One of the reasons why Apple’s Find My iPhone app is so effective is because of the sheer number of people who are using iPhones out there, thus making it easier to create a network which can help ping each other’s location. This is something that the Colorado police took advantage of when trying to track down a suspect.
The police initially discovered a pickup truck driven by the suspect, who when questioned insisted that he was the suspect’s brother. However, a mugshot and list of known tattoos confirmed he was the person the police were looking for, but when they tried to get him to come out of the truck, he drove through a security fence and fled the scene.
However, one of the deputies realized he had placed his iPhone on the truck’s bed and by using Find My iPhone, they managed to track the iPhone down, and the truck as well since the suspect had no idea that the phone was in the truck. They eventually tracked it down to an address in Boulder where they liaised with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office where the suspect was eventually arrested, and where the deputy also eventually retrieved his phone.
This isn’t the first time we’re hearing about Apple’s Find My feature being used to track people down. Earlier this month, there was a story of how a group of thieves used an Apple Watch to track a drug runner and stole $500,000 in cash from him.