Well, letterboxing may be mentioned on the news tonight in Greenville, S.C. My husband called a few minutes ago (he's a police officer) and said that a tree trimmer spotted a suspicious looking canister inside a tree this morning. So he called the police, who checked it out and were concerned enough to call out the bomb squad who took one look and roped off the area. Local traffic was also rerouted to at least a 1/2 mile away while the bomb squad carefully opened up the container. The police officers and the bomb squad were very suprised to find a logbook and a stamp inside the canister. I'm told that the owner had AQ's website on his logbook, so the "officers assigned to this dangerous case" went back to the office and did a little research. And that's how the whole Police Dept. knows about letterboxing. I'll send more info as I receive it.
threespoiledboxers

Oh, boy......
Personally, I've worried when this day might arrive. You just cannot blame someone for being worried enough to call authorities if they don't know about our hobby. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us. It's good your husband might be able to shed some light on this for the others called to check this out.

Oh, boy......

I can't decide whether to laugh like crazy or be scared about what's going to happen with this. I mean, the police's reaction was justified, but... well, oops.

I hope this doesn't make it to the news - that could prove messy for both LBers and the police, alike. Here's hoping everyone forgets about being rerouted in traffic.

oh dear

~Honeychyck

Yes, he's able to shed some light alright....The other officers were, shall I say "SHOCKED" to find out that he knew exactly what they were trying to describe to him that was in that tree. So now he's having to explain to all these men about his wife's "underground hobby" as he calls it, and he's not enjoying it as they make fun of him.
threespoiledboxers

honestly, this is not the first time, and I doubt it will be the last. I would not be too concerned, but learn from it and try to hide in places that will not be discovered =o) I wonder how long the box was there before being found? Urban areas are always a bit tricky and are more prone to this kind of reaction. I doubt a box hidden in the forrest would have exhibited this reaction... drug squad maybe but not the bomb squad =o) LOL... Be careful and be smart about where you plant your boxes.

Cheers!
Rhea

So now he's having to explain to all these men about his wife's "underground hobby" as he calls it, and he's not enjoying it as they make fun of him.

LOL... I can almost picture that. I am glad to hear that they are laughing though, it bodes well for the future of LBing in the area. Tell your hubby that your "undergroud friends" appreciate him taking one for the team! LOL...

Cheers!
Rhea

Maybe they would be interested in your "Thin Blue Line Series"?

't'

I don't think the scare was caused so much by the box as the SHAPE of the box. It was in a white cylinder with caps on the ends, which according to witnesses looked like a pipe bomb. So I think that was the main reason for the scare.
tsb's

It was in a white cylinder with caps on the ends, which according to witnesses looked like a pipe bomb.

Yikes! Definitely a container to avoid, particularly in an urban setting! I would have been nervous about that one too if I found it (without following clues), and I know about LBing =o)

So glad it was only a LB... happy endings are nice =o)

Rhea

Well, t, now the cops know how and where to look for letterboxes, I'm actually scared that my "Thin Blue Line Series" will catch their eye and they'll nab them.
tsb's

I'm actually scared that my "Thin Blue Line Series" will catch their eye and they'll nab them.

Just change the F count and then they will not even know they are there...

Cheers!
Rhea

Precisely why the PVC pipe container is not a good idea. A lock-n-lock might not have elicited quite such a furor.

Knit Wit

Quote

Well, t, now the cops know how and where to look for letterboxes...

No, they don't, actually. Say what you will, this is one place where geocaching has an advantage over letterboxing. If the container had been a geocache, all the cops would need to do is type the coordinates of the location into geocaching.com and the nearest geocache would pop right up -- and they'd have instant confirmation that, yes, there's supposed to be a geocache within 30 feet of this exact spot. They'd even have some e-mail contacts to ask about it.

Doesn't work for letterboxes, though. Even if they suspect the container they find might be a letterbox, they have no way to confirm it. If they did a search of the zip code, they might find a bunch of letterboxes listed, they might find none -- this box might be a mystery! At the very best, somebody would have to read through all the clues that pop up and try to figure out if any of them might actually be this box. Very time-consuming, even for someone who knows what he's looking for, and no assurance of a good result.

Even worse, there's the possibility that the cops will suspect that the box is a geocache, so they type in the coordinates -- and geocaching.com reports that there are no geocaches in the vicinity! That might just confirm their suspicions that it's a bomb!

The name of the letterbox on the outside of the container would probably be a big help, along with atlasquest.com. In fact, perhaps we should establish a guideline that the name of the box should always be prominently displayed on the outside.

i just checked the global incidentmap and there was not anything listed. you can get to that map by going to my prefile page

GeoGeorgia

"suspicious looking canister inside a tree"

I hate tree terrorists.

jackbear

Did he saw where this was found exactly????
Ang

That's amazing TSB. I feel for the planter who gets the "you're in trouble and better call us" email.

We went to find a LB once. It was in honor of a WWII heavily decorated vet. It was planted in the woods near his statue. The same day we went to find it, there was a parade in his honor with a bazillion vets and currently serving men and women. We decided to see if the LB was remote enough to get even with the extra folks at the park. It was. As we wandered by them into the woods with my backpack, we caught their attention. We found the box with no one seeing us. BUt, while stamping, they "tracked" us. They thought WE were planting a bomb! A staff sargeant made us show him all our LB stuff. We also had to wait a LONG time to replant because they did not leave and we did not want to replant in front of folks. After we came out of the woods, we met quite a few of the vets who knew the guy. They thought it was funny. We did too. And, it added quite a story to add to my logbook. But, it was also a bit scary for a moment when we were surrounded with foks and their guns out, pointed down, but still ... I never thought of these as potential bomb looking things until that day.

Quote

No, they don't, actually. Say what you will, this is one place where geocaching has an advantage over letterboxing. If the container had been a geocache, all the cops would need to do is type the coordinates of the location into geocaching.com and the nearest geocache would pop right up -- and they'd have instant confirmation that, yes, there's supposed to be a geocache within 30 feet of this exact spot. They'd even have some e-mail contacts to ask about it.

Yeah but they have to KNOW about geocaching first. The only bomb squad call-in that I'm aware of in my area was because of a geocache placed in a grocery store.

-gollygee

Precisely why the PVC pipe container is not a good idea. A lock-n-lock might not have elicited quite such a furor. --Knit Wit

Precisely.

If it had been one of my lock-n-locks, there would have been no furor. Here's why:

All of my boxes, even those prior to my use of lock-n-locks, have been labeled as Letterboxes (not Trash, not Geocache), including the name of the box, etc. etc. My most recent have been painted black for better camouflage, but even they have labels. What I did was print a sheet of "inverse" labels... with white text on a black background. I affix the labels to the inside of the box, on the sides and on the top, then mask the outside with masking tape. After painting, I remove the tape and I've got a black box with black labels, so even if someone should randomly find it, there's no mistaking what it is.

Of course, this is not foolproof, nor would it completely prevent the furor, but it's a step in the right direction. Geocaches are required (I think) to have a similar label affixed to them.

*S

I actually laughed out loud. You know trees always look shady to me:)

I hate tree terrorists.

Me, too...especially if they go after those luscious Maples!

MLR

*grin*
Flat Buddy

Quote

"suspicious looking canister inside a tree"

I hate tree terrorists.

Maybe it was just a really lazy beaver.

"suspicious looking canister inside a tree"

I hate tree terrorists.

I've wondered about this. If the box was in a forest preserve or on another trail somewhere in the woods, what logic would there be in even thinking it would be a bomb? Don't terrorists or other evil menaces plant bombs in places where they will actually cause damage to more than just trees and the odd squirrel? A bomb in a tree doesn't seem like much of a threat if only a handful of people will be anywhere near it over the course of a day. What purpose would it serve?
Or maybe (thank goodness!), I just don't understand the way a terrorist would think.
S

JJJAKER, The officer who was writing up the report told my husband that it was near the big airplane in Clevelend Park. So, I'm assuming that it was "Maj. Anderson's Fighter", but I don't know for sure.
threespoiledboxers

Maj. Anderson's Fighter was in a regular box not pvc! It was in the crevice of a tree at the base. Well hidden. The landscaper was doing extra work I guess!

td

I haven't found this one but "t" thought she remembered it being in a cylinder like container. No one really knows which box caused all the rigamaroar, I'm just guessing it was "Maj. Anderson's Fighter", because the cop said it was near the big airplane.
tsb