Stolen Case Backhoe Loader Quickly Recovered by San Diego Police Using LoJack
- March 27, 2013
- recovery stories
On February 8, 2013, an employee of Priest Development Company, in charge of a 2004 Case Backhoe Loader, contacted the El Cajon Police Department to report the theft of construction equipment that was stolen in the city of El Cajon.
El Cajon Police Department verified the theft and entered the construction equipment’s information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the backhoe loader.
Minutes later, officers from the San Diego Police Department picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen backhoe on the Police Tracking Computers installed in their patrol vehicles. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computers, the officers tracked the construction equipment to the rear parking lot of a commercial building located at the 3400 block of Fickwick Street in San Diego. The backhoe was parked toward the rear of the building, hidden between other commercial vehicles. According to the current owner, the backhoe had been purchased for $2,000 in January. Auto Theft Investigators from San Diego Police Department will continue the investigation.
The Priest Development Supervisor was very happy when San Diego Police Investigators contacted him to recover the backhoe, which was found undamaged. The Case Backhoe Loader was valued at approximately $33,000.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Case Backhoe Loader on June 20, 2005 at RDO Equipment Co. in Poway, California.