The thrilling story of the search for stolen AirPods

Relentless pursuit and tracking of stolen AirPods with conclusive evidence leading to the thief’s conviction

Losing AirPods due to carelessness while in the jacket pocket

The incident happened on a United Airlines flight from Japan to San Francisco. After Hayden visited her husband who is currently serving in the military in Tokyo. After 9 hours, the plane finally arrived in San Francisco. While she was busy gathering her belongings, she forgot her jacket at the seat in the back of the plane.

Hayden shared: “As I was preparing to leave the plane, I realized that I had left my jacket at the seat. I was one of the last three people to leave the plane, so I asked a flight attendant to retrieve my jacket for me. He did not allow it, as according to federal regulations, I had to leave the plane and wait downstairs. I was quite tired at the time, so when he said he would bring the jacket to me later, I reluctantly agreed.”

After keeping his promise, the flight attendant brought Hayden’s coat, and she boarded the next flight to Seattle. It wasn’t until then that Hayden took out her coat to look for her earbuds. The coat had two buttoned pockets on the chest, one with the earbuds and the other with some Japanese yen. However, someone had opened the pocket and the AirPods inside had disappeared.

As the plane had already taken off to Seattle. Hayden used Wi-Fi on the plane to track her earbuds using the “Find My” app (an Apple device tracking app). The app showed that her earbuds were at San Francisco International Airport and moving.

She recalls “I tracked the app closely during the flight from San Francisco to Seattle, continuously taking screenshots until I got home.”

Hayden continuously captures AirPods’ journey

Hayden exhausted every possible means to retrieve her beloved AirPods. From texting United Airlines and San Francisco International Airport to seeking help from the San Francisco police department. She even managed to locate the email addresses of United Airlines’ management and staff and sent them messages. However, she only received a meager response of “We are sorry this happened to you.”

Meanwhile, she activated the “Lost Mode” on her AirPods. So if anyone used them, they would hear a notification indicating that the AirPods belong to Hayden, and they could also hear her phone number.

Later, she noticed that her AirPods were moving. The map showed that they were at United Cargo, a cargo area of the airline at the airport, where passengers are not allowed. Then, the AirPods advanced to a highway and stopped at a location similar to a residential address in the Bay Area, where they remained for three days.

The person who helped her a lot in finding her beloved AirPods was a detective from the San Mateo County police department who was working at the airport. He traced the location where the AirPods were transmitting signals and found that it coincided with the address of an airport employee. That employee was a contractor in charge of transporting food onto the planes.

Later, United clarified to Hayden in an email that the person was not a United employee, but rather a contractor.

Hayden stated: “I can’t speculate, but I’m pretty sure the AirPods were still in my pocket when I stood up from my seat, and I wasn’t allowed to go back to the plane. By the time the coat check manager came, the AirPods had flown away. And when I tracked them through the app, they were at the house of an employee.”

United confirmed to CNN that the employee worked for one of their contractors and said the matter had been turned over to law enforcement.

In a statement, the airline said, “United Airlines always selects providers to the highest standards, and the company is working with local authorities on this matter.”

After 2 weeks of searching, Hayden was able to recover her AirPods.

She tracked her AirPods to the man’s house in the following days and noted that “The AirPods should have died because I didn’t charge them before the trip, but I kept receiving notifications from them. That means that the person connected their iPhone to my AirPods.”

A few days later, the detective called her again to inform her that the employee had been questioned by the United Cargo department. He firmly stated that he did not keep the AirPods until he was shown the screenshot of the trace leading to his house. It was only then that the employee admitted to receiving the AirPods from a cleaning staff member at the airport and did not know anything else.

Currently, the San Francisco Airport Police Department is handling the case and plans to submit it to the San Mateo County Justice Office.

After 12 days of searching, Hayden finally recovered her AirPods, although they were no longer in good condition. She said, “The AirPods seemed to have been stepped on. They were wrapped in a bubble wrap the size of a toilet paper roll. But it’s okay.”

After notifying United Airlines, Hayden received a form requesting feedback on the company’s website. A week later, Hayden was informed that she would receive $271.91 “compensation” to purchase a new pair of AirPods, along with 8,000 miles of air travel as an apology.

Hayden revealed: “To many people, an AirPods may not be important, but to me, they are no different than a lifesaver and have significant meaning to my husband and me. I don’t need to say much about this issue to those who don’t understand.” She and her husband live far apart, and she needs AirPods to communicate with her husband.