Stolen Ford Taurus Recovered 45 Minutes Later and Several Hundred Miles Away, One Arrest
- June 15, 2012
- recovery stories
On May 14, 2012, the owner of a 2007 Ford Taurus contacted the Fallon Police Department and stated her boyfriend took her car without permission and was headed for California. She also indicated he was despondent and was armed with a gun.
Fallon Police completed a theft report and had the Ford’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Ford, prompting it to begin emitting a silent homing signal. Neither the owners nor law enforcement agents had to do anything else to activate the LoJack tracking system, because LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
Less than 45 minutes later and several hundred miles away, officers with the Fairfield Police Department and the Solano County Sheriffs began to receive the Ford’s silent homing signal on the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTCs) installed in their patrol cars. By following the signal strength and directional cues from the PTCs, the officers observed the vehicle traveling westbound on I-80. The officers followed the vehicle until back-up units arrived and then conducted a felony stop. The officers took the male suspect into custody without incident and recovered the gun. The Ford Taurus was towed and stored to be released to the owner later.