Teenagers Setting Fires In Nearby Woods. What Can We Do If Police Won’t Act And The Landowner Is Unresponsive?

Location: Indiana

I live in a fairly rural area, a residential cul de sac surrounded by woods.

Teenagers from out of town have started going into the woods and playing with gasoline and burning objects. We don’t know who the teens are and no one can get information on them as of now.

I think the teens are at significant risk but I also worry about the fire + woods combination right near my home. It seems like a disaster just waiting to happen.

I’ve gone and talked to them. It didn’t work. My neighbor went and actually offered them $200 to leave and never come back. (Perhaps predictably) they took the money and immediately came back. We’ve all called the police but they rarely respond and when they do, the kids manage to flee.

It is not for lack of evidence. They leave burned up patches behind and I’m sure they’re filming what they’re doing for the internet.

The developer owns almost all of the applicable woods and they’re a nationwide outfit. We can’t get through to them to do anything.

We don’t own it so we can’t put up “no trespassing” signs. Plus, it’s a big area used by all kinds of people for recreation, and we’d want that to continue. Sometimes people camp overnight in the woods and we fear for their safety as well.

Do I have any recourse besides continuing to document the incidents and calling the police?

TLDR: Rural neighborhood backs up to woods owned by a large developer. Teenagers from outside the area keep going into the woods and lighting fires/burning objects. Police cannot catch them, the developer won’t respond, and because local residents don’t own the land we can’t post “No Trespassing” signs. Worried about safety and fire risk. What options do we have beyond repeatedly calling the police?