Maryland family helps to catch a thief using cellphone's GPS technology

By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 27, 2010

At first, all Kari and Derek Fisher knew about the man who broke into their house was that he was careful enough to cut the screen window and neatly fold it so as not to get scratched on the way out. Given the size of the opening, he probably wasn't very big. And he liked to talk.

The couple and their two young children were asleep early Sept. 24 when the burglar crept into their Adelphi home. He found the home office, where he palmed a pair of digital cameras, a video camera, a satellite radio, and two camera bags filled with memory cards and batteries. He swiped Derek Fisher's wallet and cellphone from a desk.

As he worked his way across the first floor, the burglar was quiet enough not to wake Derek, who had fallen asleep in a nearby guest room.

But once outside, the burglar started talking, using the stolen cellphone. His chattiness was his undoing.

(More here.)