Happy ending after car theft
The car was also recovered in a good condition, with only a lock having been damaged.
Forty-three minutes.
That’s how long it took for a stolen car to be recovered, thanks to law enforcers who went the extra mile in performing their duties.
The car, which belongs to Larrendale resident Natashia Barnard, was recovered after she sought help from Const LJ Pretorius from the Benoni-based Ekurhuleni District Operational Task Team.
The green 1999 model Isuzu Frontier, a gift from Barnard to her father years ago, was stolen from outside her office along Farquharson Road in Kenleaf on Monday afternoon. Her father died three years ago and the vehicle has great sentimental value to her.
“It’s not insured and I know it’s old, but I was very close to my dad. I actually hardly ever drive it,” she said.
Barnard realised the car was missing when she left her office around 16:00.
“The first person I phoned was LJ. When I got to the police station, he phoned back and asked if the car was fitted with a tracking device, which to my knowledge it wasn’t. He said I was to leave it to him. He told me to wait, he was going to find it.”
Barnard bought the car second-hand and wasn’t aware that it was fitted with a tracking device, albeit disconnected.
“LJ phoned the tracking company and they somehow got it reconnected and picked up its location. The car was recovered in Vosloorus in under an hour.”
Members of the Gauteng Traffic Police Saturation Unit also assisted with the search. Barnard is grateful to Pretorius, who is also a Brakpan resident, and others involved in the recovery of her car.
“You just don’t get this dedication anymore. It’s amazing. The way LJ went about it was incredible,” she told the Herald.
The car was also recovered in a good condition, with only a lock having been damaged. Barnard was able to collect it from the SAPS Van Ryn Deep Vehicle Pound in Benoni on Tuesday.
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