Over the weekend, four students’ laptops were stolen from their rooms in the Foss Hill and Butterfields areas. One of the students alerted Public Safety (PSafe) that he had installed tracking software on his computer and the Middletown Police used the GPS tracker to arrest two juveniles and returned the laptop within a few hours of the burglary.

“We worked with the Middletown Police [and] they went over and detained two juveniles and recovered the computer,” said Director of Public Safety Dave Meyer. “This is an ongoing investigation, and part of the problem we have is they’re juveniles, so we don’t have too much information.”

Two computers were stolen Friday night and two more were stolen Saturday night. Meyer said that the laptops were all stolen in similar ways, and urged students to be mindful of securing their doors and windows.

“The methods used by the suspects were similar in all four cases,” he said. “They appear to go through windows, [which] were unlocked, and force the security screen.”

Meyer also noted that the University is now offering students and faculty FrontDoorSoftware, a free laptop recovery software which provides GPS tracking for stolen computers. He said that this free program could help recover laptops in the future, as it is similar to the tracking program used by the student over the weekend.

“[FrontDoorSoftware] would be helpful if someone’s laptop is ever taken,” he said. “If your laptop’s missing or stolen, you can go to the website and not only would you be able to lock it down, you can also track it.”

PSafe is working with the Middletown Police to continue investigating the other three burglaries.