I am a law enforcement officer by trade. The area I work, as more and
more areas often do nowadays, has an unfortunate problem with Meth.
Most often, Meth is carried in 1.5”x1.5” plastic baggies that are
usually folded up. As you can imagine, people get awfully desperate when
trying to hide them. As you can also imagine, a large portion of my
time is spent trying to find them. If you imagine something about the
size of a postage stamp or SD card that will give you a pretty good idea
of the size we are dealing with. I also have investigated countless
burglary calls, so have seen firsthand not only the patterns that
thieves follow when searching for loot, but the patterns people follow
when hiding things. I also happen to be a prepper, so in addition to
needing to find stuff in my job, I understand the need for discreet
storage in my personal life. I will approach this article from two ways:
First, I’ll go over some of the more imaginative places I’ve seen
things hidden, and hopefully share some tips and tricks that will open
up more storage/hiding places for you. Second, I’ll go over some steps
and methods to help you find things if you are the one looking. The
better you get at finding things, the better you get at hiding them.
Whether it’s hiding something quickly on your person or finding
something on someone you are searching, or creating a long term cache, I
hope this helps open up some new avenues to you.
Part 1- Hiding things-
So what are you hiding? I agree with JWR whole-heartedly that it is a
lot harder for people to steal (or seize) what they cannot find.
Gold/silver, guns, ammo, USB drives, documents, etc. Anything of value
to you. Maybe you just need more room for your food storage. Hiding
places are truly only limited by your imagination. Shape, Shine, Shadow,
Silhouette etc still apply when hiding objects as well as yourself.
This article will mainly focus on hiding areas and compartments. So
let’s begin…
ON YOUR PERSON: From the bottom up, let’s start with the shoes. Many
of the new skate style shoes have a thick tongue. This tongue can be
cut (along a seam) and items inserted in this. In addition the insole
can be removed and items placed beneath. On crocs or even sandals, the
sole can be split, filled, and glued back. On regular shoes, the sole
(think where the air pocket on Nike’s is) can usually be cut and
hollowed out. The heel of a shoe tends to have a lot of padding, and
this provides some area to work with. Shoes can be bought with both
tongue and heel hiding places already constructed.
Obviously, anything can be tucked into a sock. For pants, the bottom
cuff of pants can store items. You can also fold the cuff internally
and sew or Velcro shut. Hidden pockets can be sewn anywhere on pants.
Seams are good places for these, as the thickness of the material will
provide support and break up any imprint of the item, and if being
patted down, the hard seam may hide the object from touch. The edges of
cargo pockets are also viable options, as well as the flap of the
pocket. Most pocket flaps are double thickness, and can be opened,
filled, and resealed easily. If you are doing this, make sure the
objects are silenced and cant jangle against one another. Hidden storage
belts are very common, and easily missed during a quick pat down.
Likewise with the back of a belt buckle or one with a removable object
on the front. The same hiding places for pants also apply to shirts,
with the addition of under or inside of a collar or thicker sewn in tag.
For hats, inside of the sweat band, or tucked into a slit in the
underside of the bill. Foam front hats can be altered in this way as
well. Belts also do not just need to be for holding your pants up. You
can tuck a gun into a belt that is worn up closer to chest level (up to
your arm pits) on your body in a pinch, or have a knife taped to your
inner thigh or upper hamstring area. Both the Keltec P3AT and the Ruger
LCP have available belt clips for them. The clip extends higher than
the back of the pistol, so all that appears in a pocket is a clip that
looks like a knife.
BICYCLES: Obviously, tires can be used as storage places. The
frames on bikes are hollow, and can be accessed from the seat, handle
bar, or even crank area on some brands. Seat stems quickly remove and
provide hollow storage, especially on newer bikes with quick adjust
seats. You can tape items to the underside of the seat. Or buy a seat
cover and keep items between the cover and the seat. On bicycles with
straight grips, you can make a thin lit in the flat distal end of the
rubber grip. Items can be inserted, and the hole is self-closing.
Bicycle helmets are also options, with both padding that can be removed
and foam to work with. Bicycles are also stolen, so be sure to guard
against this and keep this in mind when using them to store items..
VEHICLES: A whole book could be written on this, and smugglers are
coming up with some pretty ingenious methods. Cars are stolen, so I
don’t advocate storing long term items in them (IE Guns), but there may
come a time and place. Every vehicle is different. Anything with padding
can be stuffed, and any dead space can be taken advantage of. I
strongly encourage you to look through your vehicle, both inside and
out, top and bottom. After market tube bumpers can be filled with items.
Stock bumpers can have things tucked inside. Speakers can be removed.
Again, tires can be filled. In the engine compartment, you can remove
the air filter or fuse box. Or install a false fuse box. With all of the
aftermarket items inside of cars now, it’s hard to tell what is stock
and what is not (think about the K and N cold air filters). Get some
large radiator hose and attach it to random spots in the engine
compartment for some pretty secret storage. Anything that has to be
bolted down is highly unlikely to be unbolted during a search, and
provides a good starting point. Engines also have a lot of undercarriage
armoring or protection that can be removed and used. Wheel wells
usually have some storage space, and most vehicles have body panels that
provide a lot of room to work with.
Under a dash board, you can access
vents as well as a lot of empty space. Door panels can be removed, as
well as seat cushions (or slit and stuffed.) In the glove box, there is
an area under the box on the door, as well as below the dash if you
remove the glove box/door fully. If you have a sunroof, the area between
the glass piece and the interior padding can store things. In the
console area, you can remove the plastic housing. Most ashtrays remove
to empty, and provide access to a dead space behind them. The soft boot
on a parking brake or manual transmission can be removed and filled.
Airbags can be removed. Dome lights can be removed and have the
headliner accessed.
The actual trunk portion that lifts up provides a
lot of room, as do most light housing areas. Under any carpet in the
vehicle. Behind a license plate. Under a truck bed liner. Under a false
floor in a tool box in the bed. Between the tool box and bed. People
can go so far as to install a smaller gas tank with a hidden compartment
in the unused space. In general, the more you can return the
appearance to standard, the better. If you slit a seat, install Velcro
or stitch it back up. If you lift the carpet, glue it back down. Do not
leave pry marks on the dash board or door panels. Old vehicles are
somewhat easier to work with, as they do a better job of disguising
things as minor wear and tear. If you have a rundown vehicle in the
yard, you have more options. Park it on a buried 55 gallon drum. Remove
the valve covers, hide things there, and replace them. If the vehicle
is not running, any hoses can be filled. You can remove the wheels from
a car, jack it up, put stuff where the gas tank was, then lower it
down. Let your imagination guide you. Anything in the engine
compartment will get hot and dirty.
THE YARD: With anything stored outside, be sure to weatherproof your
container. Underground storage areas are very difficult to find,
especially if you conceal them well. Metal detectors are becoming more
commonplace, so be mindful of this. If it is a long term cache, leave
it. Don’t check it every month and leave telltale signs or a path in the
grass or freshly dug dirt. If you are concerned about metal detectors,
place some old pipe fittings in the dirt above your cache and below the
ground level. Fence tubing can be used. If building a wall, you can fill
a cinder block with goods for long term storage. If you need easier
access, remove a specific cap piece on top of the wall. Like wise with a
4x4 fence post. These can be drilled nearly hollow then capped with a
decorative piece. Bird houses can be filled, or built with a false
floor. If building a raised bed garden, filled PVC tubes can be laid in
the bottom. How many times have you seen people searching/looting a
house dig up a garden? On a deck or play structure, any number of
compartments can be fitted to the cross beams of the flooring. Don’t
overlook a child’s sandbox. If you build your own, it is very simple to
simply install a double floor for your goods, then fill with sand. Old
cars (see above), garden hose rolls (the roller), decorative yard art or
sculptures, junked appliances, again let your imagination guide you.
You can remove a brick from a wall, construct a fake brick out of floral
foam that can be hollowed out, and paint to match your wall. Buy an
outdoor speaker rock, and remove the guts. Hide something under your
wood pile. Be creative. Think like a kid again. Ask your kids where
they would hide things.
HOME EXTERIOR: This is one of my favorites. Most people overlook the
exterior of a home for any worthwhile goods. People know that spare
keys are under mats, plants, etc, by the front door. On a patio/porch
cover, if you have exposed beams, install new paneling pieces in the
space between them. If you use spacers, you can still have exposed beams
and hide the appearance of your cache. If you have a flat patio cover,
you can hide a great number of items on top of it, against the roof.
Have you ever looked behind the bird blocks on your roof? There is space
there as well. Look at all of the pipes, vents, chimneys, etc, coming
off of your roof. It would be very simple to construct a false vent
pipe, sand to fit, paint to match, and no one would be the wiser.
Likewise with the random cable, phone, sprinkler controller boxes on
houses now. How many does your house have? If you can’t name the number,
someone looting won’t know either. Buy an extra, set it up, and store
away!
You can also landscape for success here too. Plants that drop a ton of
leaves can hide a lot of ground work, and if you do bury something in a
garden, it’s a great spot for your cactus collection. Hide something
inside your dog house when you build it. Or your chicken coop.
HOME INTERIOR: This is where it gets interesting. Most burglaries I
have seen people go through all of the usual hiding places. Drawers,
cabinets, closets, nightstands, mattresses, under beds, behind pictures
on the wall, book case. If something can get pushed over, its going to.
So don’t hide things there. Let’s get wiser.
Let’s start with the laundry room. Do your cabinets go all the way to
the ceiling? If not, consider a fascia piece and Velcro or screws to
hold it in place. Now, they look like they go to the ceiling and you
have a lot of storage. The same with a toe kick piece on the bottom of
cabinets. Remove it, and reattach with Velcro, magnets, or screws. Most
cabinets also have an overhang on the bottom and top. You can fit a
flush (horizontal) top or bottom and have a lot of storage. On washing
machines and dryers, especially older models, there is a lot of dead
space that can be accessed by removing the paneling. Obviously, be
careful of what you are storing there, and the machine’s effects on it
and its effect on the machine. How many hoses and vents come off of
your washer and dryer? Would a looter notice an extra 6” vent piece on
the back of your dryer? Do you use powdered laundry detergent? You can
hide a lot in the bottom of a five gallon bucket of powder or large box
of tide. Same thing with bleach. Empty a bleach container, wash, dry,
and fill with goods. Store in the back behind a couple other full
bottles of bleach.
THE KITCHEN: How many decorative containers do you have on the
cabinets in your kitchen? Try putting food storage in them. How about
under your stove? How about in the warming drawer? What about the vent
above your stove? Remove the fascia piece on the bottom of your
dishwasher? Do your cabinets have dead space around corners? Do your
counters have an overhanging lip? Could you flush mount a thin veneer
under them? Some of the more amazing hiding places I have seen
constructed involved water filters. One was a screw in water filter in
the fridge that was hollowed out. The other was an under the sink water
filter, again, that was just the shell and had been hollowed out. It
is easy to overlook these, and if the power and water is off, its easy
to excuse them not working. It Is also easy to install an extra piece or
two of PVC pipe under a sink that are going nowhere. Unless you take
the time to look, most will not notice an extra pipe. How many
chemicals do you keep under your sink? Can you store something in your
ajax container? How about where you store all of your plastic bags? Be
careful of hiding things in food (IE bottom of rice bucket.) Depending
on how bad things are and who is doing the looting, that may be what
people are looking for. How about your pantry? What about installing a
2 inch shelf above the door jam on the inside? How many times have you
seen the wall above your closet door from the inside? Exactly….that is
what makes it a great place to hide things. Depending on how small the
pantry is and how high your ceiling is, you can go so far as to install a
false ceiling. Because the lighting is usually different or non
existent in the pantry/closet, false ceiling are a lot harder to pick
out. Put a 2x4 so the 4” side is vertical on either short edge of the
ceiling. Cut a piece of plywood to fit, and screw into the 2x4. 3.5” of
storage space will fit most guns. Paint and texture to match. This works
very well for a long term cache, when you can tape/caulk the seams,
etc, and just leave it alone. How about a decorative backsplash behind a
sink or stove? Can you use one to hide a between the studs cache in the
wall? How about the inside of chandelier glass? Or screw in light
covers? Add lots of dead bugs to hide any shadows cast. How about where
your ceiling fan attached to the ceiling? Or your smoke alarm? If you
take them out, you have access to a lot of space under your ceiling
insulation, and can put back a functioning item to hide your entrance
point. How about the dishes you have stacked up? How many coins could
you tape to the bottom of your plates?
Moving on to the living room/dining room…Couches make great, but
obvious places to hide things. But how about a lamp base? How about a
curtain rod? How about sewn into the fold on the bottom of a curtain?
Can you install a false bottom on your dining chairs? How about your
dining room table? Coffee table? Are there angled support pieces in the
corners? If you do store stuff in a chair, be sure to pad the contents
to keep them quiet, and do it to all of the chairs so it looks factory.
How about speakers? When looking at furniture, try to figure out where
the dead space is.
Then, figure out how you can build a compartment to take advantage
of it. Indoor plants are great too. A nalgene bottle will hold a lot,
and is waterproof enough to put in the bottom of a plant pot and leave
under a plant and soil.
File cabinets are usually opened up, gone through, and tipped over.
Most drawers are not removed. If you do remove the bottom drawer, you
have some pretty good space below the drawer. An even better spot is
secured to the inside of the top (above the top drawer) if the item is
small enough.
Beds are common places to hide things, usually under them or in the
mattress. So be different. Hollow out a bed post or leg if you have a
wooden bed. Install a second piece of wood to the back of your head
board to create a spot. Dressers drawers will get pulled out and dumped
out. If you must hide in a dresser, build a spot above the top drawers
on the inside of the top, or to the side of the edge drawers. Take
advantage of your dead space. For bookcases, most have with a
decorative fascia on the top shelf or below the bottom shelf. Don’t just
hide things there. Screw a sheet of board onto it to really secure it.
Bathrooms are great too. Does your bathroom have two sinks? Use one
and convert the plumbing in the other to storage. Tampon/Pad boxes are
good for hiding things. How about a spare trash can with opened feminine
products on top? Have a shower or bath you don’t use? What can you fit
in the drain? What about in the faucet/water fixture. How about that
costco sized bottle that used to have shampoo in it? What about your
shower or bath itself? Do you have a seat in your shower? How about the
entire frame of your bath? All of this is dead space waiting to be used.
What can you attach to string or wire and put down the toilet? What
about fitting things in the float ball in the toilet tank? Is there a
brick in your toilet tank? Can you hollow out the bottom of the brick?
What about the closet? People look behind clothes hanging in closets.
People don’t look in the pockets of clothes hanging in the closet. Or
pinned under the collar of a jacket. Do you have shelves in the closet?
Under the bottom shelf, up against the wall is a good place. Closets are
great places to remove the base board and create a cache. You can
attach it back with Velcro or magnets, but screws work better. If your
closet is wider than the door, can you build a partition against one
wall? Again, if you take the time to finish it right, the lighting and
presence of things in the closet will help to hide it. Will 4” of wall
space missing stand out amongst old clothes and Christmas decorations?
Attics make great places too. Under insulation is always a great
option. If you have spray in insulation, it is very hard to make it look
untampered with. Roll insulation is easier. With the amount of venting
going around, is the searcher really going to confirm where each duct is
going to? Consider adding a false duct for storage. Bury one end in
the insulation somewhere, and have the other go off into a dark corner.
Get to a corner of the attic, and screw a sheet of plywood between (not
to the beams, but between) two beams to create a compartment against
the roof. Basements are great places also. Think of structural dead
space, and choose the nastiest, darkest corner you have. Put a cardboard
box of water damaged magazines in front of it.
For true cache type hiding places, you need to think construction.
Install a new shower with a seat and take advantage of the dead space.
When framing a wall, door, or window, put an extra few 2x4’s on the base
plate. Drill out a space big enough for coins, USB drives, etc.
Understand these are not going to be accessed easily. When installing
flooring, think about a floor safe. I helped a friend build an addition
onto his house. When pouring the foundation, we sank a tube safe in the
concrete. It got filled, covered with Thinset, and tiled over. Do you
have a bay window? Build a seat to fill in the angle, but have the seat
lift for storage. You can frame out a rectangular storage area under the
hinged seat, but will still have the triangular areas on either end the
are accessed by taking the whole thing apart. Have an interior wall
where insulation doesn’t matter? Replace the drywall with plywood on
either side and have a great storage area between the studs. Any
electrical outlet, surround sound speaker, phone jack, cable hook up is a
great access point. Or install a few fake ones. Newer houses have drain
access points on opposite walls from the plumbing, and these make
excellent spots also.
In the garage, make things look boring. No one goes through a bin of
old newspapers. Or looks in the bottom of a bucket of rusty bolts. Or
looks under the salt pellets in a water softener. Or looks under the
wooden shelves you built to see the double plywood layer with storage
space between. Or dumps out the 5 gallon bucket of off color paint on
clearance at home depot to find the Nalgene bottle in the bottom of it.
Most commercial metal shelves have a lip on the bottom front, and you
can store things under them.
One last thing is your safe. I assume you have one, it is bolted down,
and kept locked. Better yet, you have a cheap throw down safe in your
closet and the real one in a hidden room. What about storing stuff
under the carpet in your safe? Or on the inside edge of the lip in the
front frame piece around the door, on the sides and top? If the safe is
bolted to the concrete, did you put a cache in the wall it is up
against? How about in the ground under it?
Another option is hollow core doors. The top can be removed, and
lots of things stored inside. How about inside the decorative crown
molding on the ceiling?
There is a thought that you can build armor to defeat any bullet, and
can build a bullet to defeat any armor. Hiding things is like this.
Someone can find any hiding spot you have given enough time and effort.
You want to make it as boring and horrible a process for them that they
stop well before they find what they are looking for. If you have
something hidden in the yard, put the trash can with the dog poop by it.
And get a skunk to spray it. And plant a cactus by it. Make someone
searching take one look at it and mentally give up before they start.
People often look IN things, but rarely look AT the thing itself. Take
advantage of this. People also look in places where they themselves hide
things, and you can learn a lot by watching someone search. If you
alter something, repair it as close to original as you can. Or alter
everything the same way. Once you hide something, LEAVE IT THERE. Every
time you check on it, you are creating an opportunity to leave a trail
or alter something that will make it show. Maybe today is the day your
hand is dirty and will leave a hand print, or you will break a branch on
the plant. Maybe you will be in a hurry and not put things back right.
Part 2 Finding things-
Let’s start with a little on human behavior. Police are not trained to
find criminals. We are trained to look for patterns, and notice when
something breaks a pattern, or follows one we have already recognized.
When I stop a car and the driver instantly lights up a cigarette and
starts puffing away like a steam engine going uphill, I instantly think
of two options. One, the person has been drinking and is trying to hide
the smell of alcohol. Two, the person has a warrant, and is trying to
get in a last bit of nicotine before jail. This is just from watching
people over a long period of time. Next time you are carrying a gun, pay
attention to how often you subconsciously touch it. When you get out of
your car, when you go into a business, when you stand up, or sit down.
Some people want to keep their drugs as close to them as they can.
Others will do their best to stay as far away from them as they can (IE
drugs are in the car, and they meet you at the trunk of the car when you
stop them they are out their door so fast.) People are creatures of
habit. People also tend to be lazy by nature. These two things come in
handy when looking for things. When hiding things, people tend to want
somewhere quickly accessible, and within reach. When searching, people
tend to get lazy, and look where they would hide things. You must be
methodical and systematic. Don’t be afraid to take a break during a
search for something if you find you are losing focus.
SEARCHING A PERSON: So you are manning your LP/OP and you contact
someone. In the course of the contact, they need to be searched. First,
have a minimum of two people to search anyone. Safety and awareness are
paramount. While one is doing the tactile portion, the second should be
looking at the person’s body language, etc. A third and fourth person
would ideally be providing cover. The safest way is to have the person
undress, and to go through their belongings inch by inch. This is not
always possible. First, look at the person. Do you see any obvious
bulges, or unevenness anywhere? Have them interlock their fingers on
the back of their head, with their pinkies up. Grasp their hands, and
pull them backwards, so they are off balance. If you have the manpower,
have one person hold them like this and have another search them. To
search, you must touch everywhere, with enough time and pressure. You
are looking and feeling or anything out of the ordinary. Go Slow. You
are looking for a handcuff key under a seam of their pants or something
of the like (In the academy, we were taught to look for a handcuff key.
It’s the smallest thing that can kill you. Spend time with your spouse
hiding a hand cuff key and trying to find it. Truly believe the person
has a handcuff key or a mini SD card on them every time you search.
Actively search. DO NOT GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS) IF ANYTHING FEELS OR
LOOKS DIFFERENT, INVESTIGATE FURTHER! Did something crinkle? Did it not
bend how it should? Go all the way up the inner thigh. Check inside the
waist band. When going through clothes/shoes away from the person, look
over and touch every inch. Look at the seams. Look at the thread used,
the stitch pattern. Bend the item in your fingers. Take the insoles out
of the shoes. Compare the two in weight. Compare the two or the left
and right side in feel. Look at the belt buckle. Look at the belt. Look
inside the hat. GO SLOW. They sell handcuff key zipper pulls, as well
as paracord bracelet clips that have them in them. VERIFY EVERYTHING,
AND DO NOT ASSUME.
When searching a car, a good place to start is to sit in the driver’s
seat. Remember, people are lazy. What can you reach? Where do your
hands go to when you reach under the seat? To the visor? Under the
passenger seat? Account for the dead space in the car. Look in all of
the places mentioned above. Turn the wipers on. Turn the AC and heat on.
Does it all work? Is the head liner loose? Are their pry marks on the
door paneling? On the Dash board? Is the ashtray full or was it recently
emptied? Is the CD holder full of CD’s? Look in the trunk. Look where
the spare goes. Look in the actual trunk portion of the car that lifts
up.
SEARCHING YARDS AND RESIDENCES
For the purpose of this article, searching means after the fact, when
any gunplay is done, and you have ample time on your hands. This does
not pertain to any area that is not fully secured and under your
control.
As mentioned , you can see that is is nearly impossible to search
every rock tree and bush. So you play the odds. Try to look, listen, and
feel. Look for patterns of travel. Look for dead grass, or trimmed
bushes. Look for disturbed dirt. Look for loose bricks. Look for missing
cobwebs. Listen for footsteps that sound different, or for the section
of fence that sounds hollow. Or sounds dull if everything else sounds
hollow. Feel for the floral foam brick, or the loose capstone. Divide
the yard into a grid. Go through methodically and systematically. DO NOT
ASSUME ANYTHING, VERIFY EVERYTHING. Open the lawnbird control panel on
the house. Turn the sprinklers on. Turn the hose on.
Inside of the house, account for every inch of space. Look for
things that don’t fit, are not original, or were recently or frequently
moved. Look for grooves and wear patterns in paint. Listen. Knock on
walls, Knock on floors. Get out a stethoscope. Feel the wall texture.
Turn on the sinks. Feel the pipes below while the sink is on. Is water
draining where it should? Feel the ductwork with the AC or heat on. Is
air moving? If not, VERIFY why not. Do not assume. Imagine objects are
made of 1” cubes. You need to verify what each cube is or is not either
by touch or sight. By both if possible. Think of a book case. This means
everything within the edges of that book case is on a 1” grid. The
books. The space behind the books. The shelves. Under the shelves. The
wall behind it and the floor under it. Open each book, not just one or
two. When looking at containers of things, do the same thing. 1“ cubes.
You can’t verify them all by looking at it from the outside. Dump them
out if need be. The person playing mouse went to great lengths to make
everything as boring as possible, as disgusting as possible. They forgot
to flush the toilet intentionally. They clean all their fish in the
same pile for a reason. Coincidences do not exist when you are
searching for something. Get out a tape measure. Measure the ceiling
height. Measure the wall length. If something doesn’t ad up, VERIFY it.
Account for all structural dead space both in the house and in the
objects in them.
Be mindful also of what people are searching for and what looters
need. Right now, the bottom of a bucket of rice may be a good spot to
hide a few coins. Food theft has not started yet. Likewise, a computer
printer that may be stolen is not a wise place to hide said coins. But
six months post-crunch, when the printer is a paper weight because the
grid has been down and rice is as valuable as gold, the priorities for
hiding places may be reversed.
I hope this article helps open up some new thoughts for you on
hiding places, and finding them. When you look at your house from a
different perspective, you will find limitless storage. And the better
you get at finding things, the better you will be at hiding things.
Search objects, not just in them. If you are the deer hunter, look for
deer from the moment you open your eyes in the morning, not just when
you are in your tree stand in the woods. If you are the deer, don’t
just hide in the woods. Hide in the bushes by the front window of the
hunters house, where he will pass you by before he even realizes he
should be looking for you.
Please bookmark us.
