Motorcycle Thieves Can’t Foil (Literally) LoJack
- February 10, 2012
- jaleman
The second owner of this Harley Davidson motorcycle purchased it without knowing that the bike was equipped with a LoJack recovery system. He discovered how well LoJack worked when his motorcycle was stolen from his apartment complex during the early morning hours.
After the owner of the Harley Davidson reported the motorcycle stolen to the Oregon City Police Department, the bike’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed on the motorcycle.
Within minutes, officers from several agencies began to receive the silent LoJack signal emitting from the stolen Harley Davidson. Using the cues from their LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTCs), law enforcement tracked the signal to a residence in the 500 block of South Center Street in Oregon City. The indicators on the display in the patrol cars told officers the bike was inside a garage attached to the residence. Since nobody would answer the door, a search warrant was obtained based on the strong LoJack signal.
Once inside the garage, the officers discovered the stolen Harley. The thieves had wrapped major components of the bike with aluminum foil. Officers surmised this was done in an attempt to suppress the LoJack signal if the bike was so equipped. Needless to say, that effort was not a success. (See photos)
Residents of the house finally acknowledged the officer’s presence and let them in. Two suspects were interviewed and later arrested.
Note: Portions of this story were obtained from the Oregon City Police Department, Oregon State Police, West Linn Police Department and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
