Woman Tracks Down Thief Who Stole Laptop and Tried to Blackmail Her

The suspect was finally arrested, and Ms Jane was reunited with her laptop. (Representative pic)

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A woman, identified as Jane, took matters into her own hands to recover her stolen laptop after the thief attempted to blackmail her. Jane’s backpack, which contained her 10-year-old laptop, was stolen at Dulles International Airport in Virginia while she was flying home, according to NBC4 Washington.

Upon reporting the crime to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), the police reviewed the surveillance footage and identified the thief as an employee of Smarte Carte, a company providing luggage carts at the airport.

As per NBC4, Jane revealed that despite the identification of the employee, he was not immediately arrested and was allowed to continue working for over a month while the investigation progressed. “They couldn’t arrest him yet because they needed more evidence to obtain a search warrant and recover my computer,” she informed the outlet.

However, the situation took a drastic turn when Jane received an unexpected message one morning from an anonymous Instagram account. The message contained a nude photo of herself, which she knew was stored on her laptop as part of an art project and had never been sent to anyone. Realizing the connection, Jane immediately reached out to the MWAA investigator handling her case. She was advised to engage with the person who sent the message, despite her reluctance, in order to retrieve her computer. “I really didn’t want to, but I wanted to get my computer back,” she expressed.

Upon replying to the message, the Instagram user demanded more photos and a sum of $3,000. Jane believed that the individual saw an opportunity to blackmail her. “I was very upset. I’d never been in a situation like this before,” she disclosed.

Determined to recover her laptop, Jane took immediate action and utilized an online search tool to unveil the IP address and GPS coordinates of the individual. The IP address was traced back to Springfield, Virginia.

With this crucial information, the police conducted surveillance and successfully obtained a search warrant. Finally, the suspect was apprehended, and Jane was reunited with her laptop. However, the contents of the laptop had been erased, according to the outlet.

In addition to the criminal proceedings, Jane pursued legal action against the suspect in small claims court, which ultimately led to a settlement. The suspect pleaded guilty to petit larceny and received a 12-month probation period. Furthermore, his employment with Smarte Carte was terminated after the airport authorities suspended his security badge.

With the resolution of this distressing incident, Jane’s determination and resourcefulness played a pivotal role in ensuring justice and the recovery of her stolen laptop.