Ginnie Springs Stolen O2 bottles

[oldschoolto]

If they were stolen it was most likely non-diving locals who go to Ginnie to drink, party, and tube on the river. Ginnie Springs is notorious for locals stealing unattended dive gear or gear in the water near the cave entrance. CDF has plenty of threads about this going back many years.

Cave divers in general are extremely good about getting all types of lost gear back to its rightful owners and will often go well out of their way to do so.

Deleted my post about crime at dive spots... I thought it was funny... Others may not have.. Thanks NetDoc for instilling posting filters in my brain... LOL

Jim...

 

[Caveeagle]

I was there Wednesday night and although it was not busy, there are plenty of campers there and folks just passing by. Two tanks sitting unattended on one of the dive stands would stick out like a sore thumb when there are not a lot of divers around. In many cases, thieves are not even really aware of what they are stealing. It just 'Looks' expensive. They will probably turn up on CL or a pawn shop eventually.

 

[SteveCane]

Thanks for all the good wishes. That the bottles were left on the platform was entirely my fault, was helping fellow divers exit up the stairs after my dive and I was the last to touch the bottles. I also failed to police the area before leaving for fills and lunch.
I'm sure no other divers took the gear, the following day we saw some shady types casing the dive platforms and I'm pretty sure locals were responsible for the disappearance.

In any case I'm going to take this as a cheap lesson. No one was hurt or put in any danger. I've also come to the realization that you can be too helpful. There is a reason cave divers don't usually accept help from others,(I include myself here) and this is it. We take responsibility for our actions and equipment.

Had a great time diving this week, learned a valuable lesson and the theft will make for a story at a later date.
Thanks again for all the good wishes.
Steve

 

[Caveeagle]

I wonder if Ginnie could be talked into putting some security cameras up? I know its a big area, but it might be a deterrent. I just dropped $350 for the annual pass. I sure would be nice if you felt safe running to bathroom without locking up all your gear.

I think an example needs to be made of somebody.

 

[Stoo]

Put up some posters around the area suggesting that O2 tanks (include photos) are great to get a campfire going. Then keep an eye out for the mushroom cloud in the night sky.

You won't get your gear back of course, but what the hell...

 

[DMDavid]

Do you have any pictures or special markings that would help the rest of us keep an eye out for them?

 

[SteveCane]

Well for one thing the brushed AL can had atomic regs. not the recommended type for O2 so that should be fairly unique.
The other has Scubapro MK25 and an S600 again not common regs for O2. Thanks for the effort though.
We did file a police report so we'll see what happens.

 

[geogator]

You don't happen to have the serial numbers on the missing tanks that you could post for the dive shops (or others) to check if someone either brings them in for a fill or tries to sell them? Also, I'm not sure if the regs have numbers on them too but if they do, that would be great as well. I have Atomic regs too but don't remember offhand if they have serial numbers on them.

 

[Yancey M]

I have Atomic regs too but don't remember offhand if they have serial numbers on them.

The serial number is under the mouthpiece of the second stage. Usually white label with black ink.