North Vancouver couple track and recover stolen bike using hidden Apple Airtag
Half a dozen bicycles have been stolen from the storage locker of his North Vancouver townhouse complex this year, so Travis – who asked CTV News not to use his last name – wasn’t surprised when his wife’s bike disappeared in August.
The couple replaced it two weeks ago, but they knew they had to take extra precautions. So they bought an Apple Airtag, a small GPS-like tracker that works by connecting to nearby internet-enabled Apple devices, and hid it on the bike.
This past Saturday, a neighbour alerted them that the new $3,000 bike had just been stolen from the storage locker, along with several others.
“The first thing that we did now that we had the ability to track her bike is we got on our phones and we were able to pinpoint where the trackable device was, where the Airtag was,” said Travis.
They were shocked to see it was only three blocks away from where they were having lunch in lower Lonsdale. After walking the area for 45 minutes, they were able to track the Airtag’s signal to an underground parkade.
“The way the Airtags work is once you get in a 50 metre radius of them, your phone can actually connect to it and it will give you a very precise location,” said Travis. “So, at that point, we knew we were very, very close to it. We had some suspicions about who might have been in possession of it in the parking garage, but not wanting to contact or make accusations, we just waited for North Vancouver RCMP.”
Media relations officer Const. Mansoor Sahak said North Vancouver RCMP officers arrived while the suspects were still in the parkade.
“The police encountered two males near a vehicle, suspicious looking males, and they engaged in conversation," said Sahak. "Once the victim saw the vehicle, he noted there was bicycles inside the vehicle and pointed out that one of the bicycles was his, which formed our grounds to arrest the two suspects.”
The two men of no fixed address have lengthy criminal records. Sahak says Travis was smart to place the Airtag on the bike, and to not personally confront the suspects when he discovered they had the bike.
“We definitely don’t want people taking matters into their own hands and being vigilantes,” Sahak said. “Everything the man did was correct. He made sure his property was protected, he used a device properly, and waited for police when he did go to the parkade.”
Travis said he recognized other bikes in the suspect vehicle that belonged to neighbours in his townhouse complex. They’ve all been recovered thanks to the Airtag, which is also being used frequently to track lost luggage.
“I had my reservations about how well this would work, but I had read a number of stories similar to this one online that said it gives you a fighting chance of recovering your property,” Travis said. “And for the $30 to $40 it costs us to put these on the bikes, we figured that was at least worth it given the climate we have with bike theft in our area right now.”
His wife is still waiting to get her bike back from RCMP. But when it’s returned, he’ll make sure the tracker is still on it.
Correction
Correction: A previous version of this article identified Apple Airtags as GPS devices.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.