California Highway Patrol Air 21 Unit Locates Stolen Ford Pickup Hidden in Rural Area
- February 13, 2012
- recovery stories
On January 13, 2012, the victim discovered that his 2004 Ford F150 pickup had been stolen and reported the theft to the Woodland Police Department. The vehicle information was entered into the California Stolen Vehicle System as well as the national system, NCIC. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle. Neither the owners nor law enforcement had to do anything else to activate the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System, because LoJack’s interface with law enforcement is both seamless and instantaneous.
Less than an hour later, officers with the California Highway Patrol Aviation Unit, Air 21, were flying in the area and began to receive the silent signal transmitting from the hidden LoJack in the stolen Ford pickup. The officers then began to track the signal using the directional and signal strength cues from the onboard LoJack Police Tracking Computer installed in their aircraft. The flight officers requested that ground units respond to the area. Within minutes, Air 21 directed the ground units to a rural area north of Winters, where the stolen pickup was found partially hidden by a large group of trees and shrubs.
The Ford F-150 was located, parked and unoccupied; the police towed the intact pickup for safekeeping, to be released to the owner later.