How to Catch an iPad Thief: College Edition
Hugo Scheckter is a sophomore at George Washington University. He's also the Managing Editor of the school newspaper, The GW Patriot, and President of Club Sports. In other words, he's a good kid and a go-getter. So when someone lifted his iPad on Saturday night from his dorm — along with some cash and his laptop — Hugo took matters into his own hands.
Using Apple's device tracking software, MobileMe (which I didn't know actually worked), the next night Hugo was able to pinpoint the location of his beloved iPad, all the way down to a specific room in a Maryland house. He kept his friends on the edge of their futons using Twitter and Facebook: "Currently tracking my iPad. It's in Maryland. Police won't go after it though, and don't really want to drive there and fuck them up." And for a short time, it seemed that things could have turned ugly. According to The Washington Post:
A few of his friends, he said, were "gung-ho" about storming the stranger's house and taking back the iPad themselves. But Scheckter said it was difficult enough to call his mother in Britain to explain that he was robbed. He didn't want to call her from a hospital bed because of a "Rambo-style" operation gone wrong.
Thankfully, there was no Rambo-style home invasion, and police were able to recover the iPad without any bloodshed. The person in possession of Hugo's iPad told cops they'd bought it from someone, and authorities are now looking for the seller. The lesson here? Pick another dorm next time, crooks — and don't fucking steal Hugo's shit.
