Stolen Caches, bad beginners luck?

[+Leighton74]

Hi all, this is my very first post so it goes without saying I am a newbie...

 

I have placed 3 geocaches of my own and had to replace one of them twice and just found another missing today, all in a short space of time. All Caches were in my opinion very well hidden so unlikely to be accidentally stumbled upon.

 

The one that has gone missing today was inside a large fake rock that I manufactured which was placed (with permission) a good walk into the local country park (off the beaten track), even the fake rock has been taken which must weigh about 5kg or so!!

 

Why would another member go to such lengths to steal such a cache? perhaps to reuse in another location far away? or just to ruin the fun for others?

 

I know I am new to the hobby but I decided to go premium straight away and I consider my geocache finding and placing very responsible, however I cant help but feel very very disappointed and ready to give in already, this may sound a complete cop out I know but even though I fully expected to have to replace the caches from time to time surely 3 in about as many weeks is bad luck isn't it?

 

are there members that purposely hunt around for caches to steal / ruin?

 

is it better to make them Premium members only? will they stay put for longer?

 

kind regards to all

 

Leighton74

[+whh0]

You would be surprised how easily it is to stumble across a cache which appears very well hidden. Kids are very inquisitive, they find it, you replace it, they go take it again... If it was me, I would cut my loses, archive the cache and find a different spot or you are going to spent the next 6 weeks at least replacing it.

 

Would making it premier last longer, possibly for new caches, it would stop it appearing on the free app and therefore less likely to be grabbed by someone who has no idea to what geocaching is really all about and has just happened upon an app which looks interesting.

[+kunarion]

Why would another member go to such lengths to steal such a cache? perhaps to reuse in another location far away? or just to ruin the fun for others?

I've sorta theorized that most Mugglings are caused by people who aren't Geocachers, such as schoolmates of a Geocacher's kids' friends, or non-caching neighbors that play in the area of the cache spot. But sure, some are caused by people on their way out of the game.

 

Don't underestimate anyone's ability to find an object at random in any given place. You'd be amazed at where some people go (and speaking of where some people go, sometimes after a long search, I duck behind a tree to... see what's behind a tree ... and discover the cache container is right there). Also, a nice vacant spot may be a regular hangout for people.

 

Several of my caches were in place for months before activation, just so I'd know if the spot was no good. With my plan, the container might still be stolen, but I'd have a better understanding of maintenance requirements before I activated it. If it is fine by itself, then goes missing once Geocachers find out about it, well, there ya go. Useful information.

 

I made a couple of PMO caches mainly so they're hidden from lists, to the casual App user. One was Muggled multiple times, and the new hide is pretty quiet, because I added another level of avoidance: It's a Chirp cache. And I aggressively camo'd it, so even if the area is a hangout, it will be super tough to find by accident. My idea is that a cache that is designed to be found less often, is messed with less often, and so far, that seems to be the case. It may require more than only “PMO”, but whatever works, go for it.

Edited July 26, 2014 by kunarion

[+The_Incredibles_]

It's hard to say, without seeing where the actual caches were hidden.

 

It could be that they weren't hidden as well as you thought. Or maybe they really are being stolen.

Not much you can do about that, unfortunately. Since you are new to caching, I would consult with some of the other cache owners in your area, especially ones who have been around for a while. Maybe they could give you some advice/insight.

[+terrkan78]

If you're in an urban area, the odds go up of muggles finding the cache, even if it is well camoed and off the beaten path (just because there are more people in a city park - even a big, forested city park).

 

Are there any letterboxes nearby? I've seen instances where letterboxers were greatly displeased when a cache was published near their letterbox (I suspect not too many letterboxers would go around stealing geocaches, though). There have indeed been instances where geocaches have been targeted and stolen repeatedly (by geocachers, by environmentalists), but it's pretty rare.

 

It's hard to say what's going on with your caches, and I'm sorry that's happening to you. It sounds like you put a lot of effort into your caches, and I know I really appreciate that in a cache owner. I tried making a fake rock once and ended up concluding it was completely impossible.

 

Now that your hides have been compromised, I would find a new place, probably in a completely different area. I hope your next hides meet with far better luck. And I hope you don't give up - creative and caring cache owners are worth their weight in gold.

[+Leighton74]

Many Thanks for your comments and advice, I am going to replace my latest stolen cache today but a few meters away and I will change it to a Premium cache to see if that helps.

 

I know this will ultimately reduce the traffic to the cache but I will see how it goes, I think that if it goes missing again then a will archive the cache, but one of my other caches that was stolen twice has since stayed put since I relocated it a few meters away to a much harder spot.

 

hopefully I will have more success

 

Kind regards to all

[+Danielphunt]

Hi all, this is my very first post so it goes without saying I am a newbie...

 

I have placed 3 geocaches of my own and had to replace one of them twice and just found another missing today, all in a short space of time. All Caches were in my opinion very well hidden so unlikely to be accidentally stumbled upon.

 

The one that has gone missing today was inside a large fake rock that I manufactured which was placed (with permission) a good walk into the local country park (off the beaten track), even the fake rock has been taken which must weigh about 5kg or so!!

 

Why would another member go to such lengths to steal such a cache? perhaps to reuse in another location far away? or just to ruin the fun for others?

 

I know I am new to the hobby but I decided to go premium straight away and I consider my geocache finding and placing very responsible, however I cant help but feel very very disappointed and ready to give in already, this may sound a complete cop out I know but even though I fully expected to have to replace the caches from time to time surely 3 in about as many weeks is bad luck isn't it?

 

are there members that purposely hunt around for caches to steal / ruin?

 

is it better to make them Premium members only? will they stay put for longer?

 

kind regards to all

 

Leighton74

 

I dont have a whole lot to add except that Im sorry this happened to you.

I just placed my very first cache and this is my biggest fear.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Dunno. I've hidden 106 geocaches. Had to replace 4 or 6 after Hurricane Sandy. Some get chewed on by bears. Some get dropped, or rehidden not where found. Don't know that any have been stolen. But how would I know, if there are DNFs, and I cannot find the cache? I don't think any have been stolen.

[+spirothebudgie]

As a cache owner myself, I've had to replace probably five or six of my caches, unfortunately some kept going missing. What I usually do is replace it once, and if it goes again I'll try and hide a different container. I don't think it's geocachers, it's probably just people finding them by accident.

Also what helps is to include a geocache note explaining what it is if possible, though it's harder to do that with micro's/nano's

 

However in your case I would have to say that having a 5kg rock taken is just bad luck If the cache is in a fairly remote spot, either someone saw a geocacher with it or a dishonest geocacher has taken it, which I really hope is not the case

Just keep going and as you hide more you'll find ways to conceal the containers even better, also things like locks and cable ties can help stop your caches getting taken

Also I tend to make my containers out of old stuff and bits and pieces, I don't buy my containers so if they go at least it's no huge loss, although it's annoying if you put alot of time or effort into making it like many of us do

Good luck!

Edited July 27, 2014 by spirothebudgie

[+colleda]

We've recently had a rock cache disappear and it was about 5 kgs. It was a real rock placed under a bush where there were 3 or 4 similar rocks. The other rocks have also gone except for one much smaller than the others. Our rock is now most likely part of landscaping in a muggles' garden.

[beetsprouts]

I had a similar problem. I kept replacing the cache, and finally whoever was taking it gave up. They must have felt guilty after the fifth steal.

[+GrateBear]

After having several gone missing, I switched to PMO. So far, so good, but no guarantee.

[beetsprouts]

Even a premium members only listing cache can still be stumbled upon. An unstealthy finder is all it takes for curiosity seekers to be drawn to that location.

[+Leighton74]

I read there used to be a website devoted to stealing caches, I understand this is now shut down but I would imagine that some people sign up with the intention of ruining the enjoyment for others.

 

I have replaced the stolen cache and also since placed another new cache, all of which are now set to PMO so I will see how they go and probably try opening them up to all members at a later date if all seems well, maybe I have been unlucky and my original hides where just not good enough, fingers crossed.

 

thanks to all

[team tisri]

Many Thanks for your comments and advice, I am going to replace my latest stolen cache today but a few meters away and I will change it to a Premium cache to see if that helps.

 

I know this will ultimately reduce the traffic to the cache but I will see how it goes, I think that if it goes missing again then a will archive the cache, but one of my other caches that was stolen twice has since stayed put since I relocated it a few meters away to a much harder spot.

 

hopefully I will have more success

 

Kind regards to all

 

If you're replacing something in the same spot or too close to the same spot, be aware that even if you make it PMO the people who stole it once may be back to see if you replace it. If it's being muggled the culprits may return to see how many times you'll replace it. If it's a geocacher stealing it (which is possible) then they may be a premium member. It's not as if $30 is a huge barrier to entry, and people who want to steal caches and trackables would probably consider it a small price to pay to be able to download coordinates of where they all are.

[+Sealand Rovers]

After having several gone missing, I switched to PMO. So far, so good, but no guarantee.

 

The initial reason I signed up as a premium member was because I stumbled upon a PMO cache and wanted to log my find so it does still happen especially if someone uses google maps to suss it out!

 

For the OP, i'm hoping it's just bad luck. I have a 1.5/1.5 cache in a fairly remote park and haven't had any issues yet with it being muggled, so maybe it's just a freak of nature. Don't give up though!