"treasure" and "dig" were the killer words there. The way that article reads, the general public is going to think that this goon was destroying the park while stealing valuable things from the ground. Now everyone else can watch out for one of these treasure hunters raping their public land for profit and report them to the police!
Dressed as a "treasure hunter"!? What the hell does that mean? Obviously this fellow was attracting attention somehow in a bad way.
Here are my personal rules for detecting parks to avoid situations like this:
1: Hunt during off hours (early morning, late afternoon, right after rain or bad weather).
2: Never hunt when there is an event or game going on. Never hunt near children playing or people eating/enjoying a picnic, etc. People are funny about their privacy and always respect their space.
3: Dress to blend in. If you are fully decked out in camo or dressed like a slob/bum, you will attract attention. When I dress to go detecting I wear a golf polo, shorts or jeans, walking shoes, and a small tool belt for trash and tools.
4: Never, never use the words "dig" or "looking for treasure". I RETRIEVE objects and refer to them as surface finds.
5: Use the least intrusive digging technique possible. An easy majority of my park finds are less than a few inches deep, I use a brass probe to push them out. Those that require more work I use a small digger to slit the ground and poke around with the probe until I find the object. Plugs = mess, dead grass, and are easy to get uprooted by animals or lawn equipment. Always keep a small towel or cloth to put loose dirt on, makes it easier to funnel back into the ground and leaves no mess.
6: Always remove all trash you find. I am beginning to wonder if I am the only one who hunts the parks around here that hauls away the pull tabs and other trash that I find. Some guys toss it back onto the ground and others leave it in the hole.
7: Keep a photograph of a ring in your tool belt or on your phone. A good backup plan if somebody hassles you. In that case tell them you are providing a lost item recovery service and can have some evidence to back it up (true or not). If on private property keep contact info for the owner who gave you permission handy.
8: Always use headphones. You may enjoy hearing the tones of your detector, but I can guarantee that most around you will find them annoying.
9: In a public area don't pack around a giant shovel, use small discrete digging tools . I recently saw a fool carrying around a full sized tile spade in a park, and digging giant holes for every target he went after.
10: If you do find a deeper item that you want to retrieve, don't go after it if you have an audience watching. In some cases if I am going to go after a deeper object and parks employees are nearby, I'll just remember the area and go back to it when everyone is gone.
11: Know the rules! If you are detecting in a park that has a clearly written rules that prohibits detecting, expect to get booted. Almost every park has a rules that prohibits "digging" or disturbing the grass. Hence why I use the probe and leave no trace at all.
These are just of a few things that I do. Nobody ever bothers me in parks other that curious onlookers and little kids.
What does a treasure hunter dress like anyway, a pirate,Indiana jones?
