California woman sends herself Apple AirTag to catch mail thieves

( KTLA ) – Tired of being a victim of repeated mail theft, a Santa Barbara County woman laid her own trap to catch those responsible for ripping her off.

The unidentified woman kept a mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office in the Santa Maria Valley and had been the victim of mail theft on multiple occasions, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

To stop the thefts once and for all, the woman decided to ship herself an Apple AirTag, a small, keychain-sized tracking device capable of providing a current GPS location to the owner’s mobile device and waited for the thieves to take the bait.

On Monday, sheriff’s deputies responded to the Los Alamos Post Office to meet the woman after her mail was stolen again, this time with the AirTag included.

Now able to track the thieves, deputies traveled to Santa Maria where they located the suspects and the victim’s stolen mail — still containing the tracking device, according to the sheriff’s office.

Additional pieces of mail from dozens of other victims were also recovered, officials said.

Deputies ultimately arrested 27-year-old Virginia Franchessca Lara of Santa Maria and 37-year-old Donald Ashton Terry of Riverside.

Lara and Terry were both booked into jail in Santa Maria where they remain in custody as they await felony charges.

Lara faces possible charges for possession of stolen checks and credit cards, identity theft and conspiracy. She’s being held on $50,000 bail.

Terry faces the same felony charges, as well as one count of burglary. He’s also wanted for several thefts that took place in Riverside County, authorities said. His bail is set at $460,000.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office commended the victim for her “proactive solution,” and thanked her for exercising caution by contacting law enforcement rather than confronting the thieves herself.

The case remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office, and detectives are working to contact additional victims.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.