% A year ago an app was also used a to find a stolen Tesla %
http://www.theprovince.com/technology/vancouver+tesla+owner+tracks+thief+real+time+while+phone+with/11487267/story.html Vancouver Tesla owner tracks car thief in real time while on phone with 911 dispatch November 3, 2015 Nick Eagland [video flash Katya Pinkowski says how she and her husband Cary helped police nab a thief who stole her dark blue Tesla Model S 85D images / Kim Stallknecht, PNG http://www.theprovince.com/technology/cms/binary/11487268.jpg?size=620x400s Katya Pinkowski smiles from behind the wheel of her Tesla, which was returned to her a few hours after she discovered it was missing from an underground parking lot in downtown Vancouver. http://www.theprovince.com/technology/cms/binary/11487269.jpg?size=620x400s ] ‘I could tell the 911 operator was excited’ Katya Pinkowski says how she and her husband Cary helped police nab a thief who stole her dark blue Tesla Model S 85D. A Vancouver car thief chose the worst possible target — a trackable Tesla — in what appears to be one of the first cases of that make being reported stolen in Canada. Katya Pinkowski and a friend left a concert near Granville Street on Thursday night and headed to an underground parking lot to hop into Pinkowski’s beloved dark blue Tesla Model S 85D, bought last year from the Vancouver store. The car had mysteriously disappeared, however, and the towing company told Pinkowski it hadn’t picked up any Teslas that night, she said. Her next call, to her husband Cary, quickly turned up the location of the high-tech electric vehicle: According to the Tesla Model S app on his smartphone, it was cruising through Richmond at 70 kilometres per hour, presumably with a thief behind the wheel. “I could watch him go in and out all the streets in Richmond,” Cary Pinkowski said. The thief, it turns out, had gained access to the car using an extra electronic key fob the couple had bought earlier in the week and mistakenly left inside the vehicle. As he approached the futuristic car and touched its self-presenting door handles, it must have beckoned him inside, Katya Pinkowski said. “The car opens and is going, ‘Come on, sit down, let’s have a ride,’” she said with a chuckle. “He couldn’t say no.” But the Pinkowskis were able to pit tech against tech, and as the thief swerved into courtyards and busted U-turns, the Pinkowskis relayed the car’s location to a 911 operator who then worked with Richmond RCMP to form a plan. “It was so much fun, actually,” Cary Pinkowski said. “I could tell the 911 operator was excited ... they’d never had this before, where they could actually track the car.” The Pinkowskis debated contacting Tesla to kill the car’s motors remotely, or using the app to operate its sunroof and horn, but felt the situation was better left in the Mounties’ capable hands. Indeed, the joyride soon came to an end as Richmond RCMP caught up with the thief by some railway tracks near No. 5 Road and River Road. In a statement, Richmond RCMP said they were able to surround the vehicle and safely make an arrest. “This is the first such Tesla recovery our detachment has encountered,” said Richmond RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dennis Hwang. “What was unique in this incident was the ability for the Tesla owner to provide the E-Comm police dispatcher with accurate real-time tracking data,” Hwang said. “This information was then expertly relayed to our awaiting patrol and K9 units. From there, it was a matter of co-ordinating, maintaining safe tactical principles, and finally arresting the suspect. High tech definitely played a helping role.” Howard Geddes Skelding, 24, was arrested without incident, Hwang said. Geddes Skelding has been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000, and has a court date later this month, court records show. The Pinkowskis ended up retrieving the Tesla around 1 a.m. Friday. Aside from a few scuffed rims and traces of the thief’s abandoned dinner, it was in top shape. Last fall, MarketWatch reported that only four Teslas, priced from $88,000 Cdn, had ever been stolen in the U.S., based on data obtained from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. “It’s a huge testimonial for Tesla,” Cary Pinkowski said of the car’s swift return. “I think it’s the way of the future, that within five years all cars will be tracked, so the days of stealing cars are going to come to an end.” [© 2015 Postmedia Network] http://www.treehugger.com/cars/stolen-tesla-tracked-police-real-time-thanks-iphone-app-returned-owners-within-hours.html Stolen Tesla tracked by police in real-time by iPhone app, returned to owners within hours November 3, 2015 Michael Graham Richard [image http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2015/11/tesla-iphone-app-collage-01.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg Tesla iPhone app Promo image Tesla ] Car thieves take note: Teslas are not easy targets. Katya Pinkowski, a Vancouver resident and Tesla owner, went to see a concert last Thursday. When it was over, she couldn't find her Model S electric car in the underground parking... After placing a call to the towing company that services the lot, confirming that they didn't have her car, she knew it had been stolen. Thankfully, technology was on her side. Her next call was to her husband, Cary Pinkowski, who used Tesla's iPhone app to find out the location of the car and track its movements. And once you know exactly where the thief is, the rest is simple; The Pinkowskis called the police and relayed the Tesla's location in real-time to the 911 operator who passed it on to the Richmond RCMP (Richmond is just south of Vancouver, the RCMP is the Canadian federal police). Unlike most car theft experiences, this one was rather pleasant for the couple: “It was so much fun, actually,” Cary Pinkowski said. “I could tell the 911 operator was excited ... they’d never had this before, where they could actually track the car.” The Pinkowskis debated contacting Tesla to kill the car’s motors remotely, or using the app to operate its sunroof and horn, but felt the situation was better left in the Mounties’ capable hands. (source) In a statement, Richmond RCMP said they were able to surround the vehicle and safely make an arrest. The Pinkowskis ended up retrieving the Tesla around 1 a.m. Friday. "Aside from a few scuffed rims and traces of the thief’s abandoned dinner, it was in top shape," The Province reports. How did the thief get inside? Bad/good luck, depending on the point of view. The Pinkowskis had bought an extra keyfob for their EV, but mistakenly left it inside the car. Since these are triggered by proximity with the vehicle, this left the car basically unlocked. Oops. [© treehugger.com] ... http://consumerist.com/2015/11/03/owners-help-police-track-stolen-tesla-through-mobile-app/ Owners Help Police Track Stolen Tesla Through Mobile App November 3, 2015 Ashlee Kieler ... http://electrek.co/2015/11/03/tesla-owner-tracked-stolen-model-s-via-iphone-app-leads-to-arrest-enjoyment/ Tesla owner tracked stolen Model S via iPhone app, leads to arrest, enjoyment [2015/11/03] Fred Lambert ... http://www.richmond-news.com/news/richmond-mounties-intercept-stolen-tesla-with-mobile-app-1.2102984 Richmond Mounties intercept stolen Tesla with mobile app November 3, 2015 Graeme Wood Richmond RCMP may be the first police force in Canada to have recovered a stolen Tesla electric vehicle with the help of the car's mobile satellite application. ... [dated] http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094262_stolen-tesla-found-as-owner-helps-police-using-her-phone-app Stolen Tesla Found As Owner Helps Police Using Her Phone App Sep 9, 2014 Stephen Edelstein For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-App-police-return-stolen-Tesla-to-owners-within-hours-tp4678478.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
