Honda Civic Stolen from Commercial Parking Lot in Haverhill, MA — Located, Undamaged, Hours Later
- March 14, 2012
- recovery stories
On the afternoon of February 21, 2012, the Haverhill, MA owner of a 2005 Honda Civic lent her vehicle to her son so that he could visit a friend. The son parked the Honda in a commercial parking lot and walked around the corner to visit his friend on Vine Street. When he returned for the car the following afternoon, he discovered that the Honda was missing. He immediately contacted his mother, and they both reported the Civic stolen to the Haverhill Police Department.
A responding Haverhill officer took a stolen vehicle report and relayed the information to the department’s computer operator. The operator had the Honda’s information entered into the state and federal crime computer databases. This routine police entry automatically activated the hidden LoJack transponder in the stolen Honda, causing it to begin transmitting a silent homing signal.
A short time later, officers from the Haverhill Police Department began picking up the silent LoJack signal on Police Tracking Computers installed in their police vehicles. One of the officers received a very strong signal in the area of White Street, and by utilizing the computer’s prompts, was able to successfully track and quickly locate the unoccupied and undamaged Honda, parked in a lot in Railroad Square. The officer had the vehicle towed from the scene for safekeeping and forensic examination and processing. The victim was notified of the recovery by the Haverhill Police Department.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Honda Civic at the owner’s request, on January 4, 2005.