Today’s adventure

 

 

Judy didn’t lose her phone today.  It was stolen.

 

She was looking at the shopping list on her phone at the grocery store.  She finished at the self-check-out, and as she was walking away, about eight feet, she patted her pocket to make sure she had everything and found her phone was missing.  She retraced her steps back through checkout and backtracked her path through the store.  Nothing.  She went to customer service to see if anyone had turned it in.  She talked with them for a while and ended up with store security.  They have a very good security system there at our H.E.B. grocery.  Security guy called up video of Judy walking in the front door, followed her from camera to camera just like on TV, saw her drop her phone at the check-out, saw the woman at the check-out next to her pick it up, look around, stuff the phone in her pocket and walk out, right past Judy.  Security couldn’t identify the woman or track her all the way to her car, but they had a clear picture of her.  Judy called the police.  They showed up and took a report.  Back and forth with the police on the phone.  A visit to the station to fill out the affidavit for charges.  More calls and texting with the police.

 

Meanwhile, Judy remembers that she and Becky share locations on their iPhones.  We call Becky and sure enough, Becky tracks her mom’s phone from place to place all over town for the afternoon.  After extended stops at three different locations (we have street addresses for each), the phone makes its way back to the H.E.B. grocery store and stops moving again.  We called customer service.  Bingo.  Phone returned.  We asked if it was a young woman who returned it.  No, it was a man.

 

We can imagine the scenario where someone convinces the woman that grabbed it that this is not a good idea.  Virtually no upside for her, iPhone are notoriously difficult to hack so it’s basically useless, and there is a tremendous downside if she gets caught with it.  iPhones are expensive so this is not a misdemeanor.  Since we’ve recovered the phone though, perhaps we’ve moved from grand theft to kidnapping, with the victim released unharmed.  I don’t know if the police actually have the time to follow-up on a crime that resolved in about six hours, but we volunteered that it might be worthwhile for them to at least go have a visit with the perpetrator to make sure that the life lesson here is clear.  Since there is no longer a missing phone to go recover, they’re going to assign the case to an investigator for follow-up.