Mercer Island Police Use iPhone To Track Down Stolen Truck, Bike

MERCER ISLAND, WA - A 43-year-old alleged car thief led local police on a long, winding trip around the region Tuesday as they tracked him using an iPhone app - but that was just the beginning of the ordeal.

The circuitous incident began Tuesday morning when a pickup truck was stolen from a job site on Mercer Island. The owner left his iPhone in the truck, which allowed police to use the Find iPhone app to look up the truck's location.

Detective-Sergeant Ryan Parr and Sgt. Brian Noel saw that the truck was driving south near Boeing Field in Seattle. They got in a car and headed to the scene; they also contacted King County Sheriff's deputies for an assist along the way. The officers used the app to track the truck all the way to White Center.

But once they got there, they found the truck abandoned. The officers fanned out across White Center, and were eventually able to track down the suspect.

When he was arrested, the suspect claimed he had swallowed three bags of heroin, and so police had to take him to Harborview Medical Center to get checked out. Once he's released, they are going to pursue charges of possession of stolen property and possession of drugs.

But that's not all. Police learned that, before he allegedly stole the truck, the man was riding around Mercer Island on a stolen Trek mountain bike. So if you're missing your mountain bike, police say you can call Sgt. Ryan Parr at 206-275-7922 to get it back.

Image via Mercer Island Police