Crime & Safety
Buzz Lightyear Toy Thwarts Thieves
Mid-Atlantic Clothing Recycling used Buzz Lightyear dolls to catch suspects taking items from donation bins.
Toys from a popular children’s movie have been used as high-tech crime-fighting tools in Douglas County.
Mid-Atlantic Clothing Recycling, an Owings Mills, MD,-based company that gathers clothing and other donated items, has been using a doll from the “Toy Story” movies to patrol donation bins across Douglas County.
The company discovered a series of thefts, resulting in a loss of 35 percent of donations, according to WSB-TV.
The solution was to place Buzz Lightyear toys with GPS tracking devices into bags of clothing in the various bins. The moment the toy moves, a text is sent to Tim Peck, an employee of Mac Recycling. He then contacts authorities and track where the toy is being taken.
Last week, WSB-TV reports Buzz Lightyear helped Peck track and catch a suspected thief, Everette Barton, who was unloading the stolen bags when Peck showed up at his home.
Buzz Lightyear may be on his way out as a new toy is slated to replace him and carry the tracker.
Maybe Woody will make an appearance next.
>>Read the full story on WSB-TV.
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