Bold Boulder Thieves!!!

Tom King · May 01, 2020, 08:04:40 PM

Kind of a long story. It rained two inches yesterday. Across one of the state roads on both sides of our place there is some construction work going on. Those guys didn't work today, because the ground was too wet from all the rain.

There is another state road that goes down the middle of our place. Off that middle road is a path to an abandoned rock quarry. The path in to the rock quarry is a bit less than a quarter mile. The quarry hole has 8 tenths of an acre of water in it, and several acres of all sizes of Granite around it, and beside the path when you get close to the quarry.

Someone "borrowed" a dump truck, and rubber tracked skid steer loader from the construction site, and went into the quarry path, tearing the red dirt path all to pieces. They did obviously take some fairly large bolders, knocking down trees in the process.

On their way out, they made a wrong turn onto some of our trails, and got the truck stuck up to the axle. They went back to the construction site, and "borrowed" a 320 class excavator, driving it across the state road, knocking down some trees, got it onto our trails, and walked it about a half mile to pull the dump truck out. All this I figured out by the tracks left, and holes where the truck got stuck. They walked the big excavator back, and parked it where it was, but it left two thick, muddy tracks across the road.

I knew the equipment owner, and called him. I knew he hadn't done it. He said they didn't even work today. People don't take keys out of stuff around here, but maybe they'll start.

So, we're missing some big rocks, that I would have given anyone if they asked, and they won't be missed a bit, but I'm pretty *pithed about the path, and trails being torn up so badly by someone who knows how to operate equipment, but was too stupid to realize that after two inches of rain, the ground would be too soft to put any piece of equipment on.

A deputy did come out, and made a report, but who knows if anything will come of it.

btulloh · May 01, 2020, 08:14:12 PM

Quite a story. No tellin' what people might steal these days. I hope they catch 'em and make them repair the damage to your property. Then maybe the state can give them an official job breaking rocks all day.

moodnacreek · May 01, 2020, 08:30:25 PM

Trespassing for the purpose of stealing and causing property damage should be punishable by shotgun and everybody should look the other way.

Tom King · May 01, 2020, 08:51:10 PM

I was thinking that since the thief knows how to operate an excavator, that I should get him to dig the hole.

thecfarm · May 01, 2020, 09:10:27 PM

Too bad they made a mess. :(

WV Sawmiller · May 01, 2020, 09:25:58 PM

I have often thought about posting signs on my property "Anyone caught stealing the rocks or multi-flora roses will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law" hoping someone might think they have value and come move the dang things for me. :D

Sorry your trails and place got buggered up. I hate a thief. I'd probably give then help them load the things if they asked but would find other uses for the backhoe if I caught them stealing.

dgdrls · May 02, 2020, 08:28:21 AM

"Someone "borrowed" a dump truck"

Was the dump truck from the same site?
Do you know if it was found?

Sorry for the damage I hope the offenders are caught and made to repair it.....with hand tools

D

Magicman · May 02, 2020, 08:48:04 AM

That was sort of an inside job because too much was known about the equipment and the whereabouts of the boulders.

Tom King · May 02, 2020, 12:16:13 PM

All the equipment was returned to pretty close to where it was sitting to start with. Maybe they thought no one would notice.

Fortunately, the big excavator had LGP (low ground pressure) tracks, so it did almost no damage to the trails, other than the small Pines it pushed over to get back into the trail system.

Yes, had to be someone who knew where everything was. The rock quarry is no secret. We've had trouble keeping people out of there for years.

Our place is surrounded by waterfront lots. I let some of those people ride dirt bikes back in there, to run the trespassers out. I wouldn't have known about it for a good while, but one of the bike riders called me.

It won't take much time to fix the damage, but it's not like I need something else to do. Maybe if the demand for big rocks is so lucrative, I should go in the boulder selling business.

thecfarm · May 02, 2020, 05:17:13 PM

I could retire 3 times if I sold my rocks!!!

doc henderson · May 02, 2020, 05:52:24 PM

many brands of equipment have master keys that many dirt and heavy equipment guys have. It was common on a big job, to use another companies equip. if needed, esp. in case of emergency. I would talk with the guy you know with the company that owns the equip. I agree that most would not know all the facts the quarry and of what equipment is available, let alone returning all unharmed and in the same spots. sounds like and inside job as mentioned. prob. not the owner, but some of the help. they seemed to know that they were off due to rain. I would go hop in a truck with the owner and do a drive by of all the employees. If he is a descent guy, he does not want the person working for him either.

Tom King · May 02, 2020, 06:43:19 PM

I've known the equipment owner for decades. I did call him from right there. He was much more upset than I was. He, and his Son are the only ones who operate his stuff. His Son would not do it, nor would he. If they had wanted some rocks, they would have had no problem asking me for them, and have better sense than to put their stuff on wet red clay.

We actually have a pretty good relationship. Any time he's working over my way, and the ground is dry, he'll ask me for a place to dump stumps, in trade for doing some work for me. I've gotten a lot of good work from them like that, over the years.

None of the equipment was harmed, other than being really covered with red mud. Just a really strange thing to happen.

edited to add: There's probably a hundred fancy, waterfront homes on each side of our place. I doubt many of those people cut their own grass, and most of the traffic on those roads is landscaping companies cutting grass, and working in yards. I expect it was one of those, but it's not worth the trouble to do a lot of detective work. Everyone around here knows the story now, and will keep their eyes open better, for a while anyway.

Nebraska · May 03, 2020, 10:11:57 AM

That would be really frustrating...I have a good friend who's brother makes a part of a living hauling field rocks out of the "rock piles" in Western MN, and the Eastern edge of South Dakota, selling them to landscaping supply houses around Omaha. We don't have any rock to speak of around here.

thecfarm · May 03, 2020, 12:56:20 PM

Quote from: Nebraska on May 03, 2020, 10:11:57 AM
. We don't have any rock to speak of around here.

Please send address, problem solved!! ;D

WV Sawmiller · May 03, 2020, 02:12:52 PM

No fair! I had dibs on him getting mine first. :D

Chuck White · May 04, 2020, 08:29:38 AM

A few years ago we had a visitor from Florida during the sugaring season and they noticed all of the big rocks around my brothers meadows and asked if he'd be willing to part with some!

They said that in Florida, landscape rocks were worth $1.00/pound, well he told them that if they sent a tractortrailer and a picker, he would sell them all the rocks they wanted for $.01/pound.

Never heard back from them! ;)

Raider Bill · May 04, 2020, 05:04:23 PM

Quote from: Chuck White on May 04, 2020, 08:29:38 AM
A few years ago we had a visitor from Florida during the sugaring season and they noticed all of the big rocks around my brothers meadows and asked if he'd be willing to part with some!

They said that in Florida, landscape rocks were worth $1.00/pound, well he told them that if they sent a tractortrailer and a picker, he would sell them all the rocks they wanted for $.01/pound.

Never heard back from them! ;)

Landscape rocks are expensive in the Tampa Bay area. People pay crazy money for rocks.

Don P · May 04, 2020, 05:43:39 PM

I'm a whole lot closer than Chuck and we're ready to deal :D

thecfarm · May 04, 2020, 08:16:06 PM

Location, location, location. ;D

thecfarm · May 04, 2020, 08:24:30 PM

You can see 4 rocks in this picture. Theses are big ones, about 4 feet tall,6 feet across. No idea how big, but I had a big excavator here when they dug the foundation and he could not move them.

When we had the green house business, I had a few ask me if I put them rocks there. I have enough trimming to do, why make more work. Than I have to mow around the DanG things all the time.

WV Sawmiller · May 04, 2020, 08:42:34 PM

Dang! I was gonna tell Chuck I was lots closer to Fla than him now Don sneaked in on us and he is even closer than me. I will put in a plug that WV rocks are prettier than those Va rocks if the truth be told. He can even visit the New River which is the second oldest river in the world behind the Nile. Of course with my luck it is close to Don too since it is also one of the few rivers that flow north.

BandsawBen · May 04, 2020, 08:52:37 PM

Funny thing is iam looking for rocks to build a retaining wall around my house. Its quite expensive to have boulders brought in and, iam not far from thecfarm. Trucking is the expense. We had thieves stealing granite that topped the rock walls surrounding cemeteries. My brother who is a rock mason was paid to replace those stones.No one was ever prosecuted. Rocks are worth a lot of money

thecfarm · May 04, 2020, 09:04:19 PM

I have a stone wall with some big rocks in it. 3x3 and that is not inches either. ;D Than I have about 20 rocks about the same size, maybe even 4x4. Both are only about 20 feet from a town dirt road.
Lets make a deal. You maybe 2 hours from me?

thecfarm · May 04, 2020, 09:08:44 PM

Easy excess!!

Will have to pay a percentage to the FF for a Finders Fee.

RichTired · May 04, 2020, 09:39:30 PM

The county moved one of the rocks right outside our kitchen window when they redid the road back in the '80's...

Don P · May 05, 2020, 08:22:56 AM

Yup, I can be on the banks of the New within about 10 miles.

I forked up a bunch of rocks in the pasture the other day when I had the little bobcat in there. Problem was they were icebergs, more underground than above. I need to borrow the loader and a trailer now :

. There is a place up here at the house it would be nice to build a retaining wall and fill.
There are both the gneiss basement rocks and sandstone that must have been a cap rock that has rolled down into the bottom as the mountains eroded. There's one big sandstone that rolled into the creek that I need to get out, it is over 5' across. I think it'll have to bust to get out of there, a long day with the generator and Hilti drill/ chisel. Further down the driveway there is a bit of a bluff you have to go around that has a bunch of mudstone, drying cracks are visible but it had heat and pressure enough to become rock. I've heard that at some point we were covered in mud that penetrated any voids and then was pressured into becoming rock later.

Rich that is likely part of the same rock that is under all of us along the mountains. There was a place, seems like it was east, of Mobile Bay where the tail end rocks of the Appalachians goes into the gulf.

Tom King · May 12, 2020, 09:18:05 PM

The story about my stolen rocks got partially solved, and ended up being stranger than it sounded to start with. The person who got the stones was someone from across the lake. He is new around here, and someone told him that he owned the land, to go get the rocks for a couple of hundred dollars, and told him how to get here.

This person had just bought a new dumptruck, and Bobcat. He didn't know what he was doing, but did manage to get some rocks.

He was not the person who used the other equipment, including the 320 excavator. Someone else had gotten stuck that same day, on our trails, not far from where the road to the quarry got torn up, got the truck, and skid loader stuck trying to get whatever he was stuck in out, and went back to get the excavator. We still have no idea who this second person was, but I'm convinced by the story of the new guy who got the rocks, that he didn't use the other equipment.

The new guy tried to fix the road to the quarry with his stuff, but he was too new an operator to be able to do it. It's downhill some, so needs a crown. The guy who owns the other equipment told me he'd fix all the damage, just to stay on my good side. It won't be much trouble for him, and his stuff is still not far away.