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Asphyxiated while hunting for treasure: an unusual geocaching fatality

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Abstract

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure-hunt game that uses GPS-enabled devices or smartphone apps to find cleverly hidden treasures marked by GPS coordinates that are shared online. Like any other outdoor activity, geocaching is associated with risks of falls, environmental injuries, asphyxia and natural events. Despite the apparent risk of serious injury and potential death, no relevant reports aiming to identify the characteristics of geocaching-related deaths have appeared in the medical literature to date. We report a case of an experienced geocacher who was found suspended from a bridge pillar with his climbing ropes and helmet straps twisted across his face and neck; he had apparently attempted to rappel from a 30-m-high railway bridge to find a geocache. A recording of the rappelling sequence from the camera found on the chest strap assisted in reconstructing what had actually happened. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to hanging, with the occlusion of the external airways and positional asphyxia serving as contributory factors. The salient features of this unusual case are discussed, and several forensic issues of geocaching are highlighted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine and Medico-legal Expertises, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, 036 01, Martin, Slovak Republic

    Ľubomír Straka & Martin Janík

  2. Department of Forensic Medicine, Charles University, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové and University Hospital Hradec Králové, Sokolská 581, 500 05, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

    Petr Hejna

Authors
  1. Ľubomír Straka
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  2. Martin Janík
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  3. Petr Hejna
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Correspondence to Martin Janík.

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The authors unanimously confirm that the presented work complies with all required ethical standards.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Not required (retrospective case presentation, a deceased individual).

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Straka, Ľ., Janík, M. & Hejna, P. Asphyxiated while hunting for treasure: an unusual geocaching fatality. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 15, 653–657 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-019-00125-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-019-00125-2

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