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What does a GPS tracking device look like? Would you know if you saw one? If Brittney Caudle and Emma Westhusing had asked themselves these questions prior to robbing a bank, the two might have gotten away with bank robbery. Then again, no two GPS trackers look alike. In fact, some GPS tracking devices are small enough to slip into bags full of money completely unnoticed.

Caudle and Westhusing walked calmly into Portland, Oregon, Rivermark Community Credit Union location on December 6th. Upon handing a bank teller a note demanding a bag full of money, Caudle proceeded to chat with the teller. Even though Caudle’s attempt to be friendly was somewhat appreciated (after all, these situations can be tense), she wasn’t paying attention to what the teller was doing.

In addition to the money that the teller was stuffing inside of a bank bag, the teller also placed a small GPS tracking device inside of the bag. When Caudle and Westhusing returned to Caudle’s home, they unloaded the bag of money. Finding the GPS tracking device, the two girls were unsure of what the device was. They attempted to research the device on the Internet to no avail.

Finally, it was decided that the device was some sort of alarm. So, the two stashed the tracker inside of Caudle’s car. Unfortunately, Caudle’s car was sitting in her driveway, and the GPS tracker led police directly to the two thieves. Both Westhusing and Caudle were arrested after admitting the theft (Caudle told police that she was experience money problems). Caudle was indicted on one count of bank robbery, while Westhusing was indicted on one count of assisting with the bank robbery.

This bank robbery is not the first one to be reported throughout the past month. Various other bank robberies have occurred throughout the nation during the month of December. At least one other bank robber was apprehended due to a GPS tracking device. As banks begin to realize the benefits of the small tracking device, few bank robbers have been able to get away with stolen money.

Article Written by Harriette Halepis