Cache sparks bomb scare in Wisconsin park
Green Bay Press-Gazette - Game’s prize cache sparks bomb scare in De Pere park
The package, discovered about 10 a.m. by a public works employee cutting grass, was a metal ammo can with the word “explosives” on the side, said Brown County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy John Gossage.
However, the ammo can did not contain a bomb or ammunition, but rather small toys and trinkets left as prizes for a treasure hunt called geo-caching in which searchers use Global Positioning Satellite coordinates to find caches left by other players.
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The X-rays had a tough time overcoming the metal in the ammo can — essentially a metal shoebox — so technicians used a robot-mounted shotgun to blast the lid off.
I’ve started a thread about this in the Groundspeak Forums.
I’m baffled as to why someone would mark their container “explosives.” — There should definitely be some sort of contact information on the cache. Many caches have the geocaching website listed.
For my own caches, I clearly mark them as what they are, but also I try to reduce the chances that they will be found by authorities, sparking panic. There is no guarantee, however, that a geocacher will rehide your cache as it was found.