OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The 32-year-old Grand Chute man who went on a hit-and-run spree Thanksgiving night in Outagamie County has been identified.
Jonathon Harper was arrested after police said he went on a rampage throughout Outagamie County.
Investigators believe Harper caused a number of crashes and stole at least two vehicles, one of which had a teenage girl and a rifle inside. They said a phone app played a crucial role in his arrest.
FOX 11 is not naming the witnesses involved to protect their identities. Those witnesses were a mom and her 14-year-old-daughter.
“The day before, I lost my phone, and it was just in my bed, but I remembered that you can use the ‘Find My iPhone’ app.” said one teen who was in the car at the time of the carjacking.
Coincidence or fate had the teen not lost her phone and installed that app one day earlier, she probably wouldn’t have been able to help investigators as much as she did Thursday night.
“It would have delayed us greatly,” said Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office Staff Sergeant Ryan Carpenter.
“We had a location; a general area of where he fled but, beyond that, we didn’t know.”
The 14-year-old girl was in one of the vehicles Jonathon Harper’s accused of stealing in Greenville. She managed to jump out of the truck while he started driving away, leaving her phone inside.
Her best friend who was also in the vehicle wasn’t so lucky. Child safety locks kept her locked inside the truck.
Harper eventually let her go at a nearby gas station.
“They didn’t know where he was, but my phone was with him, so they could trace him with that, so I was like telling everybody, ‘You have to like, give me a phone!’” the teen said.
Using her friend’s phone, she was able to sign into the “Find My iPhone” application, and locate where the device was at, which eventually led to police finding and locating the suspect, as well as the vehicle.
“The ultimate location ended up being about eight miles away from where she was dropped off, so that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Carpenter said.
Deputies found both Harper and the stolen truck near Highway 96 and Industrial Drive in the Town of Dale.
“She literally tracked it the whole entire time, so the law enforcement kind of surrounded her, and she showed them where it was,” the teen’s mother and a witness herself said. “It was incredible.”
Harper could face a slew of charges, including multiple counts of vehicle theft and kidnapping.
Outagamie County sheriff’s deputies also said Harper rammed a car into a home in Greenville, injuring one person and hit at least three vehicles.
Meth was found on him, and officials believe drugs were a factor in these incidents.
He’s set to appear in Outagamie County Court Tuesday afternoon.
