I live in South Florida and recently an investment firm bought 800 acres of abandoned subdivision and turned it into a giant event destination. The beginning of March they had their first annual music festival. So we all prepared for this, battening down the hatches and anything that we thought others would want to walk away with but the one thing I didn't think to prepare for was squatters. So I come home from work on the second day (2 am) and I find 2 vehicles sitting in my driveway. Now I am in law enforcement so I figure I will approach in a cautious manner taking into account that my drive is about 1500 ft. covered in trees and this is not normal. And what do I find in the first car but a young man about 20 YOA passed out, now while I applaud his desire not to drink and drive I do take issue with him deciding to park 100 ft from my house. So I approach the car and shine my very bright LED flashlight at him and inquire as to why he was here. The answer I get from him as to why he bypassed the 2 bright yellow "NO TRESSPASSING AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY" signs was "I figured I would leave before you woke up." To which I responded "how did you expect to know when I woke up considering I work mid-shift." His perplexed look earned him NO points and I told him to move his car up by the main road and finish sleeping it off, this after explaining that Florida has very strict and unforgiving laws regarding trespassing and what a property owners right is to protect that property. If it weren't for the fact that my job is to prevent people from injuring others and themselves I would of said just hit the road but considering he was polite( Yes Sir, No Sir) I let him remain on my property until about 1PM, sleeping of course!
So next I move to the second car which is ahead of the first closer to the road and probably 150 ft. from the house, and of course it is vacant and the occupants are I am assuming having a good time at the music festival. So I decided not to do the first thing that came to mind which was go get the tractor and move the car for them back to the public road. And instead I called dispatch and they sent out the tow truck for removal. So now this is where the story gets both humorous and irritating at the same time. At about 4:30 am I hear a knock, knock at the door and guess who came a calling, the owners of the little blue car from Maryland. I answered the door as politely as I could given the time and ask what I could do for them, knowing why they were there and here is what I get;
Car Owner: " have you seen my car"
Me: " Yes last I saw it, it was sitting in my driveway"
car Owner: " Do you know where it went"
Me: " I am assuming with the Tow Truck that I called"
Car Owner: " You called the tow Truck!"
Me: " Yes, you parked your vehicle way!!! on my property"
Car Owner: " Didn't you ever just want to have fun as a kid"
Me: " Well when I was a kid yes, but you appear to be in your 20's and I would expect you know how to read the NO trespassing signs at the end of my driveway."
Car Owner: " We figured you were asleep"
Apparently everyone knows my sleep cycle!!!
Me: " Well that was a miss calculation on your part I work at night and when I came home and your car was in my driveway I had it towed."
And the million dollar question that I had to laugh at!!! :laughing::laughing: :confused2:
Car Owner: " Well this isn't fair, who is gonna pay for my car?"
In the end I allowed them to use my phone to locate their vehicle as there is no cell service, but it wasn't without a bit of scolding. Needless to say I bet they will pay the $20 for parking as opposed to the $250 impound fee.
And the lesson I learned is $1100 is well spent money to the local welding shop coffers to build me a nice new gate for the end of the road to prevent this in the future. :thumbsup:
