ODDLY ENOUGH | iPhone GPS aids in capture of car-theft suspect

ODDLY ENOUGH

iPhone GPS aids in capture of car-theft suspect

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.

Police say an iPhone left in a stolen truck is how officers were able to capture a burglar suspected of multiple auto break-ins in Colorado Springs.

Officials at the El Paso County Sheriff’s office said 29-year-old Joshua Mitzelfelt purportedly stole a truck left unattended and running in a driveway Tuesday morning. The owner’s iPhone was on the front seat.

The truck’s owner began tracking his vehicle’s location though a website monitoring the phone’s GPS application while updating sheriff dispatchers. Officers spotted the truck about seven miles from the owner’s residence and arrested the driver.

Police were able to link items found in the vehicle to other burglaries in the area. Mitzelfelt has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, second-degree aggravated motor-vehicle theft and first-degree burglary.

3 accused in Florida with evil-spirit cleansing scam

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

Three women are accused in Florida with scamming people out of thousands of dollars by promising to cleanse them of evil spirits.

Federal prosecutors in Fort Lauderdale say Polly Evans, 36; Bridgette Evans, 32; and Olivia Evans, 22, are facing federal fraud charges. Court records Monday did not list lawyers for them.

Prosecutors say they promised people they could get rid of evil spirits through religious cleansing. One person was told a Rolex watch was needed to remove demons. Prosecutors say at least $59,000 was scammed from victims in the U.S. and the Caribbean nation of Anguilla.

Bridgette Evans, who is Polly’s sister, is being held without bail in South Florida. Polly and Olivia Evans, who are mother and daughter, were arrested in Texas and will be extradited to Florida.

Tenacious dog escapes Oregon veterinarian’s office

MEDFORD, Ore.

After three late-night escape attempts from an Oregon veterinarian’s office, a German shepherd named Jack finally made it.

The Medford Mail Tribune reports the crafty canine managed to pull open his kennel, trip the dead bolt on the clinic’s back door and pull down the handle to get outside.

He set off three motion-detector alarms on the way and managed to rip open four bags of food.

The dog roamed seven miles from the vet’s office but made it home only when animal- control officers took him to a shelter where he was reunited with his worried family.

A veterinarian calls the dog’s recovery from flulike symptoms “impressive.”

Associated Press