“While these acts of trespass and burglary are illegal, they can also be quite dangerous as these unoccupied buildings may house unknown hazards.” “This incident appears to be another in an ongoing trend among area teens that involves trespassing into empty or abandoned buildings to document their presence inside the building and then share their acts on social media,” Heck wrote in a press release on the incident. The sheriff’s office forwarded details of the incident to the county attorney seeking burglary and trespassing charges on all five. One of the crew told deputies they wanted to take photographs of themselves inside the building.ĭeputies released the crew to their parents, but they were not, as we say these days, totally exonerated. One of the boys decided it would be a good idea to break a window and all five entered the building. They found three 17-year-old boys, a 16-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl inside the building.ĭeputies learned the five arrived at the park together to take photos. Benton County deputies and police officers from Rice and Royalton arrived. On March 23, they were arrested in Bend in the River Park.Īt about 6:45 p.m., a witness reported several teenagers entering a locked building after smashing a window. And with high-quality, low-cost digital gadgets such as GoPros, attention-seeking explorers easily share their antics.Īn urban exploring adventure did not end well for five Benton County teenagers. The dangerous pastime has taken a modern twist with increased use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Recent television shows such as Discovery Channel’s “Urban Explorers,” MTV’s “Fear” and “Ghost Hunters” dramatically documented seemingly forbidden missions. Media attention and technology popularized and glamorized the activity fueling increased interest. Two popular hobbies – one pursued in the real, physical world and one practiced in the virtual, digital world – converged in Watab Township last week.įor years, adventurers have found excitement as urban explorers – roaming through abandoned buildings, caves and tunnels.