California Woman Uses Apple AirTag to Track Down Her Stolen Packages — Here’s How She Did It

Mar. 15, 2025

Apple AirTag.Photo:Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty

Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty

A California woman decided to take matters into her own hands when she noticed her packages were being stolen on multiple occasions.

The woman sent a package containing anApple AirTagto her mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office in Los Alamos, Calif. and was able to catch the suspects stealing her mail with the help of the police, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office wrote in apress releaseon Tuesday, Aug. 20.

Deputies responded to the woman’s mail theft report on Monday, Aug. 19 and “learned that the victim had items stolen from her post office box recently, so she mailed herself a package that included an AirTag locator device,” per the release.

As the package containing the $29 tracking device was also stolen, police were able to locate the suspects and arrest them that day. Officers note that the woman did not try to find the suspects herself and instead contacted the police right away.

The victim’s Apple AirTag that was found in the stolen package.Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office

The suspects, a 27-year-old woman and 37-year-old man, were found with the victim’s mail and “items believed to be stolen from over a dozen additional victims,” according to the police. They were located and arrested in the 600-block of E. Sunrise Drive in Santa Maria.

In the release, officers praise the victim’s quick thinking and note that the case remains open as they contact the other victims.

Various suitcases.Getty

Getty

The passenger, Paola Garcia, told Florida’sLocal 10at the time that it all started when she was forced to check her pink hard-shell suitcase before her March 3 flight. However, her luggage never arrived at the carousel when she touched down in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s Terminal 4.

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Despite Garcia’s claims that the airline said her belongings would be sent to her house, she noticed her Apple Watch was sending a signal from a home address in Fort Lauderdale.

She decided to investigate herself and discovered suitcases “everywhere” at the property when she got there. She took a video of the luggage and called 911, leading the Broward Sheriff’s Office to arrest the suspect, Junior Bazile, and charge him with grand theft.

source: people.com