Tile Helps DC Law Enforcement Find Stolen Keys After Mugging

Ever wonder how the Tile Network works to help you find lost things? Samantha-Jo Roth (@Samantha-JoRoth) tweeted her experience working with the DC Police Department to recover her stolen items after being mugged on the Metro at night. Don’t worry, she’s safe and sound! We always recommend Tile users work with local authorities to recover items that have been stolen; we want to make sure you stay safe. 

Here’s her story:  

“GOOD NEWS THREAD: Thank you to Life360 & @DCPoliceDept for helping me recover my keys. They were taken from me, along with all my other belongings, when I was mugged while riding the Metro this Tuesday. The story of how I got them back is wild! (Continued in thread)

It all started when I got an email from Life360 this afternoon, telling me that my keys had been found. Typically, you have to be within 100-200 feet of the tile to be able to track it or for it to ring. But, there's a cool feature where the signal from it can be found if another person with a Tile walks by. So, someone walking by the location where my keys were, must have had a Tile. That person's Tile detected a signal from my keys and it sent the location to me. I immediately called a detective with the @DCPoliceDept and he sprung into action.

So, this amazing detective goes to the scene. He searches & cannot find them anywhere. I decided to meet him at the location, once he determined it was safe for me to do so. Then, I walked around the perimeter of the area, hoping my phone will begin to trace.

So, I'm walking around the building and nothing is happening. But, all of the sudden at the front of the building, the item lights up green on my app. I push the button to see if it will ring and make noise. Sure enough, we hear a ringing noise!

We run across the street and we spot the keys under a bush, as they continue to ring from the app. It was clear the suspect had dumped portions of my bag there, because the police were able to find some other items from my bag in the area.

The @DCPoliceDept immediately sent a crime scene unit over to process the items recovered. They are working to get some prints or DNA off some of the other items they found. I couldn't be more grateful or frankly amazed that something in my bag was recovered.

Thanks to this nifty Tile attached to my keys - it allowed others with a Tile in the Life360 community the opportunity to find it. Now, I'm hoping they'll eventually be able to find the Tile that was in my wallet. That was nowhere to be found at the scene. THANKS TO ALL!”

We’re so happy that Samantha was unharmed, and thrilled that she was able to recover her keys and other belongings!

See the original Twitter thread here. 

To ensure the safety of the Tile community, we always recommend our users  contact local authorities to report and recover any stolen items. Please do not attempt to recover any lost items alone if you’re in an unfamiliar area, or feel unsafe, and contact local authorities if you suspect your item has been stolen. 

Your privacy is of the utmost importance. We take your trust in our product very seriously - and that extends to securing your personal information. We do not sell your data, and we go to great lengths to ensure that your data is secure and that any information transmitted across our network is anonymous. You are the only one with the ability to see your Tile location and your device location.