Corolla Stolen at Convenience Store with Engine Running — Aviation Officers Assist with Quick Recovery and Arrest
- February 14, 2012
- recovery stories
On the evening of December 21, 2011, the owner of a 2007 Toyota Corolla went inside a convenience store and left his car running with the keys in the ignition. Upon exiting the store, he discovered that his vehicle was missing and immediately contacted the Winter Garden Police Department to report the theft.
Winter Garden officers completed a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen Corolla’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle. Neither the owner nor law enforcement had to do anything else to activate the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery Network, because LoJack’s interface with law enforcement is both seamless and instantaneous.
Approximately 20 minutes later, a pilot with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit picked up the silent LoJack homing signal on the LoJack Police Tracking Computer installed in his helicopter. Using the directional and signal strength indicators on their tracking unit, the flight officers observed the Corolla traveling on State Road 50 in Orlando. The pilot coordinated ground units from the Sheriff’s Office and from the Orlando Police Department. The ground officers quickly stopped the vehicle and apprehended the driver. The Corolla was recovered with no damage and returned to the very happy owner.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Toyota Corolla at the owner’s request in November 2006.