AirTag

A serial burglar, a teddy bear, and an AirTag walk into a bar…

Zac Hall | Jul 27 2023 - 9:31 am PT

Filed under you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up, a South Carolina bar called the Sneaky Beagle has outsmarted a serial burglar with the help of an AirTag’d teddy bear and a decoy safe.

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52-year-old Samuel Smith is accused of conducting a string of burglaries at bars and banks. The hits across the South Carolina coastline started in February.

It started with a failed attempt to fish out a bag of money from a night deposit box at the bank. The Sun News out of Myrtle Beach has the story:

His first charges stem from an attempt remove a cash deposit from a night deposit box at South Atlantic Bank on River Oaks Drive in February. He attempted to steal from the registry using a fishing line and hook, but was unsuccessful, according to the arrest warrant.

Since the unsuccessful fishing excursion, Smith took bank bags and safes from several bars and restaurants including Handley’s, Doyle’s Pub and Grub, and Old Bull & Bush Pub and Eatery.

After hitting the Sneaky Beagle, however, Smith appears to have met his match. The dog-friendly bar had had enough after a series of break-ins.

Fortunately, staff at the Sneaky Beagle decided to get clever. They stuffed a teddy bear with an Apple AirTag and left it inside a decoy safe. Smith snatched up the AirTag-tracked safe during his fourth attempt to rob the Sneaky Beagle.

Authorities say this allowed them to connect the string of burglaries together. Because of the decoy safe, police were able to arrest Smith using the address provided by the AirTag.

After more than $15,000 in damages and stolen cash, a $29 Apple AirTag and a teddy bear at the Sneaky Beagle ended the months-long crime spree. I, for one, would not recommend underestimating the prowess of a bar named after a witty dog.