federal ban and problems with the police
federal ban and problems with the police
http://www.torontogeocaching.com/2011/10/11/ministry-of-transportation-bans-geocaches-in-bc/
Ministry of Transportation Bans Geocaches
Here’s a disturbing new development for geocaching in Canada. The Ministry of Transportation has banned geocaching on their property. That’s all highways, roads, rest stops, guardrails and more. Anything posted within 100 metres of a road, or MoT structure is going to be declined by the reviewers for the time being. This one’s going to affect a LOT of geocaches in British Columbia.
Now the argument could be made that micros along roadways aren’t the top of the quality scale but this does affect more than the roadside power trails. 100 metres extends a fair amount into most parks and private properties too. This wipes out the concept of hiding a cache on your own property if you live in a typical suburban lot, as your entire property is usually within 100 metres of the road in front of your house. The loss of the “highway rest stop” cache is also a painful one as many geocachers will use the rest stops with caches to break up a long trip.
http://centralvirginiageocaching.com/2012/07/10/vdot-answers-a-few-questions-about-the-ban/
VDOT answers a few questions about the ban
Virginia Administrative Code 24 VAC 30-50-10 provides that the ground and other objects are not to be disturbed. Safety Rest Areas are a component of Virginia’s transportation infrastructure and exist to serve interstate travelers by offering safe, convenient, places to rest. Unmonitored excavation can cause damage to grounds, utilities, and create trip/fall hazards at these high visitation pedestrian facilities. As interstate facilities Safety Rest Areas were not purposed to allow the public to dig or abandon property on-site.
At this time VDOT does not intend to enable geocaching activities at Safety Rest Areas.
http://beta.slashdot.org/story/154384
Geocaching Shuts Down British Town
DaveAtWorkAnnoyingly writes "Many geocachers will be thinking twice when planting their treasure in an urban space as one geocacher found out in England after the police cordoned off the center of a small West Yorkshire town and the Bomb Squad was called in. From the article: 'It was a normal busy Friday morning in the small West Yorkshire market town of Wetherby when someone working in a cafe spotted a man acting a bit suspiciously on the street. He appeared to have a small plastic box in his hand and after fiddling with the container he bent down and hid it under a flower box standing on the pavement. He then walked off, talking to somebody on his phone.'"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-14039229
Geocaching: the unintended results
By Danny Savage BBC News
Bomb squad in Wetherby over internet treasure hunt box Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on the plastic box
Security alert over treasure hunt
The wacky world of geocaching
Geocaching in North Yorkshire
It was a normal busy Friday morning in the small West Yorkshire market town of Wetherby when someone working in a cafe spotted a man acting a bit suspiciously on the street.
He appeared to have a small plastic box in his hand and after fiddling with the container he bent down and hid it under a flower box standing on the pavement. He then walked off, talking to somebody on his phone.
Karen Brittain, whose cafe door is just a few feet from where the container was left on 1 July, was alarmed by the man's behaviour and called the police, who then sealed off the area.
She said: "We were closed down for several hours and it was a disaster for us really, because we had been very busy that morning and it was a beautiful day and we probably would have been very busy."
A unit from the Royal Logistic Corps at Catterick Garrison were called. They moved the planter to expose the box and sent in a robot to carry out a controlled explosion.
Suspicious device
Shops in the area were closed for nearly three hours and business owners say they collectively lost thousands of pounds. Afterwards the remains of the plastic box were left scattered across the pavement.
But it was not a bomb, the suspicious device was a geocache.
police cordon in Wetherby Businesses were evacuated after police cordoned off an area of Wetherby
Geocaching is an internet-based treasure hunt. Here in the UK it has grown in popularity over the last decade and tens of thousands of people are involved.
The concept is a simple one. Geocachers leave a container, which can vary greatly in size, at a location of their choice. They then put the exact co-ordinates of their box on the geocache website.
The cache is nearly always well hidden and can take a bit of cunning to find. It's all part of the challenge, but it's also why the centre of Wetherby was brought to a standstill.
The events in West Yorkshire have now made the police and the geocaching community pause for thought. Some online forums are now questioning whether caches should be left in urban areas.
“Start Quote
In placing the caches, what I would say is, please apply some common sense to where you put them”
Ch Insp Mick Hunter West Yorkshire Police
Ch Insp Mick Hunter, who was in charge of the response last Friday, said: "Police don't want to spoil people's fun and if people want to geocache then that's great.
"But in placing the caches, what I would say is, please apply some common sense to where you put them."
He also questions putting caches in urban areas.
"If you feel as though you have to do that, then perhaps contact the police, let us know where it is, give us a description and perhaps a picture and a contact number would be very useful."
But what do geocachers think? Dave Palmer, a prolific geocacher, believes there is still a problem with many people being unaware of the activity.
"We still need to get the information out to police officers. Maybe we need to get to chief police officer level and get the information disseminated down to a forcewide level in each area," he said.
Palmer - brainless idiot if he thinks that the police must follow its caches
http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/oro-30439-shooting-victorville.html
Oro Grande man convicted of shooting at geocachers
Jury acquits him of injuring 13-year-old boy
October 03, 2011 12:08 PM
VICTORVILLE • An Oro Grande man was convicted of shooting at people participating in a high-tech treasure hunting game called geocaching on his property.
After a day of deliberation, a jury found 71-year-old Manuel Soria Heim guilty Friday afternoon of assaulting two male adult victims with a gun.
He was initially charged with shooting at all four geocachers, including a 13-year-old boy who was injured in the leg. But the jury acquitted Heim of shooting at the injured teen and another boy. Jurors weren’t available to clarify why they acquitted him on the charge related to the only person injured in the incident.
On July 15, the four geocachers drove from Simi Valley to the High Desert. Participants in the game go online to find coordinates and then use a GPS device to find waterproof containers holding a logbook, in which the players sign their code names after each discovery.
The geocachers were hiking on the hill off National Trails Highway near Academy Avenue in Oro Grande looking for several containers hidden there. When they were opening one of the containers, they heard a voice from the foot of the hill telling them they were on private property and to get out, Deputy District Attorney Carrie Halgrimson said.
The victims turned back and began walking back up the hill, but Heim fired at them, Halgrimson said.
Deputy Public Defender Luke Byward, Heim’s attorney, told jurors the defendant had fired the gun out of the fear that the geocachers were the same people who had robbed Heim about six weeks prior to the incident. Byward said drug addicts had constantly been trespassing on Heim’s property.
Heim claimed he saw several people crawling down the rock on his 15-acre property and told them to leave when they were about 230 feet away from him, but they didn’t listen. The defendant shot into the air and at the rocks to scare them away, but a bullet ricocheted and struck the boy, Byward said.
The injured boy testified he can lift his leg now but is still limping and feels pain in his leg when he walks.
Heim is scheduled to return for sentencing Nov. 1. A judge can sentence him anywhere from seven years and four months to 16 years and four months in prison, or put him on probation.
USA, October 4, 2011. It is reported that a jury found 71-year-old Manuel Soria Heim guilty to assaulting 2 people
Geocaching and Letterboxing in Washington State Parks have fallen victim to Anti-Caching. A person or group calling itself “Forest Defenders” has recently been destroying geocaches and letterboxes here in the Pacific Northwest.
geocaching - problems with the police
GC3D93 Traditional Cache I Hate I-5 XXV (Feral Way)
Tacoma, Washington. March 8, 2002. This cache hidden at a rest area was X-rayed by the bomb squad and removed after they determined that it was not explosive.
GCE88C Traditional Cache I'd Walk A Mile For A Geocache
Salt Lake City, Utah. March 26, 2003. One day after a geocacher warned that this cache was in an inappropriate location, it was found and removed by police after they received a report from a jogger who had confronted a couple that was geocaching. The jogger reported the incident to the authorities after the geocachers refused to explain their suspicious behavior.
GCR03D Multi-cache In Honor Of Dreams
Kent, Washington. November 3, 2006. This cache hidden near a post office was confiscated by police after a geocacher was spotted rehiding it.
GC9C3A Traditional Cache In Plane site
Ogden, Utah. February 25, 2003. This cache under a bridge leading into Hill Air Force Base set off a major bomb scare and put the base on alert when a geocacher was seen leaving something in the cache. The bridge and nearby roads were closed and the bomb squad was called in to investigate.
GCD436 Traditional Cache Interesting Keychain/Ring Exchange
Pocatello, Idaho. March 23, 2003. Geocachers seen in the area of this cache were thought to be stashing drugs so the police brought in a K-9 unit to investigate. The responding officer left his card and a note in the cache but otherwise left it alone after finding no drugs.
GCNEN8 Traditional Cache Knightstown Travel Bug Hotel
Knightstown, Indiana. June 6, 2006. A muggle found this ammo can and reported it to police. The officers that responded identified it as a geocache and left it alone.
GCTTCF Traditional Cache Lexidh #15 - Ottestad
Ottestad, Norway. March 17, 2006. Cache hidden near a hospital parking lot was removed by police after a woman in a nearby office building reports strange behavior in the parking lot.
GCHH0Q Traditional Cache Lion's Pride
Modesto, California. October 29, 2004. This cache was blown up after the camouflaged tupperware container was discovered by a school janitor under a tree on the campus of an elementary school. Students had to be evacuated to a safe part of the school's campus until the bomb squad finished its work.
GC8773 Traditional Cache Mackinac Mooch
Mackinaw City, Michigan. January 4, 2004. A geocacher spotted rehiding this cache hidden near the Mackinac Bridge was questioned and the cache confiscated. The situation was discussed with authorites who eventually allowed the cache to be rehidden in a slightly different location.
GCKEG7 Unknown Cache Mental Floss I - Number Fun
Conway, Arkansas. September 3, 2004. This cache was blown up by the bomb squad shortly after it was placed.
GCQ3K0 Multi-cache Mini Geo-Spyglass
Greenville, South Carolina. December 6, 2005. This cache hidden in a parking garage across the street from a bank was discovered when it slipped from its hiding place. The parking garage and the street were cordoned off until the bomb squad responded to blow up the cache. The FBI investigated the matter but no charges were filed.
GCP4E6 Traditional Cache More Power To Ya
June 12, 2007 - Florence, AL - University of North Alabama
From Times Daily by Tom Smith: A suspicious package, which turned out to contain a GPS scavenger hunt clue, was destroyed Tuesday after it was mistaken for a bomb. Officials at the University of North Alabama closed all the campus facilities after receiving four anonymous bomb threats in connection with the package. Holmes said the department's Special Operations Unit used a robotic arm to retrieve the package and move it away from the building.
Department officials said the package was then destroyed. When it was inspected, officials discovered that it contained a geocaching game clue. Cache was placed with permission.
GCJFHH Traditional Cache MUC Travelbug Lounge
Munich, Germany. May 20, 2005. This two-liter tube-shaped container hidden less than five minutes walk from the airport gate was removed by airport security.
GCQN52 Traditional Cache N FonDuLac's Yellowstone Park on the YST
North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. January 7, 2007. The police found this small piece of PVC pipe after somebody reported seeing a geocacher leave something on the ground in a small park early in the morning. The bomb squad was called but police canced the call after local residents inform them about the geocache.
GCJBRX Unknown Cache Nickel Creek Mystery Cache
Mill Creek, Washington. March 7, 2005. Police confiscated this cache after they called in the bomb squad to investigate. The bomb squad recognized that the suspicious container was a geocache.
GC34B9 Traditional Cache Olympic Hot Springs
Salt Lake City, Utah. September 10, 2002. On the eve of the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks, this large ammo can was found near an access road to a sewage treatment plant after a geocacher was seen leaving the area. Investigators, hazardous materials officers and bomb technicians were called to the scene and the cache was blown up.
GC6FB1 Traditional Cache Oops!...I Did it Again
San Diego, California. June 23, 2003. This ammo can hidden near the San Diego International Airport was confiscated by police after a geocacher was seen leaving it in the bushes. A nearby road was blocked off as the bomb squad and fire crews responded to the scene to remove the cache.
GC446 Traditional Cache Oscar the Grouch Cache
Las Vegas, Nevada. September 19, 2001. This cache hidden near a TV station set off a major bomb scare in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The cache was discovered after somebody saw geocachers rehiding it. The TV station and a nearby school were evacuated before the cache was blown up.
GCCD42 Traditional Cache Perry's Cache (in COMO)
Saint Paul, Minnesota. April 12, 2003. This ammo can was accidentally found in a city park by a cleanup crew. Police were waiting for the bomb squad to arrive when they were approached by geocachers looking for the cache. The situation was diffused after the geocachers were able to positively identify the box but the cache was confiscated and the owner admonished not to hide any more ammo cans.
GC942E Traditional Cache Phone home
Anaheim, California. March 19, 2004. This hollowed out cellphone hidden in Disneyland was discovered by a landscaper who reported it to his superiors who in turn called police. The bomb squad robot X-rayed the cache and determined that it was not explosive. The opening of the Tomorrowland section of the park was delayed by 30 minutes while this investigation was being conducted.
GCG1N6 Traditional Cache Pushing Tin
Phoenix, Arizona. June 27, 2003. This cache hidden near the airport is confiscated by police after airport security sees a geocacher with the cache.
GCQBNG Traditional Cache Restin' in Dunedin Too
Dunedin, Florida. November 6, 2006. This 3-inch long plastic canister hidden in a cemetery was found after geocachers were spotted looking for it by persons attending a funeral. The bomb squad worked for an hour with robot and bullets to open the cache.
GCXNH7 Traditional Cache River House TB Motel
Florence, Oregon. November 5, 2006. Police were called after geocachers were observed acting suspiciously near a pile of logs. Police found and confiscated the cache after a K-9 unit alerted on the ammo can and opened it. The cache is returned to its owner after a couple of days in detention.
GC800 Traditional Cache Rockin' Robin
Rochester, Michigan. October 14, 2002. Geocachers spooked by a "took nothing, left anthrax" entry left in the logbook reported this cache to park rangers who called in the FBI to investigate. The investigation revealed that "Anthrax" referred to a heavy metal artist whose CD was left in the cache.
GCNHV8 Traditional Cache Sam's Club Micro Cache
Jamestown, New York. July 31, 2005. A geocacher was spotted putting the cache back on a light pole by a store employee who called police. A bomb squad robot blew up the cache.
GCHC85 Traditional Cache Schimmers lake
Grand Island, Nebraska. May 13, 2006. This ammo can near a trail in a community park was blown up by the Nebraska State Patrol Bomb Squad after it was discovered accidentally by an off-duty policeman. A park worker who knew about the cache tried to intervene but to no avail.
GCHJ76 Traditional Cache SLC TB Crash Pad
Salt Lake City, Utah. March 22, 2005. This cache near the airport was blown up by the bomb squad.
GC10PZ1 Traditional Cache Son of Father's Day II
Portland, Oregon. February 5, 2007. This piece of black metal pipe resembling a pipe bomb was investigated by police and detonated by the bomb squad after a geocacher found and reported it. A rail trail was closed for 4 hours and a tree was destroyed in the process. A nearby business was shut down and its employees sent home.
GCJ0A0 Traditional Cache Sorry Janet!
Tustin, California. April 1, 2004. A woman walking her dog spotted this cache and became suspicious of regular visits to the immediate area by geocachers. Police cordoned off three city blocks for about three hours, evacuated 18 homes, and stopped parents from picking up their kids from a neighborhood daycare. The bomb squad robot couldn't determine if the cache was explosive so a bomb squad technician blew the lid off of the ammo can.
GCKDNM Traditional Cache Springville Park
Springville, Indiana. August 30, 2004. This cache near a walking trail in a community park was reported to authorities after the first finder was spotted with it. It was confiscated by police and blown up by the bomb squad because it was thought to resemble a pipe bomb.
GC1016Q Traditional Cache Sterling Silver
Sterling, CO July 26, 2007
By Forrest Hershberger Journal-Advocate Authorities blocked off the intersection of South Second and Ash Streets Thursday afternoon after witnesses saw a man throw a suspicious item into the bushes near Wells Fargo Bank. “Due to the circumstances, we wanted to be precautious,” said Sterling Police chief Roy Breivick. Breivick said the police received a call at about 12:30 p.m. of a suspicious man near the east side of the bank. He reportedly dumped a metal ammo box into the bushes near the northwest intersection of Second and Ash Streets. No businesses were closed, but traffic was diverted for at least a block in all directions from the intersection. Bank customers and employees were instructed to stay away from the intersection as the bomb squad from Greeley responded to assist with the situation. The bomb squad used an automated robot to retrieve the box from the bushes. It was later detonated on Second Street near the intersection.
GCNHWC Traditional Cache Stick 'em Up
Glendora, California. September 5, 2005. This ammo can hidden near a church was blown up by the bomb squad after a geocacher was seen returning it to its hiding spot.
GCJRGZ Traditional Cache Sunny Summer Solstice
Syracuse, New York. June 30, 2005. This ammo can along a walking trail was spotted by a trail user and reported to authorities. The trail was shut down for about two hours while the cache was investigated.
GCX87C Traditional Cache Take It To The Limit
Portsmouth, NH - February 6, 2007
Portsmouth police responded to the Shaw's Supermarket on Lafayette Road at about 1 p.m. to investigate a report of a suspicious metallic case fastened to an electrical panel with duct tape. Police eventually determined the case as non-threatening.
GC10YAZ Traditional Cache The Great Explorer Project
Port Orchard Washington - April 23, 2007
Two schools were apparantly placed on lock down while authorities investigates a suspicous package. No news reports are available concerning the incident. The cache was a "black pipe with screw off caps" and was placed as a classroom project with permission from the principal.
GCJQ85 Traditional Cache The Joe Camel Edition
Hagerman, Idaho. August 13, 2004. This ammo can was accidentally found by a muggle and reported to authorities who thought that it might be a drug stash or bomb. An alert geocacher listening to a police scanner realized that it might be a geocache so he contacted the cache owner to confirm his suspicion. The cache owner, in turn, called 911 to diffuse the situation.
GCJZD7 Traditional Cache The Tin Lizzy
Blackford County, Indiana. October 26, 2004. A geocacher was spotted rehiding this cache under a model locomotive behind a restaurant. An employee of the restaurant called the sheriff who brought in the state police and bomb squad to investigate. As the restaurant was being evacuated, police spotted the geocacher driving past the scene and pulled him over. He explained about the cache and his suspicious behavior but the cache was shot anyway. The sheriff recieved countless email from geocachers all over the world after declaring that he would pursue action against the cache owner. Apparantly the prosecutor did not agree with the sheriff.
GCHA0W Traditional Cache Towering Over the Grove
Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. November 3, 2004. This ammo can hidden in a wooded area of a small community park was confiscated by the bomb squad
GC1A1C Traditional Cache Tunnel Vision "1909"
Dorris, California. November 2, 2001. This cache hidden near a railroad tunnel was blown up by the bomb squad after the railroad an a nearby highway were shut down for 4-1/2 hours. The cache owner is charged with vandalism and trespassing. See "GEO-COURT" for further details. The rule prohibiting caches within 150 feet of active railroad tracks guideline may be traced to this incident.
GCNEE9 Traditional Cache Under The Sea II
June 12, 2007 - Tybee Island, GA
Police evacuated the pier and the surrounding area on Tybee Island Saturday after someone reported suspicious activity. The bomb squad was called in and destroyed something they found under the pier. Police told us it wasn't actually a bomb, but it wasn't clear what it was... It wasn't till the bomb squad had destroyed it that police figured out what it really was. The hider did get permission from the property manager to hide this cache. Ironically the bomb scare interrupted/cancelled a wedding reception on the pier.
GCP3WH Traditional Cache Unthanks: A Lot
Spiceland, Indiana. August 17, 2006. An elementary school janitor spotted this camoflaged matchstick container in a tree beside a cementery just across the street from the school. He reported it to authorities who initially called in the bomb squad but one of the responding officers was able to identify it as a cache and diffused the situation. The cache was removed and the owner advised not to replace it.
GCJ3YE Traditional Cache Vista del Mar Park - Pen Exchange
Los Angeles, California. July 17, 2005. Takeoffs at Los Angeles International Airport were halted until a bomb squad robot blew up this small cache that was accidentally found by a non-cacher.
GCP5NR Multi-cache Voytown
De Pere, Wisconsin. June 22, 2005. This cache was X-rayed and blown up by the bomb squad after it was discovered by a park employee cutting the grass.
GC60CA Traditional Cache Yankin' My Chain
Fresno, California. July 30, 2002. The Fresno State University campus police noticed suspicious behavior in the area of this cache and put it under surveillance thinking that it was drug related activity or possible terrorism. They confiscated the cache after learning the true nature of the suspicious behavior when they confront a geoacher with cache in hand.
