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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Daniel Scott used an AirTag to track his missing luggage at LAX.
- In doing so, Scott found himself and the police investigating an abandoned building.
- There, he recovered his luggage and found a stranger wearing his clothes.
Since Apple launched the AirTag in 2021, there's been no shortage of personal testimonials that prove the value of the world's most popular Bluetooth item tracker. But perhaps no case is more bizarre than that of Daniel Scott, a West Hollywood man who found himself on an intense scavenger hunt after discovering his luggage had been stolen from baggage claim last week, as reported by NBC Los Angeles.
Also: The best Bluetooth trackers of 2025: Expert tested
It started with a flight from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Los Angeles, California, when Scott noticed that his luggage had gone missing. After perusing several carousels to no success, he checked his iPhone to pinpoint the location of his luggage-tucked AirTag, only to find it moving toward the rideshare lot and out of the airport.
"I immediately started sprinting to the Uber lot. Once I got to the Uber lot, I saw that it was continuing to move, and it had reached across the street," Scott told NBC Los Angeles. Eventually, he found himself in front of an abandoned building near Sepulveda Boulevard and 98th Street, according to the report.
With the uptick in lost luggage reports, many airports and airlines can now support AirTag location sharing for more efficient recoveries.
While Scott wasn't close enough to find the exact floor and room of his personal belongings, Apple's Find My network pulled enough context to guide LAX police to a successful recovery and arrest, with several people in the building detained shortly after.
"I saw the guy with my clothes on -- my shoes on, my shirt on, my pants on," Scott described the detainment. Meanwhile, Scott's luggage was left "sliced up" with his clothes littered across different rooms of the building, he recounted.
The constant evolution of AirTags
Since AirTags debuted in 2021, they've had enough real-world usage to warrant useful and impactful updates from Apple.
While Scott's case is a good representation of the AirTag's core functionality -- being used as an item tracker -- prior cases have raised larger concerns with safety and privacy, including criminals who snuck AirTags into victims' bags and cars.
To Apple's credit, the company swiftly addressed the malicious activity by partnering with Google and others to send push alerts when an unwanted device is tracking your location.
Also: How to find out if an AirTag is tracking you - and what to do about it
Today, the AirTag remains a highly functional and integral piece of technology for Apple users. The company is expected to launch its successor as soon as next week, in conjunction with the debut of the iPhone 17 series, with its potential upgrades including improved battery life, more precise location tracking, and a tamper-proof speaker design.
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