South Carolina Trespassing Prospectors

F

Floristweb

Full Member
Feb 21, 2015
129
141
South Carolina
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
We own some land with creeks in Upstate, South Carolina... Some bold prospectors decided to back their truck, and equipment to my creek on my land... THIS IS NOT OK TO DO WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!! I have since posted the property.

Folks you need permission to prospect, pan, dredge, sluice, or even enter someone else's property. I am posting this because I figure someone with that quality of equipment might be on this forum. And these people definitely owe me an apology. If I haven't given you permission to prospect on my land, you should not be doing it.

That really chapped my hide. People get permission from property owners or find another hobby.

I enjoy prospecting (new at it, but having a blast). I understand seeing a spot you just gotta try... But don't do so on my land unless I have given you permission... :BangHead:

Would it upset you if it were your property?
 

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Floristweb said:
We own some land with creeks in Upstate, South Carolina... Some bold prospectors decided to back their truck, and equipment to my creek on my land... THIS IS NOT OK TO DO WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!! I have since posted the property.

Folks you need permission to prospect, pan, dredge, sluice, or even enter someone else's property. I am posting this because I figure someone with that quality of equipment might be on this forum. And these people definitely owe me an apology. If I haven't given you permission to prospect on my land, you should not be doing it.

That really chapped my hide. People get permission from property owners or find another hobby.

I enjoy prospecting (new at it, but having a blast). I understand seeing a spot you just gotta try... But don't do so on my land unless I have given you permission... :BangHead:

Would it upset you if it were your property?
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I hope you get the message out to them and the problem becomes fixed. Nobody wants trespassers on their land or to be a trespasser (well, at least most of us don't). Hopefully you posted on several other gold websites....
 

There have been a few instances where I have been out hiking and the public and private land is somewhat spotty and not very well marked. This is where I wish landowners would post 'No Trespassing' signs in accordance to their actual surveyed property boundries if they're going to have a problem with someone on their land. I don't blame you for being upset that they brought equipment in on your land, but if you did not have it posted until after the fact, then it sounds to me like they deserve the benefit of the doubt for that one time. As a rural landowner myself, there was a long period of time that I didn't care if people were on my property or not, just as long as they were respectful of it, so I didn't feel a need to post signs. Unfortunately that changed after I found ATV ruts on my property one weekend and that was later followed by a building being broken into and a wood-burning stove being stolen. Not a big loss, but enough of a reason for me to post signs in every visable direction to make it clear I didn't want anyone there. As far as the creek goes though, as long as someone were to stay in the creek from a publicly-accessible spot, in most cases they aren't breaking any laws even if the creek goes through private property. Hopefully your signs will be respected and they will find another area to legally prospect on, call the sheriff or maybe invest in a trail camera if the problem persists on your property.
 

Maitland said:
There have been a few instances where I have been out hiking and the public and private land is somewhat spotty and not very well marked. This is where I wish landowners would post 'No Trespassing' signs in accordance to their actual surveyed property boundries if they're going to have a problem with someone on their land. I don't blame you for being upset that they brought equipment in on your land, but if you did not have it posted until after the fact, then it sounds to me like they deserve the benefit of the doubt for that one time. As a rural landowner myself, there was a long period of time that I didn't care if people were on my property or not, just as long as they were respectful of it, so I didn't feel a need to post signs. Unfortunately that changed after I found ATV ruts on my property one weekend and that was later followed by a building being broken into and a wood-burning stove being stolen. Not a big loss, but enough of a reason for me to post signs in every visable direction to make it clear I didn't want anyone there. As far as the creek goes though, as long as someone were to stay in the creek from a publicly-accessible spot, in most cases they aren't breaking any laws even if the creek goes through private property. Hopefully your signs will be respected and they will find another area to legally prospect on, call the sheriff or maybe invest in a trail camera if the problem persists on your property.
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My land doesn't bound any State or federal lands. It is very-very obviously private property. I wish there were a scenario that I could think it an innocent mistake, but in this setting, there is not.
 

Your land is marked-you say obvious?? As what's obvious to normal folks may not be to the clueless. Many folks do NOT know that east a the rockies 100% different than out west.....John
 

There are no public lands in South Carolina. If you don't own the land or you don't have permission from the owner you are trespassing.

These "prospectors" knew exactly what they were doing - they came to steal. I doubt "No Trespassing" signs would have stopped them.

Heavy Pans
 

I would have sat there and watched them dredge up some gold and other stuff, have some conversations with them about prospecting and what is it, etc., then after they were done for the day, ask them if they had permission to prospect here. If they say no why? Kindly tell them it is your property and you would appreciate your gold and other stuff back that they prospected or you would have them arrested for trespassing! :laughing7:
 

Clay Diggins said:
There are no public lands in South Carolina. If you don't own the land or you don't have permission from the owner you are trespassing.

These "prospectors" knew exactly what they were doing - they came to steal. I doubt "No Trespassing" signs would have stopped them.

Heavy Pans
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There are a few bad apples in every barrel, I suppose.
 

I to, live in upstate sc. Calling the county police, for the most part don't work. They will come out, if the people are still there, they tell them to leave. They also put them on tresspass notice. I to, own a large tract of land. The way that I take care of tresspasers is this, I call scdnr, I then take a picture of their truck,try to get a picture of what they are doing. While I'm waiting for DNR, I try to make contact with the people. DNR says you have to have written permission to be on anyone's property for any reason. In sc, the property owner owns the creek. We pay taxes on it. They don't chop that out of our tax bill. DNR don't play games, you will get a ticket and a court date. If you get smart with them, you go to jail, your truck towed. So the best thing to do is get written permission before you go onto someone else's property. If it happens again, call SCDNR, they will take care of it. Ed
 

TheHarleyMan2 said:
I would have sat there and watched them dredge up some gold and other stuff, have some conversations with them about prospecting and what is it, etc., then after they were done for the day, ask them if they had permission to prospect here. If they say no why? Kindly tell them it is your property and you would appreciate your gold and other stuff back that they prospected or you would have them arrested for trespassing! :laughing7:
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I wasn't there. Other property owners in the area witnessed it. Tire tracks, tailings, and a busted boulder were all I had the pleasure to see.
 

lucky strike said:
I to, live in upstate sc. Calling the county police, for the most part don't work. They will come out, if the people are still there, they tell them to leave. They also put them on tresspass notice. I to, own a large tract of land. The way that I take care of tresspasers is this, I call scdnr, I then take a picture of their truck,try to get a picture of what they are doing. While I'm waiting for DNR, I try to make contact with the people. DNR says you have to have written permission to be on anyone's property for any reason. In sc, the property owner owns the creek. We pay taxes on it. They don't chop that out of our tax bill. DNR don't play games, you will get a ticket and a court date. If you get smart with them, you go to jail, your truck towed. So the best thing to do is get written permission before you go onto someone else's property. If it happens again, call SCDNR, they will take care of it. Ed
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Actually, if the sheriff's office fails to file a charge at the property owners request. It is possible to file yourself... South Carolina has a Magistrate legal system... DNR is a great idea. I wouldn't have thought of that avenue.
 

That really sucks. I'd be upset too my friend. I never hunt anywhere without permission. Do you think they found anything? I usually hunt the low country. Is there really a chance to find gold up there?
 

s.c.shooter said:
That really sucks. I'd be upset too my friend. I never hunt anywhere without permission. Do you think they found anything? I usually hunt the low country. Is there really a chance to find gold up there?
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I'll probably never know if they found anything because whoever they are will likely not contact me. Though they should, because they should apologize. Land owners take pride in what they work hard for to purchase and pay taxes on. When people give others permission to prospect they expect to know if the prospector/s find anything. It gives them bragging rights and stories to pass on.... When trespassers do so without permission property owners rights and sense of security, etc are violated.
 

We've noticed the same problem in NC with prospecting and hunting also. The main problem is city folks want to do something and they think all country is public land. My parents have had this happen several times with deer hunters who exclaimed they assumed it was public land.
 

You're a country boy and we know ways to take care of trespassers..thats if the law can't or won't do what's needed which more than likely will be the case. If they got anything from your property a sign won't stop them as gold will make you do things you wouldn't normally do so they would come back. I'd have trail cameras set up and there are other surprises that can be left..some items like booby traps that blast pepper mace powder in the air if a line is tripped other things you can build like rat trap empty shotgun shell booby traps( line breaks causes trap to snap onto an empty shotgun shell causing the primer and powder to go off) scares the crap out of anyone. We've had a peeping tom for years that the cops couldn't catch and signs did nothing but the traps worked.stopped a pervert from looking in the windows on my wife and daughters.
 

If your land was posted they have no excuse for trespassing
 

I am from Canada, so our rules are different. I have claims on crown land and also own private property. Over the years, I have found that the chuckleheads who trespass mostly did not expect to get caught. Gates and fences stop some. Signs will give others pause for thought. Traps or tire shredders are a really bad idea. Most people are really lazy, so blocking a road a distance from the creek is a good idea. Trail cameras will tell you about activity when you area away. If you find somebody, taking their picture will get their attention. Usually, when confronted, their excuses are lame and they won't try again. Unfortunately, there is also the possibility of things getting ugly during a confrontation. Most know they are wrong (the burden is on them to know better), and if allowed to sulk away, they will - - just like cockroaches, when the lights turn on.

I am sorry to hear you have issues. Some people have no respect for other's property.
 

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