A Southern California woman fed up with packages being stolen from her mailbox sent an Apple AirTag to the address and deftly tracked down the suspected thief, police said.
The woman had already had several items stolen from her mailbox at the Los Alamos post office even 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 track of the whereabouts of everything 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 AirTag package.
Police tracked the AirTag to a neighborhood in Santa Maria, about 16 miles from the post office, and arrested two suspects — a 27-year-old woman from Santa Maria and a 37-year-old man from Riverside.
They found the AirTag package among the victim’s mail, as well as items believed to have been stolen from more than a dozen other people. The woman declined to be identified, the sheriff’s department said.
The two suspects were jailed on charges of possession of checks with intent to defraud, conspiracy and identity and credit card theft. The 37-year-old was also charged with burglary and several other theft warrants from Riverside County.
The sheriff’s department praised the mail theft victim for contacting police so they could apprehend the suspects instead of trying to contact them on their own.