Couple steal back their own car after cops ‘refused to investigate theft'… despite AirTag pinpointing its exact location
Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson discovered their motor was missing from its spot close to their home in Brook Green, West London on Wednesday morning.
However, the shrewd pair had installed an airtag locator in the vehicle which had been taken to Chiswick shortly after.
The couple called 999 but cops told them that they were unable to offer immediate assistance.
Unwilling to sit idly, Mia and Mark took matters into their own hands.
Mr Simpson, 62, reported being nervous as he made the four-mile journey with his wife to the car's new location.
The Jaguar E-Pace - a model that sold for about £46,000 new in 2024 - also had a 'ghost immobiliser' fitted which required the right buttons to be hit on the car's control unit before it could start.
The couple found the vehicle on a quiet back street with its carpets ripped apart after thugs attempted to access its wiring.
Forbes Pirie, a former solicitor and now an award-winning mediator, and Mr Simpson, a commercial barrister, had installed a series of additional security mechanisms on the car after previously experiencing the theft of a vehicle.
Neighbours later reported they had heard unusual noises at night.
Mia wrote in LinkedIn post: "[Is] it right that the police seem to have no interest in investigating what is likely to have been a reasonably sophisticated operation involving a flat bed truck… if there are no consequences, what is the incentive for people not to do more of this?"
However, she lamented the Met Police's lack of investment.
"The police are under-resourced and it's a shame," she told The Times.
"But if there aren't any consequences to people stealing cars or a lot of the other crimes where there aren't any consequences, then I don't really see what the deterrent is to stop people from doing it more."
In a statement, Met Police told The Sun: "On Tuesday, 3 June at 10.06am, police were alerted to the theft of a vehicle on Sterndale Road, W14.
"Officers spoke to the victim, who shared his intention to recover the vehicle himself.
"An Apple Airtag was inside, allowing the victim to view its location and trace it.
"The victim was reminded by officers to contact police again as needed or if police assistance was necessary at the vehicle's location.
"At 11.23am the victim confirmed with police that he had found the vehicle and that it was being recovered by a truck back to the victim's home address.
"This investigation is ongoing and police are working with the victim. No arrests have been made at this stage."
It comes after one man who has had his £114k Range Rover stolen four times revealed he always gets it back thanks to an essential gadget.
Tom Jaconelli, 39, was left infuriated after his posh 150mph SUV was taken from outside his house yet again.
Doorbell footage showed the director of car dealership Romans International, having his 2024 Range Rover Sport P550e snatched just metres from his front door.
But savvy Tom had fitted his motor with a tracking system which enabled him to get his vehicle back.
He said the car was retrieved when three police dog vans stopped the thief in his tracks.
Thankfully for Tom, the motor was found 15 minutes away from Tom's home in Cobham, Surrey.
Do you have a similar story? Email louis.regan@thesun.co.uk
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The 1982 Byford report, made public in 2006, said: "We feel it is highly improbable that the crimes in respect of which Sutcliffe has been charged and convicted are the only ones attributable to him." It was revealed in 2017 that police interviewed Sutcliffe in jail about 16 unsolved attacks but they did not quiz him about any murders. No charges were ever brought. In 2020, West Yorkshire Police apologised for the "language, tone and terminology" used in the 70s to describe Ripper victims. Force Chief Constable John Robins said the language used at the time was "as wrong then as it is now". He insisted that the force's approach to investigations was now "wholly victim-focused". By Owen Scott Wilma McCann Wilma was Peter's first victim, whom he murdered on October 20, 1975. The mum-of-four was reportedly seen leaving her home at 7:30pm, before heading to a pub for a night out with some friends. She is believed to have been picked up by Peter in his car, who then killed her in the Prince Philip Playing Fields just five minutes away from her house. Emily Jackson Emily Jackson was just 42-years-old when she was murdered by Peter on January 20th, 1976. She was working as a part-time sex worker when Peter drove her to an area near Manor Street Industrial Estate. Like Wilma, she was killed by a hammer and then stabbed with a screwdriver. Emily was then found by a workman the next day. Irene Richardson Like Emily, Irene was a sex worker who was killed with a hammer by Peter but her death came almost a year after Peter had claimed his second victim. She was a mum-of-three who was last seen near the Gaiety Pub, which was the same pub that Peter had kidnapped Emily. Irene was killed on February 5, 1977, in Soldier's Field before being found the next morning by a jogger. Patricia Atkinson Patricia was Peter's fourth victim, but the first to be killed in his hometown of Bradford. This forced the police to consider that the killer may be operating in a larger area than Leeds. Patricia, known by friends as Tina, met Peter in the Red Light District before being killed with a hammer in her flat on Oak Avenue. Jayne MacDonald Jayne was just 16-years-old when she became Peter's youngest victim. She had been working as a shop assistant in Grandways Supermarket in Leeds before her death on June 26, 1977. Jayne was returning from a night out when Peter followed her home and killed her. Her body was found by a group of school children the next morning, who came across her body in the playground. Jean Jordan Jean was Peter's first victim to be killed outside of West Yorkshire. He met Jean in Moss Side, Manchester, on October 1, 1977, before killing her. She was found eight days later by a local worker named Bruce Jones, who fans of the show Coronation Street may recognise as Les Battersby. Yvonne Pearson Peter's crime spree continued into 1978, when he murdered 21-year-old prostitute Yvonne Pearson. He killed Yvonne in his home town Bradford, on January 21, leaving her two-year-old Colette and five-month-old Lorraine without a mother. They had been staying with a neighbour on the night that she was driven to a waste ground and killed. Her body was hidden with a sofa and wasn't found until March 26, just over two months after her disappearance. Helen Rytka By the time of Helen's death, Peter was being referred to by the media as 'The Yorkshire Ripper'. He murdered Helen on January 31, 1978, just over a week after he murdered Yvonne. Helen was only 18-years-old when she was killed in a timber yard but it took days for her body to eventually be found. She had been working as a prostitute at the time of her death, just like her twin sister Rita. Vera Millward Vera lived in Hulme in Manchester, where Peter was only known to have struck once. She was a mother-of-seven who had serious health problems, including only having one functional lung. Vera was killed just outside Manchester Royal Infirmary, before her body was found the next day. She had left home to meet a regular client, but instead got into Peter's car on May 16, 1978. Josephine Whitaker Josephine worked as a clerk in Halifax, before Peter killed her with a screwdriver on April 4, 1979. She was the tenth person to be killed by The Yorkshire Ripper, but her case was another turning point for the police. A boot print, matching the ones left at Patricia Atkinson and Emily Jackson's murders, was found next to her body which confirmed that the killer had struck again after a year of silence. Barbara Leach Barbara was a student at Bradford University and was just 20-years-old when Peter murdered her. She left a shared home belonging to some friends in Grove Terrace on the night of September 1, 1979, when Peter began following her. Barbara was then dragged into an alley and stabbed, but it took two days for her to be reported as missing. Marguerite Walls Marguerite left her office in Leeds later than usual on August 20, 1980, since she was preparing to go on holiday the next day. The civil servant walked home through Farsley, which she knew was a brightly-lit way home. However, unbeknownst to her, Peter had begun following her. After killing her with a hammer and rope, Peter hid her body in the grounds of Claremont House where she was later discovered by some gardeners. Jacqueline Hill Peter's final known victim was Jacqueline Hill, who was a student at Leeds University. The Yorkshire Ripper murdered her just 100 yards from her flat, with the hammer and screwdriver that now typified his crimes. Her body was found a day later.
