CA CA - Bob Harrod, 81, Orange County, 27 July 2009 - #15

[MaryNo]

Welcome Wolf Dreamer, and Anna :rose:

Wow! What a week of flurry around here I want to look at the Geocache stuff, as I really love logic problems, and puzzles. Geocaching, Facebook, flyers: things are really moving along.

The flyers are excellent Cloud :rose:

I've had personal junk to take care of this past week, or so, but wanted to pop in and tell you all how wonderful you are, and what a great job! I want to spend some time checking out all of the links that are posted above. Hopefully, I can get smart enough to be of some help.

How cool, that everything is happening around Bob's birthday.

:rose:

 

[believe09]

Welcome to our newest members to the thread and for those guests who recently found Bob's story profiled here. You will find a lot of links in signatures that will point you to time lines, media and court documents. Please ask questions, comment and spread the word. Bob deserves to be found. His wife is waiting for him and she is determined not to rest until he is brought back to her.

If you are a geo cacher, we would love your input into how we can take Bob's MP info and translate it to a BOLO for Southern California Geo cachers.

If you are here because of Disappeared, thank you for taking the time to look into this story more.

 

[deca]

Geez-a-lu! Don't check in for a few days and whammo! Lots of great talk going on here. I was too lazy to press "thanks" a million times.

I used to geo-cache, briefly, and letterbox some time ago.

I am not sure how much things have changed in the last 5 years so if someone else comes on here I will defer to them.

Basically there are various sites to look up info. So let's say you are in Columbus, OH. You go to one of the sites and press "Franklin County" or "Central Ohio" and all the caches/letterboxes come up for that area as a list which you can then print out or whatever and go exploring.

I am sure there are different levels of "extreme" in this: the sites I used emphasized staying on marked trails, not going on private land, etc. but I wouldn't be surprised if other sites ventured into riskier areas.

Either way- I think it is a good idea to contact these different sites. They could put an ** or something on any caches near Placentia, or perhaps a special note on the general area- something like:

"Please note: while in this area, please keep a lookout for items relating to the disappearance of Bob Harrod. (link to his missing site, or whatever). Bob went missing in 2009 and was last seen wearing xyz. Please contact Detective X with any information." (sorry to rushed to look up the info- I think it is zwie's sig line)


Also- if we are going down this route we might as well contact local hiking groups. There is that large "wild' area nearby- they can put Bob's info on their FB pages.

I'll start looking for groups.

 

[deca]

fyi

http://www.geocaching.com/map/?ll=33.87224,-117.87034#?ll=33.91078,-117.80391&z=14


There is also an OC hiking group that seems quite active. Perhaps someone can contact the admin and see if they can put up a link or something on their site?

ETA: It is actually called OC Hiking club.

 

[believe09]

fyi

http://www.geocaching.com/map/?ll=33.87224,-117.87034#?ll=33.91078,-117.80391&z=14


There is also an OC hiking group that seems quite active. Perhaps someone can contact the admin and see if they can put up a link or something on their site?

ETA: It is actually called OC Hiking club.

I contacted Geocaching.com-I will keep everyone in the loop with what their thoughts are. I like the idea of reaching out to the hiking club as well. Someone made a suggestion to me that I have been mulling-what about reaching out to stores like EMS and REI? Local stores...if they sell local trail maps and geo caches, perhaps they would be willing to post a flyer?

 

[deca]

IIRC the REIs I have been to DO have a large bulletin board up in the front about local hiking areas, messages, etc. Also Sportsman's Warehouse has one.

Since no one lives down there: I wonder if they would post a faxed/mailed copy of the missing poster on their board? If deemed important I am sure the poster can be amended to say something like: "be on the lookout for...may have been dumped..." (I know that wording is harsh maybe somebody can find something better)

 

[vasportsmom]

Bob's "Disappeared" episode is airing on ID right now (2 am EST). Maybe this will be the showing that brings Bob home. Somebody knows where Bob is and it is time to speak up so he can come home to his wife.

 

[shana]

Although for many reasons I disagree with the 'predominant think' re who is responsible for Mr Harrod's disappearance, I do believe that any new efforts towards locating him are certainly worth pursuing.

Thanks to those who are putting the focus more squarely on finding Mr Harrod instead of other stuff, and good luck with your geocache and hiking leads. I hope that your efforts will prove productive, most especially for his family and loved ones including Bob's sister. All of them need to find a resolution to this sorry case, wherever it leads and whatever its conclusion may eventually be.

~jmo~

 

[zwiebel]

The Rancho Cucamonga and Tustin REI stores seem the best located ones to me. What do others think?

http://www.rei.com/map/store#

Sorry, that link has defaulted back to search. I used Placentia as the location.

 

[Oriah]

IIRC the REIs I have been to DO have a large bulletin board up in the front about local hiking areas, messages, etc. Also Sportsman's Warehouse has one.

Since no one lives down there: I wonder if they would post a faxed/mailed copy of the missing poster on their board? If deemed important I am sure the poster can be amended to say something like: "be on the lookout for...may have been dumped..." (I know that wording is harsh maybe somebody can find something better)

I know many of the REI clientele in SoCal and the west coast in general, have a membership (among membership with other outdoor stores) and we are in good standing with all. They get a lot of business from us... I'm certain they will take a faxed copy and put them up. I'll go in to the local REI here and ask for their nationwide list, as well as if they have any 'groupings' for geocachers, such as by their trails/maps/GPS sales areas.
Perhaps we could create a flyer that is dedicated to internet/coordinate access points as well- maybe in the SAR area?
believe09, I'll take you up on requesting a subforum, although I think I can do it under Mr. Harrod's existing? Probably best to ask first though.

Most geocachers have handheld devices, but many also have vehicles (ATV's, bikes, cars, trucks etc) with GPS service. Obviously all also have satellite service, and we can trace the sat patterns of the companies that are providers (verizon, etc) and who they contract with to make sure they are current.

I am extremely excited about this. The more I think about it, the better it gets- such a great way to help the general public 'help' in searching for missing persons or remains. And coming into summer is a great time to get this up and running as well- so many people out on vacation in the great outdoors. Did I mention even kids have huge geocaching clubs online? Lots of parents who are hooked get their kids involved as well.

I'm currently trying to get a geocaching friend who resides in Arizona (retired LE) to pick up the bug and make it go viral.

Anyone up for making a youtube video of a geocache search in honor of Missing Bob Harrod? Reward? That sort of thing? To help explain how this works? It could be made anywhere, even in your local area.

ETA: Holy moley, I just realized that many of the SAR and LE groups we interact with have GPS collars for their dogs...and so do a lot of geocachers who go out w/their pets. Now I feel compelled to see if I can program ours on a local geocache 'hunt', and take a couple of dogs out to trail under correction at each location. Like, teach them how to play the game. I can't believe how excited I am about this!! (Note- not for professional use, would be very bad for scent work stability and reputation. Simply a game.)

 

[zwiebel]

I'm a bit behind - in fact I may be lost. What would a flyer of internet/co-ordinate access points look like? What's an internet access point?

A poster on another thread has been making some amazing maps - one was used on TV a couple of days ago. I can ask for help.....if I know what I'm asking for.

 

[Oriah]

I'm a bit behind - in fact I may be lost. What would a flyer of internet/co-ordinate access points look like? What's an internet access point?

A poster on another thread has been making some amazing maps - one was used on TV a couple of days ago. I can ask for help.....if I know what I'm asking for.

Coordinates are what are used to locate caches. GPS devices orient the user from their current location (or I should more accurately say, the location of the GPS device itself) usually to a destination or point of interest.
In searching for caches, geocachers go from one coordinate to another, following the 'clues' they find at each correct location. If we made a "Calling All Geocachers" type flyer, and posted in places online where geocachers congregate, we could 'create' caches in areas of interest that we already have. The flyer would have the beginning coordinate(s) and go from there. Heck, the ultimate cache would be locating Mr. Harrod- and $50,000 in the process.
Does that make any sense? Or perhaps I am being very confusing?

 

[believe09]

Coordinates are what are used to locate caches. GPS devices orient the user from their current location (or I should more accurately say, the location of the GPS device itself) usually to a destination or point of interest.
In searching for caches, geocachers go from one coordinate to another, following the 'clues' they find at each correct location. If we made a "Calling All Geocachers" type flyer, and posted in places online where geocachers congregate, we could 'create' caches in areas of interest that we already have. The flyer would have the beginning coordinate(s) and go from there. Heck, the ultimate cache would be locating Mr. Harrod- and $50,000 in the process.
Does that make any sense? Or perhaps I am being very confusing?

:rockon: So good...such a great idea. I received confirmation from Geocaching.com that my request is moving up the food chain.

 

[Oriah]

:rockon: So good...such a great idea. I received confirmation from Geocaching.com that my request is moving up the food chain.

BBM:
YAY!!!!!! Thanks believe.

 

[Cubby]

I hope that your efforts will prove productive, most especially for his family and loved ones including Bob's sister. All of them need to find a resolution to this sorry case, wherever it leads and whatever its conclusion may eventually be.

~jmo~

Respectfully snipped. So Bob's sister is still living? She must be into her 90's now. Seems Bob has some longevity in his family.

 

[zwiebel]

I noticed that too, and I have previously had the impression that Bob's sister is still living. My heart goes out to her, because this must be a very, very difficult situation for her to deal with. I am guessing she is not internet savvy, is maybe frail, and maybe has only Bob's daughters as a source of information as to what is happening about his case. She would naturally turn to her neices for information, I would imagine.

That makes me sad, because she may be under the impression that there is only complete bafflement about Bob's case, that nothing can be done, and nobody is doing much.

I really, really hope that is not the case. Even if people do not agree with the way we're going about it, I hope someone has let her know there is a very loyal group of supporters who will never give up on Bob, and are doing everything they can. I hope she knows there are people out here who care about her brother, and would like nothing better than to bring him home for his sister.

 

[Cubby]

I noticed that too, and I have previously had the impression that Bob's sister is still living. My heart goes out to her, because this must be a very, very difficult situation for her to deal with. I am guessing she is not internet savvy, is maybe frail, and maybe has only Bob's daughters as a source of information as to what is happening about his case. She would naturally turn to her neices for information, I would imagine.

That makes me sad, because she may be under the impression that there is only complete bafflement about Bob's case, that nothing can be done, and nobody is doing much.

I really, really hope that is not the case. Even if people do not agree with the way we're going about it, I hope someone has let her know there is a very loyal group of supporters who will never give up on Bob, and are doing everything they can. I hope she knows there are people out here who care about her brother, and would like nothing better than to bring him home for his sister.

I wonder if she is in communication with PPD? Especially since she and her children would be good donors for mt-DNA. They'd all carry the maternal DNA from Bob's mother.....

I've always wondered if her children, I think she has children, and grandchildren read here.

 

[StacyMarie83]

i was just coming on here b/c i actually dvr'd the disappeared episode last night. This whole case still just blows my mind.

 

[Opie]

Welcome to this thread, StacyMarie83.

 

[zwiebel]

i was just coming on here b/c i actually dvr'd the disappeared episode last night. This whole case still just blows my mind.

Welcome, StacyMarie83. I came to the case slowly, via reading through the threads. I can't imagine what I'd have thought or felt if I'd seen 'Long Lost Love' first.