AirTag reunites traveler with stolen luggage ... and a thief wearing his socks

Samsara bag with AirTag
(Image credit: Karen S. Freeman / iMore)

Apple's AirTag has proven to help people find all kinds of things, from missing cars to wallets and even the odd dog. And now someone says they used an AirTag to find their stolen luggage.

And while they did indeed manage to get their luggage back, they also got a surprise — the perp was wearing their clothes when the police picked them up.

The story goes that the man was traveling through Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport when they found their luggage wasn't where it was supposed to be. And then things got even weirder.

"I had about $3,000 worth of stuff in here"

The Daily Mail report says that upon finding the luggage missing, Jameel Reid used the Find My app on their iPhone to locate it. Far from the airport where it should have been, the AirTag showed that Reid's luggage was near Grady Memorial Hospital in the downtown region of Atlanta.

Days later, after alerting the cops and the bag making another appearance near the airport, Reid was reunited with the luggage and belongings. Only to find that the thief had made themselves comfortable.

"He had my shirt on, my jeans, and my socks,' Reid said. As if having your stuff stolen wasn't bad enough.

This isn't the first time that an AirTag has come in handy at an airport, and some companies make luggage designed especially to house Apple's item tracker. But you don't have to use Apple's accessory — there are plenty of Airtag alternatives out there to choose from from the likes of Tile and Chipolo.

If you do want to go the Apple route, an AirTag will set you back $29, while a pack of four costs $99. There are often AirTag deals to be had that can save you a few dollars here and there too.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.