California woman angry about mail theft sends herself an Apple AirTag to catch thief

SANTA BARBARA — A Southern California woman, frustrated after her packages were stolen from her post office box, sent an Apple AirTag to the address and smartly tracked down the suspected thief, police said.

The woman had already had several items stolen from her mailbox at the Los Alamos post office when she came up with the idea, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. Apple's $29 AirTags have become popular items since their release in 2021, helping users keep tabs on the location of everything from their lost keys to their wallets and luggage.

On Monday morning, sheriff's deputies were called to the post office where the woman told authorities her mail had been stolen again, including the package containing the AirTag.

Law enforcement traced the AirTag to a block of Santa Maria, about 16 miles from the post office, and arrested two suspects: a 27-year-old woman from Santa Maria and a 37-year-old man from Riverside.

They found the package containing the AirTag among the victim's mail, along with items believed to have been stolen from more than a dozen other people. The woman declined to be identified, the sheriff's office said.

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Suspects face multiple charges

Both suspects were booked into jail on charges of possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, conspiracy, and identity and credit card theft. The 37-year-old was also charged with burglary and several other Riverside County theft warrants.

The sheriff's department commended the mail theft victim for contacting law enforcement so they could apprehend the suspects rather than trying to contact them herself.