Woman Helps Police Track Stolen Car With Phone App

HOUSTON, TX -- A woman who was carjacked at gunpoint Thursday morning helped police track down her stolen car with a phone app, police said. The carjacking was reported about 1 a.m. at an apartment complex at Reed Road and State Highway 288.

The woman told police the man confronted her in the parking lot, pointed a gun at her and stole her car. The woman’s cellphone and purse were also inside the car, police said.

Police said they were able to use a phone locator app and found the car just a few miles from the carjacking. Police tried to pull the car over, but the driver refused to stop and led police on a high-speed chase on State Highway 288 near Loop 610.

During the chase, the driver of the stolen car missed a sharp turn under the state Highway 288 overpass, smashed through a barricade and ran into a ditch, police said. A police car hit the back of the car when it ran into the ditch, officials said.

Police caught the man as he tried to run. Inside the car, police recovered the woman’s purse and a fake handgun he'd allegedly used in the armed robbery.

Police have not identified the man. The man has been charged with armed robbery and felony evading, police said.

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