SFWeekly called the San Francisco Police Department and discovered that they had no records of any investigation nor of any visit or search of the house claimed in the original article.
Furthermore, the officer they spoke to said they had told CNet's reporter the same just weeks ago. Despite this, CNet reports their information came from someone 'familiar with the investigation". CNet has yet to clarify.Esparza says no records of the visit to Bernal Heights by police officers -- which should be recorded in documentation per standard SFPD procedures -- exist at either Mission or Ingleside stations, at least one of which would have handled the incident. (Ingleside station covers Bernal Heights, while the phone was allegedly lost at Cava 22, a bar in the Mission.) Police dispatchers also have no records of any incident involving the address where the search for the phone supposedly took place, Esparza says.
PCMag similarly contacted the San Francisco police who also denied any knowledge of the incident.
Article Link: San Francisco Police with No Record of Lost iPhone 5 Investigation