bookfisher
Bronze Member
Like Montana Jim said, your doing too much asking. If you want to ask, ask some farmers if you could hunt their land, or just go in the woods that are near old settlements.
Update on a BAD day
- Thread starter Bobbert
- Start date
imafishingnutt
Bronze Member
- Sep 30, 2007
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i understand the frustration.
I am a parks guy and we let people hunt our parks all the time.
myself included.
i went to the city of the road a bit thier parks guy said cool have at it.
but get the permit from the city manager who was just down the hall.
i went to the city manager and talked to the secritary when she told me anything i find would have to be turned in cause it was valuble....LOL
then wanted my address so they could try to approve my permit and that id herte back within a couple weeks.
LOL
the idiots.
I told them to just forget it
I am a parks guy and we let people hunt our parks all the time.
myself included.
i went to the city of the road a bit thier parks guy said cool have at it.
but get the permit from the city manager who was just down the hall.
i went to the city manager and talked to the secritary when she told me anything i find would have to be turned in cause it was valuble....LOL
then wanted my address so they could try to approve my permit and that id herte back within a couple weeks.
LOL
the idiots.
I told them to just forget it
roswellborn
Hero Member
SgtSki in MI said:roswellborn said:Well... if everything in the park is the "property" of said town, I'd say, go ahead and detect your little heart out. Save ALL finds, including that bag of pull tabs, bent spoons, rusty nails and spent bullets in its own bag, & probably leave in a few corroded pennies, too. Then return it to the town hall. Hey, it's theirs, right?
Maybe that isn't such a good idea, really. But doesn't it make a nifty daydream?!
HH
Nan
Actually it sounds like a GREAT idea. Just hunt in all-metal mode and detect your heart out. Dig every signal that you know to be trash. DO NOT dig ONE SINGLE THING that can even possibly be a good target. Put it all in a bag, make sure the guy's in, and take it to him. Tell him that he said it belongs to the town, so here ya go. Every single pulltab, bottlecap, bobby pin, foil ball, cruddy zinc pennies, washers, screws, nuts, bolts, wire snips, light bulb bases, zipper pulls, grommets, eraser ends, thumb tacks, ALL OF IT!!! Do this until he tells you to quit bugging him with it. Then you can detect all you want. This guy's out to take your finds and pocket them, he doesn't care a lick about it being "The Town's". Better yet, don't take it to HIM...take it to the MAYOR instead, with an explanation why you're giving it to him and who said everything you found belonged to the town. Do this a few times and you'll be able to detect and be bugged by nobody.
HH,
SgtSki
Wow, your list is much more impressive than mine!
(but save the zipper pulls for MasterEagle22... lol)You could point out how much of the town's trash you're gettin' out of the park (less attitude than "you said it belonged to the town")
Let us know how it goes.
HH
Nan
P.S.
I asked at our city hall and the woman said "I don't know of any law or regs about it, so have at it." She did suggest I not detect at the only park in town that's taken care of jointly with the state's conservation whatsit - she didn't know their rules is all.
DaChief
Bronze Member
- Sep 16, 2007
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I would ask to see the Municipal Ordinace covering his thought process. I would bet you one doesn't exist. Lost items on public land do not belong to the public entity unless there is legislation that states such is the case. That is why the State of Florida enacted legislation to give themselves a chunk of treasure that is coming from the Spanish Galleons, etc.
Most states do have laws that protect lost property though. Many states have laws entitled something like "Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property" This sounds strange but you have to think about it rationally. Just because you lost an item, it doesn't mean you surrendered ownership. For example, you can't remember where your car is parked. It is lost at the time. Does that mean it is now fair game for anyone to take legally. Of course the answer is no. The same applies for any personal property you lose or misplace. If there is a reasonable expectation that a piece of property can be reunited with an owner, the finder has a legal obligation to make a reasonable effort to find the owner and return the item. A reasonable effort only has to be undertaken if there is a reasonable probability that the owner can be identified. You can't do that with a nickle or a quarter that has been in the ground for a while but you can do that with a Class Ring or a very unusual piece of jewelry that you may find. A reasonable effort would be to place an add in the paper for a find of a nice or unusual ring. Your add could simply say, "Lost ring found in downtown park. Owner must identify with old photos or exact description before seeing ring. Ring will be returned to owner upon such evidence of ownership." Once this add has run for a few days and you have received no answer, you can show that you made a reasonable effort to locate the owner. Of course we all find plain or common jewelry. The chance that you could locate the owner depends on the circumstances. I could talk this to death. You get the picture I am sure.
Here is the Alabama law as an example. Most states have a similar law and I know North Carolina does. It is worded in similar terms to the Alabama Law but does not have the same title. You would have to look for it.
Alabama Criminal Code:
Section 13A-8-6
Theft of lost property - Definition.
A person commits the crime of theft of lost property if he actively obtains or exerts control over the property of another which he knows to have been lost or mislaid, or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or as to the nature or the amount of the property, and with intent to deprive the owner permanently of it, he fails to take reasonable measures to discover and notify the owner.
Section 13A-8-7
Theft of lost property in the first degree.
(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the first degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the first degree is a Class B felony.
Section 13A-8-8
Theft of lost property in the second degree.
(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) in value but does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the second degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the second degree is a Class C felony.
Section 13A-8-9
Theft of lost property in the third degree.
(a) The theft of lost property which does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the third degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
Sounds crazy but think about it if it were your 5,000 dollar ring that was missing.
Good hunting and don't let that moron mess with you. Challenge him on his statement and I will bet you will win that argument. About the only thing I think he could press would be the digging of holes. He may be able to construe that as vandalism if he could talk a local cop into making the charge but I doubt it would come to something like that.
Come on back to Florida. We need more tax payers.
Jim
Most states do have laws that protect lost property though. Many states have laws entitled something like "Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property" This sounds strange but you have to think about it rationally. Just because you lost an item, it doesn't mean you surrendered ownership. For example, you can't remember where your car is parked. It is lost at the time. Does that mean it is now fair game for anyone to take legally. Of course the answer is no. The same applies for any personal property you lose or misplace. If there is a reasonable expectation that a piece of property can be reunited with an owner, the finder has a legal obligation to make a reasonable effort to find the owner and return the item. A reasonable effort only has to be undertaken if there is a reasonable probability that the owner can be identified. You can't do that with a nickle or a quarter that has been in the ground for a while but you can do that with a Class Ring or a very unusual piece of jewelry that you may find. A reasonable effort would be to place an add in the paper for a find of a nice or unusual ring. Your add could simply say, "Lost ring found in downtown park. Owner must identify with old photos or exact description before seeing ring. Ring will be returned to owner upon such evidence of ownership." Once this add has run for a few days and you have received no answer, you can show that you made a reasonable effort to locate the owner. Of course we all find plain or common jewelry. The chance that you could locate the owner depends on the circumstances. I could talk this to death. You get the picture I am sure.
Here is the Alabama law as an example. Most states have a similar law and I know North Carolina does. It is worded in similar terms to the Alabama Law but does not have the same title. You would have to look for it.
Alabama Criminal Code:
Section 13A-8-6
Theft of lost property - Definition.
A person commits the crime of theft of lost property if he actively obtains or exerts control over the property of another which he knows to have been lost or mislaid, or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or as to the nature or the amount of the property, and with intent to deprive the owner permanently of it, he fails to take reasonable measures to discover and notify the owner.
Section 13A-8-7
Theft of lost property in the first degree.
(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the first degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the first degree is a Class B felony.
Section 13A-8-8
Theft of lost property in the second degree.
(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) in value but does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the second degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the second degree is a Class C felony.
Section 13A-8-9
Theft of lost property in the third degree.
(a) The theft of lost property which does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the third degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
Sounds crazy but think about it if it were your 5,000 dollar ring that was missing.
Good hunting and don't let that moron mess with you. Challenge him on his statement and I will bet you will win that argument. About the only thing I think he could press would be the digging of holes. He may be able to construe that as vandalism if he could talk a local cop into making the charge but I doubt it would come to something like that.
Come on back to Florida. We need more tax payers.
Jim
Joe G
Sr. Member
- Dec 3, 2004
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When I first started MD'ing, I had no clue what the laws were (or if there WERE any). I hunted the beach for a year before I learned you needed a permit 
I got mine although most people probably don't. As far as local parks are concerned, the county and town codes are all on line... nothing that says I can't metal detect (although I can't destroy or take plants). I was told by a MD'r that the county parks were off limits. I figured the best place to go would be the Park Police and ask to straighten it all out. They said no problem... hunt in any park (no manicured ballfields)and just cover your holes.
Don't go by anything anyone in "Govt" is telling you. If they don't know, they will just say no. Ask for a copy of the codes / regulations for your town.
If they said everything you dig belongs to the town, they are telling you that you can dig. In NYC and on LI, the permits require that you return anything you find over the value of something like $20 and all historic relics. Also, any old coin that's worth a certain amount over face value. I don't have to tell you that there's not a long line of people returning things...
I got mine although most people probably don't. As far as local parks are concerned, the county and town codes are all on line... nothing that says I can't metal detect (although I can't destroy or take plants). I was told by a MD'r that the county parks were off limits. I figured the best place to go would be the Park Police and ask to straighten it all out. They said no problem... hunt in any park (no manicured ballfields)and just cover your holes.Don't go by anything anyone in "Govt" is telling you. If they don't know, they will just say no. Ask for a copy of the codes / regulations for your town.
If they said everything you dig belongs to the town, they are telling you that you can dig. In NYC and on LI, the permits require that you return anything you find over the value of something like $20 and all historic relics. Also, any old coin that's worth a certain amount over face value. I don't have to tell you that there's not a long line of people returning things...
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