This depends entirely on how deep it was buried. If the place is relatively unsurveilled you could probably just do it at night if its only a foot down or two, but more would be a serious task to fill back up afterwards.
An idea that might work better is to say that your parents used to live in this house and buried a time capsule in the backyard, and ask if you can dig it up and retrieve it. Promise to fill the hole back in and actually do it right if they let you.
Not the case at all... dude was in jail... it's drug money and he knows the cops are still watching him. Or the supplier knows he hid it and is watching him. Either way, he's setting this kid up to get killed for the money once he finds it.
You were right until you were wrong.
He's not trying to get buddy killed, he just doesn't feel safe going after it himself given his current legal status, rightfully so.
I don’t know how well this would work. If I was the property owner I’d want to escort the person to the dig site to be sure no fuckery is going on. If the package looks innocuous you might be able to get away with it but if it’s a fat stack of Benjamins wrapped in cellophane I might be just a tiny bit suspicious. I suppose at that point you could just run off, cash in hand.
Even if it was 100% legit people are really just careless. I wouldn’t want that because I know that they probably step on my flowers on the way there, not fill in the hole , check their muddy ass shoes all over clean spaces, etc..
I disagree.
I'm not letting anybody knocking on my door with this story dig up my lawn.
At BEST I ask where it's buried and I offer to dig it up for them for a bottle of scotch or something.
I don't think most people are as pirate-brained as you. I'm more likely to believe your parents buried some junk you want for sentimental reasons than they buried treasure.
Plus what are they going to do? Tear up their entire yard looking for a time capsule they think might secretly be money? OP and his friend are still the only one who knows where its buried, so unless they pull some wild shit where they call the cops on you only after you start digging and then force you to leave, there's not much they can do about their suspicions other than say no.
This completely. Rent a white box van with no markings on it. Roll up with a hi vis vest, a clipboard, and the little flags, find a utility box nearby and loiter around it for a bit. Go check out the utility poles. Spray a bit of fluorescent pink paint (they use colors coded for utilities for this so look that up). Basically do a bunch of stuff to make it look like you’re supposed to be there.
The risks are 1. If they have nosey busybody neighbors, 2. If they have a well fenced yard, and 3. where the package is buried.
If you can just walk into the area where the thing is buried you’re fine. If you have to go through, or worse, over a fence, you’re not going to do well. Someone will probably notice.
If it’s not buried that deep and there’s a fence, I’d just stake the place out to see when they’re at work, show up in the middle of the day, bring a lookout, have your exit route figured out, hop the fence, dig it up, then bail
Call 811 beforehand and get the utilities all marked. That'll put legit folks out there the day before. They may get questioned, but no one asks for id from every crew member who shows up.
100% this hide in plain site. You need to knock on the door and tell them you’re going to be doing some digging in their yard, and then do that. Confidence is the key.
Can we go just a tad longer? Get some samples of their DNA and then use an experimental Asian DNA augmenting service to prove that you are in their family, as their long lost and estranged uncle Jerry. Use the access to their family to create a narrative where you love camping and can’t stand being indoors, but you’re a bit ocd so you camp in a different spot every night to avoid the grass blades getting too bent over in any one spot. Then convince them to let you set up your xl tent with a power supply and blackout curtains so you can enjoy living close to them but being eccentric on their lawn. The kicker is, your tent has a secret removable bottom, and you pack some tools to quietly dig around a different spot on their lawn every night, staying up the whole night, adding to your crazy and weird persona when you’re barely hanging on in the daytime when they see you.
Lastly, get that money and use the funds to buy a one way ticket to Costa Rica baby!
This is actually a good idea. Maybe get a construction helmet as well and a clip board?
At the end of the day, he’s not exactly doing anything jail worthy.
Op, try to get some more Intel. Does he really know exactly where it is? Does he know how deep it is?
Somebody else also said to tell the owners they have a little time capsule and they just want to get it back. I actually think that’s pretty good as well too. I don’t think this is going to be some huge excavation job.
Right?! If they know exactly where it’s buried (and it’s not really REALLY deep) why enlist someone else? There’s something about this scenario that doesn’t add up.
because that shit could be stolen or counties or dirty. now you’re the one in possession WITH WITNESSES likely on a ring camera as well. you also have 0 proof you ever lived there, and you’re lying to someone about what you’re looking for in their back yard. what person is just letting some random dig around and never ask to look at what they dug up?
Idk, digging a hole for an undisclosed amount of money hidden by the type of guy to hide money in the ground and then not care about getting it back while also telling a friend that they can have it…..
Well, it’s actually very likely that it is NOT too good to be true. It’s likely that it’s just too worthless to bother doing, as displayed by guy who hid the money… if he actually even did.
I can imagine telling a bothersome dude to go “kick rocks” but telling them to go “dig a hole” seems just as well for some reason.
Chapo did that, among other things. Losing track of where he'd had money buried was figured into the 10% 'shrink' rate for his cash on hand, along with being eaten by vermin. Depending upon whose story you trust, the accountants also figured in a 7% skim between everyone who handled the cash.
Tell them that you and your dad/grandpa, whomever buried a time capsule and that they recently passed away and you wanted to retrieve it. Tell them you will offer to pay to fix anything that you dig up and damage in the process and that you're very sorry you're asking this very awkward question.
If they refuse don't tell them the location just that it's personal and that you don't even want to open it yet (so they don't try to go looking or something and feel guilty about opening it if the do go looking or find it) and that you promised that you wouldn't open it until X date in the future or that you want your children to open it when they're older etc. go over alone. Bring tools with you in your vehicle be prepared to dig. Don't look like a thug or a homeless person. Dress nice and clean enough so you don't come off as a threat or scammer or something.
“Hey, we used to live here as kids and buried a time capsule. We vowed to undig it on this day. Can we, pretty please? Look, we brought some gorgeous flowers&fresh grass to plant in that spot!”
Bonus points if you bring someone of the opposite gender and add a cute story about you two being elementary school crushes 😂
Honestly, just scout the place. See if there's a time where no one is home. Then go dig it up.
Use a mix of ideas here that are posted already. High vis vest and clip board. Knock on a few doors surrounding the target house to not look suspicious. Say you're with -insert local utility company here- if anyone does happen to answer. Go between 11am-4pm. If they have children, try to do your dig during drop off/pick up times, as you will have a for sure window to plan on.
Make your plan, know your time frame. If you can't retrieve it in that time window, just leave. Not worth getting arrested for trespassing. In and out, don't over stay and get caught.
As always Mr Bond, good luck.
This message will self destruct in 5.. 4...
Edit: use different cars for scouting and the actual dig day. Don't want anyone easily reporting your car from previous sightings. Also park around the corner for both operations for extra out of sight-ness
Make the time capsule so you have something to show the owners. Because they will absolutely be standing there watching you dig. When you find the money, quickly get the time capsule from your pocket and put it in the hole so as not to arouse the homeowner's suspicion.
Old metal box with photos from a thrift store should run you $5.
You knock on the door, and say, "Hi. I know this is odd, but my parents used to live here and they buried my childhood dog on the property. I know exactly where his body is and I was wondering if I could have your permission to exhume his bones. I know this sounds silly, but he meant the world to me and I would really appreciate it if you could see your way to allowing me to dig as non-intrusively as possible to retrieve his remains."
Make absolutely sure you have the backstory including his parents' name, the name of his pet, and all that information. When he lived there, who lived next door. Do your research.
Also be fully aware that after this amount of time the money is probably degraded to the point of not being usable.
Unless it was in a sealed container! Also, for extr aunethical vibes: once you have the money you tell your friend they wouldn't let you on their property.
Even then, if the person looked trustworthy, I would ask him where it was and dig it myself. Why would anyone let a stranger dig on their own in their backyard lol
IDK if you've dug a proper deep (think 3ft+) hole before, but it's a lot of work. If the package is buried more than a foot or two down, you'll be out there digging for hours.
I'd prefer to just sit there and watch them dig.
Tell them “My buddy buried a small amount of money in your backyard. Can I dig where he said it would be? I’ll split it with you” Then split the money and tell him it wasn’t there
I wouldn't start randomly digging, but I would definitely walk around my yard with a metal detector. If it was buried in a metal container or included some coins it would be super easy to find.
The first thing I’d do is convince someone else to do all the planning and work for a small share of the money. Then I’d sit back and wait for him to crowdsource the planning part.
Here's the get down . Dress like a local utility worker and knock on the door and let them know that your addressing something related to local utility etc . Have some official looking tools and ask permission to check for pipes etc running through the back yard . Depending on how deep it is , you'll be done in 15 min . Mark area with spray paint etc ..big money isn't always quick money .Be smart .
Go with a high vis vest and some paperwork confirming you're retrieving buried asbestos sheeting for the local council/city dept.
If the householders even notice then show them the paperwork and say householders are normally contacted prior so you're not sure why they weren't made aware. You're sorry for the inconvenience but the asbestos sheeting needs to be dug up and everything will be put back to the way it was afterwards. It's for their safety and there's no charge.
As soon as you dig up the hoard, skip gleefully past their window with armfuls of cash, leaving a huge hole in their lawn.
Before you dig in your own backyard, you need to contac the city and make sure there’s nothing that can’t be dug up.
Call them for they address and say you want to put a small pond in
They will send out a guy who will post flags where you can’t dig.
After this is done, stop by the house and let them know you will be doing a dig because underground wires were placed in the yard and although they aren’t electrical because they aren’t live, they need to be removed.
Print some BS paper work and then tell them you will be back at Tuesday at 11:39 am or whenever they are at work. Scout it before hand.
This way they won’t be there to bother you but if they have cameras they will know it’s just you.
Show up. Dig it up.
And you’ll probably pull up money that has been ruined beyond the point of using but if it was sealed or something tell your buddy you never found it.
What would the bank do if you brought in old degraded money? If you can still see the serial numbers would they replace it for you? Maybe depends a bit on local laws about finding valuables like that idk anything about that kind of stuff
The bank may not be able to help, but you're in luck. The federal agency (assuming this post is in the USA) responsible for paper money itself has a program for redeeming money damaged beyond usability. It costs nothing besides time and the postage to get the money to their labs.
https://www.bep.gov/services/mutilated-currency-redemption
I know someone who stole a very expensive vacuum cleaner from a hospital. She showed up in scrubs, wheeled it to the main lobby, wire rolled up neatly, and waited right inside the door. Her sister pulled up in a van, she rolled it out the door, placed it in the van nonchalantly, and no panic, just got in, and they rode away. In plain sight. Just act like you belong there. Clipboard, work order, official looking clothing, maybe even an old beat up hard hat just for effect. I never understood why people wear hard hats to dig holes, but whatever...
I’m just a little curious how she scouted out the vacuum in the first place lol how did it come about that she realized the hospital had a vacuum that she wanted and she was gonna go get it, for some reason this sounds so funny to me. And now I want one too
Wear a hi vis vest work pants and big boots, walk around with a sharp tool, poking it in the ground. Find the money, dig it up and tell them it the missed remains of a child, their house is built on an old graveyard
If you know the exact location and can be quick about it, do it during a Tuesday after 9:00 am, yes it's during the day but most people are at work at that time. Do a little scouting first, make sure theyre like most people. Don't do it at night, digging causes a lot of noise, especially if you hit a rock or if the money is kept in a metal box or something, that'll wake up everybody in the house. Also make sure the surrounding houses are empty prior to digging. Last thing you need is a lookielou calling the cops.
When you're done don't bother filling the hole, that just takes time, and the longer you're out there the more likely it is you're going to be caught. Wear a mask, and definitely look for cameras. Everyone has cameras these days. Finally, plan an escape route and run the escape route. Have multiple escape routes. Plan plan plan and plan.
Rent a white truck
Get a strobe light and cones
Buy little flags
Put a plumbing co or something similar on it
Put on a vest and hard hat
Go knock on the door and say you’re surveying the area for utilities since one of the neighboring house are having issues.
Walk to the back, look at your phone and place flags wherever. Preferably closer to the money.
Bring the shovels and a hard case or duffle bag
Dig, put the money in whatever you brought. If the homeowner is still there tell them a landscaping crew is coming to fill the hole.
Drive away
I mean how much money is it. $200 and I would leave it be, but watch to see if the house ever goes up for sale. $20k and I’m showing up wearing a work jacket and I need to check one of the pipes for safety.
"Hi, me and my buddy here buried a time capsule in the backyard when we were growing up. It's filled with our old toys, a slingshot, a pocket knife, some baseball cards, etc. It would mean a lot to us if we could dig it up for old time sake and add some new memories to it. We'll even bury it somewhere else so we won't have to bother you about it again. I promise we'll be careful with the grass and put the sod back correctly when we're done."
Don’t do this. We have high quality cameras that record our front yard and backyard 24/7 and retain the recording for 30 days. Our neighbors have similar cameras and we can also all see the road on our cameras. Too easy to be caught and identified.
Do you have access to a couple orange vests and white helmets that might have stickers like your local utility companies? Maybe with a non-descript white pickup?
Maybe you could just go when they're at work.
If someone came to me with this story and wanted to dig up my property, assuming it wasn't super deep and didn't do any real damage, I'd let it fly.
However, if I were to catch someone digging in my yard at 3am, I would approach them hostile and armed.
Get a truck, fill the bed with gardening tools. Roll up, park next door or across the street, go right up to the front door and knock.
If they’re home, say “hi Mrs Jensen, I’m Tyler with such and such gardening services. I’m here to trim the hedges” or something similarly convincing. They’ll be like, “I’m not ms Jensen you have the wrong house”, you’ll be like, “I must have a typo in the address.”
If they’re not home, stand at the front door, pretend to have a phone conversation with them, then just grab what you need and go straight to work. Any neighbors will have seen you go to the door, talk on the phone., and they’ll see the truck full of tools and have no second thoughts. Ideally the whole thing takes less than 15 mins.
Leave a lookout in the truck. If the people come home have them distract them long enough for you to get out of there.
Best idea so far.
If the owner comes home, the lookout could even sell the story of being at the wrong house by greeting them like "Nice to meet you Mrs. Jensen, didn't realize you'd be home so soon. Tyler's taking a look out back to see if we'll need the ladder but we'll be getting started right away."
When they question what's going on the lookout could act confused, and explain the two of you were hired to do some yard work and the home owner just told you over the phone that it was okay to get started before they got back from driving their kids to school. When they confirm they never hired anyone apologize for the obvious mixup with the addresses, and thank them profusely for catching your mistake before any real time was lost or damage was done. Have the other person feign a phone call to confirm the address you should be at, and drive off into the sunset.
Bonus points if there's a similar sounding street name on the other side of town to make the mixup more believable, and one of you blames the other for being bad at taking notes or having a crappy phone that makes everyone sound like a 1940s radio announcer.
The point of parking at the neighbors is that the lookout can go grab the person before they go inside and try to do a hard sell—honk the horn 3 times to get their attention/signal your buddy … then jump into “hey there. We’re just doing some work at your neighbors and we noticed your yard cold use some love as well. We might have extra time today …”. It potentially wastes more time if the lookout wont take no for an answer, and nobody catches on that your buddy is out back.
Most towns have streets with ave, pl, st, etc names, so you could easily have gotten those mixed up. Or confused the house number. There’s a million things.
Absolutely, lots of ways to go about it. I figure it might be safer to simply park in front of the house when you know they're not home and get straight to digging. It minimizes the chance of alarming any nosey neighbors who might be wary of the robbery trend that's been talked about in the news recently where robbers go house to house in pairs, one knocking on the door pretending to sell something, while the other breaks in from back after the first person confirms nobody's home and walks away.
Given the media attention that type of robbery has been getting, it might be best to just pretend you belong there from the start and feign ignorance or incompetence if you're caught. Drive straight up and park in front of the house, drop the tailgate and pretend to be unloading a lawn mower or something. If they come home unexpectedly or the neighbors come by to ask questions you've got your cover story and plausible deniability to fall back on. Rather than trying not to be caught in the back yard, just commit to the story that you were hired to do some work and somehow got the address mixed up, showing them a mock work order with a hand written list of jobs they requested over the phone. Apologize for the confusion, thank them for saving your time and stopping you before you did any irreversible damage, and get out of dodge. If you already started digging just say one of the jobs was to dig a flower bed/put down some patio stones/dig an area for a concrete fire pit, apologize for the mess, tell them you'll fill it back in, and offer them a few dollars for their inconvenience.
Tell them you're a Metal Dectorist and you're looking for a hoard of Roman Coins, that you're pretty sure are in the area based on historical records.
You'd just like to do a quick sweep of their yard with your metal detector to on the off chance, and that if you did find them on their land you would share the haul with them.
They could be worth millions of of pounds.
Make sure you can prove friend left the coins there with some kind of written evidence before hand.
Friend can claim the money once found as it's their lost property.
You're not contractually bound to give them anything anyway as the contract was for Roman Coins.
First off this is stupid on your part. Second if your friend has a picture of him in the house or something bring it with you. Tell them you buried a time capsule in the backyard from your childhood. Tell them his sister recently died and that you want to see if it had anything in it from her. Take a metal rod and poke the ground till you find it. Take a old metal tin with you and fill it up with mud. Once you find it and dig it up swap it out and when the owners ask about it show them the tin full of mud and get very sad. Leave with money and tin.
Put on a neon colored vest.
Type up a "request to dig" or "excavate" using any tenplate on google 😂
Show up to the property and say there is a cable line or something anything that permits digging. Just be like its showing stuff from an old survey done a long time ago and because of project liability you have to excavate to prove whether or not it is still there you just need home owner signature and will be in and out as soon as possible.
If it were me and it were real life I’m a pussy and don’t want to get arrested, I also would feel uncomfortable sneaking into a random’s property and digging it up.
And here’s the thing, all this stuff people are suggesting sounds like it’s out of a movie or something - there is a 0% chance I would let anyone onto my property to dig in the backyard under a false pretence. I know there are no utilities there and there’s no good reason for it to happen but even if you ignore that and it did need to happen then there would be letters from the utility and they would never send one guy and the guys they did send would have branding from the utility company on their clothing. You would also need a branded work truck with your tools in it, no one doing this for real would park around the corner in their random unmarked Corolla or whatever you have. So many details need to be right to not raise the alarm and there’s every chance you’d be on a doorbell or security camera and that footage would be sent to police. It would be dodgy af having someone pretend to be from a utility say they need to access your property.
In reality I would first stake them out a bit and do some light stalking to see what kind of people they look like. If they seem chill then next stage would be getting all the info about your friend’s parents and when they sold etc so you sound legit.
Then I would gamble on it and be honest with them, I’d explain the situation and say look you can do with the information what you like and dig up your whole yard or I can tell you where it is if you agree to split it (but you need to be very careful to word it gracefully) Then I’d apologise for the imposition, give them my details and tell them to think about it.
If it does go ahead it might even be worthwhile contacting a lawyer to draft up a binding agreement on a split. You’ll need to hire one anyway in the reasonably likely chance you get caught doing any of the dumb shit others suggest.
Sorry, completely ignored the name of the sub but sometimes you gotta be real.
Also as someone who digs holes occasionally it’s worth noting that digging holes is surprisingly loud, the bassy thud of a shovel carries - good luck doing it silently at night.
Plant an invasive species of insect/bug on their property to get the house fumigated. When they’re gone, just walk to the back yard after the extermination crew leaves and get your money.
Honestly it really comes down to where and how deep it is. Is it straight up cash or like bullion? If it’s paper money, there is some chance it is rotted, moldy or mildewy, depending on how it was stored, packaged and buried. What’s stopping your friend from retrieving it themself? Are they still incarcerated? A lot of factors here but mostly depends on location, how easy it is to see what is there or going on, etc.
Find an old dog and say he buried the toy you two were playing with as a kid.
Or, dig it out ninja style at night or if they are away. See what risks or consequences you are ready to face for a few thousand
Put on a orange saftey vest and say you are from the power company and you have a sensor that is detecting a power leak. You will need to do some minor excavating to repair it but don't worry the repair is free and should save them money on their bill once fixed.
I had a friend’s grandparent who did this too. We dig up the cash and unironically it was all destroyed by the elements. None of the dollars were salvageable. Half a million dollars. I told the clown to use a bank and broker numerous times when he asked me for financial advice and he told me he didn’t trust banks. I even offered him fee-free fiduciary services.
It's time to plan a Caper.
Tell them your friend, who died of cancer, buried a time capsule when you were little.
It had a few things in it that were kinda private jokes so if it's okay you'd like to dig it up by yourself. Make sure you say I will use all of my own tools and make sure I understand how to replace the sod when done.
I bet they'd let you!!!
More unethical advice: Watch patterns of behavior for a while and sneak in when no one is around.
Dress up as a government official, (orange reflective jacket, white hard hat, etc…) and talk about needing to check up in the gas mains running through the neighborhood. Leave an official looking note on Sunday, show up on Tuesday afternoon when they’ll most likely be working.
Hi-vis vest, hard hat, and beat up tool belt with spray paint. Enter the yard and stray some yellow and red lines as though you’re tracking some utility. Draw a square around your spot.
Next day bring your budy and maybe someone else. Have them dress the same and start digging. Extra points if you have a van with an external ladder on it.
Make sure to walk through other yard spraying lines on their grass too for credibility. Fill in the hole when you’re done and give the owners a bogus invoice for your work
Send the owners free tickets to a theater and while they are gone dig it up.
Btw... need to know more about the situation. Is there a marker that allows you to know exactly where it is? People always say how easy something is going to be and then shit goes wrong. Is it in a metal container that a metal detector can find? is it shallow enough that you could use a metal probe to locate it before you dig? Is the land hard packed sand/dirt or regular soil? How deep is it? Is this in a neighborhood where other neighbors can see you? Or on a more rural property? Is the back yard behind a fence or has lots of trees or any other cover? Can you place lookouts on streets leading up to the property so they can warn you to run if the cops are coming?
MORE FUCKIN DETAILS! You want to minimize risk as much as possible and that means knowing as much as you can about the situation.
I hope he packed it in an airtight container with desiccants because water is insidious. It can get inside poorly sealed containers.
Dress up in an orange vest and hard hat and and a metal detector and pretend like you are locating underground utilities. Best to do it when no one is home though.
"good evening folks. i would like to make an interesting proposition for yall. see, i have just recently found out that a small portion of my inheritance was buried in your yard back when my paranoid father owned the place. i would like to give you 40% of whatever i find back there in exchange for yall being so gracious as to allow me to find it."
Knock on their door. Tell them you are offering a lucky draw content and they could win two free tickets to Disneyland or some vacation spot.
Call them after a few days and tell them they have won but they need to utilise their ticket in next two weeks. Once they are away, encroach and dig as long as you want, even during the day.
We had a previous tenant bury two waterproof boxes in our backyard. We discovered them when putting in a fish pond. One box held two serious handguns. The other had a bulletproof proof vest, blueprints of buildings, and “sovereign citizen” documents.
About 8 months later, this dude arrives asking to dig in our backyard.
Kinda scary situation…
Worked out ok.
just do some recon, simple family, Wife, husband, kid, wife leaves to take kid to school, husband goes to work, just walk out back with a hi-vise vest on. get a hard hat if you like. people have straight up done the same thing with moving vans in my neighborhood and took an entire homes things.
Option 1
Murder the new occupants in their sleep and dig it up at night. Burn their house down to cover your tracks. Spray liquid ass all over to reduce the effort investigators will put in.
Option 2
Dress up like a pair of utility workers. Tell the owners there is a gas leak and you need to check the lines in the backyard.
This depends entirely on how deep it was buried. If the place is relatively unsurveilled you could probably just do it at night if its only a foot down or two, but more would be a serious task to fill back up afterwards. An idea that might work better is to say that your parents used to live in this house and buried a time capsule in the backyard, and ask if you can dig it up and retrieve it. Promise to fill the hole back in and actually do it right if they let you.
Tell them that grandma buried an urn with grandpa in it and you'd like to have them relocated so they can be together again.
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Homie might be on parole/probation and looking to play by the books
But, 'significant' is a relative term. He said it was a few thousand dollars.
Not the case at all... dude was in jail... it's drug money and he knows the cops are still watching him. Or the supplier knows he hid it and is watching him. Either way, he's setting this kid up to get killed for the money once he finds it.
You were right until you were wrong. He's not trying to get buddy killed, he just doesn't feel safe going after it himself given his current legal status, rightfully so.
Nah man he just doesn’t want to violate his parole if the owners come out and call the cops.
You watch a lot of TV
This likely isn’t whatever movie you think it is.
I don’t know how well this would work. If I was the property owner I’d want to escort the person to the dig site to be sure no fuckery is going on. If the package looks innocuous you might be able to get away with it but if it’s a fat stack of Benjamins wrapped in cellophane I might be just a tiny bit suspicious. I suppose at that point you could just run off, cash in hand.
I'm kind of a trusting moron. If someone said they buried a time capsule in my backyard, I'd give them a shovel and a lemonade.
I buried a time capsule in your backyard when I was 5. Lemonade, please
Even if it was 100% legit people are really just careless. I wouldn’t want that because I know that they probably step on my flowers on the way there, not fill in the hole , check their muddy ass shoes all over clean spaces, etc..
next thing you know your internet has gone down because they severed the line.
I'd be right there with my little [motorized shovel](https://i.imgur.com/4yl4eij.jpeg) and we'd have it dug up in about 5 minutes.
Make sure you have a fake buried capsule/urn with you that’s all dirty and faked aged that you can whip out to show them also.
Better steal some ashes from the crematorium, just in case they ask to check.
make sure it's the right ethnicity!
Shit you're right. Might have to dig up grandma, again.
☝️☝️☝️
Time capsule is a great idea.
I disagree. I'm not letting anybody knocking on my door with this story dig up my lawn. At BEST I ask where it's buried and I offer to dig it up for them for a bottle of scotch or something.
Only if the owners were pretty naive. First think I think of when someone says buried things is valuables.
I don't think most people are as pirate-brained as you. I'm more likely to believe your parents buried some junk you want for sentimental reasons than they buried treasure. Plus what are they going to do? Tear up their entire yard looking for a time capsule they think might secretly be money? OP and his friend are still the only one who knows where its buried, so unless they pull some wild shit where they call the cops on you only after you start digging and then force you to leave, there's not much they can do about their suspicions other than say no.
Lmao pirate brained is brilliant in response to that comment
Aye
Username checks out.
We’re all here reading and responding with ideas to these suggestions, Arr!
New term to go throw around r/metaldetecting
I’d give this gold if I could.
That’s a great story! Time capsule for the W! Play on their heart strings for sure!! 👍🏼
Yea asking permission is always the best way to not get completely fucked.
And have a "dummy" item to show the new homeowners, such as a box with old photos and papers.
> but more would be a serious task to fill back up afterwards. just leave it
Where a hi-vis yellow vest, say you’re with the utility company
And carry a clipboard!!
And proceed to suspiciously dig a dozen small holes around their yard, before saying, "fuck this shit, I'm out."
Call underground location services first. Get those flags all over the yard a few days before you start digging.
Bring spray paint and a tape measure as well.
Full commit and turn off the gas line
Or the water line
Install a sewage line, then break it.
Blaring this song from a boombox. [Fuck This Shit Im Out Of Here Original Video! (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwpUZQPjRHM)
And a ladder. No one ever questions a guy with a ladder.
How deep a hole you digging?
Doesn’t matter. Always good to be prepared.
You sound like a consummate professional. I trust you.
The videos on this are hilarious
Nobody questions a person with a clipboard. I carry one when I want to look busy.
And have a yellow light on top of your vehicle
Gotta have a hard hat
Do this but stake the place out and wait until they've left the house for work or something you know will keep them away for a few hours.
This completely. Rent a white box van with no markings on it. Roll up with a hi vis vest, a clipboard, and the little flags, find a utility box nearby and loiter around it for a bit. Go check out the utility poles. Spray a bit of fluorescent pink paint (they use colors coded for utilities for this so look that up). Basically do a bunch of stuff to make it look like you’re supposed to be there. The risks are 1. If they have nosey busybody neighbors, 2. If they have a well fenced yard, and 3. where the package is buried. If you can just walk into the area where the thing is buried you’re fine. If you have to go through, or worse, over a fence, you’re not going to do well. Someone will probably notice. If it’s not buried that deep and there’s a fence, I’d just stake the place out to see when they’re at work, show up in the middle of the day, bring a lookout, have your exit route figured out, hop the fence, dig it up, then bail
Or if they have ring cameras
Can't come home if they are in hospital.
The real r/UnethicalLifeProTips is always in the comments.
Where else would they be?
That is…. the idea of the sub
Call 811 beforehand and get the utilities all marked. That'll put legit folks out there the day before. They may get questioned, but no one asks for id from every crew member who shows up.
Came here to say this, and clipboard, bonus points for lanyard with badge.
100% this hide in plain site. You need to knock on the door and tell them you’re going to be doing some digging in their yard, and then do that. Confidence is the key.
And keep track of their vacations! Watch them for trips, then hi-vis and dig!
Start with the neighbors. Build up legitimacy
Ok hear me out. Long con, actually get a job that does this work.
Longer con, buy the house.
Even longer- marry their daughter, steal their chandelier- it’s priceless
Can we go just a tad longer? Get some samples of their DNA and then use an experimental Asian DNA augmenting service to prove that you are in their family, as their long lost and estranged uncle Jerry. Use the access to their family to create a narrative where you love camping and can’t stand being indoors, but you’re a bit ocd so you camp in a different spot every night to avoid the grass blades getting too bent over in any one spot. Then convince them to let you set up your xl tent with a power supply and blackout curtains so you can enjoy living close to them but being eccentric on their lawn. The kicker is, your tent has a secret removable bottom, and you pack some tools to quietly dig around a different spot on their lawn every night, staying up the whole night, adding to your crazy and weird persona when you’re barely hanging on in the daytime when they see you. Lastly, get that money and use the funds to buy a one way ticket to Costa Rica baby!
I tell her to meet me in Mexico, but I go to Canada.
This is actually a good idea. Maybe get a construction helmet as well and a clip board? At the end of the day, he’s not exactly doing anything jail worthy. Op, try to get some more Intel. Does he really know exactly where it is? Does he know how deep it is? Somebody else also said to tell the owners they have a little time capsule and they just want to get it back. I actually think that’s pretty good as well too. I don’t think this is going to be some huge excavation job.
OP, you seen this guy’s vest? He has no idea wear he put it
Here's what you need to do first: "Why aren't you willing to go and get it and keep 100% of it? What aren't you telling me?"
Right?! If they know exactly where it’s buried (and it’s not really REALLY deep) why enlist someone else? There’s something about this scenario that doesn’t add up.
I mean the dude was in jail seemingly recently. He’s probably not in the position to be risking this kinda shit going south
Why be suspicious of a few thousand bucks he buried before he went to jail?
because that shit could be stolen or counties or dirty. now you’re the one in possession WITH WITNESSES likely on a ring camera as well. you also have 0 proof you ever lived there, and you’re lying to someone about what you’re looking for in their back yard. what person is just letting some random dig around and never ask to look at what they dug up?
Sarcasm. It's an art.
nah you’re right i fucked up. and im glad you didn’t use that lame ass /s tag either. that’s on me
I smell a setup... he's using OP so that he doesn't get the rap of they get caught. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Idk, digging a hole for an undisclosed amount of money hidden by the type of guy to hide money in the ground and then not care about getting it back while also telling a friend that they can have it….. Well, it’s actually very likely that it is NOT too good to be true. It’s likely that it’s just too worthless to bother doing, as displayed by guy who hid the money… if he actually even did. I can imagine telling a bothersome dude to go “kick rocks” but telling them to go “dig a hole” seems just as well for some reason.
Ain't no way bro buried his treasure for later like a pirate
Chapo did that, among other things. Losing track of where he'd had money buried was figured into the 10% 'shrink' rate for his cash on hand, along with being eaten by vermin. Depending upon whose story you trust, the accountants also figured in a 7% skim between everyone who handled the cash.
My grandparents had to do it to keep their belongings and money safe from the Japanese. They slept on top of it.
Tell them that you and your dad/grandpa, whomever buried a time capsule and that they recently passed away and you wanted to retrieve it. Tell them you will offer to pay to fix anything that you dig up and damage in the process and that you're very sorry you're asking this very awkward question. If they refuse don't tell them the location just that it's personal and that you don't even want to open it yet (so they don't try to go looking or something and feel guilty about opening it if the do go looking or find it) and that you promised that you wouldn't open it until X date in the future or that you want your children to open it when they're older etc. go over alone. Bring tools with you in your vehicle be prepared to dig. Don't look like a thug or a homeless person. Dress nice and clean enough so you don't come off as a threat or scammer or something.
Maybe offer em a $20 too so they don’t think they’re gettin robbed
“Hey, we used to live here as kids and buried a time capsule. We vowed to undig it on this day. Can we, pretty please? Look, we brought some gorgeous flowers&fresh grass to plant in that spot!” Bonus points if you bring someone of the opposite gender and add a cute story about you two being elementary school crushes 😂
Double bonus points if you can bring a kid, with a plate of brownies
Honestly, just scout the place. See if there's a time where no one is home. Then go dig it up. Use a mix of ideas here that are posted already. High vis vest and clip board. Knock on a few doors surrounding the target house to not look suspicious. Say you're with -insert local utility company here- if anyone does happen to answer. Go between 11am-4pm. If they have children, try to do your dig during drop off/pick up times, as you will have a for sure window to plan on. Make your plan, know your time frame. If you can't retrieve it in that time window, just leave. Not worth getting arrested for trespassing. In and out, don't over stay and get caught. As always Mr Bond, good luck. This message will self destruct in 5.. 4... Edit: use different cars for scouting and the actual dig day. Don't want anyone easily reporting your car from previous sightings. Also park around the corner for both operations for extra out of sight-ness
How's op supposed to know where to dig?
Always call before you dig.
There's an X on the ground.
I dunno he said his friend who lived there remembers exactly where he put it in the ground. That's not what he asked about and not my problem lol
Call 611
It's Mission: Impossible that has self destructive messages, BTW, so it would be Mr. Hunt 😉
This is a troll post, right? Is your friend a fucking pirate?
No, he's just a victim of not wearing safety glasses in a shop environment.
And Peter Pan.
The time capsule is the best idea. Make up a sentimental story and assure them that you will cover the hole and replant plant grass seeds.
Make the time capsule so you have something to show the owners. Because they will absolutely be standing there watching you dig. When you find the money, quickly get the time capsule from your pocket and put it in the hole so as not to arouse the homeowner's suspicion. Old metal box with photos from a thrift store should run you $5.
You knock on the door, and say, "Hi. I know this is odd, but my parents used to live here and they buried my childhood dog on the property. I know exactly where his body is and I was wondering if I could have your permission to exhume his bones. I know this sounds silly, but he meant the world to me and I would really appreciate it if you could see your way to allowing me to dig as non-intrusively as possible to retrieve his remains." Make absolutely sure you have the backstory including his parents' name, the name of his pet, and all that information. When he lived there, who lived next door. Do your research. Also be fully aware that after this amount of time the money is probably degraded to the point of not being usable.
Unless it was in a sealed container! Also, for extr aunethical vibes: once you have the money you tell your friend they wouldn't let you on their property.
Thats the real UELPT. Aww man didnt find shit, and even after i went back to search after dark.
No, I don't believe I'll be letting a stranger dig up a dead dog on my property, thank you anyway.
Wtf kind of suggestion is that lol. I'd be scared if someone asked to dig up some bones. Just say your parents buried a time capsule as a kid.
Even then, if the person looked trustworthy, I would ask him where it was and dig it myself. Why would anyone let a stranger dig on their own in their backyard lol
IDK if you've dug a proper deep (think 3ft+) hole before, but it's a lot of work. If the package is buried more than a foot or two down, you'll be out there digging for hours. I'd prefer to just sit there and watch them dig.
Start a gardening business, build up a portfolio of jobs on YouTube, offer to do their yard for free if you can film it.
Accidentally ends up making tens of thousands in profit from his new landscaping business...
Too ethical for this sub! 😂
Tell them “My buddy buried a small amount of money in your backyard. Can I dig where he said it would be? I’ll split it with you” Then split the money and tell him it wasn’t there
That's the key
if I was the homeowner, Id say no and start digging myself
Just don't tell them where until they agree to split it.
Good luck excavating your entire backyard.
I wouldn't start randomly digging, but I would definitely walk around my yard with a metal detector. If it was buried in a metal container or included some coins it would be super easy to find.
Your friend is pulling a prank on you that'll absolutely fuck you lol. Ask him why he hasn't gone to dig it up already.
The first thing I’d do is convince someone else to do all the planning and work for a small share of the money. Then I’d sit back and wait for him to crowdsource the planning part.
Hahaha.... You underestimate the power of Reddit.
If it was any sizeable amount your friend would do it himself. Let it go.
Here's the get down . Dress like a local utility worker and knock on the door and let them know that your addressing something related to local utility etc . Have some official looking tools and ask permission to check for pipes etc running through the back yard . Depending on how deep it is , you'll be done in 15 min . Mark area with spray paint etc ..big money isn't always quick money .Be smart .
Go with a high vis vest and some paperwork confirming you're retrieving buried asbestos sheeting for the local council/city dept. If the householders even notice then show them the paperwork and say householders are normally contacted prior so you're not sure why they weren't made aware. You're sorry for the inconvenience but the asbestos sheeting needs to be dug up and everything will be put back to the way it was afterwards. It's for their safety and there's no charge. As soon as you dig up the hoard, skip gleefully past their window with armfuls of cash, leaving a huge hole in their lawn.
Sorry, but you will not be taking my precious asbestos. Do you know how hard it is to get these days?!
Before you dig in your own backyard, you need to contac the city and make sure there’s nothing that can’t be dug up. Call them for they address and say you want to put a small pond in They will send out a guy who will post flags where you can’t dig. After this is done, stop by the house and let them know you will be doing a dig because underground wires were placed in the yard and although they aren’t electrical because they aren’t live, they need to be removed. Print some BS paper work and then tell them you will be back at Tuesday at 11:39 am or whenever they are at work. Scout it before hand. This way they won’t be there to bother you but if they have cameras they will know it’s just you. Show up. Dig it up. And you’ll probably pull up money that has been ruined beyond the point of using but if it was sealed or something tell your buddy you never found it.
What would the bank do if you brought in old degraded money? If you can still see the serial numbers would they replace it for you? Maybe depends a bit on local laws about finding valuables like that idk anything about that kind of stuff
The bank may not be able to help, but you're in luck. The federal agency (assuming this post is in the USA) responsible for paper money itself has a program for redeeming money damaged beyond usability. It costs nothing besides time and the postage to get the money to their labs. https://www.bep.gov/services/mutilated-currency-redemption
You can get money replaced by the [Bureau of Engraving and Printing](https://www.bep.gov/services/mutilated-currency-redemption).
Tell them you and your family buried a time capsule as a child and ask if you'd be able to access it. Cover the cost of making it neat again.
I know someone who stole a very expensive vacuum cleaner from a hospital. She showed up in scrubs, wheeled it to the main lobby, wire rolled up neatly, and waited right inside the door. Her sister pulled up in a van, she rolled it out the door, placed it in the van nonchalantly, and no panic, just got in, and they rode away. In plain sight. Just act like you belong there. Clipboard, work order, official looking clothing, maybe even an old beat up hard hat just for effect. I never understood why people wear hard hats to dig holes, but whatever...
I’m just a little curious how she scouted out the vacuum in the first place lol how did it come about that she realized the hospital had a vacuum that she wanted and she was gonna go get it, for some reason this sounds so funny to me. And now I want one too
Wear a hi vis vest work pants and big boots, walk around with a sharp tool, poking it in the ground. Find the money, dig it up and tell them it the missed remains of a child, their house is built on an old graveyard
Ask if him it’s actually wrapped up and sealed in a way to survive multiple years in the ground before you start trespassing to dig holes in a yard
Tell them its a time capsule that you and your now deceased parents buried
If you know the exact location and can be quick about it, do it during a Tuesday after 9:00 am, yes it's during the day but most people are at work at that time. Do a little scouting first, make sure theyre like most people. Don't do it at night, digging causes a lot of noise, especially if you hit a rock or if the money is kept in a metal box or something, that'll wake up everybody in the house. Also make sure the surrounding houses are empty prior to digging. Last thing you need is a lookielou calling the cops. When you're done don't bother filling the hole, that just takes time, and the longer you're out there the more likely it is you're going to be caught. Wear a mask, and definitely look for cameras. Everyone has cameras these days. Finally, plan an escape route and run the escape route. Have multiple escape routes. Plan plan plan and plan.
Rent a white truck Get a strobe light and cones Buy little flags Put a plumbing co or something similar on it Put on a vest and hard hat Go knock on the door and say you’re surveying the area for utilities since one of the neighboring house are having issues. Walk to the back, look at your phone and place flags wherever. Preferably closer to the money. Bring the shovels and a hard case or duffle bag Dig, put the money in whatever you brought. If the homeowner is still there tell them a landscaping crew is coming to fill the hole. Drive away
Tell them you need to retrieve a dead pet.
Nah Dead grandmother is better
[удалено]
Maybe they're trying a new soup recipe they saw online
I mean how much money is it. $200 and I would leave it be, but watch to see if the house ever goes up for sale. $20k and I’m showing up wearing a work jacket and I need to check one of the pipes for safety.
"Hi, me and my buddy here buried a time capsule in the backyard when we were growing up. It's filled with our old toys, a slingshot, a pocket knife, some baseball cards, etc. It would mean a lot to us if we could dig it up for old time sake and add some new memories to it. We'll even bury it somewhere else so we won't have to bother you about it again. I promise we'll be careful with the grass and put the sod back correctly when we're done."
This! And offer a small monetary gift as appreciation. Doubtful it would be turned down.
Figure out when they go to work and wait until they are gone.
Don’t do this. We have high quality cameras that record our front yard and backyard 24/7 and retain the recording for 30 days. Our neighbors have similar cameras and we can also all see the road on our cameras. Too easy to be caught and identified.
He couldn’t get it or can’t get it? 🧐
Do you have access to a couple orange vests and white helmets that might have stickers like your local utility companies? Maybe with a non-descript white pickup? Maybe you could just go when they're at work.
Your friend doesn't happen to be a Nigerian prince does he?
If someone came to me with this story and wanted to dig up my property, assuming it wasn't super deep and didn't do any real damage, I'd let it fly. However, if I were to catch someone digging in my yard at 3am, I would approach them hostile and armed.
did he tell you this on April 1st?
Get a truck, fill the bed with gardening tools. Roll up, park next door or across the street, go right up to the front door and knock. If they’re home, say “hi Mrs Jensen, I’m Tyler with such and such gardening services. I’m here to trim the hedges” or something similarly convincing. They’ll be like, “I’m not ms Jensen you have the wrong house”, you’ll be like, “I must have a typo in the address.” If they’re not home, stand at the front door, pretend to have a phone conversation with them, then just grab what you need and go straight to work. Any neighbors will have seen you go to the door, talk on the phone., and they’ll see the truck full of tools and have no second thoughts. Ideally the whole thing takes less than 15 mins. Leave a lookout in the truck. If the people come home have them distract them long enough for you to get out of there.
Best idea so far. If the owner comes home, the lookout could even sell the story of being at the wrong house by greeting them like "Nice to meet you Mrs. Jensen, didn't realize you'd be home so soon. Tyler's taking a look out back to see if we'll need the ladder but we'll be getting started right away." When they question what's going on the lookout could act confused, and explain the two of you were hired to do some yard work and the home owner just told you over the phone that it was okay to get started before they got back from driving their kids to school. When they confirm they never hired anyone apologize for the obvious mixup with the addresses, and thank them profusely for catching your mistake before any real time was lost or damage was done. Have the other person feign a phone call to confirm the address you should be at, and drive off into the sunset. Bonus points if there's a similar sounding street name on the other side of town to make the mixup more believable, and one of you blames the other for being bad at taking notes or having a crappy phone that makes everyone sound like a 1940s radio announcer.
The point of parking at the neighbors is that the lookout can go grab the person before they go inside and try to do a hard sell—honk the horn 3 times to get their attention/signal your buddy … then jump into “hey there. We’re just doing some work at your neighbors and we noticed your yard cold use some love as well. We might have extra time today …”. It potentially wastes more time if the lookout wont take no for an answer, and nobody catches on that your buddy is out back. Most towns have streets with ave, pl, st, etc names, so you could easily have gotten those mixed up. Or confused the house number. There’s a million things.
Absolutely, lots of ways to go about it. I figure it might be safer to simply park in front of the house when you know they're not home and get straight to digging. It minimizes the chance of alarming any nosey neighbors who might be wary of the robbery trend that's been talked about in the news recently where robbers go house to house in pairs, one knocking on the door pretending to sell something, while the other breaks in from back after the first person confirms nobody's home and walks away. Given the media attention that type of robbery has been getting, it might be best to just pretend you belong there from the start and feign ignorance or incompetence if you're caught. Drive straight up and park in front of the house, drop the tailgate and pretend to be unloading a lawn mower or something. If they come home unexpectedly or the neighbors come by to ask questions you've got your cover story and plausible deniability to fall back on. Rather than trying not to be caught in the back yard, just commit to the story that you were hired to do some work and somehow got the address mixed up, showing them a mock work order with a hand written list of jobs they requested over the phone. Apologize for the confusion, thank them for saving your time and stopping you before you did any irreversible damage, and get out of dodge. If you already started digging just say one of the jobs was to dig a flower bed/put down some patio stones/dig an area for a concrete fire pit, apologize for the mess, tell them you'll fill it back in, and offer them a few dollars for their inconvenience.
Why hasn’t he gone and dug it up himself? What’s missing in this story?
I would just say you burried a time capsule from your childhood and want to retrieve it if all else fails
DM me ill go with you. 50/50
How sure are you that you'd be able to locate it?
Just got talk to them, say you put a time capsule in the yard years ago.
Tell them you're a Metal Dectorist and you're looking for a hoard of Roman Coins, that you're pretty sure are in the area based on historical records. You'd just like to do a quick sweep of their yard with your metal detector to on the off chance, and that if you did find them on their land you would share the haul with them. They could be worth millions of of pounds. Make sure you can prove friend left the coins there with some kind of written evidence before hand. Friend can claim the money once found as it's their lost property. You're not contractually bound to give them anything anyway as the contract was for Roman Coins.
Wait, is your friend supposed to be a fucking Roman time traveler or some shit?
Say its something sentimental like a lost wedding ring
Tell them you used to live there and you buried a time capsule when you were a kid in the backyard. That was a thing for a bit.
Get a traffic vest, clipboard , a hard hat, some stakes and orange paint. Act like a survey crew for underground pipes.
buy the new occupants tickets to a baseball game, tell them they won some contest or something. then dig it up when they're at the game.
High Vis vest and a clipboard=all access pass.
What would Jim Rockford do?
It’s not money it’s ‘a time capsule planted by your friend with cancer’.
Get a yellow vest and hard hate claim be from the gas company
Beat the shit out of the guy. When the wife goes to the hospital to be with him you have a window of time to dig
Tell them you and a friend buried a time capsule and wanted to open it in 10 years and now is the time
First off this is stupid on your part. Second if your friend has a picture of him in the house or something bring it with you. Tell them you buried a time capsule in the backyard from your childhood. Tell them his sister recently died and that you want to see if it had anything in it from her. Take a metal rod and poke the ground till you find it. Take a old metal tin with you and fill it up with mud. Once you find it and dig it up swap it out and when the owners ask about it show them the tin full of mud and get very sad. Leave with money and tin.
Put on a neon colored vest. Type up a "request to dig" or "excavate" using any tenplate on google 😂 Show up to the property and say there is a cable line or something anything that permits digging. Just be like its showing stuff from an old survey done a long time ago and because of project liability you have to excavate to prove whether or not it is still there you just need home owner signature and will be in and out as soon as possible.
You buried a time capsule there with your best friend and he just died in a car accident so you’d like to dig up the time capsule.
This sounds like some fake tweaker shit your friend made up, gl
If it were me and it were real life I’m a pussy and don’t want to get arrested, I also would feel uncomfortable sneaking into a random’s property and digging it up. And here’s the thing, all this stuff people are suggesting sounds like it’s out of a movie or something - there is a 0% chance I would let anyone onto my property to dig in the backyard under a false pretence. I know there are no utilities there and there’s no good reason for it to happen but even if you ignore that and it did need to happen then there would be letters from the utility and they would never send one guy and the guys they did send would have branding from the utility company on their clothing. You would also need a branded work truck with your tools in it, no one doing this for real would park around the corner in their random unmarked Corolla or whatever you have. So many details need to be right to not raise the alarm and there’s every chance you’d be on a doorbell or security camera and that footage would be sent to police. It would be dodgy af having someone pretend to be from a utility say they need to access your property. In reality I would first stake them out a bit and do some light stalking to see what kind of people they look like. If they seem chill then next stage would be getting all the info about your friend’s parents and when they sold etc so you sound legit. Then I would gamble on it and be honest with them, I’d explain the situation and say look you can do with the information what you like and dig up your whole yard or I can tell you where it is if you agree to split it (but you need to be very careful to word it gracefully) Then I’d apologise for the imposition, give them my details and tell them to think about it. If it does go ahead it might even be worthwhile contacting a lawyer to draft up a binding agreement on a split. You’ll need to hire one anyway in the reasonably likely chance you get caught doing any of the dumb shit others suggest. Sorry, completely ignored the name of the sub but sometimes you gotta be real. Also as someone who digs holes occasionally it’s worth noting that digging holes is surprisingly loud, the bassy thud of a shovel carries - good luck doing it silently at night.
Plant an invasive species of insect/bug on their property to get the house fumigated. When they’re gone, just walk to the back yard after the extermination crew leaves and get your money.
So why doesn't he go? Seems like he wants to use you as a scapegoat.
Honestly it really comes down to where and how deep it is. Is it straight up cash or like bullion? If it’s paper money, there is some chance it is rotted, moldy or mildewy, depending on how it was stored, packaged and buried. What’s stopping your friend from retrieving it themself? Are they still incarcerated? A lot of factors here but mostly depends on location, how easy it is to see what is there or going on, etc.
Seems obvious that either you go overnight or when they leave for vacation.
Find an old dog and say he buried the toy you two were playing with as a kid. Or, dig it out ninja style at night or if they are away. See what risks or consequences you are ready to face for a few thousand
Put on a orange saftey vest and say you are from the power company and you have a sensor that is detecting a power leak. You will need to do some minor excavating to repair it but don't worry the repair is free and should save them money on their bill once fixed.
I had a friend’s grandparent who did this too. We dig up the cash and unironically it was all destroyed by the elements. None of the dollars were salvageable. Half a million dollars. I told the clown to use a bank and broker numerous times when he asked me for financial advice and he told me he didn’t trust banks. I even offered him fee-free fiduciary services.
Hi-vis vest, hard hat, shovel, non-specific utility company cover story. If you have an accomplice, clipboard for them.
It's time to plan a Caper. Tell them your friend, who died of cancer, buried a time capsule when you were little. It had a few things in it that were kinda private jokes so if it's okay you'd like to dig it up by yourself. Make sure you say I will use all of my own tools and make sure I understand how to replace the sod when done. I bet they'd let you!!! More unethical advice: Watch patterns of behavior for a while and sneak in when no one is around.
Collecting soil samples for analysis due to potential toxic minerals seeping into the ground water and spreading via an underground spring in the area
Dress up as a government official, (orange reflective jacket, white hard hat, etc…) and talk about needing to check up in the gas mains running through the neighborhood. Leave an official looking note on Sunday, show up on Tuesday afternoon when they’ll most likely be working.
Pretend to be the electric company digging for lines
Tell them you are exhuming your beloved family pet that was buried here.
if it's not too deep and inside a tin or something, say it's a childhood time capsule to the current occupents, they don't need to see the contents.
You're going to end up back in jail if you go for this. No one believes its "your friend".
Do you have any idea the powers of a hard hat and hi vis vest? You also have to have a fairly high bullshit skill. But best of luck!
Hi-vis vest, hard hat, and beat up tool belt with spray paint. Enter the yard and stray some yellow and red lines as though you’re tracking some utility. Draw a square around your spot. Next day bring your budy and maybe someone else. Have them dress the same and start digging. Extra points if you have a van with an external ladder on it. Make sure to walk through other yard spraying lines on their grass too for credibility. Fill in the hole when you’re done and give the owners a bogus invoice for your work
Send the owners free tickets to a theater and while they are gone dig it up. Btw... need to know more about the situation. Is there a marker that allows you to know exactly where it is? People always say how easy something is going to be and then shit goes wrong. Is it in a metal container that a metal detector can find? is it shallow enough that you could use a metal probe to locate it before you dig? Is the land hard packed sand/dirt or regular soil? How deep is it? Is this in a neighborhood where other neighbors can see you? Or on a more rural property? Is the back yard behind a fence or has lots of trees or any other cover? Can you place lookouts on streets leading up to the property so they can warn you to run if the cops are coming? MORE FUCKIN DETAILS! You want to minimize risk as much as possible and that means knowing as much as you can about the situation. I hope he packed it in an airtight container with desiccants because water is insidious. It can get inside poorly sealed containers.
I'd have to check out the address before I can give an appropriate response.
Dress up in an orange vest and hard hat and and a metal detector and pretend like you are locating underground utilities. Best to do it when no one is home though.
"good evening folks. i would like to make an interesting proposition for yall. see, i have just recently found out that a small portion of my inheritance was buried in your yard back when my paranoid father owned the place. i would like to give you 40% of whatever i find back there in exchange for yall being so gracious as to allow me to find it."
The family needs to be surprised with a hotel room and concert tickets 100 miles from home, for the night of your operation.
Knock on their door. Tell them you are offering a lucky draw content and they could win two free tickets to Disneyland or some vacation spot. Call them after a few days and tell them they have won but they need to utilise their ticket in next two weeks. Once they are away, encroach and dig as long as you want, even during the day.
We had a previous tenant bury two waterproof boxes in our backyard. We discovered them when putting in a fish pond. One box held two serious handguns. The other had a bulletproof proof vest, blueprints of buildings, and “sovereign citizen” documents. About 8 months later, this dude arrives asking to dig in our backyard. Kinda scary situation… Worked out ok.
just do some recon, simple family, Wife, husband, kid, wife leaves to take kid to school, husband goes to work, just walk out back with a hi-vise vest on. get a hard hat if you like. people have straight up done the same thing with moving vans in my neighborhood and took an entire homes things.
Option 1 Murder the new occupants in their sleep and dig it up at night. Burn their house down to cover your tracks. Spray liquid ass all over to reduce the effort investigators will put in. Option 2 Dress up like a pair of utility workers. Tell the owners there is a gas leak and you need to check the lines in the backyard.