As usual, this will be one of my long posts.
I feel for you. We experienced a somewhat similar situation when drug dealers, and all that goes with them, took over the area where we had more than just a weekend place. It was close enough to where we worked, that we would frequently go there to spend the evenings and nights. We spent most weekends and holidays there. Our plan was to retire there. We became a part of the community through volunteer/civic organizations and through a local church.
The neighborhood started out very nice. We had 12 acres that was divided by a dirt road. We had a pond, with plans for more.
The elderly lady who owned the property adjacent to, and across the road from our property, invited her granddaughter and five kids to move in with her after her husband passed away. The granddaughter's husband was in prison on a variety of charges.
There was never any proof that the granddaughter and her new boyfriend killed the grandmother, but it was a suspicious drowning of an 83 year-old wheelchair-bound lady. Her body was cremated a few hours after finding her face down in shallow water, with her wheel chair on shore.
The granddaughter inherited the property after the death. Just down the road were two similar situations where elderly relatives let younger relatives (late teens into early 20s) live in farm houses the owners were not using.
It became an absolute nightmare. Near the end of our dead-end road, a powerline right-of-way was turned into a road used by the drug dealers, into a very nasty subdivision. We witnessed beatings in our front yard. We were worried that a murdered girlfriend of one from this group was sunk in the pond behind our property. It turned out that she wouldn't sink with four concrete blocks tied to her body, so they took her body to the property of one of our friends, where her body was discovered 3-4 years later in a clogged culvert he was cleaning out. He had seen it there over the 3rd or 4th winter after the murder, suspecting it was a deer carcass.
I spent many overnights with the sheriff, deputies, and state police officers when they would setup road check points with their cars on both sides of the road on my property. My background role was to identify vehicles moving in and out of what should have been a dead-end road.
I was threatened. I was subjected to a lot of negative activities on my property. I cannot even begin to list the terror we went through. I put in a pretty expensive security system that could be monitored by the sheriff's department.
The sheriff told me I could defend myself. I was never outside without either my 12-gauge shotgun or a big softball bat, unless law enforcement was in our immediate area. The law enforcement individuals would ask me to place my weapons in their cars whenever they were present. They also would secure my gun locker inside our house -- with our permission.
My wife and I decided to buy another place. There was a major sting operation about the same time. Many of the druggies, murderers, and thugs were arrested, or they fled the area. A number of properties were confiscated and auctioned. My property was purchased by one of the new owners. We were out of there.
We basically broke even in the sale. We found a property that is about 4 miles away (as the crow flies) and about 8 miles by road. The property is about 25 acres, and had one pond. I've added a few more ponds.
But, the big thing is the peace-of-mind we now have. There is really only one way in to our present property, and one way out. I quickly pissed off all the neighbors who fished and bucket-stocked the pond, and used the property for 4-wheeling and horseback riding. I called in favors from my law enforcement contacts from our previous place. To this day, I do a lot of volunteering that works closely our Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists, which introduced me to many in the law enforcement group ("game wardens").
It probably took about three years to mostly clear our present property of trespassers. It helped us make many new friends who were also fighting these issues.
Yes, I'm known as that old grumpy bast**d who won't let anyone fish or hunt on his property -- which isn't quite accurate.
I'm also known as the guy who hosts fishing parties for kids and the elderly, and who works with local hunters to provide a lot of high quality venison each year to the elderly and poor. We make pastrami, the equivalent of corned beef (venison style), sausage, ground venison, and many good cuts. I've prepared as many as 14 deer in one season.
My fight has all been worth it. It is very difficult to even begin to estimate how much has been returned to us by the community. It is far in excess of what we've given. My wife and I have to be very careful about saying anything about any project we might be planning. Before we know it, we'll have people here, with whatever equipment, tools, and supplies are needed, and who are ready to start the project.
Good luck in your quest. Some days it might seem impossible. But, people are very big-hearted everywhere in America. Staying and fighting can work. Moving can work.
Ken
