread...it lets people know that we are not the only ones to have one go missing before it even had a chance to be found by a real cacher.

~Shirley~

1.8k · March 4, 2004

Well it's good to know we're not alone!

Oh well, one immediate disappearance out of the 42 caches we've planted isn't too bad by our count.

March 4, 2004

A local geocacher hid a multicache recently...less than 48 hours after the cache was approved the parks department came by and obliterated the entire grove of trees the final cache was in. This led to one of my all-time favorite logs:

January 13 by Battleskunk

Please God,

May I never find a team of men with chain saws at the end of a geocache again.

A replacement is out and still going strong, but the original cache is archived here: Loose Triangulation

March 4, 2004

Perhaps somebody observed you placing it? Went to see what it was after you left the area, then took it. Is it possible?

Rich

1.2k · March 4, 2004

I loved Team 360's story...the entire phone booth gone! Can you imagine the shocked look on his face when he realized that it was gone?? This makes ours seem somehow less important.

Hee-hee-hee! I can beat that! Even though it is not geocaching-related, the Mojave Phone Booth story is now one heck of a legend. Check it out. There's even a virtual cache there.

March 4, 2004

That happened to me with this cache . . . I don't know how soon after I placed it that it went missing, but I do know it was missing four days later. Mopar and I went together so he could find the cache and he looked and looked and looked and couldn't find it. All the while, I was amused because he looked where it was hidden a few times and didn't see it. There I was thinking how cleverly I must have hidden it if he could look right at it and not see it. Ha! It was completely gone with no trace.

The thing I find most distressing was that I placed a travel bug in it and now it is irretrievably lost.

(sigh)

Happy caching and stuff!

Edited March 4, 2004 by Geo Ho

9.4k · March 4, 2004

I loved Team 360's story...the entire phone booth gone! Can you imagine the shocked look on his face when he realized that it was gone?? This makes ours seem somehow less important.

Well, you have to remember that 360 uses a Magellan GPS. He wasn't able to find one of my caches with that thing either, so it doesn't surprise me that he couldn't find the phonebooth on his second trip

March 4, 2004

This was not my cache, but it did affect me. Someone in Wisconsin collected seven travel bug to place in a new TB cache. They placed in the Racine County Park. The next morning it was found by one cacher, but by that afternoon is was gone along with all of the travel bugs.

I replaced the stolen travel by with another item. The first person who picked it up in September has never placed it out again ( real mad ).

2.3k · March 4, 2004

I loved Team 360's story...the entire phone booth gone! Can you imagine the shocked look on his face when he realized that it was gone?? This makes ours seem somehow less important.

Well, you have to remember that 360 uses a Magellan GPS. He wasn't able to find one of my caches with that thing either, so it doesn't surprise me that he couldn't find the phonebooth on his second trip

At first I thought "WHOA! Now THAT'S what I call tearing up the area to find the cache"...the kicker was that I could have placed the cache on another phone booth, only about 10' away, but NOOOOO, I had to pick the "loser phone" that was scheduled to be taken away because of the competitions nearby telephone...

Oh, Sax-I can't find 'em when you tell the SaxKids to run out real quick and pull the cache cuz 360 is coming to town...LOL...I upgraded to the 5.12 software version on the MeriPlat and have been getting an EPE of 7' on the average these days, plus got a 128 mb SD card with every single street in the Southwest U.S. loaded onto it...if it's out there, I can find it now!

Sorry to go off-topic....we now return you to the show already in progress....

2.2k · March 4, 2004

does this count? i have a cache in my house ready to be put out and i can't remember where i put it.

4.1k · March 4, 2004

does this count? i have a cache in my house ready to be put out and i can't remember where i put it.

You might consider checking the refridgerator....we had looked high & low for my 'purse', could not find it anywhere, with me about in tears...John thinks a diet coke will calm me down...opened the frig. & guess what???? Yup, there was my purse!

Sorry to have hijacked the thread...

Now back to the sceduled topic....

~Shirley~

March 4, 2004

does this count? i have a cache in my house ready to be put out and i can't remember where i put it.

You might consider checking the refridgerator....we had looked high & low for my 'purse', could not find it anywhere, with me about in tears...John thinks a diet coke will calm me down...opened the frig. & guess what???? Yup, there was my purse!

Sorry to have hijacked the thread...

Now back to the sceduled topic....

~Shirley~

I guess you wanted some cold CACHE.

2.2k · March 4, 2004

does this count? i have a cache in my house ready to be put out and i can't remember where i put it.

You might consider checking the refridgerator....we had looked high & low for my 'purse', could not find it anywhere, with me about in tears...John thinks a diet coke will calm me down...opened the frig. & guess what???? Yup, there was my purse!

Sorry to have hijacked the thread...

Now back to the sceduled topic....

~Shirley~

i have a black hole in my house somewhere in the vicinity of my kitchen table. every time we are looking for something the last place it was seen was on the table. it has to be a black hole.

4.1k · March 5, 2004

Lets all go find the 'Black Hole Cache' at Uperdooper's kitchen! I will bring the 'Cold Cache Cuts'!!! :lol:

Shirley~

March 5, 2004

This was not one that went missing, but definitely damaged.

Poor Travel Bug This is what he used to look like here.

March 5, 2004

Well, I think I might have you all beat... My cache disappeared in less than 1 second! Yep! 1 second...

Long story short:

I was placing a multi-cache in a park. The last part was a tube of pvc pipe that slid down into the inside of a metal fence post. I filled the cache full of goodies, sealed it shut, and tied some string to it. The pole was about 5 feet tall, so I made the string about 9-10 feet long. I tied a paperclip to the end of the string, so it would "hang" on the edge of the fence post.

I figured that the cache would slide down the inside of the pipe, rest on the ground, and there would be about 2-3 feet of "slack" that the cache finder would use to pull up the cache.

Anywas, I put the pvc pipe into the fence post and let go. All I hear is "whoosh!" and it rips the string and paperclip out of my hand (cutting my hand, none-the-less). My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach as I realized what just happened..

Ok, folks. That fence post must have been burried like 50 feet! It sounded like my cache was sliding down the post forever. I looked down into the pipe, but to no avail. I even made a "fishing line" with more string and another paperclip trying to fish the cache out.

So, there's a never-been-found cache hidden in a fencepost somewhere here in Fort Collins. :lol:

Brad

Edited March 5, 2004 by bradtal

38.2k · March 5, 2004

figured that the cache would slide down the inside of the pipe, rest on the ground, and there would be about 2-3 feet of "slack" that the cache finder would use to pull up the cache.

Anywas, I put the pvc pipe into the fence post and let go. All I hear is "whoosh!" and it rips the string and paperclip out of my hand (cutting my hand, none-the-less). My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach as I realized what just happened..

Ok, folks. That fence post must have been burried like 50 feet! It sounded like my cache was sliding down the post forever. I looked down into the pipe, but to no avail. I even made a "fishing line" with more string and another paperclip trying to fish the cache out.

Try filling the post with water. Maybe the cache will float to the top. If its set in concrete, the water probably won't drain out and it may work.

Also, a strong magnet on the end of a string may help you retreive the paperclip and string, then you can pull it up. On second thought, ditch that one. The magnet will stick to the side of the post as you lower it...instead try gluing it on the end of a long pole. That may do the trick.

Edited March 5, 2004 by briansnat

March 5, 2004

:lol: This cache disappeared within minutes of my hiding it near a police station. *sigh* It probably wouldn't have been approved anyway... :lol:

Too many issues: "Food in Cache"; "Commercial Cache"; "Non-durable Container" Plus, who needs a GPS when you've got "doughnut radar"?

March 5, 2004

I thought I was being clever when I hid a cache disguised as a coke can (it was a CITO theme). Next day I talked to a cacher who was having trouble finding it, and turns out he had picked it up and thrown it away!

I rushed a replacement out, this time with a chain on the bottom going to a spike in the ground. Next weekend it was gone... Girl Scouts had cleaned up the park and tossed it.

Replacement number 3 is there now and I check it every weekend.

1.8k · March 5, 2004

I thought I was being clever when I hid a cache disguised as a coke can (it was a CITO theme). Next day I talked to a cacher who was having trouble finding it, and turns out he had picked it up and thrown it away!

We hid a micro near one of our caches, also with a CITO theme. The next day I got a very similar email--someone had spotted our other cache and set it aside for disposal. Fortunately, they forgot to take it with them when they trashed out!

March 6, 2004

I'm lucky. all are still in place.

March 6, 2004

had to go and move one one time about of tree work.but not because of it missing.that sucks

1.2k · March 8, 2004

Well, I think I might have you all beat... My cache disappeared in less than 1 second! Yep! 1 second...

Long story short:

I was placing a multi-cache in a park. The last part was a tube of pvc pipe that slid down into the inside of a metal fence post. I filled the cache full of goodies, sealed it shut, and tied some string to it. The pole was about 5 feet tall, so I made the string about 9-10 feet long. I tied a paperclip to the end of the string, so it would "hang" on the edge of the fence post.

I figured that the cache would slide down the inside of the pipe, rest on the ground, and there would be about 2-3 feet of "slack" that the cache finder would use to pull up the cache.

Anywas, I put the pvc pipe into the fence post and let go. All I hear is "whoosh!" and it rips the string and paperclip out of my hand (cutting my hand, none-the-less). My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach as I realized what just happened..

Ok, folks. That fence post must have been burried like 50 feet! It sounded like my cache was sliding down the post forever. I looked down into the pipe, but to no avail. I even made a "fishing line" with more string and another paperclip trying to fish the cache out.

So, there's a never-been-found cache hidden in a fencepost somewhere here in Fort Collins.

Brad

That's not a problem, that's a genuine stroke of unexpected brillance!

Just adjust the cache directions accordingly and you're ready to rock.

March 8, 2004

That's not a problem, that's a genuine stroke of unexpected brillance!

Just adjust the cache directions accordingly and you're ready to rock.

Sparrowhawk-

Thanks for the idea. I've actually had a couple of replies focused around your solution. It was also the first idea that popped into my head about retrieving that cache.

Unfortunately, I had drilled three holes into the PVC to keep condensation, etc from forming. So, if I tried your idea, it probably wouldn't float to the surface. I would have to get a lot of water into the pipe really quickly to get it to float before the pvc filled up. And there is no water source close by.

I figured I would leave it there as a kind of "space capsule". Maybe 100 years from now when they go to remove that fence post and find the cache along with a cache description, someone will get interested in caching.

Brad

2.3k · March 8, 2004

This was not one that went missing, but definitely damaged.
Poor Travel Bug This is what he used to look like here.

Aw, MAN -- talk about getting shrink-wrapped! I had the pleasure of moving Tex along at one point or another when I found him in one of my caches!

2.3k · March 8, 2004

This cache disappeared within minutes of my hiding it near a police station. *sigh* It probably wouldn't have been approved anyway...

Too many issues: "Food in Cache"; "Commercial Cache"; "Non-durable Container" Plus, who needs a GPS when you've got "doughnut radar"?

LOL -- I've got a similar cache here in B'ham -- Glazed and Confused

2.3k · March 8, 2004

That's not a problem, that's a genuine stroke of unexpected brillance!

Just adjust the cache directions accordingly and you're ready to rock.

Sparrowhawk-

Thanks for the idea. I've actually had a couple of replies focused around your solution. It was also the first idea that popped into my head about retrieving that cache.

Unfortunately, I had drilled three holes into the PVC to keep condensation, etc from forming. So, if I tried your idea, it probably wouldn't float to the surface. I would have to get a lot of water into the pipe really quickly to get it to float before the pvc filled up. And there is no water source close by.

I figured I would leave it there as a kind of "space capsule". Maybe 100 years from now when they go to remove that fence post and find the cache along with a cache description, someone will get interested in caching.

Brad

Very clever idea for the hide, BTW... maybe you can place another one exactly like it there now (sans holes), since you know it's exactly THAT much shallower!

1.2k · March 9, 2004

I placed a magnetic key holder under a very exposed mail drop box.

I wanted to make it hard to get and return the micro without being seen.

The problem was I hid it on a Sunday night, and on Monday morning, the postal service painted the mailbox. I guess the painter found the micro. The cache was there all of about 12 hours.

Ed

1.2k · March 11, 2004

That's not a problem, that's a genuine stroke of unexpected brillance!

Just adjust the cache directions accordingly and you're ready to rock.

Unfortunately, I had drilled three holes into the PVC to keep condensation, etc from forming. So, if I tried your idea, it probably wouldn't float to the surface.

That's why they invented THIS stuff, dude!

Duct tape is like The Force. It has a dark side, a light side, and it holds the universe together. :lol:

Epoxy ain't bad either.

If you want to hide the holes so that cachers can't figure it out, ya just get epoxy that's a similar color as the PVC. :lol:

March 11, 2004

That's not a problem, that's a genuine stroke of unexpected brillance!

Just adjust the cache directions accordingly and you're ready to rock.

Sparrowhawk-

Thanks for the idea. I've actually had a couple of replies focused around your solution. It was also the first idea that popped into my head about retrieving that cache.

Unfortunately, I had drilled three holes into the PVC to keep condensation, etc from forming. So, if I tried your idea, it probably wouldn't float to the surface. I would have to get a lot of water into the pipe really quickly to get it to float before the pvc filled up. And there is no water source close by.

I figured I would leave it there as a kind of "space capsule". Maybe 100 years from now when they go to remove that fence post and find the cache along with a cache description, someone will get interested in caching.

Brad

I don't see this as a problem... post the coordinates, and let the brilliant cachers we have out there figure out how to retrieve it. You might be surprised.

March 12, 2004

Something that deep may be a old vent. Perhaps for a old dump, or some kind of bunker or underground chamber? Fuel storage tank?

How big a diameter is that pipe? Cause I have an idea...more than one.

Get one of those mini cams, I've seen those wireless ones go for about $50 or so on Ebay. I'm not sure what kind of transmission you can get with the pipe in the way. Maybe find a wired camera? anyway, you could put a small flashlight next to the camera, both both on the end of a pole. You could try to see whats down there, either the end of your PVC pipe, or some kind of chamber.

If the PVC is still in the pipe, then there are ways of "latching on" to it. One is duct tape as mentioned. One is a big glob of thick epoxy (so it doesn't drip and accitdently glue your PVC to the pipe). Another is, if the pipe is bigger enough than the PVC pipe, and you have some kind of cap or adaptor that is bigger than the PVC pipe body, you might be able to slide some kind of hooks that slide over the adaptor and latch onto the edge of the adapter. You'd need to have at least 3 hooks.

Dang. Wish I was there, this would be such a challange!

John

1.3k · March 12, 2004

Well, it didn't disappear, but this cache of mine was trashed in just two days.

1.2k · March 12, 2004

If the PVC is still in the pipe, then there are ways of "latching on" to it. One is duct tape as mentioned. One is a big glob of thick epoxy (so it doesn't drip and accitdently glue your PVC to the pipe).

Uhhhh, no, that's WAY too much work and not what I meant.

I meant use the stuff to plug up the holes, then bring about 4 gallons of water and fill up the pipe.

Ain't necessary to make it all difficult and technical.

March 12, 2004

If mine is too technical, I'd like to see how you're gonna get epoxy into the PVC pipe holes. I notice there is no mention of WHERE the holes were drilled, and how big.

The way I see it, is the blob of epoxy is the best bet. Get something that is almost in large a diameter as the drain pipe, about 6" to a foot long, with a long, strong cord attached to the end. The other end, which goes first into the post, has the blob of epoxy on it. As a side note, you might try duct tape or some sort of putty like substance first (clay?). Depends on how heavy the PVC pipe is.

John

March 13, 2004

We use a similar set-up for sampling geotechnical monitoring wells, plastic bailer inside a deep well. When we occasionally lose a bailer down a well, we use a treble fishing hook on the end of some strong fishing line. If you happen to live near an area where salmon snaggers "fish" you may be able to get a weighted version of a treble hook. Doesn't get the prize every time, but it has a good track record for saves. Just run the hook down the well & jig it around some & it should snag some of the line on top of the PVC tube. Of course, the treble hook also snags anything else that may be in the well, too.

1.5k · March 19, 2004

I placed a micro on a phone booth, went back 2 days later to double-check the coords, and the phone booth had been completely removed by the communications company that owned it. I didn't even get a chance to list the cache online.

I thought moving caches were no longer permitted? :bad:

Fastest Disappearing Act?

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