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McGruff would be proud
Sep. 25th, 2007 08:30 pmI helped solve a crime today at work.
I was out at a field job - drilling 3 test boreholes for a proposed new steel manufacturing facility. Adjacent to the existing steel mill is an abandoned lot, with about a half a dozen old buildings (apparently abandoned some time in the late 80s', judging from the extent of vegetation overgrowth, broken windows and rust). This lot will soon be razed to make way for a new vacuum steel manufacturing building. We were drilling around the edges of the abandoned lot, near all the slightly-creepy-but-mainly-boring abandoned buildings. On the last borehole, I was losing focus and started gazing around the site. I noticed the glint of an orange fender reflector coming from the shadows and realized there was a vehicle parked inside this old abandoned concrete hull of a building.
So, being nosy and bored and curious, I walked over towards the building, hoping to find a funky old 1970's flatbed truck or some other strange abandoned machinery. Instead, it became clear from about 100 feet away that the vehicle was in fact a late model Jeep (a 2002 olive green Cherokee, to be precise) with the front hood popped and jumper cables trailing around the side. Several too-clean-to-be-abandoned rags lay on the floor nearby, and fresh tire tracks marked the entry gravel driveway.
I didn't get any closer, because I didn't want to either disturb a legit company employee fixing a vehicle in the shade, or disturb some sketchy person hiding a vehicle in a dark abandoned building.
When the steel mill facilities manager came by to check in about fifteen minutes later, I mentioned to him "Hey, there's a car over in that building." He went to check it out, and I thought nothing of it...
...Ten minutes later, two cop cars roll in, with the facilities manager in tow, to investigate.
Turns out the car was stolen, reported back on August 20th. It was intact except for a torn out ignition switch assembly. No culprit was apprehended in the dank old building, but the nice policeman took my name and number and the facilities manager thanked me for my attentiveness and my "good eye."
This whole incident, of course, was quite amusing to the drillers. Derrick (the driller's helper) suggested I should ask for a reward, and then mused about what he'd do with a $5000 reward check. Freddy called me a goody two shoes for mentioning it to the facilities guy and gave me that knowing, winking look he does so well. (In my defense, I was hardly trying to be a goody two shoes when I mentioned it to the facilities guy: I was just commenting on the one vaguely interesting fact I had come across in an afternoon of boring, tedious, sweaty drilling observation).
After the cops left, I said to Freddy, "You know, with all the weird job sites we drill at.. all these abandoned lots and wooded areas, one of these days I swear I'm going to find a dead body."
Sure enough, Freddy told me about one time when he was filling up the water truck downstream from a dead body and never realized it until he recognized the job site on the evening news. He also told me about bailing hay with his cousin and noticing a nasty smell, and upon further exploration finding a human head in the hay bale.
If I come across a dead body, I wonder how I'll react? I suppose that depends on the extent of decomposition and the extent to which it catches me off guard. I've nearly stepped in eviscerated, partly-decomposed skunk and deer bodies before. A human can't possibly be that much more smelly, though I imagine it would be far more psychologically jarring.
I was out at a field job - drilling 3 test boreholes for a proposed new steel manufacturing facility. Adjacent to the existing steel mill is an abandoned lot, with about a half a dozen old buildings (apparently abandoned some time in the late 80s', judging from the extent of vegetation overgrowth, broken windows and rust). This lot will soon be razed to make way for a new vacuum steel manufacturing building. We were drilling around the edges of the abandoned lot, near all the slightly-creepy-but-mainly-boring abandoned buildings. On the last borehole, I was losing focus and started gazing around the site. I noticed the glint of an orange fender reflector coming from the shadows and realized there was a vehicle parked inside this old abandoned concrete hull of a building.
So, being nosy and bored and curious, I walked over towards the building, hoping to find a funky old 1970's flatbed truck or some other strange abandoned machinery. Instead, it became clear from about 100 feet away that the vehicle was in fact a late model Jeep (a 2002 olive green Cherokee, to be precise) with the front hood popped and jumper cables trailing around the side. Several too-clean-to-be-abandoned rags lay on the floor nearby, and fresh tire tracks marked the entry gravel driveway.
I didn't get any closer, because I didn't want to either disturb a legit company employee fixing a vehicle in the shade, or disturb some sketchy person hiding a vehicle in a dark abandoned building.
When the steel mill facilities manager came by to check in about fifteen minutes later, I mentioned to him "Hey, there's a car over in that building." He went to check it out, and I thought nothing of it...
...Ten minutes later, two cop cars roll in, with the facilities manager in tow, to investigate.
Turns out the car was stolen, reported back on August 20th. It was intact except for a torn out ignition switch assembly. No culprit was apprehended in the dank old building, but the nice policeman took my name and number and the facilities manager thanked me for my attentiveness and my "good eye."
This whole incident, of course, was quite amusing to the drillers. Derrick (the driller's helper) suggested I should ask for a reward, and then mused about what he'd do with a $5000 reward check. Freddy called me a goody two shoes for mentioning it to the facilities guy and gave me that knowing, winking look he does so well. (In my defense, I was hardly trying to be a goody two shoes when I mentioned it to the facilities guy: I was just commenting on the one vaguely interesting fact I had come across in an afternoon of boring, tedious, sweaty drilling observation).
After the cops left, I said to Freddy, "You know, with all the weird job sites we drill at.. all these abandoned lots and wooded areas, one of these days I swear I'm going to find a dead body."
Sure enough, Freddy told me about one time when he was filling up the water truck downstream from a dead body and never realized it until he recognized the job site on the evening news. He also told me about bailing hay with his cousin and noticing a nasty smell, and upon further exploration finding a human head in the hay bale.
If I come across a dead body, I wonder how I'll react? I suppose that depends on the extent of decomposition and the extent to which it catches me off guard. I've nearly stepped in eviscerated, partly-decomposed skunk and deer bodies before. A human can't possibly be that much more smelly, though I imagine it would be far more psychologically jarring.
