LoJack® System Helps Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force Recover Stolen Ford F450 Truck
- October 16, 2014
- recovery stories
The owners of a 2006 Ford F450 truck contacted the Goodyear Police Department to report that their vehicle was stolen from a fenced construction site off the I-10 and the Loop 303 Highway in the West Valley. Workers found the gate to the locked fenced area had been damaged and the Ford truck missing when they showed up for work early in the morning.
The police verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Ford F450 Truck.
A short while later, officers from the Arizona Highway Patrol picked up the silent LoJack® homing signals from the stolen Ford with the LoJack® Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the officers tracked the vehicle to a location just a few miles from the construction site where the Ford had been reported stolen. The Ford was located in a parking lot of a commercial building and appeared to be abandoned.
The Highway Patrol Officers requested the assistance of the Goodyear Police Department and the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force who responded to the area. Surveillance and additional investigation was conducted by the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force detectives. Surveillance videos were obtained from the commercial building. The video shows the suspect dropping off the stolen Ford F450 truck in the parking lot and stealing a black Honda Civic.
The Ford was later recovered and processed for evidence. Some construction tools and an air compressor were missing from the truck. The Ford was returned to the owners with minimal damage.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Ford F450 Truck in April, 2007.