LoJack Early Warning Alerts Owner to Theft of Yamaha Motorcycle, Recovered Undamaged 80+ Miles Away
- April 22, 2012
- recovery stories
On the night of March 12, 2012, the owner of a 2009 Yamaha YZFR1 motorcycle parked and covered the motorcycle in the parking area of his apartment complex and went to bed. He was awakened at 3AM the following morning by an automated message from the LoJack Early Warning System, notifying him that his motorcycle had been moved. The owner went outside, confirmed that his bike was missing, and quickly reported the theft to the Garner Police Department.
Garner Police responded to the scene, completed a stolen vehicle report and had the Yamaha’s information entered into the state and federal crime computer systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle. Neither the owner nor law enforcement agents had to do anything else to activate the LoJack Vehicle Recovery Network, because LoJack’s interface with law enforcement is both seamless and instantaneous.
Hours later, a North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles License and Auto Theft Investigator, having no knowledge of the motorcycle theft, was traveling into Lumberton, NC for training. He began to receive the Yamaha’s silent LoJack signal on the LoJack Police Tracking Computer installed in his patrol unit. Following the directional and audible signal of the LoJack Tracker, he tracked the motorcycle to a low-income housing project in Lumberton, eighty-plus miles from the theft location. The motorcycle was sitting under a cover, as if it belonged to the residents. As there was no activity around the motorcycle, the undamaged vehicle was recovered, towed and stored until the owner could arrange to retrieve it. The investigation continues; however, at the time of reporting, no witness or suspect has been identified.
This was the second time that the same bike had been stolen from the Garner resident in the past ten months. The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in this motorcycle at the owner’s request in August 2010.