Treasure hunt or terror threat?

Geocaching game triggers bomb squad alert in Bethlehem.
The Morning Call
Feb. 16, 2006

A PennDOT worker salting roads about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday saw a woman in dark clothes walk down a Bethlehem hill, pause at a tree along Hellertown Road near the Interstate 78 overpass, turn around and get on a bus.

Sidney Reph followed the woman's footprints in the snow, and beneath the tree found a tarp hiding an ammunition box with a combination lock.

He told police he ''got away as fast as possible'' because he thought it could be a bomb. Firefighters, police officers and bomb squad technicians secured the area while investigating the mysterious box with ''This is a game'' written on the front.

They eventually determined that the box was part of a treasure hunt in which players use coordinates and a Global Positioning System receiver, or GPS unit, to determine where hidden objects are.

Enthusiasts say the game — geocaching — inspires people to get off the couch, grab a GPS unit and tramp through the great outdoors.

Dean Guth of Bethlehem, who had hidden the ammo box, said millions of caches are scattered throughout more than 200 countries.

An avid player, Guth said he's only heard through the grapevine of one case where the game ran into trouble with the law — the arrest of a California man who had hidden a cache near an overpass.

Now Guth worries Bethlehem police might arrest him over the incident Tuesday in the 1100 block of Hellertown Road.

''I understand their position, but I think they completely overreacted,'' he said. ''If they would have taken five minutes to investigate, they could have found out this was certainly nothing to worry about.''

Guth said he's hidden about 30 caches ''in various cities'' but wouldn't be more specific. When police asked him where else in Bethlehem he had hidden them, he refused to say, arguing it would ruin the thrill of the game.

Police wouldn't say whether Guth might be charged or with what crime. But they and fire officials fear it could cost thousands of dollars for bomb squad technicians to examine mysterious packages hidden in the city.

Police Capt. John Sarnicky said the department wants to know where the caches are. If police knew the locations, he said, they would still have to investigate calls about suspicious packages but could possibly tailor their response.

''Just because something is marked as being a game doesn't mean that's what it is,'' Sarnicky said. ''Bad people have a tendency to try and disguise things, and we have no choice but to treat it like it could be a bomb.''

Two technicians from the Bethlehem Fire Department's bomb squad were called to investigate the box Tuesday, said Lt. Joe Chernaskey. As they inspected the box and tried to determine what was inside, a fire official went to the Web site listed on the box: geocaching.com.

The lock was broken and inside were stuffed animals, toys, notebooks and maps, according to police.

Geocacher Tyson Sprandel of Bethlehem said he arrived at the site to look for the treasure shortly after emergency crews left. A state Department of Transportation employee told him he ''had just missed all the excitement'' and told him what had happened. Sprandel called Guth because he knew Guth had hidden the box, and told him to call police and explain.

Guth said he told police about the game and said he had permission from Charlie Brown, director of the city Parks and Public Property Department, to hide the box.

Brown said he did give Guth permission, but he thought the box would be buried, not hidden beneath a tree.

Guth used the metal box because it is waterproof and durable, he said. He doesn't like to refer to it as an ammunition box because it no longer holds ammunition and is painted over to eliminate any military markings.

The geocaching Web site lists 150 hidden caches within 10 miles of Bethlehem. The packages could range from as small as a film container to 5-gallon buckets.

''[Police] just have no concept how widespread this game is, and I'm not the only one involved,'' Guth said.

Bethlehem will absorb the cost of Tuesday's response, said Fire Commissioner George Barkanic, but if calls about suspicious packages continue to come in, the costs of investigating them will be paid by the people who hid the caches.

Each call for the bomb squad costs thousands of dollars, he said.

Chernaskey added, ''From the bomb squad side of it, it's something we really frown upon, because all these calls could cause havoc throughout the city. In this day and age, with people worried about terrorists, this isn't the smartest thing to do.''

Police are still investigating the ammo box incident and said anyone caught in city parks after hours will be cited.

Sprandel said he's been addicted to the game since 2004. He said fellow enthusiasts who play it follow the rules, which include getting permission from the proper authorities to hide objects on their land.

''Kids are too wrapped up in their electronic games and television, and this is something that gets everyone out of the house and into nature,'' he said. ''This isn't something to be alarmed about. This is something people can have an absolute blast doing.''

Bill Tattersall of The Morning Call contributed to this story.