PORTLAND, Ore. — An iPhone, a CO2 machine and a surveillance camera all helped solve a Portland home burglary.
Shu-Ju Wang and Mike Colman, who live in the West Portland Park neighborhood, have been living out of a hotel after trees crushed their home during this month's winter storm. While returning to pick up items, they quickly realized their cello, electronics and jewelry had all vanished.
"(My husband) immediately noticed things were gone," Wang said. "I noticed all the drawers had been opened, and also, things had been moved around."
About a week later, Wang said they grabbed a CO2 monitor from the house, and the history log showed someone had been inside while they were gone.
"You can download historic data," said Wang about the monitor they had bought during the pandemic. “The meter is really sensitive, like if a cat walks into the room, it will pick it up, so it’s like, picking up our breath."
After telling people about the burglary, they found out one of their neighbors had a surveillance camera recording the road.
"Then, I remembered Thursday prior, I saw two guys walking down the street that did not fit in," recalled James Tabor, their neighbor. "Our streets were ice-covered; there is no way you would go for a casual stroll, checking out a house or anything, but they were clearly casing the house."
That same night, the couple started getting "Find My iPhone" alerts. Using the surveillance video and the notifications, they tracked the Apple products to an apartment in Tigard.
"I just drove over there to see if the pickup truck was there,” said Tabor. “Low and behold, he passed me as I pulled in and stopped at his apartment, so I knew the exact apartment."
After taking photos and collecting all their evidence, the couple went to Portland Police, who got a search warrant and arrested 54-year-old Jack Kowalski.
Shu-Ju Wang said they got their cello and electronics back, but some of her more expensive jewelry remain missing.
"I am very sorry to have lost some of these material things, but I'm still just thinking, 'Wow, we are so lucky,'" she said.