Wow! I'm happy it had a good ending, as I initially thought you were going to say that they freaked out about your DH entering their condo and wanted to press charges or something. Clearly they never intended to keep it, as their son pointed you out to his parents and they told you they found your phone. But the fact that they just assumed you would find it that way AND left their door unlocked for you to retrieve it, is just bizarre, I agree!

I thought you were going to say the boy was inside the condo and saw your DH come in to grab the phone. Was waiting for blue lights and sirens!

It is bizarre. How in the world did they 'know' you would find it with the gps? And why would someone leave their condo door unlocked, and assume you would come looking for it there? The first place anyone looks is the last place they recall having it. I'm happy you got it back and no one freaked out.

A similar story with a friend's son's phone didn't turn out so well. They tracked it, with the police involved. But when confronted, the mother of the kid who took it claimed they didn't have it and the police wouldn't do anything.

Outside, your story brought back a memory of a neighbor's son. His phone was stolen at school from his backpack. They traced it to a local deli. But as soon as they entered with the laptop, the signal stopped.

I guess when the phone is off, so is the GPS.

i find the story amusing but not really bizarre. They are young, and this is how they themselves would find their lost phone.

Of course, handing it in to management would have made more sense.

In a a perfect world the phone should have been left where you lost it..that is the easiest way for people to find their lost belongings...we live in a world where you really cannot trust the next person to be as honest we all are. I too would hesitate to leave the phone in an office..sorry, but because you work in a nice place does not mean you are...at some point I might head to the police station with it..but probably I am not going to interrupt my last day at the beach to do it. Given you live in a world with the technology you have at your disposal means others in your world do to!!! Chill, you found your phone be happy. I was waiting for the family to deny they had your phone when you knocked on the door...

Elledi, that is similar to what happened with my friend's son. His was stolen at school too. They traced it to a home in a nearby neighborhood and followed the police to the source of the signal. The girl who took it denied it and the police could do nothing. Juveniles!

it does sound generational (I would never think to do that!) and also very trusting! I would never ever leave my condo door unlocked!! she probably assumed you seemed like a very nice woman at the spray off station-- you probably smiled and 'seemed nice'! and, she probably felt she had nothing worth stealing there for 'everybody else' who might have been lurking! :)

Too, she might not have known what time the condo office closed - or maybe she tried to take it there and it WAS closed briefly. Definitely generational and/or just more tech savvy than I, as I would not have known anything about locating a phone by GPS. So glad you got it back!

This thread brings up yet another lost phone story. DH and I were walking the dog by a school. There was a stone wall and on it, an iPhone. We decided to take it and turn it into the police. It was a locked phone, but a text message popped up. It was the name of a young man who lived around the corner from us!

When we got home, I send a message via FaceBook saying we had his friend's phone and where we found it. He said he would contact the friend, but then days went by. We finally knocked on their door and spoke to the parents. They took the phone and were surprised their son didn't get back to us sooner. Kids!

What were the chances of us knowing the person who texted and that he went by his first and last name?

Strikes me as a weird comination of factors, but sounds like she trusted you more than she trusted whoever might be at the office. There is nothing that makes a person behind a desk inherently more trustworthy -- especially if they are seasonal employees or folks paid minimum wage and with a high turnover/no job loyalty.

Oh, that would freak me out too. I suppose it probably is generational. I just couldn't leave my door unlocked, especially since I still have small children. I'm glad it ended well for all concerned.

I wonder why they didn't dial the most frequently called number in the memory? Most family members each carry a cell phone.

I found a cell phone in the school parking lot, and called the number saved as 'home'. The kid's father came to our door to pick up the phone--he mentioned sitting on it awhile to see how long it took her to admit that she'd lost it. ;)

Mama, they couldn't dial a number from my phone because it's locked and you have to enter a passcode to access anything on the phone. When you go to the "Find A Phone" website, it gives you the option to type out a message on the locked screen so you can give the "finder" directions on what to do with the phone.

Thanks, MagdalenaLee, I guess I'm a little behind the times, technology-wise. ;)

This sounds like poor judgement on her part. If she felt uncomfortable about leaving it in the office or couldn't, why not put a hang tag on the door with some info, then LOCK the door?! (We'll be back at 5 pm)

Wow, what a story! I thought it was going to go south too! I'm with gramarows on at least hanging a note to the door. The whole thing is shocking to me. I'm glad you got it back!

(side note - Hey, I was just at the beach too! Yay, for the beach! :) )