Phone Leads To Stolen Dodge Charger Recovery

The miracle of technology!

If you don’t have a GPS tracker or two installed in your car, you might want to rethink that decision, especially if you own a Dodge Charger or Challenger. A smartphone is being credited for helping police track down a stolen Charger in Oregon back in February but it was a happy coincidence that was even possible. Otherwise, it’s entirely possible the Mopar would’ve been found parted out in some field days or weeks later.

Learn how the government kept a stolen car from the rightful owner for 13 years here.

According to a report from Columbia Community Connection, the Dodge was discovered missing after its owner, a senior at the local high school, parked at the Dalles Marina to go on a run. When he returned, the car was simply gone. Not knowing what to do, he called his mother who contacted police to report the Charger as stolen.

Since the teen left his phone in the car instead of taking it on his run, his mom was able to use it to track the location of the vehicle. Police used the real-time location updates to track the sedan, then pursued the suspect in a chase that reached speeds of 94 mph on surface streets.

What the thief didn’t realize was officers had used the good ol’ radio to set up spike strips further down the road. Thankfully, the spikes successfully blew out at least two tires, but the suspect continued to drive on the wheels before finally giving up.

Without the ability to track the Dodge Charger, police admitted they likely wouldn’t have found it. This is why we recommend everyone gets at least one GPS tracker, if not two or more, and installs them on their car. That might sound excessive and paranoid but with vehicle theft at record levels in many areas, it’s quite prudent.

If you’re already using the factory GPS tracker, that’s something, but many experienced thieves know how to disable those immediately. We’d recommend at least dropping an Apple AirTag somewhere that’s not easy to reach. If you do use an AirTag, it’s worth looking up a video showing how to remove the speaker so thieves can’t figure out where you’ve stashed it in the vehicle.

There are of course many GPS tracker options for vehicles these days, so get creative and be prepared. After all, thieves will even steal Kias and Hyundais, so they’re probably coming for your ride sooner or later.

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