Find My reunites owner with a stolen Apple Watch but not in the way you think

iPhone XS Find My app
iPhone XS Find My app (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • An Apple Watch owner had contractors in to do some work on their house.
  • One of the workers stole the watch.
  • It was handed in, likely after the thief realized it could be tracked.

An Apple Watch was stolen during some housing work after one of the contractors took a shine to it. But once they grew a conscience – and realized it could be tracked – they handed it in to their boss, according to a report.

The heist took place in mid-March according to Press & Guide, with the Apple Watch owner inviting contractors into their home to carry out some work. It was later noted that the Apple Watch had gone missing, with its owner tracking it down to a location in Dearborn.

When the police spoke with the person in charge of the contractors it turned out the thief had handed it in. Presumably, because they knew they'd eventually get found out. While the worker said they felt guilty, I suspect the knowledge that it could be tracked had a part to play, too.

The police officer then spoke to the head of the work crew, who said one of his workers, who had taken the watch, subsequently felt guilty and surrendered the watch to him, and the homeowner had not yet retrieved it.

The watch was subsequently returned to its owner, although the report doesn't note whether any charges were filed against anyone.

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.