FATE - It really does happen!

was the windows steamed up or did you leave your glasses on the dresser? i've never found it to hard to look inside a vehicle to see what was in there. best to be good to your neighbors you might need their help someday when you least expect it. if this was me i would help the guy get it out asap, you might just make a friend for life if you will be nice and help him to get out.

Sidepasser,

I guess I feel strongly about these sorts of things because our property is partially fenced and well posted where it isn't. There are some people who don't get the message.

I'm guessing that COE land is energy or timber company land. I agree with you that if someone borders something like that or a forest then they should take the initiative to post or fence if they are really concerned.

Mike

The first thing I would have done is taken all the lug nuts off and remove the valve cores.

__________________
Remember, when seconds count. . .
the police are just MINUTES away!

Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. . .Davy Crockett

I would not have called the Police since it would have taken them over an hour to get here even if they tried to hurry and even then they would have just scratched their fanny and not known what to do! I would have called a few Neighbors! In fact, we have an old Logging road that strangers from "Off" used to ride down to "see what they could see" and after I was scared by a few of them at night, we got a Neighbor to park an old Pick Up Truck smack in the middle of the road so no one can get back there now.

I might have flatten their tires.........or parked so they could not get out......but mostly I would have called Neighbors to come help. I see your concern and I would have been worried too.....but it is a good idea to be friends with all the Neighbors....it really is.

I was waiting for the whole Karma thing......If it was me, I would have been concerned that someone had a heartattack,and went off the road...... Or that a woman had been abducted from her car, or forced off the road, or something bad had happened. It was a mistake, plain and simple. Guy sounds like he learned his lesson. I wouldn't think much of it. And I'm pretty protective of people coming on my property, fwiw.

While the guy was tresspassing, it seems the reaction to the issue was pretty strong.

My reaction first would be thankful no one was hurt or harmed when you find something like that, and it is only a minor deal. People could be hurt, stolen vehicle, other things. Calling the sherriff was a good call, but being nasty & angry from the 1st moment without caring about any other person on the planet, and staying angry enough to call this fate & so forth....

Doesn't seem like I'd want either the tresspasser or the person with mean notes for my neighbor. We are a little nicer in my neighborhood, and I'm thankful for that. Takes a second incident before we start piling on neighbors and issuing them threats....

Without knowing what was going on, seems like a lot of anger directed at the unknown. Perhaps that is what people are keying on. Fate is you might be seeing yourself in this deal?

I understand protecting your property, & sure be bothered that folks are tresspassing when that is how it turns out. Just seems real harsh personality to start out that way from the 1st moment....

To each their own, I'm glad my neighborhood is much more friendly & helpful of each other. Your way kinda sets up that no one will ever like each other.

I've learned too from this thread.

--->Paul

I agree with you!!!

__________________
Chick with a gun.

I still think you guys miss the point, this is her property, if she does not like people on it so be it. And the person with the jeep was in the wrong, I would have called the sherrif also. I`m sorry, I was always taught if it ain`t yours stay off it, unless you ask. And if they say no, don`t wait till they leave to go anyway. I`m with sidepasser, the guy should have come to the house to explain,(then waited for a good butt chewin). Thanks Marc

__________________
Our Diversified Stock Portfolio: cows and calves, alpacas, horses, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cats ... and a couple of dogs...
http://springvalleyfarm.4mg.com

I've lived at the same place for 23 years. I had a neighbor (deceased now) that was very nice and he allowed me to ride my horse on his property as he had 400 acres full of roads, trails, etc. I helped him repair fences, pull his dock in when a storm grabbed it and took it out to the middle of his lake, and in general we helped each other out.

The neighbor died and no one lived there for awhile. I heard through the grapevine that some of his kids moved in so I rode my horse over to say hello.

I was told by the wife of one of the folks to never come back on their property again..pretty rudely said, but ok. Didn't want me riding on their property and so I haven't. Well next day, these same folks wandered up on my property right through the woods and ended up right behind my house. I went out and asked them what they were doing and they said they thought they owned it and I said nope, you had to cross the fence to get here. I didn't yell at the them or tell them rudely to get off the place..just sort of left it alone.

Well now, I reckon the fella thought about the way they had done me and last year, I was riding my horse through my woods and I have this creek..needed a big drain pipe put through the crossing, but I didn't have a way to put it in. One of the guys goes and gets his backhoe and digs out the creek, puts my drain pipe in that I had bought, and covered the whole thing up for me. I was shocked and offered to pay but they wouldn't take any payment.

Yesterday I again spoke with the neighbor and offered to pay and he said no, matter of fact when it dries up, he said they were going to replace that small drainpipe with one of my twenty foot long ones...

so sometimes..in the general scheme of things..it pays to be nice as what goes around comes around. I watch for kids riding four wheelers on their place and folks hunting (we have way too many kids around for a lot of high powered rifle shooting)..and now this neighbor is actually, well neighborly.

I told him why I hadn't been over since the day with the horse..they keep their front gate locked all the time and I wasn't going to cross the fence or gate to come up as that wouldn't be right and the only other way I could get there was by horse and since they said "no riding" I couldn't ride over either. I did feel bad that I couldn't tell them thanks until yesterday and I told the fella that. He said they had to keep the gate locked because folks kept sneaking in to go fishing or hunting. I understand that.

Next time I see him I will ask for a phone number in case I need to call them. Their number is unlisted as well..they are sort of a strange bunch, nothing like their daddy was and he was a well known person in the town..but for now..I reckon we are sort of "neighbors". I'm trying anyway.

__________________
Be yourself - no one can tell you that you're doing it wrong!

When I first opened this thread, I was hoping for something a little more uplifting. Sidepasser, YOUR post provided that lift!

I totally understand being furious with the trespasser and calling the cops, maybe even leaving a line or 2. The truck tells me something about the trespasser - he is totally disrespectful, or just made a stupid mistake. 2 pages of ranting tells me something about the OP - sounds like a temper problem, even though I can understand the anger!

The guy owned up, came to face the people he had wronged and apologized. I find it hard to stay angry with someone who is genuinely sorry, unless they're a repeat offender. I'd really like to know the attitude and demeanor of this guy when he came to apologize, and find it disheartening to find the OP's rage not much diffused. Did the cop drag this guy out and force him? Did he give a vibe of being caught casing the joint and so is trying not to be the neighorhood prime suspect in the future? Or was he owning up to a stupid mistake he will never do again?

Forgiveness can go a long way. One of my favorite stories my Dad used to tell was about a mean superior at work who loved to humiliate employees in front of each other. Thankfully he wasn't around all the time, but never failed to rip people apart for minor things, and worse, delivering completely uncalled for insults. His latest victim was my Dad.

And then the day came when the superior's BOSS came, and THAT guy blasted the superior about a mistake HE had made, steam coming out of his ears. This was complete karma, as the superior could only stand there humiliated that HE was on the receiving end, and in front of everyone else. The boss turned to my Dad for clarification of the superior's error. Dad had an exciting opportunity to simply answer the question, let the guy continue to pay for all his past bad behavior, to become the office hero, even to make the error sound worse than it was, as the superior had done to him and so many others. He did let the superior stand there mortified for a moment, but when he spoke he said, "well, any one of us could have chosen to do the same thing." The superior couldn't believe his ears, and never again did he bother my Dad... not sure about anyone else.

Not saying the OP should open the gate for this guy in the future, but accepting his apology would be GOOD karma. Sounds like the apology was only half accepted to me.

__________________
Wise enough to know I'll never be wise enough to know it all

Amwitched.
I guess folks would like to know a few things.
Have you had a history with this guy before? Is he usually the neighborhood PITA?
Is it the custom in your area to allow 4 wheeling in non residential areas?
Is your area pretty rural or populated heavily?
How are your boundaries defined ? Whats the custom in the area?
How was the end of this trail defined ?
How do you usually get along with your neighbors?
Is there a lot of public land in the area?
Could this trail look like one one of those little roads that is barely public?
Yep way more questions ....LOL see what ya started!
I wonder about folks who buy off road vehicles without a place to ride them . wonder more about the people that make a living selling them.

Some random thoughts / experiences.

I don't fault anyone for protecting their property. Period.

When we lived in the city, there were many neighbors we never knew. I never knew when something changed. A lot of times there would be births or deaths and we never heard about it untill weeks later.

When we moved to the country, we had 5 different neighbors bring us cookies and cakes and pies and at the same time introduce them selves to us and tell us where they lived. One gave us a copy of a phone / email list with every neighbors name, contact information, address, kids names and ages and pets names.They kept it on their computer and any time it needed updated, they sent it out to the neighborhood. They host a neighborhood get together spring and fall with a covered dish dinner.

At the time we moved here , I was the only one who had a tractor. When it snowed, I plowed as many driveways as I could so that people could get out and get to work. I have had many folks ask me if they could pay me. I never take a dime. I am building good will and trying to be a good neighbor. Some people never say a thing. I still plow their drives.

One of our neighbors house was broken into and electronics were taken. Within hours everyone in the neighborhood knew and were alert and looking out for each other.

I guess what I am saying is get to know your neighbors proactivley. I bet if the neighbor had known you personally, he never would have tried to drive on your land with out permission. I'm not condoning what he did. I just think he would have respected your property if he had known he had a neighbor there. You can be the one start a change in your own neighborhood. I wish you the best.

__________________
ChuckinVa


Authentic Appalachian American

There are people that want to be neighbors and people that dont .
Weve gotten quite a bit of snow in the past couple years.
being neighbors who ever gets their tractor out first normally clears all the drives. The neighbors rather enjoy not having to fight the snow.
I will admit there is one person in our area that does want to be a neighbor , and came out screaming .I had dared to trespass by clearing 12 inches of snow off their drive . it was obvious it was done with evil intent .
two days ago the same person did the same thing to our other neighbor. screaming and yelling and threaten to have him arrested for trespassing. because he tried to make sure they could get out .
rest assured no one with a tractor in this area will ever clear these people drive again . nor likely offer any unrequested assistance again .
the nieghbors refer to the folks living there as those people.
they made it well known that they have no desire to be neighbors.
now we have lived here over 40 years, many of our neighbors have as well. there has been new folks move into the area that are welcomed they find the helpfulness and friendliness pleasant. but neighbors are like family and once you cuss out grandpa your not going to get called to supper

I guess because we have problem neighbors my view is skewed. I am not even out there yet but get so disgusted with the one neighbor. First neighbor has 2 dogs that chase all the deer, are constantly on our property, their kids made 4 wheeling trails through our land, and their dogs are crapping on my not yet lived in open front porch. Our nice neighbors have asked them to keep their dogs home,,they refuse.SSS anyone?They bought their 5 acre parcel and now think they have unlimited access to our 32 acres:>( When the kids were told not to 4 wheel on our land and we blocked the trail../our lil camper suffered the brunt of their anger. Course I can't say for certain but the timing seems about right. 3 yrs no problems...then they move in and are told no trespassing...and we have a break in . Another neighbor put deer stands up on our property.They also cleared the fence line so they would have a clear shot at our property. Someone was driving in through theback field....
I woul dnever tresspass so do not understand others mentality.

Nope not always its actually fairly common in some areas. Just one more way where it shows locality is important.

Ok ??!!..turn it around here. If I had taken a road then got stuck in the mud I probably would have went to the nearest house and told them what I had done and when I would be back to get my jeep. this way no one is excited about finding me there. I often take back roads and end up no where..but that is me I guess. Seasonal roads are sometimes easy to mistake for an easy short cut home. Was this neighbor new to the area..that would make a big diffference. I would have been curious too though..maybe a note saying if they need help to let me know..or just please let me know who you are so I would..get to know them. Yes..it is scarey to see a strange truck on your property and now a days you don't know what you will find. Maybe I would be a bit more cautious approaching a strange car too..you never know..If my husband had been home I would have had him go down and check it out and then maybe called a few neighbors asking whose truck it was. Small town people usually know each others cars and trucks as well as their own.

For all you door knockers, would you have done it at 9 PM, 10 PM, 11 PM, 12 AM, 1 AM, 2 AM, 3 AM, 4 AM, 5 AM, 6 AM?

Based on the OPs reaction, probably best the driver just chose to walk home in the rain.

I have read all the postings in this thread with interest as we purchased 35 acres last fall and have already had our share of trespassing issues. As we won't be building there for a while we know that is futile to get too worked up about it at this time. We have posted the property with no trespassing signs at regular intervals although I read that in Illinois, posting a sign "at the main entrance" to the property is all that is legally required. Part of the problem with our property is that there is a 5 acre COE parcel adjoining ours and hunters have illegally made a drive through the COE land and continued onto ours. Someone even ran over one of our signs posted on a 2x4 stake at the edge of our land. Needless to say, if the new post and sign is run over, someone's truck's undercarriage may lose something vital as they pass over the new post.
I would be miffed if I found a vehicle on my property too, but wouldn't be too upset if it was an actual mistake, although all anyone has to do is check platt maps at the county courthouse to see what is owned by who. What really angers me are those people (we've had two) who stand there and argue with you about boundaries or say "well I've hunted here for years". We are working with the local COE officer regarding this and he said that people will argue with him about the same issues, or that he will catch them doing the same things he's ticketed them for in the past.
Bottom line is, if you want property to do whatever on then buy it and pay the taxes, or at the very least ask permission, then respect what ever the answer may be. BTW, we are hunters ourselves, and am sure will be cussing all the deer here when I am trying to grow fruit and vegetables on the property.

One other note: While researching IL trespassing laws online I read a thread on a off road bicycling site about trespassing. There were some there that had a strong sense of entitlement regarding going anywhere they wanted as long as the penalty if caught wasn't too severe. Thankfully, the majority of the posters were respectful of property owner's boundaries and angry that the few who were not would give a bad name to the rest (like the very few trespassing hunters).

Woohoo, I can't wait for mushroom hunting season!

Very thoughtful post ChuckinVA and I agree with you.

__________________
www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

One of my neighbors stopped by on their way home the other night to tell me that when he was passing my "new house in progress" he noticed a car parked 1/2 way up my 500 ft driveway. He pulled in behind them and got the plate #. When he pulled out they backed up most of the way out but didn't leave. That just happened to be the ONLY day in 3 years that we'd left anything out there that could have been stolen. It was 20 below , luckily we had only parked the truck a few hours before. I started the truck and DH grabbed the 12ga. We drove the 4 miles to the property and the car was still parked there. I pulled up behind them so they couldn't leave and as soon as I did they put the car in reverse. DH walked up to the car with his 12ga and asked what the problem was and if they needed anykind of help and if not what they were doing there. Turns out it was the daughter of my once a month neighbor. They were unloading for a weekend trip to the cabin. He doesn't have a driveway so he uses ours sometimes. We've asked him before to give us a call before he comes if he's going to use the driveway. I don't mind if he does but calling beforehand would have saved us all from this incident. I'm sure his daughter was scared to death. But at the same time so were we. So I can understand where you are coming from. Our first thought was defense. We are not violent or angry people but when you've spent a couple years trying to build something from nothing with nothing but sweat and the change in your pocket you don't want anything to happen to set you back.