Owner Witnesses Theft of Toyota Camry from Philadelphia Post Office, Vehicle Quickly Recovered
- June 25, 2012
- recovery stories
On Friday, May 25, 2012, the owner of a 2004 Toyota Camry left her residence and drove to the local post office to conduct personal business. The vehicle owner left her vehicle engine running and entered the post office. When she returned to her vehicle, she observed a male inside the vehicle attempting to drive off in the car. The vehicle owner held onto the side of the vehicle and was dragged for a short distance before releasing her grip. She quickly called 911 and Philadelphia Police Radio dispatched an officer to investigate the robbery. After verifying the theft, Philadelphia officers had the Toyota’s information entered into the state and federal crime computer systems, which activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle.
A short time later, members of the Philadelphia Police Aviation Unit were on patrol over the City of Philadelphia in Philadelphia Police Helicopter Tach Air 1 when they began to receive the Toyota’s silent LoJack signal on the aircraft’s LoJack Police Tracking Computer. Following the directional and audible signal from the LoJack Tracker, the flight officers directed ground units to the 8300 block of Fayette Street. A detective from the Philadelphia Police Major Crimes Auto Squad responded to the location and placed the vehicle under surveillance. After some time without any activity, the detective arranged to have the vehicle confiscated and processed for physical evidence. The owner was notified of the vehicle’s recovery, and the crime remains under investigation.