Charlotte woman’s iPhone found in China following string of thefts

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) is warning residents to keep their eyes on their cell phones. The department reports a 106-percent uptick in thieves taking them from people at some of South End’s most popular bars and restaurants. This is compared to 2024.

Marin Blake is one of the 37 people CMPD said had their phones stolen between Jan. 1 and June 23 this year.

“We had just gotten there, and I was taking out my phone to take a picture or something and I realized it wasn’t there,” Blake said. “I started looking everywhere on the floor. My friends were calling my phone. It wasn’t picking up and then it wouldn’t even ring.”

Blake said she was out with friends at The Rose Honky Tonk March 22 when it was stolen. A police report details it happening between 11:55 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.

“I looked for it probably at least 30 minutes,” Blake said. “The bar was so crowded I asked all the bartenders then hadn’t seen it, so I left, and I came back about 30 minutes before it closed and looked everywhere, even after it closed. It wasn’t anywhere.”

Blake said that’s when she knew it was gone. She put it in lost mode but could still track the location on Find My Friends. She said she tracked it within a few days in Miami, Florida. Eventually, she found it in Hong Kong, China and Shenzhen, China.

“Just today I checked, and I didn’t see it, and I might see the location, but it says erase pending,” Blake said. “But last week, it said it was in Shenzhen, China.”

CMPD shared this video on social media on Monday, warning of the crime. Captain Christian Wagner from CMPD details the importance of being focused on where your phone is at especially if you’ve been drinking.

“I don’t think this is a Charlotte issue,” Wagner said. “I don’t think it’s a Center City issue. I think this is a national issue with phones being stolen and turned over very quickly for a profit.”

Blake said the hardest part was losing her pictures and videos she had taken at concerts.

“It was just a lot of memories lost,” Blake said. “It can be really hard to make sure you have all of your things constantly, but I just really make an effort every like five to 10 minutes.”

According to Blake, other people have reached out to her and reported that their phones are also in Shenzhen, China.

She said she has received multiple threatening text messages from people seeking to steal her information and asking her to stop the erase of her old phone.