“I Didn’t Know My Car Had LoJack” LoJack System Helps Agency in South Carolina Recover Stolen Vehicle.
- January 30, 2019
- Law Enforcement
Because of the unique way the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery Network is interfaced into the National Crime Information Computer (NCIC) via the vehicle identification number (VIN), the LoJack transmitter remains on the vehicle for the life of the vehicle. As a result, there are many 2nd and 3rd vehicle owners that have an active LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery device on their vehicle and are unaware of the device until their vehicle is stolen and recovered.
In January 2019, the owner of a 2011 Toyota RAV4 contacted the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, Spartanburg, SC to report that they had several vehicles stolen from the lot. The Toyota was one of several vehicles that were left on the lot with the keys in them. The incident location is a pre-owned car dealership and the vehicles, including the Toyota, had been missing for a week before they were finally reported as stolen.
The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Toyota.
After the vehicle was entered into the National Crime Computer Database, an Investigator from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Toyota with the LoJack Police Tracking Computer (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the Investigator tracked the vehicle and located it abandoned a little over a mile and a half from the theft scene at a vacant building. A Deputy from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit responded to the scene to process the recovered vehicle for forensic evidence. This case remains an active and ongoing investigation. When the car dealership manager asked how the Toyota was recovered he was informed it was equipped with LoJack. The dealership manager was unaware the vehicle was equipped with LoJack. The other vehicle that was also taken during the same time frame as the Toyota was not equipped with a LoJack device and has not been recovered as of this writing.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Toyota RAV4 in October of 2010 at Atlanta Toyota, Duluth, Ga.