- Mar 4, 2011
- 11,395
- 1,189
- 126
1. Must've dropped my phone this morning.
2. Used Android Device Manager to track it (no other tracking app installed). ADM can beep the device loudly at full volume.
3. The phone moved from my nearby park to the apartment complex 2 blocks from me.
4. The person is ignoring and quickly turning off my calls.
5. I spent nearly 2 hours beeping my phone (using my friend's iphone) and seeing if it rings nearby me at ground floor. No luck.
6. Because it's a 20-story apartment, there's nothing I can do to track that person.
I presume police is worthless in this case?
[UPDATE- FOUND IT!]
So the phone's GPS showed that it started to move outside of that apartment complex. I stared at it for few more minutes to make sure the GPS wasn't being wonky. It did move to a park nearby.
So I bolted outside, borrowed the doorman's phone again and ran to it there- a good 200 yards. My phone moved from the small park to the off-limit utility building, then back to the park.
I ran to the damn park and sneakily approached the area. I pinged my phone to set off the loud ring. Nothing. Then GPS moved again, now to the corner of the park where it meets Hudson river. I looked around and no one suspicious was there.
Then I saw the complex security guard already looking at me. I pretended to be nonchalant then looked at him again seconds later. He had his back toward me with his head returning forward. Could it be him? That explains the movement to the utility building and making his rounds.
about 90% of the time since this morning, the phone has been at its primary location of that new condo building. Let's call it 'Laguna'.
I spoke to Laguna's doorman Dave and sincerely told him about my status in full detail. He seemed like he didn't want to be bothered when I first rushed to him this morning, but after nicely presenting myself as the resident under the same management & GPS detail, he kind of got excited to help me out this time.
He called the security guard boss and also his friend that is a cop. Jesus, a calvary arrived few minutes later. I was pleasantly surprised. A site boss, another manager, and 2 cops showed up. They were very helpful. I profusely thanked them first for helping me out with this dumb problem of mine.
Dave and I told our speculation about that security guard. Just by then, he slipped in and the GPS showed my phone of being at the Laguna again. Then he slipped out. It's a possibility he dropped my phone off at his locker room. Dave and I kept saying that we could be very wrong and we don't want to accuse the poor guy. The cops and management said it's alright- it is what it is, and we just go by what we have.
We located the guard's bag. I pinged an alarm- no sound from the bag. I also called- nothing, no vibration either. Rather than opening the bag, the police guy suggested to simply move the bag outside to the end of the pier to see if the GPS changes location. So they did. This would be an awesome turn of events. I refreshed my GPS signal... this could be it. Nothing, the phone remained inside Laguna.
The guard came back about 15 mins later. While we were chatting outside, his manager and the cop asked him to empty his bag. Nothing.
It would've been awesome to find my phone. I was surprised to see how everyone was so so helpful. While I don't dislike cops, all my previous encounters with them have been rude or unpleasant in the past (like when my parents' biz had a batshit crazy customer).
I thanked them sincerely, but they were just happy to help. They were also very intrigued by ADM's tracking. I told them about how to use it on their Androids and how iPhone do it too- for free. They were pretty wow'ed by it. Then one cop asked, "Can someone who doesn't have my phone track me?". I said with a smile, "Well, NSA & Google certain do." The cop also smiled, "Yea of course they do, but nobody else right?"
Dave also told me to call him if I see movement of the phone. I walked home disappointed. I refreshed the signal from my desktop while writing this... still at that damn Laguna building. So close, yet so far.
And here I am writing the update... then my doorbell rang just about 10 minutes ago. The policeman and the manager were at my door smiling. They presented my phone- shattered and broken. They found it on the road right in front of the Laguna building. The truck has run over it. The cop says it seems whoever took my phone got nervous by all the presence of cops and managers and just chucked it. They were apologetic but, 'hey at least we found it'. Wow. The display and the camera is badly cracked, the phone seems to be operational. I chat with them until the elevator arrived. I showed my appreciation again, and they were happy to see this through at least.
I'm glad my phone is back. I do have insurance. A big thanks to my complex management and the two cops. If I HAD to guess, my money is on that security guard- he luckily chucked it asap when he saw people arriving. His movements to the utility building makes sense. Good thing, whoever had the phone wasn't so bright- he/she never turned the phone off and GPS was on all along.
2. Used Android Device Manager to track it (no other tracking app installed). ADM can beep the device loudly at full volume.
3. The phone moved from my nearby park to the apartment complex 2 blocks from me.
4. The person is ignoring and quickly turning off my calls.
5. I spent nearly 2 hours beeping my phone (using my friend's iphone) and seeing if it rings nearby me at ground floor. No luck.
6. Because it's a 20-story apartment, there's nothing I can do to track that person.
I presume police is worthless in this case?
[UPDATE- FOUND IT!]
So the phone's GPS showed that it started to move outside of that apartment complex. I stared at it for few more minutes to make sure the GPS wasn't being wonky. It did move to a park nearby.
So I bolted outside, borrowed the doorman's phone again and ran to it there- a good 200 yards. My phone moved from the small park to the off-limit utility building, then back to the park.
I ran to the damn park and sneakily approached the area. I pinged my phone to set off the loud ring. Nothing. Then GPS moved again, now to the corner of the park where it meets Hudson river. I looked around and no one suspicious was there.
Then I saw the complex security guard already looking at me. I pretended to be nonchalant then looked at him again seconds later. He had his back toward me with his head returning forward. Could it be him? That explains the movement to the utility building and making his rounds.
about 90% of the time since this morning, the phone has been at its primary location of that new condo building. Let's call it 'Laguna'.
I spoke to Laguna's doorman Dave and sincerely told him about my status in full detail. He seemed like he didn't want to be bothered when I first rushed to him this morning, but after nicely presenting myself as the resident under the same management & GPS detail, he kind of got excited to help me out this time.
He called the security guard boss and also his friend that is a cop. Jesus, a calvary arrived few minutes later. I was pleasantly surprised. A site boss, another manager, and 2 cops showed up. They were very helpful. I profusely thanked them first for helping me out with this dumb problem of mine.
Dave and I told our speculation about that security guard. Just by then, he slipped in and the GPS showed my phone of being at the Laguna again. Then he slipped out. It's a possibility he dropped my phone off at his locker room. Dave and I kept saying that we could be very wrong and we don't want to accuse the poor guy. The cops and management said it's alright- it is what it is, and we just go by what we have.
We located the guard's bag. I pinged an alarm- no sound from the bag. I also called- nothing, no vibration either. Rather than opening the bag, the police guy suggested to simply move the bag outside to the end of the pier to see if the GPS changes location. So they did. This would be an awesome turn of events. I refreshed my GPS signal... this could be it. Nothing, the phone remained inside Laguna.
The guard came back about 15 mins later. While we were chatting outside, his manager and the cop asked him to empty his bag. Nothing.
It would've been awesome to find my phone. I was surprised to see how everyone was so so helpful. While I don't dislike cops, all my previous encounters with them have been rude or unpleasant in the past (like when my parents' biz had a batshit crazy customer).
I thanked them sincerely, but they were just happy to help. They were also very intrigued by ADM's tracking. I told them about how to use it on their Androids and how iPhone do it too- for free. They were pretty wow'ed by it. Then one cop asked, "Can someone who doesn't have my phone track me?". I said with a smile, "Well, NSA & Google certain do." The cop also smiled, "Yea of course they do, but nobody else right?"
Dave also told me to call him if I see movement of the phone. I walked home disappointed. I refreshed the signal from my desktop while writing this... still at that damn Laguna building. So close, yet so far.
And here I am writing the update... then my doorbell rang just about 10 minutes ago. The policeman and the manager were at my door smiling. They presented my phone- shattered and broken. They found it on the road right in front of the Laguna building. The truck has run over it. The cop says it seems whoever took my phone got nervous by all the presence of cops and managers and just chucked it. They were apologetic but, 'hey at least we found it'. Wow. The display and the camera is badly cracked, the phone seems to be operational. I chat with them until the elevator arrived. I showed my appreciation again, and they were happy to see this through at least.
I'm glad my phone is back. I do have insurance. A big thanks to my complex management and the two cops. If I HAD to guess, my money is on that security guard- he luckily chucked it asap when he saw people arriving. His movements to the utility building makes sense. Good thing, whoever had the phone wasn't so bright- he/she never turned the phone off and GPS was on all along.
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter