Should I call the cops or let it go?

[Guy400]

Went out riding today in the woods behind my house when I came upon the remains of what looked to be a car. I dug through some of it and found a license plate. The color had obviously been burnt off but the numbers are still there. Do I call the cops and report this (possibly locating someones stolen car but risk getting busted for trespassing) or just let it go? My conscience is telling me to call the cops...

[Ride400]

let it go man, its not worth the trouble.

[Pappy]

tell them you want to remain ...lets say....unknown;)

it could be theft...insurance fraud....or just someone pissed off at thier car:eek: :cool:

[killed300ex]

yea justa call in anonomus(sp) and say you would like to report a burned/chared car in the woods and there was a lisence plate on it and then jsut tell them were it is. Just dont give your name
killed

[Glow Plug]

call the cop's but remain unknown and then tell em about the car :)

yea i agree. just call and say u found a burnt up car give them a location and let them deal with it. u might not be able to ride there while they investigate but its up to u

[Guy400]

After minutes of wrestling with this decision I've decided to ignore it:D I'm worried that the cops will start patrolling the area back there and that's the last thing I need. I don't have anything against cops but like the fact that they don't need to come into my end of the street.

[derekhonda]

thats exactly what i would do, i might even bury the car, stick a few feet of dirt around it you might have a nice little 20 foot table top

[batgeek]

selfishness and apathy are ruining this great nation of ours.

that's all i have to say.

[Rip_Tear]

That was a hard one Guy. Did it look new, or fairly old? Like what was left of it...? I dont think it would really be worth it if its old, if it got burnt down they problay dont care, and who would leave the licence plates there if it was theft etc...

[wyndzer]

What if it were your mothers car that someone found? Would you want them to call the cops?

[bansheeguy77]

did you go through the car? ya could find something nasty.....or maybe not so nasty stuff haha

[Pro400EXC]

How can you find nasty stuff in a burnt car?Wouldn't it be ummm...burnt?


Also guy what kinda car is it?Send it to monster garage and have em make it a 4wheeler?hehe

[Ralph]

what if it was a clue to a murder case

[josh]

lol, you guys act like it's some big deal if you called the cops, matter is that if the car wasn't stolen the police would probably just call up the owners then go investigate it, i've seen like 3 burnt up cars about 6-7 miles from my house in the desert here, and i never even thought about calling the cops or whatever, lol, now that i think of it that's funny, i saw 2 burnt up trucks in the middle of the dunes last time i was out, they looked like bronco's, so i would just build a ramp out of the thing and have fun with it, cuz even so you don't want the cops commin around and takin away ridin time from you!

anyways, if the cops see some burnt up car in the woods chances are they would get mad from tress-passing and might even fence up the area so nobody can get in, happens a lot, and you don't wanna be the guy that got your own riding area fenced up!!!!!!! lol, it's your choice, but chances are it's no big deal, did it look like a junky car anyway, i bet some kids just got bored with some old peice and wanted to have a fun time and collect insurance off it anyways, just my .02,

josh

[josh]

P.S.

if you see some thing about a murder case and a missing car or a poster somewere about a stolen car, then it's a good idea to call the cops, but other than that i wouldn't worry about it, just think about it as none of your business, but i would deff build a ramp out of it if it was my choice, good luck

josh

[Guy400]

Here's the deal, I misspoke in my original comment. What I found was the remains of a burnt car. There were seat springs, headlights, a door handle, 2 coil springs and some miscellaneous body trim. There was no frame or engine or body there. In fact, it looks as if someone burnt a car and it was towed away afterward or something.

[FourFiftyFour]

dont worry about it.... prolly was a long time ago or something... if it was towed away most likely whoever needed to know found out.. b/c the towing ppl would have records and such... enjoy riding and dont get caught lol :) if u do...say that u lost your dog and u had been lookin for it LOL thats been my back up in case I ever do :D

[Guy400]

Originally posted by 250xChick
dont worry about it.... prolly was a long time ago or something... if it was towed away most likely whoever needed to know found out.. b/c the towing ppl would have records and such... enjoy riding and dont get caught lol :) if u do...say that u lost your dog and u had been lookin for it LOL thats been my back up in case I ever do :D I'm not sure how long it's been back there. I was back there right at the beginning of February and haven't been back there since. This could've been from a month ago, I don't know.

[FourFiftyFour]

Originally posted by Guy400
I'm not sure how long it's been back there. I was back there right at the beginning of February and haven't been back there since. This could've been from a month ago, I don't know.

i wouldnt worry about it....

[Wheelie]

Leave the cops out of it. Continue to ride in the area and ignore the car.

[born-to-race]

Do you have any idea what kind of car it is?

[josh]

make a jump out of it

[-=Skot=-]

i woulden't call the cops, let it go, do you really need them asking questions and pokin around?

[Sparky416ex]

Originally posted by Guy400
After minutes of wrestling with this decision I've decided to ignore it:D I'm worried that the cops will start patrolling the area back there and that's the last thing I need. I don't have anything against cops but like the fact that they don't need to come into my end of the street.


Thats a good idea....plus you cant call in "unknown" with the cops...theyve got all kinds of fancy tricky machines that give them lots of info.

[Guy400]

Originally posted by born-to-race
Do you have any idea what kind of car it is? The whole car wasn't there, just remnants. I'm guessing it was a GM car from the door handle I found. Looked alot like the door handle that came on my '80 Citation, nearly all 80's G-bodies, etc.

[blondie69]

I jus wudn't worry about it. Whenever I used to quad on others ppls land in back of the woods i would find about 2 old cars a week. some were like what u said...no engine n stuff like that, some were recent. someone jus mighta got pissed off at their car...and took the spare parts and left it in the woods. then some ppls mighta came along and thought it would be kool to light it on fire, so they did so. i dunno, lol

[Pro400EXC]

Hey Guy, ask Popo to come out to check it out w/ yah,he's a 5-O....:D

But a cool 5-O

anyways, yah don't worry bout the pigs,it'll be IIght... ( i smell bacon)

[smitty]

Only people that have something to hide avoid the police. If you don't do anything wrong what's to worry about?

You seam to think that whatever you do is OK and not to get involved. What about stolen quads than you want to call the cops, RIGHT!!! What's the problem with asking for permission to ride on someones land in the agreement that you help maintaie it a little. Make trial, clean up old car parts, clear forest.

Everything has a Cost, if your conscence is bothering you, you already know what to do.

Smitty

[Honda4trax250x]

go anonomys unless there is some kind of reward!!!!:D

[Lasher]

You guys are so against cops it is not even funny.

I used to ride in the local sand pits. My son and I would go out on the weekend, for the purpose of looking for cars that were ditched. Almost every weekend we would find one or two. Each time I would call the police with the tag (if was there) and tell them where is it located. Each time I would ride my quad out the pits and wait for the police to show up. Give them my name and show them the car. Never once did any police officer question me riding there. Why? Because I was helping the police with their job.

After doing this for about a season or two, I actually did run into a problem or sorts. One day some one took a car for a joy ride and ditched it in the pits. Right in the middle of the track I would follow. So I called the police. They told me that they were real busy and would get to it when they could. I curious at the response (and tone) since it was not the normal response. But I went back out riding and forgot about the car. Until I saw a huge flume of smoke coming from the area of the car. At the time there was a couple kids riding their quads in the same area as I was. Along with that some kids were walking thru the pits and little while before walked in the direction of the now burning car.

As soon as I saw the smoke, I took off towards the fire. The other kids took off the other way. I got the car at the same time as the fire truck. Watched them put the car out and talked with the chief. Explained to him that I called the car in a couple hours ago and how a group of kids walked this was slightly before the fire. He mentioned that the police had a bomb scare at the school and that is why they could not come out to the car.

The fire department (and police) are usually very cool as long as you do not run. You run and they will think you are running for a reason. In your case, I would call the police and tell them that you found a car and here is the plate number and location. DO NOT TAKE THE PLATE! The police told me to not do this, but to just call it in. They will also remove the junk from the woods for you!