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engelke2010

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 28, 2010
1,132
188
I love reading stories like this. It's too bad, however, that they weren't able to get everything back.

http://www.katu.com/news/local/124945009.html

PORTLAND, Ore. - Two men were caught red-handed with a stolen iPhone and other items on Saturday after a GPS tracking service on the phone led deputies to them, a Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said.

Saturday afternoon 18-year-old Lilli Gordon and her mother pulled into Rooster Rock State Park for a quick pit stop. They were visiting from California and were on their way to the airport to fly home.

While they were away from the vehicle, someone broke into their car and stole several items, including Lilli's Apple iPhone 4.

"When the incident happened I was really upset and I was pretty hysterical and crying. But on the way to the airport I was like 'oh my God, if the phone is on my dad can track where it is," she said.

Lilli had just gotten the new phone a few days before the trip. When she bought it the clerk recommended she activate a program called Mobile Me that can track the phone through GPS.

Apple users can use Mobile Me to track their iPhone, iPod or iPad if it’s lost or stolen. (Apple has plans to discontinue the Mobile Me service, although the phone location service will still be active through their new iCloud service.)

Lowell Gordon, Lilli's father, was able to bring up the phone's location on a map from his home in San Diego. He called deputies and gave them his login information for the Mobile Me site.

A deputy in Portland logged into Mobile Me from the computer in his patrol car and used the tracking map to find the exact location of the phone. The deputy then met up with two Portland Police officers and all three went to the phone’s last location in the 3900 block of North Kiska Street.

The deputy and officers searched a car at the house and found the victim's empty wallet and her stolen text book, but not the missing iPhone.

They arrested Nicholas Barnard, 42, at the house, who was charged with one count of theft and one count of unlawful entry into a motor vehicle.

After dropping the suspect off at jail, the Lowell Gordon called the deputy and said the phone was on the move and he was tracking it. The deputy again logged into Mobile Me from his car and got real-time information about the phone’s location.

Another deputy near the phone arrived at the intersection Mobile Me directed him to and found three men sitting underneath a tree near the corner of North Lombard Street and North Chicago Ave. As the deputy was talking with the men, the husband sent an alert to the phone and it rang in the suspect’s pocket.

The deputy took the phone and arrested Lonnie Rogers, 45, who was charged with one count of theft. He also was wanted for a parole violation.

"He was able to recover it, which is pretty amazing," Lilli said.

She will soon get the phone back, but her $2,000 Apple computer is still missing, along with her and her mother's credit cards and driver's licenses.

"I wish they had (Mobile Me) on the computer, too," Gordon said.

Lilli and her mother flew home on Saturday, but had to navigate airport security with no ID cards. They were subjected to extra screening and TSA agents asked them a series of personal questions to verify their identity.

"At least the guy is in custody and we can help other people find their stuff," Lilli said. "It's a lot to deal with. I've been trying to be positive. No one was hurt and we're all back together."

Lt. Mary Lindstrand said this incident is a good reminder for people to lock up their belongings, especially when in the Columbia River Gorge, which is a notorious location for thefts. She also said it’s a good reminder to activate a tracking service on your electronic devices if it’s available.

“People who have it don’t think about using it, so this is perfect,” she said.
 

PNutts

macrumors 601
Jul 24, 2008
4,874
357
Pacific Northwest, US
Creeps. I'm glad the iPhone owners did the right thing and let the police handle it.

Lots of car prowls at parks around Portland. :( Interesting fact: Rooster Rock is the "friendly" name of the park where Rooster is a euphemism for the park's original name which also ryhmes with "rock". If you have any questions refer to the park's photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooster_Rock_State_Park. This park still hosts the country's first officially-designated clothing-optional beach in the U.S. And forget what you've seen on TV, the only people at clothing-optional beaches are people you don't want to see at clothing-optional beaches.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=roost...46274,-122.214317&sspn=0.096296,0.141792&z=14
 

iceterminal

macrumors 68000
May 25, 2008
1,870
27
Dallas Tx.
Creeps. I'm glad the iPhone owners did the right thing and let the police handle it.

the only people at clothing-optional beaches are people you don't want to see at clothing-optional beaches.

Ok, two things.
1. People should stand up for themselves more instead of hiding. The cops say "let us handle this, you should just do what the robber says". The robbers say "thank you cops for making the people become afraid so I can steal with ease".
Just my opinion. I believe in standing up for what is right and for yourself.

2. You go to nude beaches to see what nude people look like? Maybe you don't understand the idea behind clothing OPTIONAL beaches. lol

About the find my iphone. This app is a great thing for all of us iPhone owners. But I'm afraid thieves are becoming smarter now by turning off the phones/ipods and then only turning them on to restore them. Mind you, they won't have your data, but you won't have your phone.
 

erayser

macrumors 65816
Apr 9, 2011
1,252
1,179
San Diego
Cool story. I used it once, and I nearly freaked out.

I used to find wife and kids one day because it was getting late, and I didn't get any note or message of where they were.

I get home from work, and I see my wife's car in the driveway, but my wife and kids are not in the house. At first... I thought it was strange, but didn't think much about it. So... I decided play my PS3 for an hour, and still no wife and kids.

I started to get worried, and opened my "Find iPhone" app on the iPad 2. If finds her phone in at our local mountains 30 minutes away, and the gps has her phone located in a bush off the side of the road... in a remote location. I call her phone... no answer.

I took a screen print on the iPad 2, and drove like mad to the location. When I get to location... I don't see any people or cars around. Freaking out... I decided to open the app again to refresh the location. I see the iPhone image still near the bush where I was at. I started getting more worried... and was thinking to call 911.

Then I realized... it was my iPhone that was at the bush... and my wife's iPhone was back at home. We basically switched places.

It turns out that my wife and kids were with her parents... on their way back home from Viejas (Indian reservation/Casino/Outlet), and the "iPhone App" found her location during her drive back.:facepalm:
 

nunes013

macrumors 65816
May 24, 2010
1,284
185
Connecticut
Find My iPhone is great. As long as the thieves dont take out the sim. But on the mac it will be cool. If you firmware protect, virevault etc Im pretty sure there is no way to wipe your drive. Once it connects to wifi thieves are done. Tell me if Im wrong though.
 

RebeccaL

macrumors 6502a
Jan 1, 2011
590
10
1. People should stand up for themselves more instead of hiding. The cops say "let us handle this, you should just do what the robber says". The robbers say "thank you cops for making the people become afraid so I can steal with ease".


It is ok for people to stand up, but they should use common sense before doing so. Keep in mind this story I posted not long ago, a guy stood up and took things on his own hands (albeit without much thinking): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1160155/
 
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