A Lacombe woman is being credited for using global-positioning technology to track down her iPad and thousands of dollars worth of other stolen goods in the Victoria area.
Tanya Huether, along with friends and her brother Steve, helped police recover a stash of property, including a $10,000 violin, and illegal drugs from an apartment building in Esquimalt on Vancouver Island on Aug. 14.
Huether, a 33-year-old recruiter at Canadian University College, said on Tuesday that she considers herself no super sleuth. She was just bent on getting her stuff back and not let the bad guys get away with it.
On Aug. 13, she was nearly packed up to fly home to Alberta. Her items — including an iPad, Macbook Pro, E-book reader, iPod, one Canon camera lens and a backpack of stuff — were at a friend’s house in Saanich, north of Victoria.
While out for supper, someone broke into the home and stole valuables, including Huether’s possessions. Her friend Dale McCreely realized his backpack, filled with research materials for his master’s degree, was also gone.
Huether immediately called her brother in Alberta so he could help track her iPad. It had been in plain sight.
“Both of us logged into the initial tracking to find my iPhone software that’s installed on either an iPad or iPhone, and the device had already been deleted from there,” said Huether, regarding the Find My iPhone application. “So the thieves were already somewhat tech-savvy.”
Steve then suggested they could track the iPad through the Find My Friends application.
“It’s not really a track-your-device application, but is more of a where-are-your-friends application,” said Huether. “It does pull a GPS (global positioning system) location from the device.”
Steve logged in and found a GPS location from the iPad.
Saanich Police arrived and were informed about the location, pointing to an apartment building. With so many suites, police said they couldn’t knock on every door.
The policewoman suggested to Huether and her friends, McCreely and his sister Skyla, that they could go to the apartment and check the dumpsters because sometimes the thieves will get rid of stuff they don’t want. The group was also encouraged to look in the inside of vehicles.
They went to the building but didn’t find anything.
“We set the clock for 6 a.m. the next day because we thought we’d go over there and watch and see if anybody came out with our stuff,” said Huether. “We thought maybe they would try and move it.”
Early on Aug. 14, Huether received a text message from Steve, saying the location of the iPad had moved. He enabled her to log into his Find My Friends account on her iPhone and that way, she could see the live location from the missing iPad as well.
The trio went to the building and checked dumpsters and vehicles. Huether spotted her backback inside a sport utility vehicle and called 911.
Police arrived and after initial investigation, decided to tow the vehicle. A woman then came barrelling out of the apartment building, wondering why her SUV was being towed. Police arrested her.
Victoria police say the suite was well known to them. Four people were arrested. A search warrant was obtained. Credit cards, large plastic tubs full of laptops, guitars and about three litres of GHB, the date rape drug, were among the items retrieved.
“This suite was a virtual department store of stolen property,” said Sgt. Barrie Cockle in a news release. “The work by this tourist (Huether) and our officers will put a significant dent in property crimes throughout the (region).”
Huether has her backpack and house keys, but is waiting for the rest of her items. Looking back, she is glad she didn’t give up.
“I really didn’t want these guys to win,” said Huether. “It was a lot of people working together. The police wouldn’t have gotten it on their own. Without my brother’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
Various charges, including possession of stolen property, have been laid against the four individuals.
Victoria police spokesman Const. Mike Russell said it’s unusual to have a citizen help police solve a crime using GPS technology.
“I don’t imagine it happens too much overall,” said Russell. “This led us to the lair and police are still actually cataloguing it now. That’s how much there was.”
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com