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UER Forum > US: Great Lakes > A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary (Viewed 3228 times)
Hoover 


Location: Michigan
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Quiet as a dang churchmouse

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A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< on 7/11/2016 6:55 PM >
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Hello, everyone! I wanted to take this chance to introduce myself to the Great Lakes area for real. I live in the Michigan area, so I've got some pretty close places to check out. I explore with Eagleye888, who's also new to the forum, and occasionally a friend who isn't registered yet.


Orange Knit Elementary

Orange Knit Elem. is an old elementary school (I believe it's been abandoned since 2004). There is a large church across the street, and beyond that, the city's court house and police headquarters. We felt pretty great about our chances with gangs and the homeless, but were a little on-edge about the police situation, and for good reason. As we approach our POE, I notice that the lights are on in select spots. It's a school for sale in the middle of the city, so I assumed it just came with the territory. Broken windows and graffiti all over the school drew us closer than the lights could manage to push us away.


1. Looking good so far. Early into the explore we hear a faint beeping. We heard it as we approached the building, so Eagle and I both assumed that whatever it was had been beeping for a good long while.


2. We follow the beeping into the hallway where I get the typical piano shot.


3. The source of the mysterious beeping noise. Thankfully it wasn't a pipe-bomb


Since no new noises had joined the chorus, and we saw no sensors ourselves, we continued.


4. At this point we make our way from the utility room back into the hallway. Across the hall was the back entrance to the stage, which overlooks the auditorium. Here, we realized the whole floor of the stage was covered in this weird yellow dust. Pollen? Chalk? We weren't sure.


5.


6.


7. To be fair, this was the first "No Trespassing" sign we saw.


8.



9. Someone put a lot of work into these windows. I was surprised time/water hadn't washed any of it out.


10.


11.


There were two entrances in the auditorium to the second story of the library. Eagle walked up the far one to discover that a camera overlooked the stairs. After the auditorium/stage, it was time to check out the library. Walking past, we could see tons of computer parts strewn everywhere.

After entering the library, a second tone joinied in with the first. We'd gotten used to the first one so we didn't realize it changed until we walked back out into the hallway. That should have been our first clue. We lied low for a bit and watched the exits to see if someone would respond. After a few minutes, the second tone dropped and the first one resumed. We followed suit and made our way out of the hallway and towards the gym. On our way, we entered the office, where we had a similar sensor incident. After that died and no one came, we felt pretty sure the connection to the police station/alarm company was dead.


12. In the hallway to the gym is a set of double doors, with two orange knit hats and a weird mask. Eagle and I had no idea what it meant; if anyone does we'd love to know


13. The gym was a dead end, but was eerily dark and quiet compared to the rest of the building. Cleaning supplies, food buckets and desks were strewn everywhere.


14. Perimeter sensors 1, 2, 4 and 5 were flashing after all was said and done. This was taken before we made our way back to the auditorium stairs, but after setting off the office and library sensors.


We wanted badly to get into the second floor. Dodging windows, we made our way back to the auditorium to find that both staircases had a camera and a sensor. Feeling pretty lucky, Eagle told me he'd go first. Slowly as he could, ducking down behind the railing as cars went by, he made his way up. Oddly enough, the alarm stayed the same, just one beep.

I turned my camera back on and went to take a cool snap of Eagle sneaking to the stairs. That was when I saw the heads. Looking past Eagle and out the glass doors, I saw and heard what seemed like two people walking up to the door. EaglEye was frantically making his way back down the steps when I heard the most God awful knocking I think I'll ever hear. I'd hidden from view of the door after taking the picture, but as I looked out and Eagleye turned around, I saw three police officers peering in.


15. The last picture I took of my partner trying to get out before the officers made it to the door.


The officers looked dumbfounded when they saw us standing there. I heard the one in the back radio saying "two white males" and the one who had banged on the glass told us to open the door. The door had been tied shut with caution tape, however, and we tried to explain through the door that we couldn't. We explained our POE to him, and sure enough loud cop and his partner took off towards it, telling radio cop to watch us. Eagle sat on the stairs and registered the situation while I tried my best to keep my hands visible and away from my camera equipment.

After the longest minute of my life, the two officers found us and told us to come into the auditorium where they asked for our I.D.'s and searched us. Loudy searched Eagle, while his partner with the tattoos searched me. I told tattoo he could search my bag, so he did. They then led us out to their cars, chiding and scolding us for being in here and for taking pictures (you know this is very serious, right? It's not worth to break and enter for a picture.) They asked repeatedly why we were out this way (~25 minutes from home) and if our visit to this particular spot was intentional.

At the cars, I figured tattoo was the "good cop" of the two, so I asked if we were under arrest. "Right now, we're detaining you." he replied. Eagle went into the back first, and I asked if I could cover my lenses and fold my tripod up. As I was doing so, radio cop was walking back and I heard him ask if they should "do breaking and entering" and loud cop said "I have no problem with that".

So we sit in the back with the door open as tattoo cop writes down our information. He keeps giving us this empathetic half-smile and calls us by name, which made me feel a bit better. As tattoo is asking Eagle what his preferred phone number is, a third squad car pulls up and a forth officer gets out. The officer approaches tattoo and asks if "they'd been marandized yet". At this point we were both feeling a bit dry in the mouth; we both have clean records and work later that day, so spending a night in jail wasn't preferred at this point.

Suddenly, a kind African American woman pulls up and starts talking about how she wanted them to know that she appreciates the work they do, and that she can't understand the violence that keeps popping up against police. She was the type of person who just radiates those positive vibes. The four cops gather around to collect her praises for a few minutes and the woman drives off.

After, 4th cop comes over and opens Eagle's side and starts chiding us about our intentions, saying "Of all the places in this city to take pictures of, you pick this dump?" After a bit of nervous explaining to the two, loud cop comes over and tells us to get out of the car. He tells us that he talked to the sergeant who saw our clean records and good intentions and decided to let us leave. "Had it been my call", loud explained, "you'd be spending the night with us. I'll tell the sergeant you both said 'thanks'. I hope you've learned a lesson here today. Next time you can make due with pictures from the outside".

Tattoo gave us our I.D.'s and Eagle thanked the officers, shaking all their hands. They all seemed a great deal less stern as they told us to go right to our car with no stops. Eagle and I were on top of the world as we eyed the squad car watching us from the road on our walk back through the gentle rain.


TL;DR

Eagleye888 and I were in the wrong spot at the wrong time when three officers pulled up. They took us to the car, where we sat trying to process incriminating bits of information we overheard. Eventually, a lady pulls up and starts thanking the officers for their work and lets them know that they're appreciated, which I think helped ease the tension and make them think twice about dirtying our clean records. They let us go after taking our info and we couldn't have been more thankful.



(Edit 1 for grammar)
(Edit 2 to remove location/identity sensitive photos)



[last edit 7/11/2016 10:54 PM by Hoover - edited 2 times]

Glass 


Location: Chicago
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as one does

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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 1 on 7/11/2016 7:08 PM >
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Nice story. Glad you got off without charges.




relik 


Location: 44.26126°,-88.41502° (Appleton, WI)
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There is no truth, Only a perspective.

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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 2 on 7/11/2016 7:49 PM >
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Welcome!

Unwanted interactions with the police are always an unfortunate end to an explore, but as long as you are cooperative and polite, they usually end pretty well, with little to no repercussions. Sounds like you made the right choices in this matter.




"When it rains, just find bigger drains."
chuck barkley 


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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 3 on 7/11/2016 8:12 PM >
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Damn, that's one hell of a story. Welcome and thanks for sharing. I always love an entertaining read when im sposed to be working. Glad you guys got away with minimal trouble.




Hoover 


Location: Michigan
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Quiet as a dang churchmouse

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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 4 on 7/11/2016 11:03 PM >
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Thanks guys. Hopefully not everyone goes like this one did. In hindsight we were right in the frying pan and should have left when we first heard the alarm. But what kind of story does that make?

The whole thing feels like some sort of weird initiation into the hobby. Our writ of passage into becoming true explorers.

Regardless, we were incredibly lucky. We had some guardian angels today who really came through for us. The officers, the sergeant, the thankful woman.. Who knows what created the right combination. I'll never forget that day and the lessons we learned.




YotaMan20 


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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 5 on 7/12/2016 1:21 AM >
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Awesome post IntrepED! I'm glad y'all didn't get arrested and were able to take some photos before hand. Pretty cool about the lady stopping and showing her appreciation to the officers as well.




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Hoover 


Location: Michigan
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Quiet as a dang churchmouse

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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 6 on 7/12/2016 1:53 AM >
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Post by YotaMan20
Awesome post IntrepED! I'm glad y'all didn't get arrested and were able to take some photos before hand. Pretty cool about the lady stopping and showing her appreciation to the officers as well.


Thanks, Yota! The lady's timing couldn't have been better. I've gotta believe that as soon as we got into the car our fate was kind of just hanging by a thread.

If the one who knocks had decided then and there we were going to jail, or if the officer with the radio suggested a hefty ticket, it likely would've happened. No one seemed to want to officially make the call, so I'm grateful that that woman decided to give thanks when she did and lighten the mood




blackhawk 

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UER newbie

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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 7 on 7/12/2016 2:16 AM >
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Good thing you didn't have any souvenirs in the cam bag...
You got very lucky.
Power+Active Alarms=Trouble




Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
JohnInMi 


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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 8 on 7/13/2016 1:36 AM >
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Great story! After reading the entire text, the last photo does look a bit like one of those, "Five seconds after this photo was snapped, such and such happened!" type of depictions.




kenfagerdotcom 


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American Urbex... yeah. That was me.

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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 9 on 7/13/2016 2:46 PM >
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The yellow stuff you found in #4 is from a fire extinguisher.




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tombombadom 


Location: Northern Illinois
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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 10 on 7/14/2016 2:36 AM >
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Great story! Good pics. Welcome! Heck of a first explorer.




Hoover 


Location: Michigan
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Quiet as a dang churchmouse

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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 11 on 7/14/2016 2:46 AM >
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Posted by kenfagerdotcom
The yellow stuff you found in #4 is from a fire extinguisher.


Thanks! It was really odd, I didn't think we'd find as many mysteries as we did in this school.




cdevon 


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Re: A Real Introduction: Getting Caught in Orange Knit Elementary
< Reply # 12 on 7/26/2016 9:15 AM >
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I usually avoid and evade or just climb onto the ceiling tiles and wait it out. Drink my own piss if needed. Good to hear yall got away with it.




When I say I'm 'clean and sober', it means I've showered and I'm headed to the liquor store.
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