Wireless controller solves the case of the missing Xbox 360

by Xav de Matos { Dec 15th 2008 at 12:45PM }

Making his way home from a school related trip, Missouri State student Ryan Ketsenburg arrived home to his dorm on November 21, only to discover that his Xbox 360 had been stolen. Quick on his feet, Ketsenburg noticed a wireless controller the thief had left behind was still connecting to his console, which meant the thief had set up his gaming system within range.

Through the process of elimination and the controller's 30-foot range, Ketsenburg zeroed in on the thief and, with the help of the 5th floor assistant, found the missing console in another student's dorm. After satisfying dorm officials that the console was indeed his by turning the system on with 'Detective Controller,' the Xbox 360 was returned. Missouri State officials said the thief has yet to return to his dorm since the incident but Ketsenburg promises that when he does he will be prosecuting with what we assume will be extreme prejudice.

[Thanks Jonah. Via Kotaku AU.]

Tags: detective-controller, missing-xbox, missouri

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Rygar @ Dec 15th 2008 12:53PM

I hates thieves.
Very nice read, glad Ryan got his box back.

Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad.

Evan Tribley @ Dec 16th 2008 2:29AM

I'm glad to hear he got his 360 back, but I always get bitter when I read these. My apartments first floor window was broken into and my 360 was stolen. Microsoft offered no help and the police didn't do anything either.

My only hope is that it gets the RRoD, because MS would only flag the serial number and would confiscate it if it came in for repair. I wish the thief would have lived closer to me haha.

imbecile pete @ Dec 15th 2008 12:53PM

amazing!

Jon @ Dec 15th 2008 12:56PM

saw that this morning and that is true payback, thief comes back and the xbox he stole is stolen back!

Jake @ Dec 15th 2008 1:04PM

persecuting???

jkdoug @ Dec 15th 2008 2:08PM

Yeah, I found that typo amusing myself. Why prosecute them when you can just persecute them? :)

Kryptinite @ Dec 15th 2008 1:10PM

I would say, he should have stayed and beat that dudes ass but it probably wouldn't have made great news. FOX would have jumped all over it.

baby sea tuna @ Dec 15th 2008 1:14PM

You can't say he wouldn't have deserved it!

chase @ Dec 18th 2008 4:15PM

My Xbox was stolen the same mouth I got it, so it is nice to see that Ryan Ketsenburg got his back.

(i'm on xbox #3 so if it dies I get a Jasper!)

sy kane @ Dec 15th 2008 1:26PM

I sent a tip to X3F yesterday. I guess, they haven't gotten to it yet. So here it goes:

Kmart has COD WAW for $45
http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/search_10151_10104?storeId=10151&catalogId=10104&keyword=call+of+duty++war+at+world

francisco @ Dec 15th 2008 1:39PM

hahaha sweet going that kid was smart to use the controller to track down his 360 XD

brian @ Dec 15th 2008 2:03PM

no offenses meant, but you'd have to be pretty damn ignorant to not try that in the first place

cloud858rk @ Dec 15th 2008 5:07PM

@brian
Yeah, saying "pretty damn ignorant" makes it offensive, no matter what you say before. I consider myself a smart person, but I still think that was clever of him to use the controller to track his system down. The first thing to pop into my head probably would have been the hard drive name.

Bennyishere @ Dec 15th 2008 1:46PM

Extreme prejudice? Haha! Well done, Xav!

Tann @ Dec 15th 2008 2:22PM

wow
thats really lucky!

thank god he got it back:)

Alex @ Dec 15th 2008 2:35PM

So what, the thief stole the console and cables, took it to his room, plugged it in, and realised he didn't have a controller so left it plugged in?
If that was me I'd be screwed because I prefer wired controllers... And I have three. Anyone able to forget those doesn't deserve to even buy a legit console.

bmcclure937 @ Dec 16th 2008 2:46PM

prefer wired controllers?? why.... there is absolutely no advantage. haha

xenocidic @ Dec 16th 2008 2:51PM

...other than never having to charge them...

NotYourAverageSuperHero @ Dec 15th 2008 2:45PM

lucky guy....lol

El Capitaine @ Dec 15th 2008 4:32PM

not so lucky...

i heard about this on another news site...

the thief formatted his HDD.

Edge @ Dec 15th 2008 2:51PM

Oh hell ya. Epic Win.

lasersanchez @ Dec 15th 2008 5:40PM

Wouldn't a 360 controller do that if ANY 360 were in range, not just his own? Not that I doubt someone who lived in the same hall stole it, just curious.

FreekyWiggle @ Dec 15th 2008 3:11PM

nah, you have to connect a controller to an xbox with the wireless search button thingies on the controller and console before a controller would connect. so you cant just walk around with any controller, turn it on, and it turns on any xbox in range. so the fact that he didnt need to syncronize the controller with the console proves it was his console

Duke @ Dec 15th 2008 3:17PM

Its the same idea as a garage door opener. Just because you click one driving down the road doesn't mean all garage doors open everywhere. They are coded to their specific unit.

Jitaroo @ Dec 15th 2008 3:40PM

@Duke:
That would be cool though, right?

DragonAce05 @ Dec 15th 2008 3:41PM

I hate theives. I did something similar with a stolen bluetooth headset. I got it back but couldn't kick their ass. I don't beat up women.

cloud858rk @ Dec 15th 2008 5:11PM

Think of them as a thief, not as a women. If women have/want equal rights as men, then they should get pay the consequences of thievery just the same.

Michael Paul @ Dec 15th 2008 3:52PM

Odd how that worked out.

My controller turns off when I turn off the console, so the guy had to pick up the controller, turn it on, notice that the light didn't go back off, and remember that THAT meant the console was only so far away.

Seems more like a story you tell when the real story is that a guy down the hall had 'borrowed' the 360 AGAIN...

Tann @ Dec 15th 2008 4:07PM

sometimes when i turn it off from the power button and not the controller it just turns the console off, not the controller and the controller lights just flashing away.

so this could have happened to this poor guy and the thief could have turned it off by the power (or something like that) and then taken it back to his room, turned it on, and poof the other controller in the other room connects to it?

the only thing i find interesting is how it actually managed to connect.. i mean my controller only stays connected to just outside my room lol

Desmond XY @ Dec 15th 2008 8:29PM

Eh. Considering I'd like to attend MSU next year (I currently reside in KC), this is a little bit unsettling.

Shaun @ Dec 15th 2008 4:39PM

Lol my friend had something like that happen to him. Someone stole his 360 and after a week or two he found out who it was and broke into his house and stole his 360 and flat screen samsung TV which ended up getting sold lol. Payback is a bitch.

Secre @ Dec 15th 2008 5:09PM

Hey, Jackyboy! Wanna call this gamer an idiot? Sounds like he was pretty smart!

Daredevil Bear @ Dec 16th 2008 2:01AM

I go to MSU and when i first read this i thought that this was one stupid thief.

Lets leave the xbox i stole in the same building that i stole it from and not try to get rid of it.

That's just stupid. But as somebody already said his hard drive was formatted and that has to suck.