Stolen Nissan XTerra Found in Underground Parking Garage in Washington
- February 5, 2012
- recovery stories
In late January 2012, the owner of a 2000 Nissan XTerra SUV was visiting the Everett, Washington area and was staying at a motel in the 3000 block of Broadway Avenue. During the night of January 19, person(s) unknown to the victim stole the vehicle from the motel’s parking lot. When the victim discovered the vehicle missing, he immediately reported the theft to the Everett Police Department.
The reporting officer responded to the scene, prepared a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen Nissan’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Nissan and initiated the tracking of the vehicle.
Detectives with the Snohomish County Auto Theft Task Force were notified of the theft and started looking for the vehicle in unmarked cars equipped with LoJack Tracking Computers. Within ten minutes of the theft report, they acquired the signal transmitting from the stolen Xterra. The detectives quickly located the vehicle in the 2300 block of Broadway, abandoned in an underground parking garage. The vehicle did not appear to be damaged, and the owner was called to retrieve the car.
Unlike GPS systems, LoJack’s proven radio frequency technology works even when the vehicle is inside a building, such as an underground parking garage. This LoJack was installed by the original owner in 1999 when the Nissan was new, and the current owner had no idea that the vehicle was equipped with the recovery system.