ANY STORIES TO SHARE OF TRADGEDY MET WHILE METAL DETECTING?

[relicmeister]

i WAS CURIOUS if anyone knows of any stories about metal detecting trips ending in tradgedy such as being attacked and hurt or killed by someone lurking in an abandoned house or building? Or falling off a cliff? Wild animal attack? Lost? Basically our worst detecting nightmare situation?
Though not advisable, I think quite a few of us venture out alone when we metal detect, and thus think about these things from time to time.

 

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[pepperj]

Been digging something all my life and the only a couple of instants come to mind. Once digging for old bottle my brother and myself being youngsters created a tunnel over a bank along a country road. Car went past one day and the tunnel collapsed and we buried, my brother was in the upper part of the tunnel and was able extricate himself quickly and I was buried pretty bad. The only reason I'm here today was the fact I had the air space in around the body from being in a crouched position when it happened. It took a fair amount of digging to get my head exposed to the sunlight and a good 30 minutes to get the whole body out.

The only minor thing that has happened detecting was back in the mid seventies at a city hall where there was the granite war memorial on the front lawn. Well this drunk came up to us and expressed his displeasure of us digging up the graves of the fallen. We politely explained that there was in fact no fallen soldiers laying there, but he wasn't convinced. He stood by watching as I was digging a target and at the time we only used 12" screwdrivers for a retrieval method. I was keeping an eye on this fellow and sure enough he tried to kick me in the head, and the knee jerk response was I hit him full on in the chest with the screwdriver tip. Heard later from the EMS that it might of stopped his heart as he went down like a shot chicken flapping then was still. Police took the statement, witnesses came forward and explained that the guy tried to assault me and it was just a defensive move on my part. Drunk off to hospital with a purple herbie on the chest and a set of newly attached wrist jewellery provided by the police.

 

[JRedHorse]

I was once on Vacation about a decade ago at Myrtle Beach , there was a older gentleman also detecting and I noticed that he was sweating pretty bad and the temps were cool, well I kept an eye on him and at one point I heard a groan and looked over and he was laying face down in the sand, I rushed over to check on him and rolled him over, the poor guy had a heart attack.

I had been out of Emt school only a month at this time and I began CPR, I kept him alive until Emts arrived and I later found out that he had actually made it, he needed open heart surgery but he recovered well.

About 5 weeks later I received a gift certificate in the mail for dinner for 4 at an upscale restaurant in our area along with cards of gratitude from His Children, Grand Children and his Wife, very touching words with in, I still have those cards and consider them the most valuable treasure I have ever received as a result of metal detecting.

 

[ironhorse]

Ive been pretty fortunate myself to not have had any pitfalls over the years detecting. An acquaintance and fellow detectorist whom I've had the great fortune of detecting with a time or two did not have it so good. A lifelong diver and author of books on his recoveries took up detecting later on in his career; he jumped in with both feet and and was a great ambassador for the activity.
One if his greatest thrills was finding some colonial artifacts and it fuelled his desire to travel to England to go detecting. His dream came true and he made to trip abroad, but his preexisting heart condition and thick sticky mud gave him his last detecting trip ever. He passed away in the field in the UK doing what he loved, detecting.
RIP Canadian Cossack, the detecting community in Canada and the rest of the world miss ya!

 

[pepperj]

Ive been pretty fortunate myself to not have had any pitfalls over the years detecting. An acquaintance and fellow detectorist whom I've had the great fortune of detecting with a time or two did not have it so good. A lifelong diver and author of books on his recoveries took up detecting later on in his career; he jumped in with both feet and and was a great ambassador for the activity.
One if his greatest thrills was finding some colonial artifacts and it fuelled his desire to travel to England to go detecting. His dream came true and he made to trip abroad, but his preexisting heart condition and thick sticky mud gave him his last detecting trip ever. He passed away in the field in the UK doing what he loved, detecting.
RIP Canadian Cossack, the detecting community in Canada and the rest of the world miss ya!

Walked the same fields as he and visited his memorial plaque the club made up to honour him. Yes he passed away doing what he loved to do and will be missed by many that knew him.

 

[relicmeister]

I was once on Vacation about a decade ago at Myrtle Beach , there was a older gentleman also detecting and I noticed that he was sweating pretty bad and the temps were cool, well I kept an eye on him and at one point I heard a groan and looked over and he was laying face down in the sand, I rushed over to check on him and rolled him over, the poor guy had a heart attack.

I had been out of Emt school only a month at this time and I began CPR, I kept him alive until Emts arrived and I later found out that he had actually made it, he needed open heart surgery but he recovered well.

About 5 weeks later I received a gift certificate in the mail for dinner for 4 at an upscale restaurant in our area along with cards of gratitude from His Children, Grand Children and his Wife, very touching words with in, I still have those cards and consider them the most valuable treasure I have ever received as a result of metal detecting.

Wow! Good luck with your relocation - with this weather,bet youy wish it was sooner!

 

[relicmeister]

Thanks for the stories, I'm actually glad there are so few stories of MD tradgedy. HH and be safe out there.

 

[JRedHorse]

Wow! Good luck with your relocation - with this weather,bet youy wish it was sooner!

It couldn't happen soon enough!, Thanks my Friend!

 

[SusanMN]

Well, I had the soles of both of my shoes break apart and fall off while I was detecting. Didn't get hurt or anything, but it was an embarrassing walk to the car, leaving bits of my soles behind me as I walked. I posted about it if anyone wants to see the pics.

 

[DigIron2]

I have been turned around in the woods before while starting to get dark with the temperature dropping to freezing which can be a uneasy feeling.but this past year during hunting season while hunting way down in a field,I was mistaken for a deer a few times on the edge of dark by hunters riding the roads.After season went out I was talking to a local hunter that said he heard a couple boys trained their rifles on me.I think God no one pulled the trigger.i guess that's the closest to tradgedy I have come so far that I know of..

 

[DigIron2]

Been digging something all my life and the only a couple of instants come to mind. Once digging for old bottle my brother and myself being youngsters created a tunnel over a bank along a country road. Car went past one day and the tunnel collapsed and we buried, my brother was in the upper part of the tunnel and was able extricate himself quickly and I was buried pretty bad. The only reason I'm here today was the fact I had the air space in around the body from being in a crouched position when it happened. It took a fair amount of digging to get my head exposed to the sunlight and a good 30 minutes to get the whole body out.

The only minor thing that has happened detecting was back in the mid seventies at a city hall where there was the granite war memorial on the front lawn. Well this drunk came up to us and expressed his displeasure of us digging up the graves of the fallen. We politely explained that there was in fact no fallen soldiers laying there, but he wasn't convinced. He stood by watching as I was digging a target and at the time we only used 12" screwdrivers for a retrieval method. I was keeping an eye on this fellow and sure enough he tried to kick me in the head, and the knee jerk response was I hit him full on in the chest with the screwdriver tip. Heard later from the EMS that it might of stopped his heart as he went down like a shot chicken flapping then was still. Police took the statement, witnesses came forward and explained that the guy tried to assault me and it was just a defensive move on my part. Drunk off to hospital with a purple herbie on the chest and a set of newly attached wrist jewellery provided by the police.

Now that is scary!That would be one of my worst fears being buried alive.

 

[piegrande]

A lot of folks, even though not hunting, wear bright orange during deer season for that exact reason.

 

[DigIron2]

A lot of folks, even though not hunting, wear bright orange during deer season for that exact reason.

Yeah i started wearing a orange hat after I noticed I was getting checked out from the road.Would have been the wise thing to do from the start.,but I just wasn't thinking about it while going out the door at first.

 

[roaddust66]

Dead trees that are still standing are one of the greatest dangers to watch out for. Around here we call them Widowmakers. My personal experience was with a hand dug well. I was relic hunting in the forest and nearly fell in to a large hand dug well maybe five feet wide. I was detecting and walking backwards when I saw it and had to leap to keep from falling in. It was so big and deep ...I would of never been found. Be carful out there.

 

[coinman123]

I was once on Vacation about a decade ago at Myrtle Beach , there was a older gentleman also detecting and I noticed that he was sweating pretty bad and the temps were cool, well I kept an eye on him and at one point I heard a groan and looked over and he was laying face down in the sand, I rushed over to check on him and rolled him over, the poor guy had a heart attack.

I had been out of Emt school only a month at this time and I began CPR, I kept him alive until Emts arrived and I later found out that he had actually made it, he needed open heart surgery but he recovered well.

About 5 weeks later I received a gift certificate in the mail for dinner for 4 at an upscale restaurant in our area along with cards of gratitude from His Children, Grand Children and his Wife, very touching words with in, I still have those cards and consider them the most valuable treasure I have ever received as a result of metal detecting.

If you were not there and didn't do CPR I fear that he would not be here right now, most people, trained or not would just stand and watch, maybe call 911 but by the time they show up it would be too late. That was an incredible thing to do.

Coinman123,

 

[Higgy]

I had a tragic blowout once when I bent over to dig a signal.

 

[DigIron2]

Dead trees that are still standing are one of the greatest dangers to watch out for. Around here we call them Widowmakers. My personal experience was with a hand dug well. I was relic hunting in the forest and nearly fell in to a large hand dug well maybe five feet wide. I was detecting and walking backwards when I saw it and had to leap to keep from falling in. It was so big and deep ...I would of never been found. Be carful out there.

I haven't had any close calls with a old well yet,but I have heard allot of stories.I forgot to mention the close calls I have had with dead tree tops and large branches.Gotta be very careful in the woods on a windy day,Doesn't even take all that big of a limb to put your lights out if it has enough momentum coming down.With the headphones on might not even hear it coming.i have had them crash by me before but lucky never got hit on the noggin.

 

[JRedHorse]

If you were not there and didn't do CPR I fear that he would not be here right now, most people, trained or not would just stand and watch, maybe call 911 but by the time they show up it would be too late. That was an incredible thing to do.

Coinman123,

I'd like to think if I was not there that some one would have done the same?...and I never was one to just stand by when something was going bad for some one!

I felt confident because I had just gone through the training, it never dawned on me that failure was an option!

I'd go on to save and assist in the saving of many lives over my 6 year Emt career right up until the day that I became a victim of an on the job accident that ended my Emt career and most of the use of my left arm, but I feel blessed that I got to do what I loved for 6 years at least.

 

[Old Dude]

I have that fear of falling into an old well when out by myself at old abandoned homesites. I refuse to give up detecting in deer season, so I make a point of wearing orange. I try to not interfere with the hunters, because I know they only can do their thing in a limited time just like me. I usually hunt the smaller fields where no one is sitting in a tree or a fence row.

 

[Skippy SH13]

i WAS CURIOUS if anyone knows of any stories about metal detecting trips ending in tradgedy such as being attacked and hurt or killed by someone lurking in an abandoned house or building? Or falling off a cliff? Wild animal attack? Lost? Basically our worst detecting nightmare situation?
Though not advisable, I think quite a few of us venture out alone when we metal detect, and thus think about these things from time to time.

Ah yes... I was once killed to death in a city park. Seems like another life, though!

In all seriousness, I think the only major incident (and it was minor) was a lady walking the park edge passed me by, and then totally reamed on my kid (11yrs old) as she passed him a while later. Told him "you shouldn't be doing that, you're RUINING the park! You should stop that right now." ...and then just kept walking.

My son was devastated, as he tries very hard to dig only flaps and put things back (he'd done a good job, too). I kept thinking to myself "Be an ambassador to your sport," and as a result, I didn't confront her. We not only were following 100% of the rules in the city, but also were in the part at 7:30am before folks were even showing up! I didn't say anything, but I sure thought it was a lousy thing.

What a lame thing to do to a kid. No guts to talk to the dad, but do a drive verbal assault by on the son. Ruined his day. He still doesn't want to go back to that park.

-Skippy