Found an iPhone on the street

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

So I found an iPhone 5 in the street this morning by my car. It was in an Otterbox case, and was in pretty good shape other then some dust on it. I turned it on, and got the message to call the number on the screen the phone was lost. I called the number, and it rang the phone (which did me or the owner no good). I contacted Apple to make sure I did everything I was suppose to. They told me to call the Police.

I work on a University campus, so I called the University Police. They got my name and phone number down, and just a minute ago picked the phone up. The policeman ask me some questions, and at the end ask for my number. He said he hope he would find the owner by this afternoon, but if not he may have to file a report and call me to answer a few more questions. I was just seeing why they would need to file a report? The phone was lost not stole, and is now in the police's possession. What would they file a report of? Oh and the phone is using iOS 7, so hopefully they can just track it and fine it.

carjakester · Jan 31, 2014

To have a record of what happened I'm guessing.

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

carjakester said:
To have a record of what happened I'm guessing.

If that were the case why would they not just do that right away? Why wait to see if you find them this afternoon?

barkomatic · Jan 31, 2014

This is why I don't bother to pick up a lost iPhone if I find it these days (to return it)--I just leave it where it is or turn it in to a lost and found if appropriate. A lot of people immediately will report a lost iPhone stolen and if you find it then you are immediately under suspicion.

I'm sure you'll be fine and that the report/questions are just a procedure though. If they can't contact the owner, they may even give it you after awhile--even though it will probably be useless without the original iTunes password.

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

barkomatic said:
This is why I don't bother to pick up a lost iPhone if I find it these days (to return it)--I just leave it where it is or turn it in to a lost and found if appropriate. A lot of people immediately will report a lost iPhone stolen and if you find it then you are immediately under suspicion.

I'm sure you'll be fine and that the report/questions are just a procedure though. If they can't contact the owner, they may even give it you after awhile--even though it will probably be useless without the original iTunes password.

Yeah I am starting to think doing the right thing sometimes is more trouble than it's worth. I know I would pretty upset if I lost my iphone, but man it is a lot of trouble to help out.

ugcop · Jan 31, 2014

I used "sticky note" app to show emergency contact information and saved it for use as my lock screen. Hopefully somebody will call if I loose it and it is found.

aneftp · Jan 31, 2014

Why didn't u call the number?

My wife has gotten real lucky. In the past 12-15 months. She's
1. Dropped it on floor of Disney Fantasy cruise ship before we dis embarked
2. Left it on bench at Turks and Caicos airport
3. iPhone fell out of car at the local zoo

Each time I left message on screen to call my cell and each time someone has called me to pick it up.

TWO2SEVEN · Jan 31, 2014

bmac4 said:
So I found an iPhone 5 in the street this morning by my car. It was in an Otterbox case, and was in pretty good shape other then some dust on it. I turned it on, and got the message to call the number on the screen the phone was lost. I called the number, and it rang the phone (which did me or the owner no good). I contacted Apple to make sure I did everything I was suppose to. They told me to call the Police.

I work on a University campus, so I called the University Police. They got my name and phone number down, and just a minute ago picked the phone up. The policeman ask me some questions, and at the end ask for my number. He said he hope he would find the owner by this afternoon, but if not he may have to file a report and call me to answer a few more questions. I was just seeing why they would need to file a report? The phone was lost not stole, and is now in the police's possession. What would they file a report of? Oh and the phone is using iOS 7, so hopefully they can just track it and fine it.

aneftp said:
Why didn't u call the number?

My wife has gotten real lucky. In the past 12-15 months. She's
1. Dropped it on floor of Disney Fantasy cruise ship before we dis embarked
2. Left it on bench at Turks and Caicos airport
3. iPhone fell out of car at the local zoo

Each time I left message on screen to call my cell and each time someone has called me to pick it up.

He did call the number, but it just rang on the lost phone. Seems like the original owner didn't think that one through.

ionjohn · Jan 31, 2014

aneftp said:
Why didn't u call the number?

My wife has gotten real lucky. In the past 12-15 months. She's
1. Dropped it on floor of Disney Fantasy cruise ship before we dis embarked
2. Left it on bench at Turks and Caicos airport
3. iPhone fell out of car at the local zoo

Each time I left message on screen to call my cell and each time someone has called me to pick it up.

Keep her, she's probably an angel sent by God.

alent1234 · Jan 31, 2014

i would take the phone home, charge it, make sure its on a network and wait until the owner shows up with or without the cops and accuses you of stealing his toy

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

aneftp said:
Why didn't u call the number?

My wife has gotten real lucky. In the past 12-15 months. She's

1. Dropped it on floor of Disney Fantasy cruise ship before we dis embarked

2. Left it on bench at Turks and Caicos airport

3. iPhone fell out of car at the local zoo

Each time I left message on screen to call my cell and each time someone has called me to pick it up.

That is was I did from the start. The owner was real smart and put his number as the contact for when it was lost. Makes a ton of sense right?

Troneas · Jan 31, 2014

the carrier should be able to locate the owner.

i'm sure that will be the police's next step.

PNutts · Jan 31, 2014

bmac4 said:
If that were the case why would they not just do that right away? Why wait to see if you find them this afternoon?

I can't speak to their process, but I assume there is a lot of lost and found on a campus and if they "quickly" find the owner they don't have to do as much paperwork (joe found phone / owner claimed phone) as compared to a phone that's in their possession for a longer period of time. Something like a more formal chain of ownership especially if the phone goes to a central location, and eventually disposing of the phone.

I'm pulling this all out of my, err, "hat".

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

PNutts said:
I can't speak to their process, but I assume there is a lot of lost and found on a campus and if they "quickly" find the owner they don't have to do as much paperwork (joe found phone / owner claimed phone) as compared to a phone that's in their possession for a longer period of time. Something like a more formal chain of ownership especially if the phone goes to a central location, and eventually disposing of the phone.

I'm pulling this all out of my, err, "hat".

Ok well that sounds reasonable.

acfusion29 · Jan 31, 2014

Troneas said:
the carrier should be able to locate the owner.

i'm sure that will be the police's next step.

Why do ppl always say this? The police have thousands of calls per day and a stupid iPhone is the least of their priority.

If I ever find a phone I'll figure out a way to get in touch with the owner.

Btw op have you tried holding the home button for Siri and saying "call home"

If that doesn't work, use common names: mike Matt.. Etc

TWO2SEVEN · Jan 31, 2014

acfusion29 said:
Why do ppl always say this? The police have thousands of calls per day and a stupid iPhone is the least of their priority.

If I ever find a phone I'll figure out a way to get in touch with the owner.

Btw op have you tried holding the home button for Siri and saying "call home"

If that doesn't work, use common names: mike Matt.. Etc

Read. He/she doesn't have the phone anymore. It is with the police.

PNutts · Jan 31, 2014

bmac4 said:
Ok well that sounds reasonable.

Well that's the first time this week!

I forgot to add to my post a big thank you for turning it in to the police. I'm OK with leaving it on the ground, but anyone who holds on to lost property to find the owner is just delaying the process. The only thing I would have done differently is leave a voice mail saying that you will turn it in to the campus police.

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

acfusion29 said:
Why do ppl always say this? The police have thousands of calls per day and a stupid iPhone is the least of their priority.

If I ever find a phone I'll figure out a way to get in touch with the owner.

Btw op have you tried holding the home button for Siri and saying "call home"

If that doesn't work, use common names: mike Matt.. Etc

Yeah like was said before I turned it into the police. I wanted the phone to either be found by the owner quickly, or out of my hands in the polices hands. I do not want to be accused of stealing it. I did all the things I knew to do.

cyks · Jan 31, 2014

acfusion29 said:
Btw op have you tried holding the home button for Siri and saying "call home"

If that doesn't work, use common names: mike Matt.. Etc

I'd start with wife, husband, mom and dad before I'd go to random common names.

The last think I'd want is some stranger calling 'Mike' on my phone and reaching someone either I haven't talked to in years or, worse, a business associate.

I7guy · Jan 31, 2014

cyks said:
I'd start with wife, husband, mom and dad before I'd go to random common names.

The last think I'd want is some stranger calling 'Mike' on my phone and reaching someone either I haven't talked to in years or, worse, a business associate.

Which is why your phone should be secured.

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

PNutts said:
Well that's the first time this week!

I forgot to add to my post a big thank you for turning it in to the police. I'm OK with leaving it on the ground, but anyone who holds on to lost property to find the owner is just delaying the process. The only thing I would have done differently is leave a voice mail saying that you will turn it in to the campus police.

Yeah turning it into the police was my final attempt getting the phone back to the owner. I tried calling the number, talking to Apple, and then calling the police. I was kind of hoping Apple could relay a message to the owner to call me because I had the phone, but she said to call the police and they would contact Apple. I highly doubt the police will ever contact Apple.

All I can say is I would be sick if I lost my iphone. I sure hope it gets back to the owner. Sorry, but I am not sure that I will ever know if it does or not. Thanks for all the advice, and continue with the advice for future reference.

----------

cyks said:
I'd start with wife, husband, mom and dad before I'd go to random common names.

The last think I'd want is some stranger calling 'Mike' on my phone and reaching someone either I haven't talked to in years or, worse, a business associate.

Does this work if they have it lost mode?

Troneas · Jan 31, 2014

acfusion29 said:
Why do ppl always say this? The police have thousands of calls per day and a stupid iPhone is the least of their priority.

its university police.

obviously its not the least of their priorities nor are they getting "thousands of calls per day" because they took their time to question the OP and hinted at filing a report and what not.

why do people always asume everything as it is in their own communities?

Consultant · Jan 31, 2014

Leave a voice mail with the number you called.

People can access their voice mail remotely.

But the person should have included email instead.

bmac4 said:
So I found an iPhone 5 in the street this morning by my car. It was in an Otterbox case, and was in pretty good shape other then some dust on it. I turned it on, and got the message to call the number on the screen the phone was lost. I called the number, and it rang the phone (which did me or the owner no good). I contacted Apple to make sure I did everything I was suppose to. They told me to call the Police.

I work on a University campus, so I called the University Police. They got my name and phone number down, and just a minute ago picked the phone up. The policeman ask me some questions, and at the end ask for my number. He said he hope he would find the owner by this afternoon, but if not he may have to file a report and call me to answer a few more questions. I was just seeing why they would need to file a report? The phone was lost not stole, and is now in the police's possession. What would they file a report of? Oh and the phone is using iOS 7, so hopefully they can just track it and fine it.

bmac4 · Jan 31, 2014

Consultant said:
Leave a voice mail with the number you called.

People can access their voice mail remotely.

But the person should have included email instead.

Can't don't have the phone anymore.

Consultant · Jan 31, 2014

bmac4 said:
Can't don't have the phone anymore.

Might be in your recently called log. If you used cell phone and deleted your log, you can get it from your carrier.

If you still have the number you should leave message telling person that school security has it.

Usually school security don't have the resources to make sure each device is returned. The lost devices just sit in a box, and eventually get donated.

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