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Valuable equipment taken from weather balloon by canal


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I received this email from a Scout Leader and offered to put it on the Forum in case anyone saw/knows anything.

 

Lost camera, Scout scarf & parachute

Hi...
I'm the Group Scout Leader of the 63rd Leicester Scout Group in Leicester. Last night we had our end-of-term party and finished by launching a weather balloon approximately 30 kms towards the edge of space. This has been many months in the planning by one of our Young Leaders and the launch had been pre-authorised by the Civil Aviation Authority. After a slight delay when East Midlands Airport would not authorise the launch at the planned time of 8pm yesterday (Tuesday) we were given the go ahead.
The weather balloon was carrying a white polystyrene box (approx 30 cm wide x 20 cm deep x 25 cm high) containing a brand new Philips ESee CAM150RD video camera, a GPS tracker, a battery and a 63rd Leicester Group scarf (maroon with yellow and purple edging strips) which had been
signed by all of the children at our Group. The box was secured with heavy duty black plastic ties. When the balloon burst, an orange & green parachute controlled the box's descent. We tracked the descent and landing to a farmer's field bordering on the canal close to where you are (North side of canal on Home Farm about 500m North of Hillmorton Locks). As it was getting dark we didn't come to collect the box until this morning. The box was found at about 10.30am today (Wednesday) in the area shown on the attached, but the lid was
missing as were the plastic ties. The base of the box was undamaged but only the tracking device and battery remained. Most importantly, the video camera, Scouting scarf and parachute were also missing. The surrounding area was searched thoroughly but nothing else was found. I can only conclude that someone saw the descent. Perhaps someone went to investigate. Perhaps they opened the box and took the items. We just don't know.
We have left the details with Home Farm, and alerted the nearest Scout Group, but we need to publicise the fact that these items are missing just in case someone knows where these items are so that they can be returned. Significant fundraising took place to buy the equipment needed for this special event (£400) and we had planned to post the footage from the video camera on YouTube so that all of our Beavers,Cubs and Scouts plus their families could see the view from the ascent and descent.
I don't know if it is a fairly static narrow boat community around The Locks/Hillmorton, but please could you either ask/publicise this among local boat owners to determine if they have seen or heard anything,and/or advise who I could contact in order to spread our search further.
Many thanks for any help you can give us - it's greatly appreciated.
Best regards
Mike Rowlinson
Group Scout Leader
63rd Leicester - St Thomas More Scout Group, Leicester
Tel: 07871 570924
e-mail: mhal.rowlinson1@ntlworld.com

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Hilarious. Stick to making camp fires and cooking brownies sausages over them at your next party, less problematical and less of a waste of money.

Seriously, what would be the law pertaining to the box and its contents? Would they become the property of the land owner from the moment they landed? If so, if farmer Giles is seen toting a brand new camcorder, he may be doing so quite legally.

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Hilarious. Stick to making camp fires and cooking brownies sausages over them at your next party, less problematical and less of a waste of money.

Seriously, what would be the law pertaining to the box and its contents? Would they become the property of the land owner from the moment they landed? If so, if farmer Giles is seen toting a brand new camcorder, he may be doing so quite legally.

 

As I understand it - from something I read a long time ago - the property still belongs to the original owner and to appropriate it just because it is on your land constitues the crime of "theft by finding", it applies for example to a householder retaining a ball kicked into their garden by a neighbour's child. I however am happy to be corrected by someone better qualified.

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Seriously, what would be the law pertaining to the box and its contents? Would they become the property of the land owner from the moment they landed? If so, if farmer Giles is seen toting a brand new camcorder, he may be doing so quite legally.

If you follow that logic parking on bit of unused land beside the road could end up with your car being claimed by the land owner, I would have thought.

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If you follow that logic parking on bit of unused land beside the road could end up with your car being claimed by the land owner, I would have thought.

 

That one has been taken to court when a farmer took away a car that had gone through his fence. HE not only had to return the car, he had to pay for the damage that the fork lift had done

 

Richard

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Stick to making camp fires and cooking brownies sausages over them at your next party, less problematical and less of a waste of money.

Woah, you are a happy sort! I am delighted to see young minds being stimulated with exciting science projects. Well done to them and I hope they do get the camera back.

 

It would have been damned obvious to the finder that it was some kind of science project so plundering it is a disappointing decision.

  • Greenie 2
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Woah, you are a happy sort!

 

 

 

indeed. I'm also an ex-scout sort and a former schoolmaster sort, so the stimulation of young minds is something I approve of. But I'm also a likes-a-joke sort.

 

Have you finally swatted that blasted fly?

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More likely a light fingered scout/scouts friend 'had it off' prior to launch, what never went up can't come down!

 

The scout law says :

 

'A scout is to be trusted'

 

seems unlikely they would have it 'had it off' with the camera and that nobody would have checked before launching...

 

sometimes this forum does bring out some unpleasant traits in people...

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sometimes this forum does bring out some unpleasant traits in people...

True, but regulars soon get used to those we can ignore and concentrate on the many constructive, helpful members.

  • Greenie 2
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True, but regulars soon get used to those we can ignore and concentrate on the many constructive, helpful members.

 

very true, and many of them there are too.(helpful members)

 

hope the scouts get thier stuff back as it seems to me to be a really good example of modern Scouting benefitting our youngsters and giving them something to do instead of hanging around on steet corners...

  • Greenie 1
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He said it had a brand new Philips ESee CAM150RD video camera, a GPS tracker, a battery and a 63rd Leicester Group scarf. Did it also have contact details. Maybe, just maybe someone has taken it home and is wondering how to contact them.

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He said it had a brand new Philips ESee CAM150RD video camera, a GPS tracker, a battery and a 63rd Leicester Group scarf. Did it also have contact details. Maybe, just maybe someone has taken it home and is wondering how to contact them.

 

 

Can't imagine they were shortsighted enough to have packed that box without any contact details.

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I think its great to involve kids in these fabulous experiments

But the scout group have no sympathy from us and I'm sure that to find to box like that, the camcorder has been taken and it will unlikely be recovered.

To spend months planning it and hundreds of pounds on equipment and the detail of how it should work is great. But to know where it is and then just not bother to pick it up because its dark and leave it in a field overnight is just plain daft.

In the planning was the act and detail of recovery not ever considered to be timed in daylight?

Hopefully the kids will have learn't that responsible adults are at the best of times, naive

 

 

Jim

Edited by jim and pat dalton
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Just a thought.

Just to the South of the top lock there are a large number of ariels. Are these MOD owned?

 

 

 

Well, the army used to have a lot of motor bikes at one time..

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Just a thought.

Just to the South of the top lock there are a large number of ariels. Are these MOD owned?

 

No it's a secret GCHQ listening post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited to add: Welcome, new member "PRISM".

Edited by carlt
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Just a thought.

Just to the South of the top lock there are a large number of ariels. Are these MOD owned?

 

If they are perhaps the authorities don't like being spied upon.

 

Martyn.

The site and the ariels are owned by BT who plan to build a small town on the site.

 

 

Can't imagine they were shortsighted enough to have packed that box without any contact details.

So why not take the lot (it was not a very big box). but seemingly disconnect the camera from its battery unscrew it and take it and the scout scarf !! and parachute. ? Leaving the box and GPS tracker attached to its battery?

All very strange.

I think its great to involve kids in these fabulous experiments

 

But the scout group have no sympathy from us and I'm sure that to find to box like that, the camcorder has been taken and it will unlikely be recovered.

 

To spend months planning it and hundreds of pounds on equipment and the detail of how it should work is great. But to know where it is and then just not bother to pick it up because its dark and leave it in a field overnight is just plain daft.

 

In the planning was the act and detail of recovery not ever considered to be timed in daylight?

 

Hopefully the kids will have learn't that responsible adults are at the best of times, naive

 

 

Jim

As was explained - they were delayed in their launch by Air Traffic Control so by the time it landed it was too dark to go blundering about farmers fields in searching for it. Imagine your reaction if you were the Farmer paranoid about your crops. I understand that in the morning the field was identified and the Farmer duly contacted and was helpful.

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So why not take the lot (it was not a very big box). but seemingly disconnect the camera from its battery unscrew it and take it and the scout scarf !! and parachute. ? Leaving the box and GPS tracker attached to its battery?

All very strange.

 

 

 

Perhaps said miscreant isn't as thick as we all hope they are, either knew there was a tracker, from recognition or it said so on the box.

 

Scarf and/or parachute was used to ensure no prints were left, and then removed to ensure no DNA was was left either, educated thieves we can do without.

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