Apple AirTags have been a godsend for forgetful people who lose their belongings and cautious travelers who don't want to lose track of their checked luggage. Police in South Carolina just learned a new application for the tiny device after using it to find a serial burglar.
The robber was hitting restaurants all over Horry County. The Sneaky Beagle in Myrtle Beach was broken into four times in total, despite the man being captured on security footage. After the second time, kitchen manager Thomas Erskine and his staff thought of an idea to catch the culprit.
"I think one of the guests that came in had ended up leaving a stuffed animal and we ended up putting an AirTag inside of the stuffed animal," Erskine told WMBF. "We had two safes at that point: the dummy safe and our actual safe."
During the fourth burglary at The Sneaky Beagle earlier this month, the thief—later identified as 52-year-old Samuel Smith—took off with the decoy safe instead of the real one. Rather than make off with a safe full of money, he just got a teddy bear that was secretly stuffed with an Apple tracking device.
Half an hour after the burglary, the AirTag pinged at Smith's home and gave police a trail to follow and arrest the man. They were also able to connect him to a string of other burglaries in the area. According to authorities, he stole a wide array of things including the ashes of a beloved colleague at one restaurant.
Four months and nine restaurants later, Smith is facing nine counts of second-degree burglary. Restaurant owners in the area should count themselves lucky that his phone didn't notify him that an AirTag was moving with him as he escaped with a teddy bear.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/GutlgBT
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