Rockford PD Use ‘Air Tag’ in Stolen Wallet to Find, Arrest Illinois Man

A suspect who reportedly burglarized several cars earlier this week in a southwest Rockford neighborhood was found and arrested using technology developed by Apple.

Air Tag Designed to Help Locate Items You Always Lose

If you're not familiar with Apple's Air Tag, it's a small disc-shaped device about the size of a quarter that emits a Bluetooth signal. They can be placed in wallets, purses, attached to car keys, and connected to anything of value that is easily misplaced.

Anytime you're unable to locate something that has an Air Tag with it, you can use an iPhone or Android device to pinpoint the item using a map on your phone or have the tag play a tone so you can follow the sound to whatever is lost.

Wallet with Air Tag Stolen During Vehicle Burglaries in Rockford

Rockford Police were notified that several vehicles had been broken into and items stolen during the overnight hours on Tuesday, June 6 in the 2400 block of Meadowview Lane.

On Wednesday evening, a signal from an Apple Air Tag inside a wallet that was stolen during the car burglaries began sending tracking information to Rockford PD.

After doing surveillance on the residence where the Air Tag signal was coming from, Rockford Police officers "stopped a vehicle leaving the residence that matched the suspect vehicle description and detained two occupants."

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One of the occupants in the vehicle Jonathan Bailey was identified by detectives who also matched the suspect description in the burglaries.

"A search warrant for the residence on Ridge Avenue was obtained, and various stolen property was recovered", according to Rockford Police.

Bailey was taken into custody and lodged in the County Jail.

47-Year Old Jonathan Bailey of Rockford has been charged with:

• Residential Burglary
• Burglary (5 counts)
• Theft (5 counts)

If you have any information regarding any of these incidents, please contact the Rockford Police Department at 815-966-2900, on Facebook (@RockfordIllinoisPoliceDepartment) or on Twitter (@RockfordPD).