How google maps location sharing helped recover a stolen phone

A man named Raj Bhagat successfully recovered his father's stolen phone and belongings using Google Maps after they were snatched on a moving train.

Hyderabad: Enabling location sharing with family members can be instrumental in recovering a lost phone. In a specific instance, sharing location information with a son played a crucial role in helping a father to get his stolen phone.

A man named Raj Bhagat successfully recovered his father’s stolen phone and belongings using Google Maps after they were snatched on a moving train.

---

His father was traveling from Nagercoil to Trichy in the Nagercoil-Kacheguda Express. While asleep, another passenger who boarded at Nagercoil Junction stole his bag and mobile phone before deboarding at Tirunelveli Junction.

Upon discovering the theft, He immediately contacted his son from a friend’s phone. Luckily, the family had location sharing enabled, allowing his son to track the stolen phone’s movement in real-time.

“When I checked the location, I realized the mobile was moving along the track near Melapalayam in Tirunelveli,” explained Raj Bhagat.

He came to the conclusion that the thief was likely returning to Nagercoil on another train.

Here is the story of how @googlemaps helped me recover items stolen in a moving train from my father.

My father was travelling from Nagercoil to Trichy in sleper class in Nagercoil – Kacheguda express. He had boarded at 1:43 AM from NCJ. The train was relatively empty & another… pic.twitter.com/j2RLo8Xb4z

— Raj Bhagat P #Mapper4Life (@rajbhagatt) February 4, 2024

With the help of his friend Babin, a local DMK functionary, He rushed to Nagercoil station to intercept the thief. Railway police assisted them in their pursuit.

Despite losing sight of the suspect in the crowded station, He continued to track the phone’s location. This led them to discover the thief had boarded a local bus towards Anna bus stand.

“I assured my friend that the location was accurate,” said Raj Bhagat. They followed him closely on a bike, knowing he would eventually stop.

Google Maps pinpointed the phone’s location to within two meters, leading them directly to the thief waiting at the Anna bus stand.

“There, I saw a bag with ‘CITU’ written on it, which is my dad’s union logo,” recounted Raj Bhagat. We confronted the thief, and with the help of bystanders, recovered my dad’s belongings, he added.