Dodge Caravan Stolen for 2nd Time in Atlanta — Recovered in Minutes, Suspect Arrested
- February 14, 2012
- recovery stories
On Jan 2, 2012, the owner of a 2005 Dodge Caravan contacted the Atlanta Police Department to report that someone had stolen the vehicle from his driveway.
Atlanta Police responded to the scene, prepared a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen Dodge’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Dodge and initiated the tracking of the vehicle. The owner was unaware that the vehicle even contained the LoJack system, which had been installed in 2005 at the dealership by a certified LoJack technician!
Within minutes of the LoJack activation, the unit hidden inside the stolen Dodge began transmitting a silent LoJack signal to police cars in the area. An Atlanta Police Helicopter equipped with a LoJack Police Tracking Computer received the signal and began tracking the Dodge near the downtown Atlanta area. When officers spotted the moving vehicle, they called for a ground patrol unit to assist.
Ground unit officers successfully stopped the vehicle in a remote area, arrested a single suspect, and returned the recovered vehicle to the owner in good condition. This was the second time the Dodge had been stolen and recovered with LoJack — the first time was in 2007.