LoJack System Helps San Bernardino County Auto Theft Taskforce (SANCATT) Recover Stolen Cadillac Escalade
- June 22, 2017
- recovery stories
The owners of a 2006 Cadillac Escalade contacted the Hawthorne Police Department to report their vehicle was stolen. The Hawthorne PD verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Cadillac.
Recovery Estimate of $500,000
It appears the Cadillac was driven from Los Angeles County to a remote location in the high desert of San Bernardino County. A San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office helicopter picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Cadillac 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 SBSO helicopter tracked the Cadillac to a high desert plot of land, approximately three miles from the nearest road. The airship could see numerous vehicles on the land. There were no buildings on the property. Patrol deputies were called in to assist the helicopter. When deputies arrived they traveled on a dirt road to the property which had a makeshift wire fence blocking the road. The deputies were able to locate the stolen Cadillac and also found numerous other vehicles had been disassembled. No suspects were located on the land. The deputies called in the San Bernardino County Auto Theft Taskforce (SANCATT) to take over the investigation. When SANCATT arrived they obtained a search warrant and searched the location. During their search SANCATT determined there were 31 other stolen vehicles at the location which had all been chopped. There were 20 Ford heavy duty trucks, Chevrolet and GM trucks, miscellaneous vehicles and three Ducati motorcycles. It took the SANCATT team numerous hours to process the scene. SANCATT detectives believe the suspects were operating at the location for several months. SANCATT detectives said that had it not been for the LoJack equipped Cadillac leading deputies to the location the chop shop operation would have continued with little possibility of detection because of the remote location. SANCATT estimated the value of the stolen vehicles to be about $500,000. SANCATT has numerous leads they will be following up on to locate and identify the suspects.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Cadillac in May 2016 at Land Rover South Bay in Redondo Beach, California.