Thekingd93
Jr. Member
There's an abandoned mental health hospital in my area that opened in 1840 and was closed in 2004. The property is about 100 acres and consists of a large granite building, a large backyard with a gazebo and lawn overlooking the river and a park/common area. There is also a large network of underground tunnels that connects to different buildings and areas of the campus. During it's operation between 1840 -2004 over 11,600 patients died while hospitalized there. I can only presume many of those deaths were because of unconventional or experimental medical procedures. I wasn't able to find any exact causes of death for the majority of these people. Many of the bodies were buried in unmarked graves along the river. The entire property is owned by the "state" AKA tax payers but the building itself is locked down tight, doors and windows are nailed shut with No Trespassing signs mostly due to environmental hazzards inside the building. Lead paint, Asbestos etc...however the outside common areas are available to the public for people to walk there dogs and also dispose of their empty beer cans. Local drug users are known to congregate in the woods and walking trails surrounding the property. Evidence of this is prominent. I came across a tent in the woods while detecting and there was some people in there clearly doing drugs. I was threatened by a woman who was not so easy on the eyes. To avoid confrontation, I went the other way. I do legally conceal carry a firearm and train regularly but obviously it's better to avoid bad situations if possible. I have metal detected around the building quite heavily and found some VERY cool things. Skelton keys, gold ring, coins etc. I haven't had any issues until recently. Local P.D saw me detecting on the backyard and stopped me, basically said he can't tell me what to do with my detector but digging of any kind is prohibited on state property. I asked to see the written law, title, section, statute of limitations etc. He basically scratched his head and said just stay off the lawn and out of plain sight. If he sees me In the woods or surrounding area's he'll pretend I'm not there. This encounter went very well. Basically the reason the "state" doesn't want people digging is because they have had issues in the past with people not filling in their holes so a good thing got ruined for the rest of us. I showed the police officer my Equinox 800, Garret razor root slayer shovel and various amounts of trash that I remove on a regular basis. I'll probably lay low for awhile but I went back again to a different section of the property after the encounter without further issue.
