I was reading "That 'oh shit' moment" thread, and I realized that everyone who made a post was very lucky that they escaped the situation without getting caught. Is there anyone who has a story about when they were caught, and if so, what was your consequence?

The only time that I was ever caught resulted in a stern talking to. I was ready to go exploring in a drain tunnel with some friends when out of nowhere a cop pulls up. We didn't have anything except for cameras so he realized that we weren't taggers and he let us go.

Ok so I was taking pics at this old mill, much of it was completely torn down but there were some places left to explore. I was making my way towards some tanks when I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle (open, fully exposed, people out and about). I was walking towards my POE when all of a sudden four trucks came flying up one of the roads on the property. Out jumps this lady and her band of cronies. She asked what I was doing (I felt like being rude and saying something different because the camera gear gave it away but opted against that decision) I explained to her and the entourage that I was merely taking pictures and that I was done and heading to the exit. After a brief monologue from her about 1000 reasons I shouldn’t have been there and a warning not to return, I exited the site. Oh, I left out the part where I thought my fat ass could out run the trucks and disappear into the woods – yeah, that didn’t happen… That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

Posted by Light__ ...my fat ass could out run the trucks...

We do not use that type of language around here. Instead, you need to say "my short legs." At least you look healthy now, according to your profile photo.

Okay, I'll refrain from using certain adjectives in the future.... But thanks, I'm definitely on track to being more healthy!

My "WORST" EXPLORING DAY EVER

- We found an epic hotel in Italy but we chose the wrong day. A BMX game around the hotel. Hundreds of people around the hotel. We simply ignored the people but 1 guy saw us entering. Police arrived and a we had a visit to the office.

Later that day....

-7 armed policemen were searching us in an abandoned hospital in a tiny village in Italy (guess somebody saw a strange car and 3 dirty fella's) I already saw them coming on the terrain outside, so we decide to hide on the roof. After an hour we decide to go out, and we see our car being towed away... We were just in time to stop them.
The police didn't understand why we were photographing in such a shithole. He kept repeating: "BUT GWHY?" After paying a fine of $200 we could leave.

That evening...

-Okay, we have a shitty day.... Let's sleep in a crappy hospital instead of a luxury abandoned hotel/castle (we always sleep on location)
We drive to the most shitty place we have on the map at 01:00 AM and like ninja's we enter the place. With minimum use of the flashlights we try to find a way upstairs, but suddenly a car drives by like crazy and stops at the building we are in. How the F*CK did he see us? We decide to get out immediately to avoid a visit to the police office. I go out first and hear noises from the right. I turn left and walk into darkness. WOOPS !!!! Like in a movie 8 people use their flashlights on me with drawn guns They are shouting in Italian like crazy. I was stunned and my friends tell me to put my hands in the air. Well, that trick did not work and while they kept on shouting i decide to lay down on the floor. two or three men jump on me and check my pants and photo bag. We were not able to communicate with them, because they didn't speak a word English.
They call the "Carabinieri" which is the highest rank of policemen.
Meanwhile, we have to lay down on the ground for at least 30 minutes,still with flashlights and drawn guns. Because of the lights we got a shitload of mosquito bites, because we were not allowed to move. Meanwhile the pussy caretaker was making a movie. He had caught three bandits.
The Carabinieri arrives and they are pissed off that they are awoken for this.
They said something like "They are just adventurous people" With no communication we could still make some jokes with the Carabiniere, but the caretaker resisted to let us go. So we had to go to the police office.
Once at the police office. Nobody spoke English, so we had to wait. The Carabinieri fell asleep next to us. After 4 hours and no word spoken we suddenly can leave...
We enter the car and the Carabinieri asks if we need a free hotel spot.
We say yes and we follow him. He drops us at a kinda parking lot and we decide to sleep on the street. 2 hours later we wake up. There are a lot of busses and tourists look at us like we are disgusting bums. Later we find out he dropped us at a Formula 1 circuit. A funny end to a shitty, but unforgettable day !




- Got lots of other stories involving police dogs, more police with weapons drawn, etc.

- PS: Seems like i am a terrible nerd which gets arrested all the time but i visited way over 1000 locations, so it's not that bad ;)

What a terrible day. I would have just come back another day after the first arrest. That would be like foreshadowing for the day.

Never gotten in much trouble actually. Once when a friend and I were walking along side an abandonment looking for a POE this truck just rolls up next to us. I was ready to bolt but my friend said not to. Sure enough, the guy pays us literally no mind. Not even a word as he gets out of his truck and walks into a trailer parked on site. He then locks the trailer behind him and drives off a few minutes later. I think he did tell someone though because a few of the doors were padlocked shut the next time we visited.

I don't know if this counts as 'getting in trouble' but I did have the ever-loving shit beat out of me a few times while exploring and/or squatting. Once by cops/security (not sure which, really).

There was one time I was squatting in a camera'd building - by then I was known to the local pigs (I used to squat in camera'd spots for safety reasons... oh, naivety of youth) - and apparently someone had assaulted someone there. So with me on camera, and being known, I was hauled in and questioned not as a suspect but as a witness. I had no idea about it though.

Cover your face for cameras, folks.

I once got told off by my mother for climbing a crane in the middle of the night.

Posted by mookster I once got told off by my mother for climbing a crane in the middle of the night.

Badass

At the machine shop that I manage, I once got chewed out by the next door neighbor for corralling her escaped horses until I could call someone with a lead rope to help.

The shop is out in the country, and we have a lady who trains horses and riders next parcel over. She had never met me before, and was under the assumption that I was some random trespasser, and not the helpful employee of her neighbor. Man, she let me have it : )

I also posted a time that I got yelled at by some crazy back country dude over in the "Oh Shit" thread, but I'm not sue if it counted as getting caught. That was just more straight up scary. California Valley for you...

Posted by Dr. Baab My "WORST" EXPLORING DAY EVER - We found an epic hotel in Italy but we chose the wrong day. A BMX game around the hotel. Hundreds of people around the hotel. We simply ignored the people but 1 guy saw us entering. Police arrived and a we had a visit to the office. Later that day.... -7 armed policemen were searching us in an abandoned hospital in a tiny village in Italy (guess somebody saw a strange car and 3 dirty fella's) I already saw them coming on the terrain outside, so we decide to hide on the roof. After an hour we decide to go out, and we see our car being towed away... We were just in time to stop them. The police didn't understand why we were photographing in such a shithole. He kept repeating: "BUT GWHY?" After paying a fine of $200 we could leave. That evening... -Okay, we have a shitty day.... Let's sleep in a crappy hospital instead of a luxury abandoned hotel/castle (we always sleep on location) We drive to the most shitty place we have on the map at 01:00 AM and like ninja's we enter the place. With minimum use of the flashlights we try to find a way upstairs, but suddenly a car drives by like crazy and stops at the building we are in. How the F*CK did he see us? We decide to get out immediately to avoid a visit to the police office. I go out first and hear noises from the right. I turn left and walk into darkness. WOOPS !!!! Like in a movie 8 people use their flashlights on me with drawn guns They are shouting in Italian like crazy. I was stunned and my friends tell me to put my hands in the air. Well, that trick did not work and while they kept on shouting i decide to lay down on the floor. two or three men jump on me and check my pants and photo bag. We were not able to communicate with them, because they didn't speak a word English. They call the "Carabinieri" which is the highest rank of policemen. Meanwhile, we have to lay down on the ground for at least 30 minutes,still with flashlights and drawn guns. Because of the lights we got a shitload of mosquito bites, because we were not allowed to move. Meanwhile the pussy caretaker was making a movie. He had caught three bandits. The Carabinieri arrives and they are pissed off that they are awoken for this. They said something like "They are just adventurous people" With no communication we could still make some jokes with the Carabiniere, but the caretaker resisted to let us go. So we had to go to the police office. Once at the police office. Nobody spoke English, so we had to wait. The Carabinieri fell asleep next to us. After 4 hours and no word spoken we suddenly can leave... We enter the car and the Carabinieri asks if we need a free hotel spot. We say yes and we follow him. He drops us at a kinda parking lot and we decide to sleep on the street. 2 hours later we wake up. There are a lot of busses and tourists look at us like we are disgusting bums. Later we find out he dropped us at a Formula 1 circuit. A funny end to a shitty, but unforgettable day ! - Got lots of other stories involving police dogs, more police with weapons drawn, etc. - PS: Seems like i am a terrible nerd which gets arrested all the time but i visited way over 1000 locations, so it's not that bad ;)

That's crazy! Thanks for sharing that story.

Criminal Trespass/12 month diversion

Thanks to vandalism before my visit, the old man property owner took it upon himself to sit in his car all night and watch for trespassers

Posted by Esoterik Criminal Trespass/12 month diversion Thanks to vandalism before my visit, the old man property owner took it upon himself to sit in his car all night and watch for trespassers

How recent was the vandalism from the time that you went exploring? That sounds like a hardcore property owner. Damn people and their urge to destroy/screw things up! They ruin things for everyone else.

Posted by MYSTERY-IS-IN-THE-AIR How recent was the vandalism from the time that you went exploring? That sounds like a hardcore property owner. Damn people and their urge to destroy/screw things up! They ruin things for everyone else.

According to the cop it had been a couple days prior to my visit. It wasn't an abandoned property but was under renovation.

Posted by mookster I once got told off by my mother for climbing a crane in the middle of the night.

"Hey mom, guess what I did!"
*Mom raises eyebrows* "What did you do lil shit?"
"..." The end

Reason for not telling my mom about my hobbies^^^

A security guard wrote down my driver's license information.

Gunfight.

Posted by mookster I once got told off by my mother for climbing a crane in the middle of the night.

It would have killed a lesser man...

Posted by billgeorge A security guard wrote down my driver's license information.

That shows how most security guards don't do shit, or at least aren't really in a position to get anyone into trouble. Where were you?

Posted by DevilC Gunfight.

I think that you should be more careful at choosing locations...