Chevrolet Astro Van Stolen from Street in Queens — Recovered, Abandoned, Hours Later by NYPD
- May 14, 2012
- recovery stories
On April 16, 2012, the owner of a 2008 Chevrolet Astro van parked and locked his vehicle on the street near his residence in Richmond Hill, Queens. When he returned for his vehicle some time later, he discovered it missing, and immediately called the Police of the 102nd Precinct, NYPD.
When the police arrived, they completed a written stolen vehicle report and had the Chevrolet’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed within the Astro van. Neither the owner nor law enforcement agents had to do anything else to activate the LoJack Vehicle Recovery Network, as LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
A short while later, the Police of the Queens South Auto Larceny Unit picked up the van’s silent LoJack signal on their patrol vehicle’s LoJack Police Tracking Computer. By following the directional cues on the Tracking Computer, the officers were able to quickly locate the van, parked and abandoned on a residential street.
The officers conducted surveillance on the Chevrolet for several hours, but when no one returned for the vehicle, they quickly recovered it. Examination of the vehicle revealed that there was some damage to the front left side of the vehicle, but otherwise, it was in good condition. The police notified the owner, who was elated to know that his vehicle was recovered so quickly, especially with such minor damage.