I Caught the Thief Who Stole My iPhone →

Good PSA piece by Sam Sheffer, writing for The Verge:

We exited the bar and ran across the street. As I was crossing, the blip moved again, appearing to be on a sidewalk corner a block away. My phone was near, but I didn’t see anyone at the exact location Find My iPhone was directing me to.

I then noticed group of people on the street — a man waving a handkerchief at a cab, perhaps trying to flag one down, and three younger guys. The man didn’t get in the cab and instead walked back onto the sidewalk. Something came over me. I cannot explain exactly what, but I knew this was the guy.

Everyone should have Find My iPhone enabled on their iPhone. It's such a life saver when you need it. I told the story about Alex losing her iPhone earlier this year and how we got it back. Sheffer's story is one of dealing with the suspected thief directly. Ours was a little different, in that someone bought the phone on the street within minutes of someone else finding it on the sidewalk. Since I had turned on Lost Mode, the phone's new owner called me and we were able to meet up and retrieve the phone. 

Also, Find My iPhone is pretty easily disabled—if the thief has any idea what they're doing—if you don't have a passcode or Touch ID enabled on your iPhone. Make sure to take that extra step too. iPhones are not cheap to replace.