Man tracks down lost iPad with technology and balloons
Shelby Bonnie had just made a connection at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport when he realized he had misplaced his iPad.
He was flying from San Francisco to the Bahamas on April 22, and told the New York Times he believes he set the device aside when he was rearranging the contents of his carry-on.
That could have been the end of it, were it not for the "Find my iPhone" feature. When Bonnie was able to see where his iPad had headed — to Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel, in Memphis, Tennessee.
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While he wasn't confident he'd get the device back, he decided the story wasn't over yet.
"I said, ‘I’m definitely going to lose my iPad, but I'm going to have some fun,'" Bonnie told The New York Times.
Through the app, Bonnie sent a message to the iPad, telling its new companion to call his cellphone for a reward.
He got no response, and once again his iPad was on the move.
The iPad ventured to downtown Memphis, where Bonnie hoped that it could grab a good "byte." As it toured Memphis, Bonnie kept his followers abreast on the device's 20.
Then, when Bonnie was flying back from his vacation in the Bahamas, the iPad made a surprise appearance at the same airport.
Bonnie found himself less than 100 feet from his missing iPad.
"This is better than Game of Thrones," one of his friends commented.
Using deduction skills that would rival those of a private investigator, Bonnie found the iPad's flight from Memphis to Fort Lauderdale and ran to the gate as passengers deplaned. He activated the iPad's distress signal and watched the passengers walk by — but it wasn't to be.
Bonnie then figured the iPad might have been stored in checked luggage. But by the time he made it down to baggage claim, it was too late. Bonnie and his iPad were but two ships passing in the airport.
But now Bonnie had a new target: He tracked his iPad to a house in Florida, ordered $50 worth of balloons, and sent them to "Shelby's iPad" at the address.
"My iPad sadly ran away from home and I would really like to welcome it back," he wrote on the card accompanied by balloons that said "thinking of you."
The next morning, the iPad was on the move again.
Bonnie watched as his iPad traveled back to Fort Lauderdale airport. Soon after, he received a call from airport lost and found personnel.
They told him "a fairly elderly woman ... thought it would be a good idea to return the iPad." She sent along her thanks for the balloons.
Bonnie paid for the iPad to be shipped to his home in San Francisco. It arrived on Friday to a jubilant household, festooned with "WELCOME HOME!" banner and more balloons.
Although several commenters hoped for a season two of the wandering iPad, perhaps from the perspective of the device itself, Bonnie ended the saga.
All we can do now is wait for the movie adaptation.
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Topics iPad
Cailey studied journalism at SUNY Purchase and french cinema & literature at Paris IV Sorbonne. She is a cynical optimist and Talking Heads karaoke enthusiast. Drop her a line @misscaileyanne
