header

LoJack System Helps South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Lexington County Sheriff’s Office Recover Stolen Case 580 Backhoe

  • August 29, 2017
  • recovery stories
print

 

The owner of a 2001 Case 580 Super L Backhoe contacted the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office to report that their piece of equipment was stolen sometime between the middle of July and the first of August after it was left on a construction site.

The Lexington County SO verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Case Backhoe.

After the stolen backhoe was entered as stolen, a pilot from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Aviation Unit picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen equipment 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 pilot tracked the backhoe to a wooded area down a dirt road approximately 16 miles from the construction site where the backhoe was stolen from. The pilot requested a ground unit for assistance and a Lexington County Sheriff’s Office deputy, whose patrol vehicle was also equipped with a PTC, responded to the area along with several investigators. The pilot directed the ground officers to the backhoe. Upon locating the backhoe, the ground officers made contact with a subject operating the backhoe. Upon further investigation and a subsequent interview with the subject operating the backhoe, it was determined that the Product Identification Number plate had been removed; however, since the backhoe was equipped with LoJack, the equipment was recovered. During the interview, the subject told the investigator that he purchased the Case backhoe for $2,500, which is well below the retail value of the construction equipment. The individual was arrested and charged with Possession of Stolen Property and Possession of a vehicle with an Altered, Obliterated, or Removed Vehicle Identification Number.

The LoJack® System was installed in the Case 580 Super L Backhoe in August 2006 at Commercial Sales.

 


Printed from the LoJack Recovery Story Library.

LoJack® unit activation is contingent upon the vehicle being located within LoJack’s coverage area that spans counties across 29 states throughout the U.S. and District of Columbia. You may find LoJack’s coverage areas at www.lojack.com/coverage or by calling 1-800-4-LoJack.

© 2019 CalAmp. LoJack and the LoJack logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of CalAmp and its subsidiaries in the United States and certain other countries.