Police thought it was worth a try: Beep a stolen pager in an effort to nab a burglary suspect.
"We wanted to see if the ding-dong would call us back. Guess what? He did," Ogden Police detective Scott Mc-Gregor said.The 13-year-old suspect allegedly broke into two cars last weekend, unknowingly stealing the pager, which belonged to the son of a police officer. Also taken were 40 compact discs and a loaded rifle.
"We decided to leave the pager active and see what happened," McGregor said.
Police were skeptical they could lure the burglar into answering, but went ahead and set up caller identification gear, activated the pager's number on 8 a.m. Monday and sat back and waited.
An hour later, the suspect called in. The call was traced to a room at the Motel Orleans, and officers soon arrived.
"He met us at the door and handed over the pager without asking any questions," McGregor said.
It turns out the boy and his siblings were staying at the motel after being placed there by their mother, McGregor said. Her landlord doesn't allow her to have children live with her, the detective said.