JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman was able to track down her stolen car using her Apple AirPods.
The woman told News4JAX she left her AirPods on her keychain inside her car.
How she tracked them was by going to her “Find My App” where you can track any of your Apple devices.
She said it saved her from being carless.
Outside an apartment near Lem Turner Road is where someone snatched the mother of four’s car out of the parking lot.
“I was a nervous wreck. I have four kids here and transportation is something that I cannot do without,” said the woman who asked to remain anonymous.
She said it happened around 1 a.m. on Feb. 3 and she was not able to take her kids to school that morning.
“I thought my keys were in the house and apparently, come to find out, they were in the vehicle,” she said.
The woman called the police then realized she left her Apple AirPods on her keychain.
“I checked my Find My App because my AirPods were on my key chain and I checked that and I got a ping location on the area that it was in so whenever JSO arrived I was able to provide a general area,” she said.
The first ping was located 10 miles from the woman’s apartment, near the Sunco gas station off Rayford Street.
The woman shared maps of where her AirPods were pinging on social media.
A woman who saw her post ultimately helped nail down her car’s location near Thomas Street and McDuff Avenue.
“She did some research, and she was able to find an actual physical location, so I was able to provide JSO with that information and they sent an officer over to the area and my car was there,” the woman told News4JAX.
The woman’s car was found parked and abandoned along this street. Police said items from inside her car were found scattered outside and her car seats were gone.
“That’s not right for somebody who works hard for what they have for people to just take from them. Hopefully, they get caught,” she said.
The woman said she’s grateful she still has a car to take her kids to school.
News4JAX crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said it’s important to always keep your keys with you and lock your car.
With the woman’s AirPods helping her in this case, he said it’s important if you have any devices that can be tracked to keep your apps up to date so you can always keep tabs on them.
The thief has not been caught yet, so if you have any information, you’re urged to call JSO.