Opposite anecdote. I had my phone stolen from the gym. I showed up with the police and the guy denied having it - ended up he was telling the truth.
Then I saw the phone was at someone else’s house right by the one I showed up to the following evening. I used public records to track down the owner and he said it was a rental. He called his tenants and they said they didn’t have it. They were also telling the truth. Once I told them where it was stolen they said that another neighbor actually worked at the gym.
He did have my iPhone and returned it once his manager told him to. I worked at the gym part time as a fitness instructor.
This was back in the iPhone 4 days admittedly when Find My relied on GPS.
Then I saw the phone was at someone else’s house right by the one I showed up to the following evening. I used public records to track down the owner and he said it was a rental. He called his tenants and they said they didn’t have it. They were also telling the truth. Once I told them where it was stolen they said that another neighbor actually worked at the gym.
He did have my iPhone and returned it once his manager told him to. I worked at the gym part time as a fitness instructor.
This was back in the iPhone 4 days admittedly when Find My relied on GPS.