An elderly woman is lucky to be alive after being mugged on Youngstown's West Side on Friday.

Her family's swift actions helped police locate not only some of her belongings but also put the suspect behind bars. This comes as the suspect was allegedly involved in a handful of robberies around town.

"It was a scary thing. I was really scared," explained Deanna Dunn to 21 News Friday. 

The 84-year-old was leaving a Meridian Road salon when a man restrained her in her car while demanding her purse. She fought back by punching his throat and laying the car horn.

"I was sitting in my car and he opened my door," Dunn said. "I got mad. I said, 'You're not going to do anything to me.' So, I just kept fighting him and blowing the horn. Everytime I leave the salon, I don't look around because I feel comfortable there. I learned you should never get too comfortable."

The man ran off with Dunn's purse, credit card, cash, and cell phone. Deanna ran back into the salon to call her daughter.

Deanna's family, knowing that she was safe, began helping police find her belongings and the suspect. They say iPhone's Find My Friends feature did the trick.

"I got a return phone call from my daughter saying, 'Doesn't Uncle Bill track her on her iPhone?" explained George Podolsky, Dunn's son-in-law. "Everything clicked. I had the phone number of a Youngstown Police Officer from a family friend. I called him and he was already on duty this morning looking for this gentleman."

"I pulled her location right up and I saw exactly where he was at," explained Bill Dunn, Deanna's son. "I was on a three-way phone call with George and Youngstown Police. I could also hear police communicating with other squad members on the call."

Deanna's family actively updated police where her iPhone location was, eventually leading them to the Cornersburg area.

"He gave us a location on Saddlebrook and lo and behold, the guy's running between buildings," Podolsky added.

Podolsky spotted the same suspect attempting to commit another robbery outside of a nursing home on South Schenley.

"I saw the suspect attempting to force a woman out of her car there," Podolsky said. "I got my truck in front of the car so he couldn't pull out. He ended up exiting that car and ran towards the St. Christine's School."

St. Christine's School was placed in lockdown prior to the suspect's arrest.

YPD detained the suspect shortly after a foot case between officers and the suspect. "It was just an unbelievable, good fortune case of timing," Podolsky said. 

Now, they're grateful Deanna's location was on to save the day.

"It just makes me more vigilant of where she's at, what she's doing, and where she's going," Dunn added. "I've always tracked her. My mom did a great job in the situation. She threw her keys to the floor, laid on the horn, and brought attention to everyone. I just advise her and everyone to be more aware and viligant going out."

"You just have to make sure you're aware of your surroundings," Podolsky said. "You say all the time, 'it won't happen to us,' but it could happen anywhere."

"I'm grateful for them and grateful for my son to have that tracker on there, which I usually complain about," Deanna joked. "But now, anybody in my family can track me," she said with a smile. 

The man is in custody and is refusing to give his identity to police. It is unclear what charges he could be facing.