Manitoba Geocaching Association

1Queenand4Jokers · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 268 Location: Manitoba

So what practical steps do you cachers take when Travel Bugs go missing when a cache has been muggled? Would you just send them to a TB graveyard or do you attach a similar bug to the copy tbtag and move another along with the same id #? I know some cachers in MB actually created a new dogtag with the original TB ID number and reattached it to the bug which had lost its tag. Good for them! Are there any other ideas out there? Two TB's are missing out of one of our caches and we feel awful about it. Is there anyway we could help outside of these types of ideas? They cost enough to reinstate in my opinion. What do the rest of you think?

Gumpy · Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 13 Location: Winnipeg

You could create new tags if you know the number, or you could contact the owner of the T.B.'s and see if they are willing to send you the copy section of the tag. I don't see the reason of not using that tag, as the owner you can always edit your bug without the needing the number so why not use it as back-up T.B. tag?

Depending on what your budget is like you could also replace the T.B.'s with something similar, or you could copy what the manufacturers of Cabbage Patch dolls did. If you sent in a doll for repair and they couldn’t fix it they sent you a death certificate. You could do the same thing. email them a certificate saying "I am sorry to inform you, but your T.B. has gone to a better place."

Peter and Gloria · Posted: Mar 23, 2005 9:19 pm Post subject: RE: Missing Travel Bugs

I would not send a missing bug to a TB graveyard; that would screw up it's mileage if it is ever "found" or replaced. As cache owner (or TB owner), you can mark the TB as missing.

Although a TB may have been in a cache of yours that gets muggled, I don't think you are responsible for replacing it. As a TB owner, I know that I am at the mercy of muggles or of geocachers that just don't like to play nicely. We have a TB (a US GeoCoin) that has been held by a geocacher for over seven months. We hope that eventually it will get back in circulation.

We have another TB that we thought had been sitting in a cache since last June. A cacher just logged it last week saying "my kids picked it up last fall" but it was not logged. Hopefully it will be moving to Texas soon. "Missing" TB can always turn up.