LoJack Helps Columbus Police Recover Stolen Toyota Corolla, Left to “Cool Off”
- January 29, 2013
- recovery stories
On December 16, 2012, the owner of a 2010 Toyota Corolla contacted the Columbus Police Department to report that the vehicle was stolen from off the street in a business area of Columbus.
Columbus Police verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Toyota.
A short while later, several law enforcement agencies in central Ohio picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Toyota on their Police Tracking Computers installed in their cruisers. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computers, an officer from the Columbus Police Department located the stolen Toyota, parked in a remote industrial area of Columbus. Officers believed the suspect had left the vehicle there to “cool off”. The officers set up surveillance on the stolen Toyota, and were able to obtain information about possible suspects. The vehicle was impounded and later returned to the owner.
Because of the fast recovery, there was no visible damage to the Toyota, and the suspect did not have enough time to strip it. This is to be further investigated by the Columbus Police Department.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was preinstalled in the Toyota by Toyota Direct in March of 2010.