PT Cruiser Stolen with Motor Running in Queens, Recovered Quickly with LoJack
- January 31, 2012
- recovery stories
On the afternoon of January 16, 2012, the owner of a 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser came out of her house in the Richmond Hill section of Queens to start her vehicle. When she realized she had forgotten something inside her house, she locked her vehicle, with the motor running and keys in the ignition, and went back inside. When she returned, she saw broken glass on the ground and her car missing. The owner immediately called the Police of the 102pct, NYPD to report the theft.
NYPD officers arrived, took a written report, and had the stolen Chrysler’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Chrysler and initiated the tracking of the vehicle.
A short while later, the Police of the Queens South Auto Larceny Unit picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Chrysler on the Police Tracking Computers installed in their partrol vehicles. The officers tracked the Chrysler to a residential area of the South Jamaica section of Queens, and located the vehicle parked on a residential street. They set up surveillance on the Chrysler for several hours, but when no one returned, they the vehicle into custody. Examination of the vehicle revealed the passenger side window had been broken, and the glove compartment and as the trunk rifled through, but otherwise, no damage was done to the vehicle. The owner was notified and was elated to know that her vehicle was recovered so quickly, especially with such minor damage.