Mercedes Benz Stolen from Owner's Garage Overnight, Reno Police Recover Vehicle Minutes After Theft Report
- April 21, 2012
- recovery stories
On the morning of March 10, 2012, the owner of a 2000 Mercedes Benz ML 320 discovered that during the previous night, unknown suspects entered his garage and stole his vehicle. He immediately contacted the Reno Police Department to report the theft.
Reno Police responded, completed a stolen vehicle report and had the information entered into the state and federal crime computer databases. 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 30 minutes later, officers with the Reno Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol began to receive the silent signal emitting from the stolen Mercedes. Following the directional and signal strength cues on their onboard LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTCs), the officers tracked the Mercedes to the area of 7th and Sutro Streets, where they located the vehicle parked and abandoned on the street. The officers conducted a short surveillance with the hope that the thieves would return, but after a short period and the need to respond to other scenes, the officers recovered the vehicle. The Mercedes was impounded for safekeeping until it could be returned to the owner.