Woman tracks her stolen mail using AirTag she shipped to herself, California cops say
Two suspected mail thieves were arrested after a woman tracked a stolen package that included an Apple AirTag she shipped to herself, California deputies say.
The woman called deputies shortly after 7 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19, telling them her mail was stolen, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 20 news release.
The woman told deputies she shipped herself a package with an AirTag inside because mail was recently stolen from her post office box at the Los Alamos Post Office.
Then, again on Monday morning, her mail was stolen, according to deputies.
The stolen mail included the package she shipped to herself, and she began to track the mail using the AirTag, deputies said.
Using this information, deputies said they found the suspects in Santa Maria, more than 15 miles away.
The suspects had the woman’s stolen mail, including the package with the AirTag, and items belonging to more than a dozen additional people, according to deputies.
The suspects, a 27-year-old Santa Maria woman and 37-year-old Riverside man, were arrested, deputies said.
The woman was booked on multiple felony counts, “including possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, fictitious checks, identity theft, credit card theft and conspiracy,” deputies said.
The man was also booked on felonies, “including burglary, possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, credit card theft, identity theft, and conspiracy,” deputies said, adding that he was also booked on “several theft related warrants from Riverside County.”
The woman is being held on $50,000 bail, while the man is being held on $460,000, according to deputies.
“The Sheriff’s Office would like to commend the victim for her proactive solution, while highlighting that she also exercised appropriate caution by contacting law enforcement to safely and successfully apprehend the suspects,” deputies said.
Deputies said they are still investigating the case and working to contact those who had their mail stolen.
Los Alamos is about a 140-mile drive northwest from Los Angeles.
.
This story was originally published August 21, 2024 at 9:11 AM with the headline "Woman tracks her stolen mail using AirTag she shipped to herself, California cops say."
