The Disc Requisitioner

[yenhe2002]

This is not exactly a new story. Likely it happens many times a day all over the world. But I thought I'd share this with you all in the hopes that I will deter a few potential "requisitions".

It all began in the typical way. I throw a disc (see profile picture) on hole 14 at Sims Park in Euclid. It finds the thick brush. I look for a long time, can't find it, and leave slightly miffed. This disc had been through a lot with me, including another "lost" episode at Brent-Hambrick after which it was returned by a kindly real estate professional who didn't play disc golf.

Of course I didn't get a call about the disc. A few weeks passed.

One Monday night, I decided to play in our local scramble. I am assigned my partner, a young(er) player named Dan Rice. We exchange pleasantries, meet the other team on our card and head off. On one particular hole, Dan's drive was better than mine and thus we decided to use his spot. As I approach the disc to make the up-shot, I look down and see my disc.

The one from hole 14! It can't be it...um...yes it is. What is this guy doing with my disc? Maybe he tried to call me and...no wait, he's blacked out my name and written his own in. WTF!?!?

I ask: "Hey Dan, did you find this disc?" He replies in the affirmative. I say that it looks awfully familiar and say my full name for the first time in the round. Realization crosses his face, and I'm sure I catch a "chortle" from the other team. They know what's up too.

His reply to an indirect charge of theft? "Well, you can have it back if you want..." Pfft, try and stop me.

Anyway, I'm actually proud of myself for not slugging him. I did think about it. Maybe I really am getting more chill in my old age. I tried to be civil for the rest of the round, and took off quickly when it was over. We weren't going to win anything, but after "finding" my disc my attitude was kind of ruined. I didn't really try hard.

Two things:

1. The ethics of found discs has been debated on this site before. Ad nauseum I'm sure. The law of abandoned property (which I have some familiarity with) generally requires that a person dispose of property in a way that makes it clear that he was abandoning it. Putting your name and number on a disc and then losing it does not satisfy this standard. Thus, it's stealing. Face it. Will the cops ever arrest you or will you ever be sued? Of course not. But it is stealing. Of course, those without a conscience won't care.

2. How stupid do you have to be to take a disc that you clearly stole to a scramble at the course you stole it from? Don't you think it might be possible that you would be teamed up with the original owner?

I just wanted to pass this story along to the community. My hope is that at least one person will think twice before making this same mistake.

Thanks all,
Eric
Euclid, OH
Home Course: Good 'ol Sims Park

p.s. - I will be going to Cape May, NJ for vacation in a couple weeks. I'm planning to play Cape Henlopen and Trap Pond (both in DE) while there. Any suggestions from the locals?

 

[Brall]

good story =) he probably felt like a real db getting busted like that

edit: and of course, GratZ on getting your disc back! i recently got my favorite disc returned (for the second time) and it feels great

 

[ProFiction]

I just had a disc returned to me in a similar manner. I didn't get to be the buster but my friend did

It's like.. you know people are finding them and using them. Makes me want to join people's group for casual rounds at all the local courses and find all the discs I've lost.

 

[discmeister]

DBs don't care. They are what they are.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Below is a status update from Facebook we did a while back on this same issue. Honestly people make a bigger deal about it than should be made but check out what a few people thought. Pretty mixed reviews and honestly, no one has ever returned one of my discs-- almost seems like part of the sport. You win some, you lose some

Aim For The Chains - MN Disc Golf
Have you ever returned a disc you found by calling the person who's number is on the back? ...How do you know it was THEIR disc to start with?
1,012 Impressions · 3.06% Feedback
June 23 at 8:32am · Like ·
2 people like this.

Darnell Rohne of course i have! that's THEIR property! Just because they couldn't find it and I happened to doesn't mean it's mine for the taking. You should at least give them an opportunity to get it back. If it has their name, its obviously theirs..... I've had 2 calls this yr already from guys calling just to say they r gonna keep my disc they found!!! *******S need to stop! On the other hand, i have had 3 calls from ppl returning my disc. One i got back and lost a cple days later
June 23 at 8:45am · Unlike · 1 person

Oscar Johnson I've returned many disc. Last week a guy called me to ask if I was missing a disc. I had been throwing multiple disc working of different shot selection, so I didn't realize I left one. When I couldn't describe the disc to him he said it must not be mine! How in the hell did he get my number then? I was at work and didn't have my bag to check which one was missing. I later noticed it was my new Z Nuke SS - First Run. Found him @ an online dic site and left him a message. No Reply! Wait till I see his ass on the course!
June 23 at 8:51am · Like
Aim For The Chains - MN Disc Golf We go back and fourth on this one... Can see it as a good thing to return them but also feel finding a disc is kind of part of the sport... Have yet to ever get a disc back and really not like stealing when a person chooses to abandon their personal property... Hmm Ethics is always a tough one
June 23 at 8:52am · Like

Oscar Johnson It's called empathy! How do you feel when you lose a disc? Even if by mistake. How do you feel when someone calls you up and gives it back? Ethics are NEVER tough or questionable. If it is easy to return and doesn't cost you anything, then you're a dirt bag if you don't! No Question!
June 23 at 8:59am · Like · 3 people

Tony Nelson I find discs all the time and I call . I dont know how many but its alot . The majority say HOLY CRAP MAN YOU KNOW HOW LONG I LOOK FOR THAT ! And they just say keep it .
June 23 at 8:59am · Like

Darnell Rohne so if somebody left thr car or wallet behind somewhere is that anybody's for the taking?... A disc IS still property... I've always wondered the legal aspect of this.. Any lawyers or law enforcement out thr that can chime in?
June 23 at 9:01am · Like

Tony Nelson The reality of all this if you find somones disc you your self are havin a crap time trying to find your own and you certainly want yours back right.
June 23 at 9:06am · Unlike · 1 person
Aim For The Chains - MN Disc Golf So the people who collect golf balls and selling used sets, are crooks? as well as play-it-again sports who take ALL of our discs and sell them to ANYONE... Great discussion here thanks for the comments!
June 23 at 9:06am · Like

Ben Hickman I have found many discs without a name or number and put my own on there as I feel its finders keepers. On the other hand I have never had anyone return any to me that I have lost (perhaps never found) but I would gladly return one should it have some contact info for them hoping karma may pay its dues some day in the future.
June 23 at 9:07am · Unlike · 2 people

Darnell Rohne yea, theres a lot to question when things like this come up...
June 23 at 9:08am · Unlike · 1 person

Darnell Rohne DG KARMA!!! exactly how the die hards feel about these situations!
June 23 at 9:20am · Like

Terry Charles Hopp i called someone once and returned there disc and within a hour i had a phone call from someone who My disc.... Darnell is right DG Karma is amazing
June 23 at 9:41am · Like

Terry Charles Hopp who HAD*
June 23 at 9:41am · Like

Aaron Kirchner I return found discs all the time, meet alot of cool people. Always call on them!!! My buddy just returned Scott Rythers FIRST RUN bar stamped buzz to him yesterday. He lost it when it was NEW after two weeks, and he gets it back after almost 8 years
June 23 at 10:39am · Like

Kyle Hartman Discs are more expensive than golf balls normally and not many people right initials on golf balls so golf balls are hard to return to owners. U are more likely to find someone else's golf ball on a golf course but on a disc course I'd say ur more likely to find ur own
June 23 at 10:49am · Like
Aim For The Chains - MN Disc Golf how about the guy selling peoples lost discs out of his van around local parks? He should be getting some major heat it sounds like!
June 23 at 11:17am · Like · 2 people

Terry Charles Hopp id say its a toss up .... that dude in the van should be compensated for finding your disc since he saved you 20 bucks with having to buy a new one
June 23 at 11:20am · Like

Darnell Rohne hell yea he should be!!!! He should get his ass BEAT! i was told that might be the guy that has one of my discs. That is if his son goes pond jumping with him... cuz his son woulda been the one that called sayin i cant have mine back.
June 23 at 11:21am · Like

Rich Yarges I say if a name and number is on it you need to call and make and effort to get the disc back. No name and number, obviously, you have a "new" disc. I called on one I found last year and talked to the owner but they never called back to set up a meeting. Hence, I kept the disc. I look at it this way: I would want someone to call me if they found my disc so I will call if I find a disc.
June 23 at 11:35am · Unlike · 2 people

Oscar Johnson Play It Again Sports buys disc to sell. They should make sure it is that person's disc to sell. I think it is stupid to even think this is a question! Find a disc with a name and number - return it. Simple. No karma conflict. No I lost mine so this is pay back. Be an ass and the game as a whole will suffer. Maybe this game had better people playing when it was relatively "small". Be careful what you ask for - Disc Golfers "building the game".
June 23 at 12:48pm · Unlike · 1 person
Aim For The Chains - MN Disc Golf We will work on creating some type of disc lost and found for on here as well.. with most of us probably connected by friends/courses one way or another it should be a good place for it on here.. also trades could be considered from unmarked or unwanted discs. Thanks again everyone for the comments and lets hope we dont lose any discs in the first place but if so we are happy to help find the owners
June 23 at 1:01pm · Like

Shaun LaFrance From the MN department of statutes, theft is someone who:
" finds lost property and, knowing or having reasonable means of ascertaining the true owner, appropriates it to the finder's own use or to that of another not entitled thereto without first having made reasonable effort to find the owner and offer and surrender the property to the owner;"

If you find a disc with a number and do not attempt to contact them, you are stealing and breaking the law.
June 23 at 7:12pm · Like

Tim Ryan I keep 'em. And don't write my name on 'em. If a disc comes into my possession, I like that maybe it was meant for me to learn that disc and make it one of my new go-to discs. And if I search for one for hours and can't find it, I like that maybe it was meant to be someone else's to have that same experience with.
June 23 at 10:10pm · Like · 1 person

Craig Sena I've lost over 100 discs last 7years - all over the US - and can count on 1hand how many finders called me back. I haven't found as many as I have lost but will always txt the # that I have it and will return while I'm still in town - once I get on that plane it's mine
June 23 at 10:40pm · Unlike · 1 person

Daron T. Jacobson hahahahaha EXCATLY!!!! thats why I scribble it out and out my initials on it really big!! sorry.. cuz like you said... how do you know it was THEIRS to start with.. anyways discs are cheap and right now is prime time for losing and finding discs.. so if you ever see discs with DTJ really bg on it. they are mine or maybe yours
June 29 at 10:47am · Like

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[cmcolomb]

violence is never the issue - it is a piece of plastic

 

[yenhe2002]

True...and like I said I was happy to be able to hold back. You're right, in the grand scheme of things its just a piece of plastic.

But, theft is theft...whether its $10 or $10 million. He is blameworthy, and deserves some kind of punishment. I just hope the moment of shame will give him something to think about. If so, then that's punishment enough.

But you know...sometimes the Id attempts to have its way. We are all human after all.

 

[jkdisc]

just find your own discs and you dont need to worry

 

[roadtripstuff]

just find your own discs and you dont need to worry

And the downward spiral of this thread begins. Landfill Here. We. Come.

 

[notapro]

So don't use discs you find in front of strangers. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[jkdisc]

And the downward spiral of this thread begins. Landfill Here. We. Come.

you knew it would happen!

 

[Sneaky Alligator]

I'd rather have a partner in a scramble who never played disc golf than come across my disc in his [backpack? plastic bag?].

 

[roadtripstuff]

you knew it would happen!

They always do.

 

[notapro]

you knew it would happen!

 

[yenhe2002]

And the downward spiral of this thread begins. Landfill Here. We. Come.

I clearly didn't think this thread through enough. Sorry for the additional nauseum.

So don't use discs you find in front of strangers. Thanks for the tip!!

Lol, yeah. It seemed pretty obvious to me, so I suppose if you aren't operating on that level you deserve to be caught. It's still wrong, though...don't do it.

 

[erock216]

last year i lost a disc in hudson, ohio. my friend "confiscated" it from some dbag he was playing with in parma, oh. oh sweet justice.

 

[DSCJNKY]

.....His reply to an indirect charge of theft? "Well, you can have it back if you want..." Pfft, try and stop me.

Quote of the year.
DSCJNKY

 

[jtencer]

I think it's pretty obvious that "theft" is too strong a word. It's a dbag move not to call, but I have a policy that I try the number twice and if I don't get an answer or a call back I keep it. After all, if you give up on looking for a disc you have a tenuous claim to ownership at best. I know I never expect to get one back after I leave the course.

 

[yenhe2002]

I think it's pretty obvious that "theft" is too strong a word. It's a dbag move not to call, but I have a policy that I try the number twice and if I don't get an answer or a call back I keep it. After all, if you give up on looking for a disc you have a tenuous claim to ownership at best. I know I never expect to get one back after I leave the course.

Therefore: By the same analogy, a construction company that leaves a backhoe (with the company name on it) on the construction site after hours has relinquished its claim to the backhoe. If you happen upon it, can hot-wire it and take it...its yours.

While I agree that I don't "expect" to get it back, and while I would agree that if you try to call a couple times with no luck that you are justified in keeping the disc; the issue remains that not only didn't he call...but he defaced the disc to claim ownership.

It's theft.

If you made a good faith attempt to contact the original owner, it's not theft.

If you made a bad faith effort to claim ownership with no rights to do so, it's theft.

In the law, a finder of lost property has a duty to find the original owner. "Should the finder know or have reasonable means of discovering the true owner, he MUST do so, or he may be guilty of larceny, and he may be held liable in tort for conversion." I'm leaving out the citation.

 

[bcr123psu]

For anyone that disagrees with the OP, spin it to yourself however you'd like, but it's technically theft:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/18/00.039.024.000..HTM


EDIT: It's on the book in most, if not all, of the states much in the same way.