10-03-2025
Sheriff's department shows off GPS tracking dart Monday morning
WEST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — In a Facebook post Monday, Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins unveiled a different method of tracking rather than pursuing vehicles — a dart.
Early Monday morning, a deputy was pursuing a vehicle and rather than keep going at a high speed, the deputy got close enough to fire a StarChase dart at the vehicle and then backed off.
The incident occurred at about 2 a.m. when the deputy tried to conduct a traffic stop at a West Peoria gas station. The car's driver then sped up and began to flee, according to the dash camera video from the Facebook post.
The object that attached itself to the fleeing car is called a GPS StarChase dart, which allows the deputy to track the car from a safe distance so they do not have to engage in a dangerous high-speed chase, according to the post.
The deputy was then able to monitor the GPS, and two minutes later, the GPS led the officers to the 1400 block of West Millman Street. The car, which was a rental, had been ditched and of the people inside had fled on foot.
The vehicle was left running in the road and a female who was allegedly inside was found at the scene and arrested.
'The Peoria County Sheriff's Office is deploying a StarChase technology that enables officers to safely manage fleeing suspects, while keeping our officers and community safe,' the post said.
The post also explains that StarChase can be used and is effective in many vehicle crimes such as fleeing, stolen vehicles, DUIs, human trafficking, and narcotics trafficking, among others.
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