Victim uses Apple AirTags to locate suspected mail thieves

In brief: Not for the first time, a member of the public has foiled the plans of thieves through the use of Apple AirTags. On this occasion, two suspected mail theft suspects were caught after a California resident sent herself a package containing one of Cupertino's trackers.

A Santa Barbara County woman was sick of her mail being stolen from her post office box, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. Police say the woman mailed an AirTag hidden inside a package to the same post office box. While it did reach the post office, it also went missing.

The woman followed the AirTag's movements and alerted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office about what had happened. Sheriff's deputies tracked the device down to the 600 block of East Sunrise Drive in Santa Maria.

Upon entering the location, deputies found the package containing the AirTag. There were also items believed to have been stolen from over a dozen other victims.

According to the Sheriff's office, the suspects were identified as 27-year-old Virginia Franchessca Lara from Santa Maria and 37-year-old Donald Ashton Terry from Riverside.

Lara, who is being held on $50,000 bail, has been booked for felonies including possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, fraudulent checks, identity theft, credit card theft, and conspiracy. Terry's list of felonies adds burglary to the count. He was also booked on several theft-related warrants from Riverside County. He is being held on $460,000 bail.

The Sheriff's office commended the woman on her actions, but emphasized that she did the right thing by contacting the authorities and not confronting the suspects herself.

We've seen several stories of AirTags and other trackers being used to thwart criminals. In June, a carpenter used them to find not only his stolen tools but also around 15,000 others worth millions of dollars. The devices also helped save a cyclist's $8,000 bike and they were recently used to discover who was stealing a politician's campaign signs.