California family knocks on front door of thief who stole $3,000 e-bike using $29 Apple AirTag
- Johnny Ehrman was devastated when the $3,000 e-bike was stolen right outside their workplace
- When officers from the Orange County Police Department failed to respond quickly enough to Johnny and their father, David Ehrman tracked down the bike’s location
- David said the thief was shocked when they emerged and parted with the bike
A California dad took matters into his own hands when his daughter’s $3,000 E-bike was stolen.
The clan used a $29 Apple AirTag on the bike to track the thief and showed up at their front door to confront them.
Johnny Ehrman was devastated when the electronic bike she relies on to commute to school and work was stolen right outside of work.
When she called the Orange County Police Department and didn’t get a response quickly enough, she and father David tracked the stolen bike from the location with the AirTag.
David Ehrman said when they arrived at the thief’s home — not far from their own home in Orange County — the person was stunned and a brief confrontation ensued.
“I yelled, ‘Dude, I’m grabbing my daughter’s bike, boom and I just jumped right out,'” David recalled. Fox 11 Los Angeles. “That guy 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 shocked. Like “How did you get my location?”
Johnny Ehrman was devastated when the electronic bicycle she relies on to commute to school and work was stolen right before work
Johnny said she was “grateful” when their e-bike was recovered
The duo were able to track the stolen bike from its location with the $29 AirTag
Johnny said that on the day of the theft, she left the pedals and wheel locked on the e-bike and removed the battery, but said the bike was not locked to any fixed object.
She was devastated when she learned their e-bike had disappeared.
“I drive about 12 miles a day,” Ehrman told the news outlet. “I was sobbing outside my workplace. I even had some of my colleagues say, ‘What’s happening? Where’s your bike?”
After she got the bike back, they shared how grateful they were
David said that while they support law enforcement, they felt the police were not doing enough in this case when the AirTag showed the location.
“I did what I had to do because they didn’t do what we pay them to do. We had the information within minutes as to why they didn’t send the officer there to meet us and arrest that person,” he said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has not released the name of the person who attempted to steal the e-bike.
The house where the e-bike was also tracked in Orange County, California and police have not released the name of the person who tried to steal the e-bike
An Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson fired back, urging residents not to be vigilantes and to leave it to the police find stolen items.
“While the convenience of technology plays a critical role in our quality of life, we want to remind our communities to use their local law enforcement services when they have been the victim of a crime rather than putting themselves in danger,” said the spokesman.
Police have not released the name of the person who attempted to steal the e-bike.
In March, another incident occurred when traveler Jameel Reid used a $29 Apple AirTag to recover $3,000 worth of belongings.
Reid’s bag is stolen from the baggage carousel at Atlanta International Airport.
Police found the thief after Reid gave them the exact location using the AirTag app