My Ristretto, iPad and MacBook Air have been recovered. When I reported the theft to the security office at the local station in Glyfada, the Police swept into action. We soon saw that the iPad had been taken 10km into the centre of Athens and was moving in to a fairly notorious area of the city. The local police guided the on-the-spot officers by telephone while following the updates on my iPhone.
After one hour searching the area they arrested four people, including, presumably the guy who stole the bag in the first place. The criminals and my bag are now in a police car on their way back to Glyfada and I am due to attend an identity parade later.
I don’t know if I am the first Mac blogger to have such first-hand experience of Apple’s find-my-device feature, but this afternoon’s dramatic events are a complete justification for the system. And let us not forget the Elliniki Astynomia, the Greek Police, who performed magnicifently.
Frankly, when this happened, I had very little hope of seeing the devices again. Who would? I was mentally checking off all my precautions—backups, iCloud, Dropbox, File Vault—and thinking up a recovery strategy. The worst part would have been having to buy a new iPad and MacBook Air just before new models are announced.
The Greeks come in for a lot of criticism these days, especially the police who perform a thankless task and often have to face Molotov cocktails and a great deal of public criticism. But I could not have expected swifter action or a better outcome than this. Full marks, Mr. Plodopoulos.