When to notify the authorities?

[txpitmaster]

I have read many books and several forums but I havent seen anything on WHEN do you need to notify the authorities of finds? I dont mean value wise, but if you find a firearm? knife? drugs? large cache of new bills (drug money or robbery stash)?

Just something I was thinking about today since its cold/raining/sleet and snow here in NE Texas!

 

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[Sandman]

keep your mouth shut and never report anything. First thing the police will think is you are involved somehow and you will have to answer a lot of questions and might miss work at your own expense. Keep firearms, cash jewelry and flush all drugs down toilet. Don't try to sell drugs on the street and you can sell jewelry to ARA after a couple years. Don't claim any finds on taxes either.

 

[jeff of pa]

although it is completely up to you,....
in my opinion it is when you find something &
the said authority is looking over your Shoulder at that time

 

[NHBandit]

keep your mouth shut and never report anything. First thing the police will think is you are involved somehow and you will have to answer a lot of questions and might miss work at your own expense. Keep firearms, cash jewelry and flush all drugs down toilet. Don't try to sell drugs on the street and you can sell jewelry to ARA after a couple years. Don't claim any finds on taxes either.

It's kind of sad to read this answer. But it's the correct answer. The exception would be if I found a firearm in a location where I knew a murder had been committed and I felt that particular firearm was connected to it. Then my conscience would force me to turn it in.

 

[Lotus Geologist]

Finders keepers. The so-called authorities, and especially "the government" can suck it!

L.G.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I might notify the authorities if I found a gun that I *specifically* thought might have been from a crime scene. But all the other stuff ......... no, I wouldn't bother.

 

[YumaMarc]

I believe the law says, in Arizona at least, anything over a value of fifty dollars has to be reported (and probably surrendered). Every day more and more federal and state land is being called "historical sites" or archaeological sites, and are off limits to all detecting. ANYTHING you find there while walking around, even rocks, are to be left in place, and reburied if you happened to kick one up in the sand. Anything over fifty years of age, even coins, regardless of historical ties, is considered government property and can't be removed legally, and penalties are horrendous. BLM land is still open to detecting and prospecting, but if you happen upon an old minesite or abandoned dwelling over fifty years old, the rules apply. That's how it was explained to me by a USFS person and also by people in the BLM office in Phoenix. But that's ok, California is worse!

Edit: so If you find a $20 gold coin that you kicked up on the dirt, you have to either rebury it or hand it over. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...........

 

[NHBandit]

What bag of money ? I didn't see any bag of money...

 

[wvplug]

I have found several firearms in my travels and have turned some over to authorities. Doubt seriously if they ever really do anything productive with them however and I have never gotten any information back on any of them. I would say no big deal either way. As far as everything else, if you are searching in a place you are legally allowed to be and have not promised your finds to the landowner, keep and enjoy.

I should add here that all the firearms I have ever found have been very old and in horrendous condition. Something obviously newer and in question I would likely turn over to the authorities.

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

always call the cops then wait a few hrs. for them to show up then give them your name , rank and ser. # :

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yuma-mark : Surely you jest ! If you take all those rules seriously (like rules that forbid harvesting , taking , removing , etc ...), then .... why the heck did you ever get into metal detecting ?

As for the cultural heritage stuff ... my math never was that good durnit . And in my 37 years of this , I have YET to ever see an archie come up to an md'r with a calculator doing math equations on the coins anyone found .

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Only time I would ever get the Police involved would be if i found a Body...or maybe a gun in a odd area. I find Crack pipes and pot pipes and needles pretty much evertime I go out. I dont touch them at all, Its not my job to dispose of them.

And if a found a cache of new bills?...I would probally be high taliing it to my house with a big smile on my face

 

[gunsil]

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!! Anything, especially firearms just go into the local sargent's personal collection instead of yours. Look at that poor couple who found the huge gold coin cache recently, now they are liable for huge taxes. MUM'S THE WORD!!

 

[releventchair]

I have read many books and several forums but I havent seen anything on WHEN do you need to notify the authorities of finds? I dont mean value wise, but if you find a firearm? knife? drugs? large cache of new bills (drug money or robbery stash)?

Just something I was thinking about today since its cold/raining/sleet and snow here in NE Texas!

Txp, IF you are going to contact the law it should ,only my opinion, be before you touch any thing. And I,m not saying touch any thing after contacting them to avoid suspicion of your involvement.(Not saying your a thief or dealer but you could be setting someone your mad at up.) A big to me principle, is not to get involved in messing with or removing a cache of illegal stuff that has living owners or handlers. Consider if its being watched. A weapon out in the field ,due to experience is no problem for me. One in a tot lot or school yard, near public area and stashed ,common sense needs to prevail and should not be left or handled by inexperienced hands, for some depending on local laws possession may be illegal.. If you don,t know how to handle then maybe you should hover while waiting for an authority to check it out while you don,t touch. Same with pipe bombs and meth brewing materials.Your question kinda makes me miss payphones.

 

[YumaMarc]

Yuma-mark : Surely you jest ! If you take all those rules seriously (like rules that forbid harvesting , taking , removing , etc ...), then .... why the heck did you ever get into metal detecting ? As for the cultural heritage stuff ... my math never was that good durnit . And in my 37 years of this , I have YET to ever see an archie come up to an md'r with a calculator doing math equations on the coins anyone found .

Actually, I posted this just to say what the laws are, to my knowledge, ridiculous as they are. I have been approached by parks personnel a couple times, but they never gave me any problem, I was just told I couldn't do that. As far as the 50-year thing, I think it's nearly universally ignored. National parks and historical sites are another story, however. You can get into some serious legal trouble there. They will AT LEAST confiscate your detector, and you could wind up with some serious fines and possible jail time. It all depends on the circumstances and the ranger, really. I'll always be indebted to "Ranger Rose". She was a real sweetheart, though she wouldn't let me take my detector into the park.

 

[lisfisher]

Aside from finding a gun from a potential murder , just keep quiet. Same thing I do when I tear the tag off a mattress, if nobody is looking, I just keep it to myself . This is one of those hobbies where the more DISCREET you are, the better off you are.

...and what the hell gives the government the right to claim anything valued over $50.00?? Complete BS! Crooks.

 

[YumaMarc]

Aside from finding a gun from a potential murder , just keep quiet. Same thing I do when I tear the tag off a mattress, if nobody is looking, I just keep it to myself . This is one of those hobbies where the more DISCREET you are, the better off you are.

YOU TEAR TAGS OFF MATTRESSES!!??!? The first step to a sordid life of crime!!

 

[smokeythecat]

First, don't touch it. Then decide what to do. For a firearm I'd call the police and not get within 20 feet of it. For drugs, I'd note the location, leave really fast and call the police from at least 5 miles away.

 

[lisfisher]

Yeah, I'm going straight to Devil's island in the French guiana for a life of hard labor and several escape attempts on a bag of floating coconuts.

 

[cudamark]

I have read many books and several forums but I havent seen anything on WHEN do you need to notify the authorities of finds? I dont mean value wise, but if you find a firearm? knife? drugs? large cache of new bills (drug money or robbery stash)? Just something I was thinking about today since its cold/raining/sleet and snow here in NE Texas!

A firearm or sequential bills, maybe, the rest, no way. I also would not flush ANY drugs down the drain, I don't want that crap to eventually get into my water supply! Some of those drugs will survive in a potent state for decades. In many major cities (and some minor ones) there are places to drop off unwanted medications. I'd use that.