Google Earth Helps UK Man Get Stolen Car Back

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Far too many people know the sickening feeling of waking up one morning to find their car is just gone. A man in the UK got that feeling times two when he woke up on the morning of October 27 to find both of his cars were swiped right out of his driveway. But thanks to information in Google Earth, the guy got one of them back.

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That’s right, the technology you might use to see how to get to that theater in another town for a show helped Jayy Robinson, age 23, get his beloved ride back. It took him and his friends thinking creatively, which is great to see.

Per a report from the Mirror, the thieves broke into Jayy’s home in the early morning hours and took the keys to his Volkswagen Golf and Seat Ateca, driving off with both. This has been a growing trend, breaking into homes in the middle of the night to grab car keys instead of trying to use advanced technologies to swipe vehicles.

Someone who knew Jayy saw his Seat in a Snapchat post. When he got in touch with the Snapchat user, the person demanded £2,000 for the return of the vehicle. To prove they still had the car, the user sent a low-res video of it parked in an unnamed area.

Probably realizing sending money to someone who’s already proven themselves dishonest, Jayy’s friends stepped up, using Google Earth to figure out the location of the parking lot where the grainy video had been shot. Once they located it, Jayy called police with the address and within 15 minutes the Ateca was recovered.

Unfortunately, the Volkswagen had already been sold to some unscrupulous party. However, the Seat was being examined for evidence by police, so perhaps the other car will turn up after all. We love to see this innovative use of technology to work against car thieves instead of letting the criminals be the only ones to leverage tech.

Images via Facebook