A Southern California woman fed up with her packages getting stolen out of her post office box sent an Apple AirTag to the address and cleverly tracked down the suspected thief, police said.
The woman had had several items stolen from her mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office already when she thought of the idea, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Apple’s $29 AirTags have become popular items since their 2021 release, helping users keep tabs on the location of anything from their lost keys to wallets and luggage.
On Monday morning, sheriff’s deputies were called to the post office where the woman told officials her mail had been stolen again — including the package with the AirTag.
Came to say exactly this. Lots of articles about police doing fuckall when trackers show the location of stolen property.
In cases like this also contact the US Postal Inspection Service. They won’t take kindly to stolen mail, especially if it’s stolen right out of a US Post Office.
For those who aren’t aware, your mailbox is considered property of the USPS for exactly this reason. Only the people who receive mail there (and the USPS) are allowed to use it.
I’ve also seen the opposite where they’ll raid the wrong house because the tracker isn’t as accurate as it needs to be in some cases. Police seem to always take things to the extremes rather than taking a more measured approach.