A Geocache Mystery

The spring thaw.  Time to get out and check up on all the geocaches I have placed.  Most of them are fine.  A few got a bit soggy.  And one of them, well its a mystery.

I won't say which cache it was or where it is hidden.  But suffice it to say that it is a pretty popular cache and a very devious hide.  I've had experienced seekers stare directly at it and not figure it out for a while.

But recently there was an odd development.  Somebody "found" it but said it was down on the ground.  And their description of it was nothing like the container I had so carefully built and hidden.  Helpfully they put it where they thought it belonged and I was able to retrieve it.  And here it is:

That's not my geocache.  It is an older one that used to be at the same location but was "archived".  This basically means the person who placed it can't maintain it any more, often due to moving out of the area or some such.  My geocache was gone....but this one which apparently was active between 2010 and 2014 was lying on the ground nearby.  Notice how old and beat up the log is.  It might actually go back farther than 2010.

I don't know what happened here.  The general area where my cache was does get Christmas lights draped over it in the winter so just maybe it got knocked loose then.  But how is there a 9 years out of date cache just sitting there apparently undetected until now by quite a few people who have stared intently at this spot?

It's a mystery.