Personal Safety

[WazzaAndWenches]

This might seem a long winded story, but it's not a story. It happened to me yesterday on the way home from an event in Melbourne. It starts just south of Woodend in central Victoria, beside a very busy highway just after having found a cache (GC1PVEP).

Sitting in the car setting the GPS to take me to the next cache just up the road and another car pulled up beside me. I ignored it, thinking it was parked waiting to pickup schoolkids from one of the passing school buses.

Drove off towards the next cache (GXWD64), but missed the correct turnoff. Pulled over only to find the same car pulled in behind me. (White Mitsubishi wagon with one headlight on).
Turned around and headed down Nursery road a couple of hundred meters too far. Same car behind me again.
U-turn and headed back to the main road. Pulled in to a cleared area beside the main road. Car pulls in beside me. Maybe he's a fellow cacher. Maybe I should say hello.

Wind down the drivers window a bit and he gets out of his car and approaches. He tells me "I was told to come here and get in a car". I tell him he's got the wrong bloke. First thing that comes to mind is "drugs".

I drive off toward Woodend along the Calder Highway. Just coming into town and he shows up 3 cars behind me again. It's easy to pick him because of the single headlight. By this stage I'm getting a bit concerned that I've attracted attention from a nutter, or worse. Cannot see a Police sign anyway, so continue through town and out onto the freeway toward Kyneton. I lose him in the freeway traffic.

Just near Kyneton I see his single headlight in the mirror again. That's it. Time to fix this problem.

Drive into Kyneton and head straight to the Police station (have cached here before so know where the Police station is). Park right outside the door. He pulls into the bay in front of me. The Police station looks to be unmanned. No lights on and no police cars in sight.
I'm 6'3" and quite solid, so I hope my size will intimidate him a bit. I jump out. He also gets out of his car. About 5'8" and of light build.

"Why are you following me", I say with a harsh voice. His answer cannot be repeated here, suffice to say my response was very impolite. I repeated my response with a few more (very abrupt) words added. He got back in his car and drove off. I waited a couple of minutes, then left. He was parked just around the corner, but facing the wrong way. I must have turned without him noticing.

He didn't appear in my mirror on the remainder of the trip home.


I don't think I have felt so concerned for my own safety at any other time, caching or not. Travelling through an area I don't know very well, and not knowing anyone in the area either, then having this happen leaves me wondering what might have happened if I didn't act when I did. Worse, what if I had my family in the car with me.

BE WARNED...The world is not the nice safe place it once was. Always be aware of your surroundings and be vigilant when it comes to your safety. No cache is worth the mental anguish.

Waz.

[Rainbow Spirit]

Things like this can happen to anyone at any time. It can be very unnerving, the first thing to do is to get their rego number, then report them to the police ASAP.
One night as a SES duty officier I went to a job in a normal suburban street, to do a recce'. When I left, a car stopped in front of me at a roundabout and a guy got out and came back to my car. Assuming he was lost I rolled down the window, he then punched me in the head without saying a word!
I took off and he followed me and tried to overtake me, but I blocked him. When we got to a T intersection he took off in the other direction to me, and I never saw him again. All this time I was so shocked that I forgot to get his rego number!
Yes, the world is a strange place indeed! It is occurences like these, that make you cynical about other people out there, thankfully they are in a very small minority.....

[Cheesy pigs]

yes unfortunately this does happen a bit. Good call on heading for a police station, I'm a bit surprised he followed you. The other alternative is to call Radio dispatch, describe whats going on and make sure theres an officer nearby you can go to and meet if needed. Unfortunately not all stations are 24/7, and some of the smaller stations are locked up when the cop is out because tehres no desk officer or civilian.

[Fuddley]

yes unfortunately this does happen a bit. Good call on heading for a police station, I'm a bit surprised he followed you. The other alternative is to call Radio dispatch, describe whats going on and make sure theres an officer nearby you can go to and meet if needed. Unfortunately not all stations are 24/7, and some of the smaller stations are locked up when the cop is out because tehres no desk officer or civilian.

What number do you ring for Radio Dispatch? In NZ you rang *555 on your mobile and went straight through is it the same here?

[Cheesy pigs]

131444 will connect you to the non emergency line of the radio room closest to you. Obviously 000 if is getting serious

[backPAQer]

yeah...I wouldn't want to be taking on you either Waz!!!
Did you get the rego, sounds like this guy needs to be questioned a bit further.

If you were in a 4WD...and he was just in a sedan or wagon (2WD)...you could have headed off down a 4WD track and see how far he follows
But yeah...I'd be calling the cops and keep them apprised of the situation and possibly lead him into some waiting arms of the law.

[totalube]

I have been followed once on foot after getting a cache on my way to get another. I had my 5YO with me and was in a industrial type estate. My greatest concern was for my son, so after crossing a car park and seeing him follow us across (we were hiding behind some bushes), we backtracked along another road and back to the car, where I took off as quickly as I could. Thankfully it was in the daytime and many businesses were open in case I wasn't able to loose him.

When I think back on the events I realised that he probably spotted us while we were crossing the bridge and followed us from there.

It pays to be very aware.

[Fuddley]

131444 will connect you to the non emergency line of the radio room closest to you. Obviously 000 if is getting serious

Thanks CP I have now put that number into both the wifes and my phone, incase the need arises. Although I will be happy if we never have to use it

[Agent Basil]

Mobile phones can be be handy. You can either ring or pretend to ring someone that usually can scare people off . Most phones now having a camera, you can snap a picture of the suss person though I would suggest doing this covertly.

[Keeper of Time]

Living in Woodend I am very upset that any of my fellow cachers should have such a thing happen to them in my home town. There is a police station in Woodend but like all the others in the area it is usually unmanned.

Thanks CP for the number, I have put in both of our mobile phones.

[squalid]

Scary stuff Wazza, sorry you had a bad end to what was a fun day.

[backPAQer]

I was doing Seesaw (Newport) late Friday night.
And in checking around to be absolutely sure that I was alone and not being watched, I scoped around the skateboard park as if doing a "security check". Kinda glad I did as there were some teenager/early20's kids hiding in the skateboard bowl that I had not heard.

So I got the hell out of the park, drove down to Willi Cop Shop and reported some "suspicious behaviour" in the park
The cop was interested in whether I thought they were doing graffiti...that hadn't crossed my mind, but it was a weird place for kids to be "hanging out" considering the wild weather that was going on at the time.

I waited 1/2 an hour and then returned the cache being as stealthy and observant as possible...and carrying my honking great night-stick maglite just to be sure.

[stringy]

That is a pretty dangerous situation.

He is quite a storker that one.

I wonder if he has done it too anyone else?

[The Coffee's]

I had a fun one some time ago in Richmond, and they wanted to hold me until the police arrived, they also chased me. I did the right thing and rang the Police who were fantastic. even though they thought i was a bit loopy for running around at night with a GPS looking for plastic. they did send a unit out to tell the nosey muggles to bugger off and next time they would charge them.