SICK ABOUT IT,BUT POSTED PROPERTY KEPT ME OUT

escavader · Sep 4, 2006

Last night at my remote camp,a car zoomed past with kids on the roof.After 20 minutes and not going back by[dead end] ,I went looking for them.I went to the only full time neighbor above [whom is a town constible]and awoke him and told him what i saw.[he is the only close law enforcement for miles]He said it was probably just such and such that was staying up on the mountain.This property had been heavily gated and the owner had a lot of people in hot water when they dared try to enter.On my way back i took a ride up near the gate and it was open,like it sometimes is when certain individuals are up for a visit.With all the notarity of this area and all the no trasspassing signs i dared not enter,figured it was just the camp owners kids partying.SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED MY GUT .I checked a few more dead end roads and neighbors camps and returned to mine.
This morning a lady that owns 2 places up there asked if i had seen anyone ,and that her gate paddle lock had been cut.I told her this story and she said i bet my windows had been broke out or something and that she didnt know any one like this.I was back on the atv again to report this to the constible above me[same guy the night before]when the lady met me on the road crying,the #$%@@ burned my camp to the ground!!!
They trashed her mt camp and burned the waterfront to the ground.Ihad visited both places a few years back with her husband.He had made it clear he didnt want people in there.It was a nice valuable place and the little jerks torched it.The husband climbed on me for not following up and going in to investigate.Every one i tell this to says i was right,he would have had my hide,had it been nothing darned if i did darned if i didnt.I helped the people search their roads incase they were still in there[miles and miles of roads]with no luck.I gave my description of the car to the fire marshal and state police ,hope it helps
so here i am on sunday night hunting down a car load of punks,with a meer pen to right down a plate number.It will never happen again .I WILL ALWAYS CARRY MY HANDGUN WHEN IM UP THERE.I will never get in a situation like that again.
So why im telling you this,is everyone with posted property,make sure your neighbors are welcome because those signs may keep us out too.They have made that clear to me now and i thank them for the large cup of guilt i have.And thanks to the constible,glad to know we are being protected.
ALAN

Sigarms · Sep 4, 2006

Bottom line, you did what you thought was right, I would of done the same thing. That being said, ALWAYS have my 10mm with me whenever I am out in the woods.

That being said, if even if you did have a firearm and went to "investigate", chances are you would of been in the wrong if you needed to take action. Really was not you place to do anything other than what you did. Now, if it were your property and you where there at the time, thats another story.

If a man means you no wrong, it does no harm to have a firearm., but if that man means wrong, better to have one than not have one.

You did nothing wrong.

dmccarty · Sep 4, 2006

Alan,

You did the right thing.

Its not your land. You are not the POlice. A situation with a bunch of kids who think they are invincible, likly drugging/drinking, you by yourself, in a remote area, on land you don't own is asking for trouble. I hope law enforcement can get them on the arson.

You told law enforcement. He did nothing. He should be loosing sleep on this one. Can you complain on him for not following up? All he had to do was call for backup, block the gate to wait and wait for backup to arrive. How hard is that? If its a false alarm him cares? Many calls for service are not valid. Thats what we pay taxes on. Better to call and not need to call than not.

You did the right thing. The nieghbors complaint should be to the constable not you. Why should YOU risk your health, life and/or assests. Not your job man. You did what you should have done and more than most.

Later,
Dan

escavader · Sep 4, 2006

dmccarty said:
Alan,

You did the right thing.

Its not your land. You are not the POlice. A situation with a bunch of kids who think they are invincible, likly drugging/drinking, you by yourself, in a remote area, on land you don't own is asking for trouble. I hope law enforcement can get them on the arson.

You told law enforcement. He did nothing. He should be loosing sleep on this one. Can you complain on him for not following up? All he had to do was call for backup, block the gate to wait and wait for backup to arrive. How hard is that? If its a false alarm him cares? Many calls for service are not valid. Thats what we pay taxes on. Better to call and not need to call than not.

You did the right thing. The nieghbors complaint should be to the constable not you. Why should YOU risk your health, life and/or assests. Not your job man. You did what you should have done and more than most.

Later,
Dan

It doesnt make me feel very good knowing this nice woman lost her favarite getaway a place they had called their second home for 30 years.I cant stop thinking am i next? W hy just their two places 2 miles apart,but never touched any other camps or campers that were in there.Sounds like a personal bit of payback or something ,he did have alot of enemys in town,i myself have never had a problem so ill judge him by that.Now to fill you in the man had just called dep on the constible for trying to pond up a brook.They have had a long standing suing each other relationship. iLL LET THE STATE POLICE SORT THAT OUT.So now what?my familys the only witnesses should i worry about our place?Ill stand by my ethics and try to catch the little @#$#$% even if i pay a price for it!IF I HAD TO DO IT AGAIN AND I HAVE MY COLTS it might turn out different.What the heck is society coming to when you dont feel safe in the backwoods.
ALAN

scott_vt · Sep 5, 2006

Mornin Alan,
That is a very sad story for sure !!! I feel for that women and her family ! I do have to agree with the others, in that I dont believe you had the right or should not have entered that property even if you did have a firearm. As Sig pointed out you could have very well become the victim if using a firearm in that situation, whether you were shot or worse !

At this point all you can do is offer your neighbor help and understanding in the aftermath of something that shouldnt have happened in the first place !

InlineDieselFan · Sep 5, 2006

You did nothing wrong, if you are going out to search for potential bad guys, not only would you need a gun but there needs to be a second person or more with you. If you are on an ATV, take a rifle, you get more reach and power.

Reading this thread does remind me to go post my land, bow hunting season just opened up.

steve

escavader · Sep 5, 2006

Thanks for the support.You are right,I did as much as i could.At the time i wasnt even sure a wrong was being commited.Could have been just a few of the family members i didnt know who were staying in there.I aint gonna call a sheriff,or a trooper 50 miles out of his way for kids riding on a car on a mountain rode,heck i did more than that.Why should i have risked being sued for tresspassfor riding in there.In MAINE now its an automatic 500 dollar fine if you dont have permission[atv] plus damages.On the other hand if i had encounted 4 or more[3 on roof] youngsters drugged or drunken,how much chance would i have had armed with a small pocket knife.I am a very able man and have never ducked a fight, but 4 on one after dusk,would be tough.I hope the owners realize this.Now the owners have made it clear that i SHOULDA GONE IN,next time ill block the road and call for help.A chainsaw,and a tree ought to slow em down.I hope my place hasnt been hit yet!THANK YOU GUYS FOR SCREWING MY HEAD BACK ON STRAIGHT!!!!
ALAN

Slamfire · Sep 5, 2006

If your neighbors want you to ignore NO TRESPASS signs they should give you written permission to trespass. It might be a good idea to form a neighborhood watch group, with all involved being granted such permission.

MikeD74T · Sep 6, 2006

Escavator, I've noticed that people who post against any/all trespass seem to end up with only the undesirables on their land. My vacation land is not posted & a select few locals are invited to use it like the own. My abutting local neighbor complains of trash & vandalism in spite of being posted every 50' on all sides. Your neighbors posting apparently kept only you out. Hope they learned a lesson. You could suggest they get a good flashless game trail camera that you could tend. Could help to catch future vandals without endangering yourself. you did the right thing be not going into a confrontation. The cornered rats of today often do really stupid things to "stay out of trouble" and sometimes an innocent ends up dead.

higgy · Sep 6, 2006

I think slamfire is right on the spot. Form a group, give each other legal righ for entry. Even if you did get in there, things could have turned very ugly. Those kids would know they were in trouble and you may not fair well in that case. I would have done the same. It sounds like the law man should not sleap well if he let feeling get in the way of his job.