MnGCA

[Pear Head]

Ok. I know that I've placed caches before that probably weren't the brightest. I'm also sure I'm not the only one. I haven't placed one near a school before though. This is, like other articles, one of those things that should make one ponder a cache location before placing it.

I got this one from an Oklahoma geocacher..


Link

(this article takes FOREVER to load, so I'm posting the contents
here)

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Toy figures really get a lot of action
Container found at school blown up by bomb squad

By ROSALIO AHUMADA
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: October 29, 2004, 04:43:48 AM PDT

Bomb squad technicians exploded a small plastic container found
outside a Modesto elementary school Thursday. The blast revealed the
contents: toy action figures.
Authorities said the container might have been part of a high-tech
scavenger hunt.

Lakewood Elementary School officials called police about 12:30 p.m.
after a janitor found the container under a tree, said Jim Pfaff,
associate superintendent for Modesto City Schools.

Lakewood is just north of Scenic Drive in east Modesto.

Pfaff said authorities moved the school's 510 students to a safe
distance on the opposite side of the campus, and classes continued
while the police investigation continued.

Sgt. David Chamberlain said the container had been wrapped with
olive-colored duct tape and had what looked like military markings.

Police called in the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department bomb
squad, and it detonated the container about 2:30 p.m. on campus.

School administrators believe the container was part of a scavenger
hunt involving the use of global positioning system devices. In some
of those games, coordinates are posted on the Internet to guide
players.

Investigators said they are trying to determine who placed the
container near the school.

[KC0GRN]

yeah, would be a good idea these days to carefully consider a location before placement of a cache....

[Arcticabn]

So in this case there not even sure it was a geocache yet they are willing to make that assumption. Guess the blew up enough of the evidence to ensure that the log was completely destroyed.
_________________
Airborne All the Way!

[Pear Head]

[KC0GRN]

Eh, everybody's edgy these days, and local authorities would rather act first and consider every unknown as a worst case scenario. Can't say I like that too much, but there you have it.

With so many caches out these days, it's almost amazing this sorta thing isn't heard of more often. That of course might be due to some local authorities' understanding of geocaching, and therefore averts the problem.

Growing pains of the sport I suppose...

[15Tango]

My 100th find was a cache near a school placed by school kids as part of a school project--http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=gc3541--(edit--due to the latest "upgrades," you have to be logged in to gc.com to read the cache page by clicking the link).
_________________
There comes a time in every young boy's life when he gets an irresistible urge to seek buried treasure.--Mark Twain

[Dances With Beehives]

I'm pondering if I should archive a cache I placed. I thought it was far enough away from the school when I placed it....now I'm not sure.
_________________
...formerly 'dachebo'.

[King Boreas]

[rickrich]

Once the gung-ho guys were called out, it was all over for that cache.

Nevermind that in the 2 hours from discovery to disposal any number of people could have looked it up on gc.com and found out what it was. In fact, it sounds like somebody may have done that, although the story doesn't say when.

Neighbors tiny shed caught on fire a few years ago. Firemen from 3 cities showed up. The last guys to show up were bummed cause all the fun was over.

I'm sure the bomb squad is the same way. Those guys live for it. Well, at least we brought a little joy into their lives.