LoJack® System Helps Arizona Highway Patrol Recover Stolen Toyota RAV 4
- August 21, 2015
- recovery stories
The owners of a 2014 Toyota RAV 4 contacted the Mesa Police Department to report that their vehicle had been stolen from a grocery store parking lot. The owners advised that the Toyota was secured in the parking lot and when they returned the vehicle was missing.
The Mesa 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 Toyota.
A short while later, officers/pilots from the Mesa PD helicopter picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Toyota 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 helicopter crew tracked the Toyota to an area near State Route 88 and Tomahawk Road, in Apache Junction.
The Mesa PD helicopter crew communicated with the Arizona Highway Patrol Troopers working the area. One of the troopers equipped with a PTC in his patrol vehicle picked up the signal and located the stolen Toyota unoccupied in a parking lot of a restaurant. The restaurant was closed and no suspects were observed in the area. The Toyota was recovered and towed for safekeeping. The Toyota was later returned to the owners in good condition.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Toyota RAV 4 in July 2014 by Earnhardt Toyota/Scion in Mesa, Arizona.