Wireless Controller Helps Recover Stolen 360

[wraggster]

A Missouri State student came back to his dorm to find his Xbox 360 stolen. Realizing the controller still connected when turned it on, he set out to find the console. And he did.

This is probably the only set of circumstances in which this would work — 360 stolen, thief lives 30 feet away, that's only gonna happen in a college dorm. But credit to Ryan Ketsenberg for using some critical thinking and old fashioned sleuthing to get his stuff back and bust a thief.

According to The Standard (newspaper of Missouri State):

Ketsenburg, who lives in Hutchens House, said that after his Xbox was stolen, he turned on his wireless Xbox controller and found that it was still connecting to his Xbox. Based on this discovery, Ketsenburg said he realized that his Xbox must be nearby, he said.

The controller connected to the Xbox on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of Hutchens but not on the third floor and seventh floor, so through process of elimination, Ketsenburg said he figured out that the stolen Xbox must be on the fifth floor.

Following the controller's signal, Ketsenburg said he was able to pinpoint the room where his Xbox was stolen.

The Xbox 360 wireless controller has a 30-foot range, according to the Xbox Web site. When looking for his Xbox, Ketsenburg said the light-emitting diodes of the controller flashed when he was out of range.

The 5th floor resident assistant checked the alleged room where the stolen Xbox was and was able to find the Xbox, Ketsenburg said.

Best part? They recovered the console before the thief got home to notice it was now missing from his dorm. Payback's a bitch!

Ketsenberg said his hard drive was formatted, so he's really upset about that. But then again, he got his console back. And he's not the one who's (presumably) getting kicked out of school.

http://kotaku.com/5109641/wireless-c...ver-stolen-360

[BastarB]

Hahahahaha, what a stupid thief, or was it just a very clever xbox-owner?? =P

[LilSwish722]

That's the greatest thing I've heard regarding Xbox 360 news in a long time. What a stupid thief...and smart owner for realizing that.

[sjuut]

dunno.. but. if you transport a 360, you'll have to cut the power right..? so how can the controller still be connected?
did he turn it on himself with the controller or something?

[Sektor]

Great story. You can power on a previously synced 360 with the controller.

[pibs]

smart dude! its no biggie if it was formatted, all he has to do is go to his download hist and he should be fine.

Edit: forgot about his game saves no recover!

30-foot range....its in the article

[Twinights]

how far can the controller go before its out of range?

[gotchix]

lol nice