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Yet Another Gold Basin Murder


jasong

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Sad to hear about this and hope those 2 never get another chance to be around decent people again.

There is no need for people like that, and I fear in today's world it is only going to get worse.

 

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4 hours ago, flakmagnet said:

I just can't bring myself to pack a weapon when the reason is because of other people. I would rather find somewhere else to go.

Well said, Dave. Bringing a weapon is no solution, and where would you even carry it with all the gear already on your belt for the detector. I often go alone in remote areas and I mostly worry about bears and mountain lions. But I guess I have to add this to my list as well. Recently, here in the Sierras a father has been shot and killed while hiking with his daughter.

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3 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

Well said, Dave. Bringing a weapon is no solution, and where would you even carry it with all the gear already on your belt for the detector. I often go alone in remote areas and I mostly worry about bears and mountain lions. But I guess I have to add this to my list as well. Recently, here in the Sierras a father has been shot and killed while hiking with his daughter.

I carry my Glock in a Kenai chest holster, despite the size of the long slide 10mm it is even out of the way if I have the compensator on and keeps it far enough away from the coil the 7000 doesn’t pick it up.

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5 hours ago, jasong said:

It's definitely getting worse out there. Meth, cartels, rampant unemployment, criminals looking for a hideout. And it attracts a huge contingent of "Mad Max" style sorts from the cities who don't really take law and order into much consideration after being out there for a year or so.

I still have professional business down there which I need to attend to occasionally otherwise I'd skip it and look at moving on to better places, but I have to say that for the first time in my life I'm going to have to start carrying my pistol with me for some other reason than being in bear/lion country. It makes me sad beyond words that this is the reality there now as it shouldn't need to be that way. This place used to be so vastly empty, calm, peaceful, and beautiful. We shouldn't have to watch over our shoulders constnatly while detecting in nature, in a civilized country. 😞

Does make me question going out there I may stay at the trailer park in Meadview if I’m going overnight just to not attract the attention of any dirtbags thinking there’s easy pickings, might be time to move on and check out Franconia and A few other places in Arizona... Damn I was getting to know my way around the Basin.

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2 minutes ago, phrunt said:

The day I need to consider protecting myself in any way from other people is the day I move away.

That's exactly my mindset, Simon. Well said. The problem here is just: where to go? Most gold bearing land in the US with rich mining history is either on private land, on state owned land, or on open BLM land which can be claimed. It is the latter land, in particular in remote areas, where you see all sort of weirdos living in their tents or old campers. Encountering them can be very unpleasant and dangerous, especially with expensive detector equipment. They could put a bullet in your head and nobody would ever find out. 

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I'm not very concerned about randomness in Gold Basin.  I don't stay long enough in one place to be 'targeted' and many of the campers I know who go out there on a yearly basis for the last 10 years or so have never had a problem.

Here is a little bit more history on the area but I didn't read the story of how Gregg's Hideout got its name.

http://www.meadview.info/morehistory.htm 

I know with absolute certainty that there are more murders within 10 miles of me on a yearly basis than all the murders in the last 50 years in Gold Basin.

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My last "encounter" was in North Nevada desert. The guy was actually pretty nice until he found out that I am from California. Then, he got angry and accused me of being a f...ng Socialist, like everyone else in California. However, he eventually calmed down after hearing my German accent and also after I assured him that I am not in any way of form related to Nancy Pelosi (one of our state representatives). He then even offered me a beer.... 🤣

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25 minutes ago, 1515Art said:

Does make me question going out there I may stay at the trailer park in Meadview if I’m going overnight just to not attract the attention of any dirtbags thinking there’s easy pickings, might be time to move on and check out Franconia and A few other places in Arizona... Damn I was getting to know my way around the Basin.

When I and my wife stayed there a few years ago at the trailer park in Meadview we met a lot of prospectors who were there for the winter. Seems like most of them were very helpful and wouldn't hesitate to give advice or areas to prospect. They also seem to look out for each other. Maybe things have changed and no longer true. We also had a great time at the Lake Havasu Gold Seekers camp which is in the Franconia area.

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9 minutes ago, Glenn in CO said:

When I and my wife stayed there a few years ago at the trailer park in Meadview we met a lot of prospectors who were there for the winter. Seems like most of them were very helpful and wouldn't hesitate to give advice or areas to prospect. They also seem to look out for each other. Maybe things have changed and no longer true. We also had a great time at the Lake Havasu Gold Seekers camp which is in the Franconia area.

I think there is a big difference between folks who come there over the winter from colder states to spend some time for prospecting and desert fun, and those homeless who are mostly locals and just live out there. Not to say that all homeless are dangerous of course. 

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You mentioned that the guy's wife posted on Facebook that he got into a truck with strangers and went prospectors. This sounds fishy as if she is trying to create a path for law enforcement to pursue. Basically redirecting them away from where they should be looking. This happened in Glacier Park here in Montana in 2012. A man had just got marry two weeks prior and also just signed on buying a house here in Kalispell. He went missing for several days. He had a good job and people were looking for him. His wife said she saw him leave the house and got into a red car with Washington plates with people she never seen before.  Fast forward. I was working in Glacier Park as a construction flagger on the Going to the Sun road when  man in a car with a strobe light came up to the front of my line and said he was an FBI agent and needed to get through to investigate a man's body at the bottom of a 300 ft. Cliff. I checked to make sure it was clear to send him and off he sped down the road. Well it turns out his wife was seen going into glacier several days in a row and it turns out she and her husband were hiking in Glacier and they were on the top of this 300 ft cliff hiking. She pushed him off the cliff and watched him die. She then kept going back up to the crime scene to make sure his body was still there. She was telling his family and officers he got into a stranger's car. So my point is. His wife sounds guilty and that she is trying to throw officers off do they don't look at her. Just my gut feeling from what Jasong posted. It is a damn shame that in  2020 in some areas we can't even go look for gold without Henry Plummer types trying to Rob and kill us while we are out enjoying our hobby. Sad! I am quite familiar with people coming into my camp uninvited or strolling into my camp from out of the forest.This is why I always carry a 12 Ga. Shotgun with me out prospecting. One time of getting a gun pulled on you and you will see what I'm talking about. I had a friend that went to help another friend with his claim and when they got up to his claim, my friend George was shot by a high powered rifle by someone hiding on the guy's claim. He lived but he never helped any other miners again. Everyone that is out detecting this winter, be safe and be observant of your surroundings. Not a quick look around, but take the time to thoroughly scan for people watching from a distance every so often throughout the day. I have learned to do this every 30-40 minutes.  It's good practice. You never know if you might be being stalked by a lion as well.

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