Apple’s AirTag item tracker continues to make headlines around the United States and beyond. In the past week, two new AirTag stories have emerged in which the $29 device was used to locate stolen cars, but one case had a dramatically different outcome than the other.
AirTag helps man find his stolen truck in Texas
In San Antonio, Texas, a man’s truck was stolen from his driveway last Wednesday, but there was an AirTag inside the car. Using the location of this AirTag, he was able to track down his truck and found it at a shopping center across town.
He then called the San Antonio Police Department and reported his truck as stolen, but he didn’t actually wait for officers to show up before taking matters into his own hands. As reported by My San Antonio, the man approached his stolen truck in the parking lot.
“Police said the man saw his truck in the parking lot, walked up to the stolen vehicle in an attempt to confront the person inside, and some sort of disagreement ensued,” the report explains. At this point, some of the details are a bit unclear and police say they “could not confirm if the man and the suspected thief argued.”
According to police, the car theft victim believed that the suspected car thief was armed with a gun, leading to “a firefight.” In the gunfire, the suspected car thief was shot and pronounced dead.
Police said that, at this time, they believe the car thief victim is the only person to have fired shots and could not confirm if there was more than one weapon found at the crime scene.
The suspected thief, another man, was shot and pronounced dead, Soliz said. His identity has not been released. The car theft victim reportedly stayed at the scene of the shooting, complied with police, and was taken into custody for questioning. The shooter is not expected to face charges, [SAPD spokesperson Nick Soliz] said, but noted an investigation is ongoing.
The takeaway from this case is to “wait for the police in this matter,” the San Antonio Police Department says. “Let us go with you. We have training.”
A different outcome in Scotland
Meanwhile, the Daily Record reports that a police in Scotland were able to track down a stolen Range Rover — nearly a year after it was first stolen — thanks to an AirTag.
A thief who stole a £44,000 Range Rover was caught by a tracking device in the victim’s purse.
The Apple AirTag led police to an Airbnb flat where construction worker Daniel Kerr had been showing off the vehicle to colleagues. A £1,200 Gucci baby changing bag and other designer accessories, including the purse, were also recovered.
Kerr, 32, admitted stealing the Range Rover and other items after breaking into a house in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, on July 7 last year. Hamilton Sheriff Court heard on Friday that Kerr, of Durham, was staying in the area while working on a supermarket construction site.
It’s unclear why it took police officers in Scotland over eight months to locate the stolen purse, Range Rover, and other items. Still, the vehicle and all other stolen items were successfully recovered.
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