Geocache device causes stir
Man was seen hiding something under a North Merced bush

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/220/story/953243.html

Geocache device causes stir
Man was seen hiding something under a North Merced bush

The Merced Police Department destroyed a geocache early Wednesday afternoon after a gardener reported seeing a man hide the suspicious device beneath a bush in a parking lot at the corner of College Green Drive and Rambler Road, just south of Olive Avenue.

After detonating the object by remote with a robot, the bomb squad determined it was a geocache. A pipe about six to eight inches in length was hidden in a bush and contained a list of names of people who have discovered its location. Geocaching is a game that involves hidden containers filled with trinkets and a logbook for people to find based on map coordinates.

Earlier this year, the bomb squad destroyed a geocache that was secured to a utility pole in Ballico.
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Merced Police Department Officer Tim Gaches lifts up the suspicious object at a parking lot at North Rambler Road and College Green Drive in Merced.
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The suspected pipe bomb turned out to be a geocache. Geocaching is a popular sport where people hide objects at various coordinates for other people to find using their GPS devices. Large caches can contain a log book and small "treasures," and participants can take one and leave another.
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"We've had more explosives than geocaches, but since geocaches are becoming more popular, people are placing them in really strange areas," said Detective Daniel Dabney. "Unfortunately they are not real distinguishable. A lot of times they are in pipes, in plastic or metal or cans, which can be confused with an (improvised explosive device)."

-- Brandon Bowers