Philadelphia couple uses AirTags to track and recover stolen car
PHILADELPHIA —
A Philadelphia couple used AirTags hidden in their car to help police track and recover the vehicle after it was stolen early Friday morning from outside their home in Fishtown.
Theft captured on surveillance video
Alex Vasov and his wife, Regina Morozova, said they were awakened just before 3 a.m. on Jasper Street when they heard their car engine start.
“We heard that the engine had started, and I just woke up and went to see like what’s going on, and I saw that my car was like running away from the parking spot,” Vasov said.
Surveillance footage from their home, shared with NBC 10, shows an individual breaking the back window of their white Dodge Durango and climbing inside. Another camera captured a group exiting another car, getting into the Durango, and driving off.
“Every time we think about what happened, we get very angry, frustrated,” Vasov said.
Hidden AirTags help police recover SUV
The couple had hidden multiple AirTags inside the vehicle, which allowed them to track its location. While police took their report, Vasov and Morozova relayed updates to officers.
“I was just trying to help the police,” Vasov said. “Step by step, we were telling them where they were, and they were able to be very patient and trace them to the point where the car was stationary.”
Authorities located the car early Friday morning, more than four miles north of where it was stolen.
“It was bad. It was turned around,” Vasov said, describing the condition of the vehicle.
Detectives investigate possible connections
The Philadelphia Police Department stated that detectives are following all leads to determine if the incident is connected to other crimes in the area.
“I would like to know who these people were, why they did it, and then maybe bring them to justice, if possible,” Vasov said.
Some police departments across the country, including in Washington, D.C., have started distributing free Bluetooth or GPS tracking tags to help combat rising rates of vehicle thefts and carjackings.