campsite security

Three weeks ago Carolyn and I decided to do a weekend campout, so we headed over to douglass lake state campgrounds to see if we could grab a spot. Lucky for us we found only one, the people had just left, and it was a great spot right on the lake with tons of shade . A young man who was camping across from us asked if we wanted the campfire wood the previous campers had left and also mentioned he and his family had exhausted their time limit of camping there ( 14 or 21 days? im not sure) and they were headed to cherokee state park to look for a spot.Apparently they were living at campgrounds. I told him that unless its mid week there are rarely any spots open but good luck. I noticed the next morning that the ranger had drove up to their spot and knocked on their tent trailer with no response. After the ranger left all 8 of them came out of the tent trailer. We didnt see the ranger the rest of the day, and I didnt see them preparing to pack up and leave all day. The next morning they were gone and my next door camper came over and asked me if anything of mine was missing...apparently during the nite someone had stolen several nice lounge chairs, tools and other items from campsites in the immediate area. I didnt have anything missing fortuately.
Ive always just trusted my fellow campers in all the years ive camped and never had a concern before this incident, and now wonder if I will leave out items as before. Have any of you ever had anything taken from your campsite or had concerns of other campers taking your property?

Kim

Never had anything taken.. that I know of. I have always been like you.. just trusted my camping neighbors. I think in most cases that works.. but there are some bad seeds out there. I probably won't do anything different.. but might try to keep a closer eye on who is camping nearby.

sometimes there's a suspicious looking couple near me.. they look kinda like they are up to no good. They have a little spotty dog with them.

LOL!! yeah, I've noticed them too..definately shifty!! I've also heard about a dog named "max" who has a reputation of "stealing" peoples hearts

Kim

Good reply Kim.

I've had a couple of the kids scooters go missing, but it is debatable as to whether they got stolen, left someplace, or if some parent mistook them for their own kids stuff while packing up, as they are all about alike.

Still, I think that if the neighbors look shifty, or like they live in campgrounds, caution is advised. It's too bad there's no such thing as a "creepy detector" that you have to drive through to get into a campground. It could flag anyone that is too creepy with red dye or something.

You would look great in red, Richard!!!!

Then again, I might have to look good in red, too.

At least people would be warned.