Brighton man's missing iPad tracks thieves

6:40pm Thursday 12th January 2012 in News

A picture of a dog taken from the stolen iPad A picture of a dog taken from the stolen iPad

A musician has taken on a new role as a detective in a bid to track down his stolen £400 computer.

Tom Clarke’s Apple iPad has transmitted photographs of its location back to its owner, who now hopes they will jog someone’s memory and help him be reunited with the expensive piece of kit.

Mr Clarke had almost given up hope of seeing the computer again and had remotely locked it.

But days after it went missing the 26-year-old received emailed photos taken by the clever computer whenever it was switched on.

The pictures include a scruffy-looking dog, a pink child’s suitcase and a man dressed in a woolly hat.

The person in the hat may not know the iPad belongs to Mr Clarke.

Mr Clarke, from Brighton, has now released the snaps as an appeal to find the missing iPad.

The computer was left on a shopping trolley as Mr Clarke unloaded his bags at Tesco in the Holmbush Centre, Shoreham, on December 18.

It was only on the drive home that he realised it had not been put in the car.

Mr Clarke, who is in the band Two Choices and also works for a recruitment software company, said: “I took it to Tesco like an idiot because I wanted to use a recipe app, which was my first mistake.

“I had it on the child’s seat at the checkout and somewhere between there and the car it disappeared.

“Whoever found it was perfectly placed to take it back to Tesco.”

The computer contains a piece of software that enables pictures to be sent back to the lawful owner.

Mr Clarke began receiving photographs five days later.

He said: “The timing of the pictures is pretty key.

“The dog picture was taken a few hours after it went missing.”

He said it is not just the expense of the computer that has driven him to find it.

Mr Clarke said: “All my stuff is on there – all my photos and all my emails. It is a pretty personal thing.

"I would just like to have it back.”

Sussex Police confirmed officers are investigating the theft and have received the photos to consider as a line of inquiry.

Anyone with information should contact Sussex Police on 101.

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Comments(24)

Cabin fever says...
7:32pm Thu 12 Jan 12

Would it not be a good idea to include the picture of the man in the hat, for those that might not have seen it?

Good luck Tom, hope you get it back...

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Unbias says...
7:41pm Thu 12 Jan 12

Cabin fever wrote:
Would it not be a good idea to include the picture of the man in the hat, for those that might not have seen it? Good luck Tom, hope you get it back...
Yes but the stupid laws of the country don't allow it!

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The Vikster says...
7:56pm Thu 12 Jan 12

His photo is on Twitter. If you know him - you'd know him, if you get me!! Hope he gets it back!

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DC78 says...
8:12pm Thu 12 Jan 12

Unbias wrote:
Cabin fever wrote:
Would it not be a good idea to include the picture of the man in the hat, for those that might not have seen it? Good luck Tom, hope you get it back...
Yes but the stupid laws of the country don't allow it!
The picture of the man in the hat is on the BBC website
http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/uk-england-sus
sex-16536953

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Elaine from Hove says...
8:32pm Thu 12 Jan 12

If he took pictures with your Ipad, perhaps you can track it through the GPS system? In either case, if you go to an Apple store, they should be able to do so. I've got my iPhone linked the the Cloud, so if it gets lost or stolen I can go on my laptop, lock it remotely and find the exact GPS Coordinates which show up on a map. Try an going to an Apple store and see if they can track it for you. They should be able to do this if you have the serial number.

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DC78 says...
8:36pm Thu 12 Jan 12

Elaine from Hove wrote:
If he took pictures with your Ipad, perhaps you can track it through the GPS system? In either case, if you go to an Apple store, they should be able to do so. I've got my iPhone linked the the Cloud, so if it gets lost or stolen I can go on my laptop, lock it remotely and find the exact GPS Coordinates which show up on a map. Try an going to an Apple store and see if they can track it for you. They should be able to do this if you have the serial number.
Photographs taken from the iPad and iPhone are embedded with location information. (Geotagging), even in Windows, right click on the .jpg, properties, gives the long and lat co-ord's. Software like "Geotag" will pin point the location on Google maps.

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All 9 of me says...
9:26pm Thu 12 Jan 12

on the other hand, are you really so unable to disconnect from the virtual world that you have to take an ipad to the supermarket with you ?

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Cool_hand_Luke says...
10:24pm Thu 12 Jan 12

Bizarre, on my iPad I have 'find my iPhone' (iPad too) app. Log into iCloud and it can tell me where it is? Unless the chap switch this function off - doh... Call himself an IT consultant - not sure I'd want to use this company....

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NickBrt says...
10:33pm Thu 12 Jan 12

As the theft happened at Tesco should Police be talking to a certain TV chef?

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emma barnes says...
10:35pm Thu 12 Jan 12

"Whats that Lassie - theres an Ipad in an abandoned mine? "

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moronslayer says...
11:54pm Thu 12 Jan 12

“I took it to Tesco like an idiot because I wanted to use a recipe app, which was my first mistake."
Methinks twas not thy first mistake.
Stop buying crappy toys and master thine picolo

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Dingdong123 says...
1:10am Fri 13 Jan 12

Geotagging should sort it especially with street view,unfort theft by finding is now law unlike the old days,finders keepers losers sweepers

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moronslayer says...
2:24am Fri 13 Jan 12

I certainly hope that 'geotagging' is not some synonym for an awful habit in those in whom the geekdom is strong. Yoda always suggests using the force young skywalker-clarke. Good luck in your quest. I guess it's possible that someone dim nearby thinks it is a hat or sunscreen shield - so keep an eye out for local Albion fans.

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Angryoldman says...
8:26am Fri 13 Jan 12

NickBrt wrote:
As the theft happened at Tesco should Police be talking to a certain TV chef?
Lol. As AWT now says "Every little helps"

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Morpheus says...
9:44am Fri 13 Jan 12

If the computer has been locked why is it taking photos? This is more a lesson about failure to backup valuable information.

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OP8 says...
9:54am Fri 13 Jan 12

iOS5 lets you take photos whilst still locked but then can't access them. Friend watched his iPhone go round Brighton in a cab with Find My Phone which was then mysteriously turned off when he phoned the cab company to let them know & seek assistance getting it back.

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Archie Bun says...
12:41pm Fri 13 Jan 12

Unbias wrote:
Cabin fever wrote: Would it not be a good idea to include the picture of the man in the hat, for those that might not have seen it? Good luck Tom, hope you get it back...
Yes but the stupid laws of the country don't allow it!
Well the BBC showed it on their site.Oh and Argus, an ipad is not a computer.

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Richhy says...
1:20pm Fri 13 Jan 12

Archie Bun wrote:
Unbias wrote:
Cabin fever wrote: Would it not be a good idea to include the picture of the man in the hat, for those that might not have seen it? Good luck Tom, hope you get it back...
Yes but the stupid laws of the country don't allow it!
Well the BBC showed it on their site.Oh and Argus, an ipad is not a computer.
It is a tablet computer - http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Tablet_comp
uter

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cancelaccount says...
2:21pm Fri 13 Jan 12

by the looksof the Ipad picture of Pink luggae the ipad is off on a Journey somewhere. that shot looks as if taken in an station or airport terminal.
The photo of the man seems to be witheld by the argus as to avoid people accusing him of the theft when he could of been snapped unknowingly in the thiefs home. Not a data protection issue whomever stupidly thinks so! and he isn't wearing a woolly hat its a Kids snood!
I would suspect the culprit to be the over-weight chav woman pictured with the pink suitcases..

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cancelaccount says...
2:25pm Fri 13 Jan 12

i say chav woman as no one in their right mind would travel with poundstretcher luggage!

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Ashles says...
2:41pm Fri 13 Jan 12

"A musician has taken on a new role as a detective..."
"Mr Clarke, who is in the band Two Choices and also works for a recruitment software company"

I love the way it makes it sound like his profession is mainly a full time musician and he, just kind of occasionally, as a hobby, works now and then at a recruitment sofware company. I could be wrong, but I suspect it might be a little more the other way around.

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plantwoman says...
6:13pm Sat 14 Jan 12

Cute dog!!!

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plantwoman says...
6:17pm Sat 14 Jan 12

Should it not read 'child's pink suitcase' - instead of 'pink child's'? A lot of children are pink, after all!!! Although not quite that shade of pink!

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commentisfree says...
2:42pm Sun 15 Jan 12

plantwoman wrote:
Should it not read 'child's pink suitcase' - instead of 'pink child's'? A lot of children are pink, after all!!! Although not quite that shade of pink!
Hard to believe this story was written by a journalist.... are they actually being PAID to produce these basic grammatical errors? I can write that badly for nothing!

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