I’ve recently came upon an article regarding the new Find My iPhone app and how this app managed to get one family out of trouble twice. This Australian family was spending a short holiday in Fiji at a classy hotel. Although it was a very nice hotel, it seems that the personnel or at least part of it was not so nice. The lady was having breakfast and she left the table for just a couple of minutes to wash her hands. When she got back, she discovered that her purse, which was sitting on the nearby chair, was missing. She notified the hotel manager and talked to a few waiters, but no one could give her a proper explanation regarding the missing purse.

The lady notified the cops and went back to her room to wait for them. Inside the purse she had her credit cards, her ID and her iPhone. She downloaded the Find my iPhone app a few days earlier, but it was not yet active as far as she knew (I think the device was not synced to MobileME). Meanwhile, the thief, a new luggage boy, was checking the contents of the purse and started playing on the iPhone he found.  Somehow he activated the Find my iPhone by connecting the phone with the lady’s MobileMe account.

When the police arrived, the lady’s husband thought to check for the iPhone using the Find My iPhone app on his iPad, although he knew that there was a very small chance to track it down. Fortunately for them, he was able to track down the phone using this app and the Police could apprehend the thief quite fast. The lady got her purse and phone back and enjoyed the rest of the holiday together with her family.

The couple, together with their daughter, got back to Australia a few days later and continued with their daily routine. A couple of weeks later, their daughter came very upset from school. Her iPhone was stolen. Her parents were now dedicated Find my iPhone users. They managed to locate the iPhone via the father’s iPad and went to the Police to report a theft in progress. The Police had little trouble in arresting the thief. The family did not press charges after recovering the iPhone, as the thief was one of their daughter’s class mates. They were all glad to recover a stolen iPhone twice and avoid spending money on new ones.

Story originally posted here by Chris Rawson