CHP Ground and Air Units Recover Stolen John Deere Backhoe on a Remote Mountain Ranch
- May 20, 2012
- recovery stories
On April 13, 2012, an individual contacted the Colusa County Sheriff’s Department to report that unknown suspect(s) had stolen his 2003 John Deere Backhoe from his job site.
Colusa County officers completed a stolen vehicle report and had the backhoe’s information entered into the California state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the bachoe. Neither the owners nor law enforcement agents had to do anything else to activate the LoJack Vehicle Recovery Network, because LoJack’s interface with law enforcement is both seamless and instantaneous.
Just over a week later and over 100 miles away, an officer with the California Highway Patrol was on routine patrol in a very rural area in the eastern edge of Butte County, when he received the silent LoJack signal emitting from the stolen backhoe. The officer had his dispatch run the LoJack code appearing on his LoJack Police Tracking Computer and was then provided with the backhoe’s description and stolen status. The officer also requested the assistance of the CHP air unit to the remote and mountainous terrain. CHP Air 21 responded, and together they tracked the signal and located the backhoe on a ranch. The officer contacted two suspects, and after interviewing them, he arrested both for receiving stolen property. One of the suspects also had an outstanding felony warrant.
The backhoe was impounded and stored for safekeeping, to be released to the owner later.