LoJack Helps CHP Officers Recover Stolen Rental Ford F250, One Suspect Arrested
- March 30, 2013
- recovery stories
In February of 2013, an individual rented a 2012 Ford F250 from a Home Depot in California. The renter failed to return the vehicle the next day, and after several failed attempts to contact the renter, the management reported the pickup stolen to the Ceres Police Department.
After verifying the theft, Ceres Police entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle. Neither the owners nor law enforcement had to do anything else to activate the transponder because LoJack’s interface with law enforcement is both seamless and instantaneous.
A short while later, an officer with the California Highway Patrol began to receive the silent signal from the stolen Ford on the Police Tracking Computer installed in his patrol car. The officer had his dispatch run the LoJack code appearing on the computer and was advised of the vehicle description and stolen status. Following the directional and signal strength cues from the PTS, the officer then tracked and located the pickup, parked in a driveway of a rural farm outside the city of Turlock.
The officer contacted the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force, who responded and set up a surveillance of the vehicle. Several hours later, a suspect entered the vehicle and began to drive away. Task Force members stopped the vehicle and arrested the suspect for driving without the owner’s consent.
The Ford F250, valued at $30,000, was returned to the Home Depot store.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Ford F250 at Home Depot-ATG Upfitter in November of 2012.