The LoJack® System Helps NYPD Recover Stolen 2012 Caterpillar Asphalt Roller
- October 15, 2013
- recovery stories
The thieves who stole the 2012 Caterpillar asphalt roller from a construction site thought they were being very thorough when they moved it to the middle of a dense wooded area, covered it with a tarp and put branches on top. They weren’t counting on the LoJack® system, which was hidden on the machine and sent out a signal to help police recover it.
On September 26th, 2013, the Caterpillar’s owner contacted the NYPD 123rd Precinct to report the crime. Officers verified the theft and entered the machine’s information into the NYPD stolen vehicle computer and the NCIC national system. This procedure automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the asphalt roller.
A short while later, officers from the Staten Island Auto Larceny Unit picked up the homing signal coming from the stolen machine on the LoJack tracking computers installed in their patrol vehicles. The officers tracked the vehicle to a wooded area in the Tottenville section of Staten Island. The Caterpillar was discovered hidden in the midst of the woods, concealed by a tarp covered with branches. This camouflaging effort would fool the naked eye, but did not prevent the machine’s LoJack signal from alerting police. The asphalt roller was in excellent condition and soon returned to the job site.
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