MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A Tennessee woman who is three months pregnant says she was carjacked at gunpoint after a crash, but an AirTag hidden inside a Bible helped her track down her vehicle.
Zaliyah Hughes said she was headed to a Memphis restaurant restaurant when a light-colored Nissan crashed into the passenger side of her Hyundai Sonata at an intersection.
“I was going through the light, and they were supposed to stop. They were speeding and hit me,” said Hughes. “Once they hit me, the man who had a black mask on already had his gun pointed out the car.”
Hughes said she tried to pull into a nearby firehouse, but the carjackers blocked her car and forced her out of the vehicle in front of three firefighters.
“They both upped their guns on me and said to get out of the car,” Hughes said. “All I did was get out of the car. I didn’t want to risk my life and I already knew I had tracking in my car.”
Hughes said the firemen called the police. Later, in the middle of the night, she received a notification on her phone that her AirTag was nearby.
“When I looked at it, it brought me to a location [near a local apartment complex], and immediately, I called the police and gave them my case number,” said Hughes. “The woman said, ‘I’ll try to have police go out there, but we are too busy right now to do anything about it.'”
Hughes said she was too afraid to look for the car herself, but she was relieved when she woke up and discovered her AirTag was now at the city impound lot.
“The police went there, and I guess they saw my car and towed it,” she said.
Hughes said the carjackers ripped out her rearview mirror to disable her Bluelink car finder system, which she said was not updated or working. They were unaware, however, that Hughes had an AirTag tucked inside the pages of a Bible in her car.
“I keep my AirTag inside of my Bible because I think, ‘Hey if someone rummages through my car, they are not going to steal my Bible,'” Hughes said.
Hughes, a cosmetology student, said the thieves still have her only key, so she can’t drive her Sonata. She estimates that it will cost hundreds of dollars to replace the key and repair all the damage to her vehicle.
Police had not made any arrests as of Thursday. Anyone with information that may help with the investigation is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.
