Atlanta owner of $150k BMW was extremely thankful for 'must-have' that helped catch thieves after they stole his car
- This ‘must have’ gadget helped a car owner retrieve his BMW
- Thieves stole it from an airport carpark
- However, the hidden tech helped get his $150K car back
Published on Nov 26, 2024 at 4:22 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 27, 2024 at 1:25 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
It might be small, but this mighty ‘must have’ gadget helped a car owner retrieve his BMW after thieves stole it.
GPS trackers are nothing new – however, they haven’t always been used like this.
The owner of a BMW M8 Competition used one to keep track of the car he purchased for $150,000.
Turns out that it’s a happy coincidence that he did.
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The stolen BMW
BMW owner, West Clark, parked his car at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
However, after jetting overseas he received a notification that the vehicle was on the move thanks to two Apple AirTags.
The thieves left the parking lot by piggybacking another stolen vehicle before pulling over to search for trackers.
While the thieves located one in the trunk, the second was hidden from sight in the body of the car.
When they couldn’t find the second tracker, they presumably decided that they couldn’t sell the vehicle for parts with police and the car’s owner hot on their tails.
It ended in a high-speed car chase with the thieves apprehended.
According to Atlanta News First, his car was largely untouched, with minimal damage from the thieves searching for the AirTag.
One car that’s less easy to steal is this ‘invisible’ BMW that’s said to be too dangerous to produce.
AirTags stop thieves
AirTags are becoming increasingly common as anti-theft devices.
The gadget provides owners with real-time location information when the vehicle is AWOL and in motion.
Instead of using an internet connection, they connect to nearby Apple devices via Bluetooth to broadcast their whereabouts.
This allowed the BMW owner to see the location of the AirTag in the Find My app on his Apple device.
Plus, low cost, small, and with months of battery – they’re an easy option.
Apple is rumored to be working on a second-generation model fitted with a new chip.
This is set to boost both precision and battery life by spring 2025.
It’s often small things that can stop crime in its tracks, with thieves who stole $1 million worth of Ford Raptors from a Michigan factory abandoning them when they ran out of gas.
Plus, these Seattle car thieves left the vehicle’s keys in the ignition and ran away because they couldn’t drive manually.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
