Metro Woman Uses App To See Who Allegedly Stole Her Cell Phone

A metro woman said she is hoping a cell phone app helps police catch a New Year's Eve burglar.

She said two men kicked open her front door minutes after she and her husband left for work around 9 a.m. that morning.

They got away with all sorts of items, including a gun. The victim was able to remotely track her phone using a smart phone locater and snap a picture of the suspect.

“It's got a front and back camera where you can take it,” said Kathy Hill.

It's smartphone app that allows you to literally take a selfie of whoever is holding your smart phone.

1/6/2015 Related Story: OKC Police: Smartphone App Remotely Snaps Pic Of Burglary Suspect

“And its basic function is to send a location, and then you can ask it to send a picture, and so I did,” said Hill.

And when Kathy got back a clear picture of the side of a man's face, she immediately called police.

Police said they believe the man was involved in a brazen New Year's Eve burglary at Kathy's apartment at the Highlands off Pennsylvania Avenue and N.W. 122nd Street.

Kathy said the suspect was trying to clear a message that appeared on the phone after she tried to ‘ping it.'

“He was holding it and he got a picture of the person in the back of him, or he cleared it and got himself,” said Hill.

That's when she said she believes she was able to snap the picture.

“Our door has actually been busted in. They had kicked it so hard that the dead bolt had given away,” said Hill.

She said the two thieves took computers, rent money, purses and her husband's gun.

It was her neighbor who saw the thieves and called 911.

“I hadn't been at work for more than five, 10 minutes,” said Hill. “They had to have known that we were leaving. We had to have been targeted out.”

Kathy said she was able locate the stolen phone in the same complex, but hasn't gotten the app to work since she was able to snap that picture.

If you recognize the man, call Crime Stoppers at (405) 235-7300.