The Forestry Forum

We are trying to catch someone thats keeps tresspassing on our property. They always come late at night, at different times and usually several days apart, and are always in full camoflage. We have regular game cameras setup and have plenty of pics, but since they always wear a hood, we cant get a pic of their face. They hike in from over the mountain, using at least three different trails. We havnt noticed that they have done any damage, or had anything come up missing. I think the person is just passing thru, Still, I cant help but feel this person is up to no good. What I am looking for is some kind of camera or video system with a radio transmitter that can signal my house when the tresspasser is present. The area is about 1/2mile from the house and there is no cell service available. It would be nice if the camera could send pics to my computer so I could verify it is the tresspasser and not a bear or a deer setting off the camera before leaving the house. Has anybody here know of, or used, any kind of setup that might work.

Is this occurring year round, or just at certain times? I also wonder about the property adjoining yours.

I have a neighbor who says he has a game camera that transmits the trail pics back to his computer, and he is about a mile away from that property. Don't know the brand he uses.

Here is one brand, LTL Acorn.
The video discusses the wireless option.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TGtcT9ZivI

Is the property properly marked with no trespassing signs?
If so, have you talked with the police?

Have you pulled any cameras and placed them closer to the house/cabin to try to verify
if they are stalking you or your stuff?

To me, it's creepy that they are only passing through at night wearing camo and hoods--that suggests that they know they are being "watched".
Do you know anybody that has a good pair of night vision binos you could borrow?

Hey, just because he hikes at night and wears what he wears doesn't mean he's trying to be sneaky.  Can you track him a little?

Wonder if he is growing something on your land? I have alot of people that walk on my land.When my stepson had a game camers set up we saw them.

Does he enter your property from the same general direction or from varying places.  Have your neighbors noticed anything?  How did you spot him to begin with?  Any roads that they could park on to hike in?  Lots of ????

There was a guy up here a few years ago and another down your way a bit before that who built a little shelter out in the woods and holed up.  They would steal little things like 2x4s and tarps and small amounts of canned goods and food from alot of different people so it wasn't picked up on for some time...

you said he is using 3 trails, if they are on your property use snare traps garuneteed you'll catch him! you didnt set the snares to catch him. "wink"

from a legal standpoint i would advise against the snare idea,.... just sayin.

We discoverd the tresspasser by accident. We placed  trail cams to record game movements and one day this person just happen to get their picture took. We check the cameras weekly and his pic has shownup more than a few times. I doubt he knows his picture is being taken, or simply doesnt care, otherwise, why would he keep taking the same trail. I cant say this person is doing anything illegal, or messed with anything that belongs to me, but I just want to know why hes out tramping thru the woods late at night. There is nothing around there, no close houses or roads, just woods. Its a half mile to my house, but if hes wondering next to my camera sites, theres no telling where else he is wondering around.

The cameras that transmit back to your phone or internet wont work in this area. No cell phone service for them to transmitt over. My brother has a video camera setup in his barn to watch the horses that transmits wirelessly back to his house, but the range simply isnt there. I am trying to find a similar setup that has a little better range. We can use either batter powered cameras, or we can take a car battery and inverter for the ac cameras. Might even setup a little solar panel to keep the battery charged. Anyways, if the guy keeps sneaking thru, I will eventually catch him, but I sure would like to ID him first.

I'd have a visit with the local Sheriff and discuss with them what you have discovered. The time at night might be important, which you can get from your trail cams. That is one option you may want to take, or may not. ;)

Is he walking a trail or a road? Using a flashlight?

Talking with the sheriff might help, I guess. I really dont have much confidence that they will be able to do anything. they certainly aint going to stake out the area just because someone is hiking thru the woods. Now, if i could find a dope patch or some other illegal activity, they might try and do something. I am just guessing that if I can Id the person, I can confront them in a public area, show them the pics, and just ask them why there are there. I dont care about the tresspassing, they havnt bothered anything, I just think it is odd that they are even there in the first place.

We are going to be installing video cameras at the house, been wanting to do that for a while anyways. People walking thru the woods a half mile from the house is one thing, dont let me catch them in sneaking around in my yard late at night.

Is he carrying anything with him?  A pack, a rifle, a saw?  If he comes through at night, he might not notice the cameras, which are pretty easy to spot during the day, if they have no flash.  IR still has a small red light that might tip him off.  How far from is it from where you have taken his picture to reache a public road, your neighbors property, and civilization?

So.....since he's doing this surreptitiously at night, and you can't ID him, let's consider why he would be there at that time of day.....

1.  Shortcut to where he lives.
2.  Walks home the long way to avoid being seen after visiting the neighbor (or his wife).
3.  Drug sale / manufacture related behavior.
4.  Hunting / poaching related behavior.
5.  His way of sneaking in and out of his own home.
6.  He's meeting someone else at a faraway spot.

Any other reasons why someone repeatedly walks through someone else's woods at night?

I also agree, absolutely no traps / snares.  You will end up on the short legal end of that decision if you do.

I don't see how it would hurt anything letting local LE know what is going on.

Hmm, Western NC. Eric Rudolph was able to avoid capture for 5 years on the FBI's ten most wanted list in those parts.

Quote from: Claybraker on January 23, 2013, 06:01:01 PM
I don't see how it would hurt anything letting local LE know what is going on.

Hmm, Western NC. Eric Rudolph was able to avoid capture for 5 years on the FBI's ten most wanted list in those parts.

Yep, they found his truck about 1/2mile from where i lived at that time, and they caught him about 1/2mile from where I currently live. There are nut cases everywhere.

To answer a few questions. The cameras are setup along a old logging road, pretty easy walking. I havent seen him carrying anything, no backpack or sacks to hide anything. I havent seen a flashlight either.

Yes he could just be passing thru going home, or whatever. There is a housing development across the back side of the mountain, probably coming from there, and a public road not far away from the camera area. I could speculate till the cows come home, but if I can ever see his face, I might even know who it is.

I dont have any intention of setting any traps to catch the person. I just want to know who it is

To bad you don't have snow you could track him to his door, I went out back on my land to get a tree and saw tracks in the snow, he went around my morebark chiper but did not touch it,
and no I did not track him,my land is not posted

might just be out for a walk at night but letting local LE know might be good as perhaps there has been criminal activity in the area and there is an investigation going and your little slice of evidence might be the big break they need.

Logging roads often look like they are open to the public.  If they are not marked, this may jsut be someone going from one place to another in your neighborhood and nothing more.  I agree that it would be nice to know who he is, however.  How hard are you going to work at finding out?

is he/she always going the same  direction, same time of nite, what time at nite,  have u moved the cameras  on the trail one way or the other to see if he turns off the  trail.

contact the local LE. they may have something happening that coincides with the time frame your visitor is passing through.
they also may have some video equipment that could be better than what is available for the civilian market...

worth checking into... they just may say thanks and yes lets check it out...

Here's what you do.

Call Chris Hansen with NBC's "To Catch a Predator".

He will go out there and set up a kitchen with Sweet Tea and Chocolate cookies, and the Trespasser will come right to you.  :D

Put a note pad  on a stake in the trail with a sign telling the person to sign their name and phone number as they pass through.

Quote from: pigman on January 24, 2013, 06:46:36 PM
Put a note pad  on a stake in the trail with a sign telling the person to sign their name and phone number as they pass through.

I actually thought about hanging a sign saying, Smile, your on candid camera, but then thought they might start looking for the camera and possibly steal or damage it.

On top of the mountain, there are several trails going is different directions. Lots of houses on the other side. Lots of kids also. Once you cross to my side of the mountain, only a old logging road cutting across the property. It looks like they come across the mountain, hit the logging road, and walk out to the main highway. I dont really have a problem if this is all they are doing, but It would be a lot shorter, if the person is indeed coming from one of the housing developments, to hit the highway on their side of the mountain. The fact that they choose to cross the mountain and walk where they do is what has me wanting to know what they are up to.

So, have you talked to the local law enforcement yet? What did they say?

Is there a chance it may be law enforcement?
John

Your trespasser could be a trapper. By the nature of the sport of trapping it raises the curiosity of those not privy to a trappers actions. And the trapper never wants to giveaway his set locations !

Just a guess.

Leave him a note and ask him what is he doing.

I know here in Kansas, the odds would be overwhelming that he had a meth lab somewhere back there.

Here is the cheapest transmitter I have found. http://www.spytechs.com/wireless_transmitters/ultra_link.htm At $429 without the camera, its a little more than I had planned on spending. I dont know if it will work with some of the cheaper wireless cameras, but I plan on contacting the company to get some more information.

Quote from: WDH on January 25, 2013, 09:20:57 PM
Leave him a note and ask him what is he doing.

A note is a fabulous idea.  For some reason, I find this thread real interesting.  Now Sherlock Holmes would solve this mystery in one day.  Watson would ask him a question about the stranger, and Sherlock would say, you can ask him yourself tomorrow afternoon.

Tresspasser has been identified.

It seems one of my buddies thought it would be funny to mess with me. He knew the camera was there and intentionally dressed up and got his picture taken. He knew it would drive me crazy until I figured out who it was. He got a good laugh, me not so much, but If I had thought of it first, I would have probably done it to him.

Now if he's done it in a Bigfoot suit, now that would have driven you nuts...

Or maybe the Easter bunny?

Quote from: muddstopper on January 26, 2013, 12:06:03 PM
Tresspasser has been identified.

It seems one of my buddies thought it would be funny to mess with me. He knew the camera was there and intentionally dressed up and got his picture taken. He knew it would drive me crazy until I figured out who it was. He got a good laugh, me not so much, but If I had thought of it first, I would have probably done it to him.

That's funny!

Quote from: Ianab on January 26, 2013, 12:20:09 PM
Now if he's done it in a Bigfoot suit, now that would have driven you nuts...

Or maybe the Easter bunny?

:D :D :D :D :D

There goes that thread. His name is not Doug is it?
I have a beaten down deer trail by my house. Probably no more than 200 feet away. I started to follow it from the house back and found some foot prints, But they had enough smarts to stop when they saw the house.
I have a woods road that goes by my house,it's a gravel wood road that goes right into my driveway. been at least twice I saw tracks go right by my house. I did caught one guy and went up one side of him and down the other, he still felt he did nothing wrong as he standing about 10 feet from my house.  ::)

He got you good.

MS,
Glad you know who it is and I think you will find it funnier and funnier as you retell the story...  That takes some dedication to hike out in the woods a few times late at night just to pull a prank.  A true friend....

Cfarm,

I don't know how it is in Maine, but If that gravel woods road is unposted Im not not sure if legally he did anything wrong.  My land is in "current use" which means I get a significant tax break for leaving it "natural" but in return I have to allow hunting and hiking.  I always appreciate when  a hunter asks first but more and more they do not, probably because they usually get turned down from landowners even though they can legally do it.  Not saying it isn't discourteous but it is legal around here.  My wife ran into some snowshoers a few weeks back.

Now that is funny!!  I can hear the wheels turning in some of you that know your buddies have game cams. ;D ;D

After the shock of the facts wears off, you'll see how funny it was.  To tell you the truth, I think your "trespasser" must be a true friend.  Sometimes the funniest things are when we laugh at ourselves.  What a great "get"!! :D :D

What happens is they follow my trails in the woods,find the landing,find the gravel woods road,than my driveway,than the so called main road which is a dead end dirt road.
So lets start on the main road,my driveway,the woods road,the landing,than my trails. I have been hunting and get confused a few times. Came in view of a house. I kept kinda out of view of it and get to the main road. I did not walk right up behind it like I owned the place. I hear the no trespassing signs thing ALOT. That's why I'm thinking about posting ALL 170 acres to keep all the people out that think they can walk right by my house and think that is OK. I all ready posted across the road because some knucklehead shot a turkey about 200 feet from my house. ::) He kinda shot right towards the house. If I would of caught up with him, he drove off because I got down there.the first thing he would of said,It's not posted.  ::)I don't have my land in nothing. I don't get any tax breaks. I don't know these so called hunters. I have some stuff behind the house and don't need  someone coming back later when I'm not around to steal it from me. Just never know. Just about every year someone has to do something to make me "talk" to them.Next year the No Trespassing signs will be going up across the road in Sept. I have not really decided about the other 150 acres. I don't mind someone hunting on my land,just keep away from my house.

I am just glad he let me in on the joke before I spent $500 on video equipment. I would have been really P'Oed if that had happened.

next year it will be your turn to return the favor... a prank just as good as he gave you...

My friend likes to hunt with dogs. He has those gps tracking collars he uses to help keep up with where the dogs are. Since its not unusual for one of his dogs to show up at my house, I am thinking about tieing the dog up behind the house and removing the tracking collar and hanging the collar up in a tree beside his house. That should keep him scratching his head for a while. Might hang the trail camera close by where I can get pictures. Might be a good thing that those trail cameras dont have audio as I am sure there will be a few choice words thrown my way.

I'd put it in my car and take a day trip.  :D

We lost a dog once in Sutan Ontario, we tracked it back to Knoxville tn.

Now that sounds like a story in its own. Come on Muddstopper, give us the details. ???

Short version, we were in Canada on a hunting trip. Someone stole the dog and sold it to another hunter. That hunter found out who the real owner was and contacted him so he could retrieve his dog.

Long Version.

The dog had 2 tracking collars from two different vendors. The thief took the name tags off the collars and sold them to the hunter, along with the dog. Sale price was $20. The buyer just happened to be a writer for a hunting magazine and he knew that something was up with the thief selling the dog so cheap. As soon as he got the dog back to his home in Knoxville Tn, he started contacting the manufacturers of the tracking collars. He had to actually threaten to write a big story about how the manufacturer wouldnt release the collar owners name to him in order for him to return the collars as well as the dog to the rightful owner. In hind sight, it probably wasnt ethical for the company to release that kind of information, but this was a matter of just doing the right thing to get the dog back to his owner. Once the buyer had the name and number he simply called and told us where he lived and we went an picked up the dog and collars. Since we had the magnets that turned the collars off, once we got close it was just a matter of following the signal.

  if you let a prank go too far it can cause a lot of problems. a friend of mine said that where he worked another fellow had a new motorcycle he was really proud of. he would always park it at the same place every day. one day someone poured a puddle of oil under it. when the owner saw the oil he would not ride it home he loaded it up on a trailer and took it to the dealer and demanded that they give him a new motorcycle in place of it. my friend should have fessed up before it went that far.

Quote from: easymoney on February 06, 2013, 10:48:37 PM
  another fellow had a new motorcycle he was really proud of. he would always park it at the same place every day. one day someone poured a puddle of oil under it.

Reminds me of a couple of friends from way back when;  one bought a new truck that he was very proud of;  the other would....on occasion....put 2 or 3 sheet-metal-type screws on the floorboard under the pedals;  drove the guy with the new truck crazy.

old friend retired from gm in the 70's said they would to put a empty bottle in side the body panels on new cars on the assembly line
the new owner would bring it in to the dealer to get the rattle fixed
james

Quote from: easymoney on February 06, 2013, 10:48:37 PM
  if you let a prank go too far it can cause a lot of problems. a friend of mine said that where he worked another fellow had a new motorcycle he was really proud of. he would always park it at the same place every day. one day someone poured a puddle of oil under it. when the owner saw the oil he would not ride it home he loaded it up on a trailer and took it to the dealer and demanded that they give him a new motorcycle in place of it. my friend should have fessed up before it went that far.

I've done that on occasion, just a few drops from time to time. Drive the guy crazy looking for his leak but the bike wasn't new and he was a wanna be know it all biker.

Automotive pranks used to be a pretty big thing aroud here. I had a buddy once that was a pretty good mechanic. He loved to catch your car parked somewhere and swap a couple of plug wires just to mess with you. One day, another buddy of mine and I where driving by the local jail and saw his truck setting out side. Of course we couldnt resist so up poped the hood and we swaped the plug wires around. We didnt just swap the wires, but we rerouted them thru their holders so that it wasnt obvious that they had been messed with. A little while later we drove by and he had the hood of the truck up with plumbers butt showing as he sat on top of the motor. We asked him what he was doing and he said he was checking to see if his timing chain had broken. We got him to crank the truck and told him it sounded like he had a plugwire crossed. Being the mechanic he was, no way, he had already checked that. He just looked and saw the wires where in their proper holders, not connected to the right spark plugs. Well, we left him figureing he would figure it out. We drove by a little later and he had the water pump and timeing chaincover off, new timing chain in hand. Well this time we didnt say anything about the crossed plug wires, it was pretty evident he was getting upset. He went ahead and changed the timing chain since he already had it apart. Lots of choice words and threats where throw out to Whoever swapped his wires. My buddy and I didnt tell him we did it for 2 or 3 years later. Dang if he still didnt get mad at us. My ears burn every time I think about it. This isnt the same buddy that was messing with me about the game cameras, but this has gotten me to thinking about the plug wire trick again.

Quote from: easymoney on February 06, 2013, 10:48:37 PM
  another fellow had a new motorcycle he was really proud of. he would always park it at the same place every day. one day someone poured a puddle of oil under it.

I had one ol' greybeard that used to ride with us, and had a really ratty, dirty, oily, beater of an ol' Harley. Every time we'd stop, he'd get out this "grade 70" hardened chain and a huge lock and lock it up....so one day one of the guys waited until he wasn't near it and stole the chain and lock....left the bike and stole the chain.  I'm not sure what he was madder about... the chain being stolen or the bike NOT being stolen! hahaha    We all had a good laugh about that one...even he did after he cooled down a bit!
John

i had some co-workers mess with my car. plug and coil swap, plus a firecracker and smoke bomb hooked up to my coil... well talk about *pithed..... a few days later i found out who did it...
his dump truck was parked in the parking lot out back of the business. i grabbed some tools and un bolted his shift lever on the side of the transmission, for first and reverse. flipped it 180'. so the rod was  now under the shaft, instead of over the shaft. i replaced the nut and went back to work...

i wasn't around when he went to go for a load of gravel. but to hear it. he kept trying to back up, but the truck kept moving forward toward the building. he kept playing with the shifter, until his bumper was almost touching the building, before he crawled under the truck... and found the shifter changed...    8)     

never had any problems after that....   

We had a guy at work that was the typical prankster.  Zip ties on driveshafts, etc.  One day someone filled his defroster with talc and turned the radio wide open.  Between the noise and "smoke" he fell out of the truck like a bomb had gone off.   :o

I once had a project in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it was for a large client, installation of automated conveyance and packaging systems. Most of the electronic components came packaged with the foam peanuts. I parked at the Clients office complex with my company vehicle. Most of my guys had worked together for years on and off. Lots of pranks over the years to be had. One day after lending my vehicle out to a couple coworkers, I was later wrapping up the long day making ready to leave. I was discussing some things with two of the clients management in the parking lot near our cars, when I noticed there was a huge clear plastic bag setting in the front seat,,,, Full of those peanuts. The top of the bag was opened,, I wrapped some electrical tape around the top of the bag in effort to keep the peanuts from spilling out everywhere. Then figured I had it under control.


As I wrestled the bag out from under the steering wheel, etc. the whole freaking bag basically exploded,,,, the guys had stuffed the bag in tight, and afterwards slit the whole bottom of the bag with a knife, out of sight. I picked up peanuts till 9pm that night and still had them windblown across the whole parking area.

The paybacks continued for the duration of that project.. ::)

LOL to funny u all are killing me..

I was waiting to hear that the entire van was full of packing peanuts. :D