by: Shane McGlaun
Student recovers stolen Xbox 360 but doesn't beat thief senseless
Gamers put lots of time into their favorite games gaining new abilities, levels, and other benefits as the game goes along. A couple of the worst things that could happen to a gamer is to have his game console stolen or lose the game data stored on the console.
The Standard Online reports that a student named Ryan Ketsenburg from Missouri State was able to recover his stolen Xbox 360 console using a bit of technological knowhow. Ketsenburg reports that he and a roommate came back from a school-sanctioned trip and were so tired they forgot to lock the door to their room.
When the students woke the next day, Ketsenburg realized that his Xbox had been stolen. According to a police report the student says that while he and his roommate were sleeping someone crept into the room and made off with the game system.
The thief neglected to take the wireless controller to the Xbox and Ketsenburg was able to get the controller to connect to the Xbox, meaning that the console was nearby. The game was afoot and Ketsenburg used the LEDs on the controller (which flash when the controller is out of range) to narrow the floor that the console was on down to the fifth floor of the multi-story dorm and finally to a specific room on the floor.
According to reports, the student then contacted the advisor living on the floor of the theft. The advisor searched the room and found the console. Ketsenburg was able to prove that the console was his when the wireless controller turned the Xbox on. He recovered his console, but found that the thief had reformatted the hard drive and that all of the saved games were gone.
Ketsenburg says that he is prosecuting the thief to the fullest extent of the law.
