California family knock on front door of thief who stole $3,000 E-bike with the help of a $29 Apple AirTag
- Johnny Ehrman was devastated when the $3,000 e-Bike was stolen right outside their place of work
- When officers from the Orange County Police Department failed to adequately respond Johnny and their dad, David, tracked the bike’s location themselves
- David said the thief was shocked when they emerged and relinquished the bike
A California dad took matters into his own hands and retrieved his daughter’s $3,000 E-bike after it was stolen from outside of her job in March with the help of a $29 Apple AirTag.
Johnny Ehrman was devastated when the electronic bike she relies on to travel to school and work vanished despite the fact that she locked a wheel and removed the pedals and battery.
When she called the Orange County Police Department, officers went to the home that was pinging on the AirTag to find that the the culprit denied any knowledge of the crime. The cops left the scene.
That’s when Johnny and dad David decided to use the AirTag’s pings themselves when the bike began transmitting again.
David said when they arrived at the thief’s home – the person was flabbergasted, and a brief confrontation’ ensued.
‘I yelled, ‘Dude I am grabbing my daughters bike, boom and I hightailed right out of there,’ David told Fox 11 Los Angeles. ‘The dude just stood there with the look on his face like I’ve never seen anyone with that look.’
He added: ‘I think the look was shock. Like ‘How did you get my location?’
Johnny Ehrman was devastated when the electronic bike she relies on to travel to school and work was stolen right outside their place of work
Johnny said she was ‘grateful’ once their e-Bike was recovered
The duo was able to track the stolen bike from its location with the $29 AirTag
Johnny’s father David, pictured, took matters into his own hands to retrieve the bike
Johnny told Fox11 that she thinks that the bike was taken because it was not attached to a fixed object. The theft left her shattered.
‘I drive like 12 miles a day,’ Ehrman told the news outlet. ‘I was sobbing outside my workplace. I actually had some of my coworkers be like, ‘What’s happening? Where is your bike?”
After she got the bike back they shared how grateful they were
David said though they support law enforcement they felt in this instance the police did not do enough once the AirTag showed its location.
‘I did what I had to do because they weren’t doing what we pay them to do. We had the information within minutes why did they not send the officer there to meet us and arrest that person,’ he said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office did not release the name of the person who attempted to steal the e-bike.
The home where the e-Bike was tracked too in Orange County, California and the police did not release the name of the person who attempted to steak the e-Bike
A spokesperson with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department fired back and urged victims not to use vigilante justice and to leave it to the police to recover stolen items.
‘As much as the convenience of technology plays a vital role in the quality of our lives, we want to remind our communities to utilize their local law enforcement services when they’ve been victimized by a crime instead of placing themselves into harm’s way,’ the spokesperson said.
The police did not release the name of the person who attempted to steak the e-Bike.
In March, another incident took place when traveler Jameel Reid used a $29 Apple AirTag to recover $3000 worth of belongings.
Reid’s bag was stolen from the baggage claim at Atlanta International Airport.
Police found the thief after Reid gave them its exact location with the AirTag app