The Redmond Police Department (RPD) has cleared multiple vehicle prowl investigations after a citizen successfully used a phone-finding application to locate his stolen property.

The citizen’s phone and wallet were stolen from his vehicle while he was working in Redmond on Tuesday. He was able to utilize a phone-tracking application to lead directly to a residence located in North Redmond later that day.

Officers responded to the location and were able to locate an individual suspected of committing more than 50 car prowls during the last few months in and around the Redmond area. Search warrants on the resident recovered property stolen from multiple victims. An RPD team assigned to car prowl investigations had been investigating the recent car prowls and the victim’s ability to locate his stolen property provided an important break in the cases. Multiple felony charges are expected to be filed with the King County prosecutor’s office in the coming days. The suspect was held on $50,000 bail in King County Superior Court today.

RPD continues to encourage citizens to report all suspicious activity and to notify police if they have been the victim of a car prowl, even if they don’t believe anything was taken from their vehicle. Tracking where crimes and criminal attempts occur in the city help police identify criminal patterns and locate victims when suspects are apprehended with stolen property. In addition, knowing and reporting serial numbers from stolen electronic items helps police reconnect found property with its rightful owners.