What you need to know
- A car was stolen in Des Moines.
- An iPhone was inside the car at the time.
- Police were able to track the car using the Find My feature.
Police in Des Moines were able to locate a stolen car thanks to Apple's Find My feature, according to KCCI Des Moines (via 9to5Mac).
The story goes that 19-year-old Victoria O'Connor left her car running while she went into a store. Predictably, the car was stolen while she was inside – along with an iPhone that was in it at the time. Unfortunately, so were most of her posessions due to a fire at her apartment in September.
Once O'Connor noticed that the car was gone she was able to use the Find My service to track the iPhone that was inside it. And while the thieves did initially turn the iPhone off to prevent it from being tracked, they did turn it back on the following day. And that's when police were able to track it.
O'Connor told KCCI the app started pinging again Tuesday morning and KCCI's Todd Magel was there when the car was found at a Plaza View Apartments. Her keys, phone and wallet are gone, but police said it appears the phone is inside one of the apartment units. Officers are still trying to track down the phone.
It's obviously great news that O'Connor was able to retrieve her car and that Find My was able to help out. Although the best thing to do here would have been not to leave the car running in the first place.
That's your Wednesday PSA right there.
The Find My service is there to help people locate iPhones, iPads, Macs, and accessories as well as people. It can come in extremely handy, just as O'Connor found out.
