The LoJack® System Helps California Police Recover Stolen 2013 Melroe Bobcat Skid Steer

  • September 24, 2013

When a construction crew in Lancaster, CA, returned to their job site after the Labor Day weekend, they were shocked to discover that a 2013 Melroe Bobcat Skid Steer was missing. It’s a good thing that the rental company that owned the machine was smart enough to have the LoJack® system installed when they purchased it, so local law enforcement was able to track it down even though the thief tried to conceal it from sight.

On September 6th, 2013, the skid steer’s owners contact police to report that their equipment was stolen. Police verified the theft and entered the equipment information into the state and federal crime computers. The LoJack transponder concealed in the Bobcat Skid Steer, which was installed by a large national equipment rental company, was then automatically activated.

A short while later,  deputies picked up the homing signal from the stolen machine on the LoJack tracking computers installed in their patrol units. The officers tracked the skid steer to the rear yard of a private residence in Lake Los Angeles, where it was covered by a tarp, which might have hindered a visual search, but not the LoJack homing signal. The deputies took one suspect into custody. The Bobcat, valued at $68,000, was soon returned to the thankful owners.