UPDATE 2: From CNET: “SF police confirm search for lost, unreleased iPhone“
UPDATE 1: Ah, this might help explain things somewhat. From SF Weekly: “Lost iPhone 5: Bernal Heights Man Says Visitors Impersonating Police Searched His Home (Exclusive)“
This case needs a Sherlock Holmes.
A couple of days ago, CNET got wind that yet another iPhone prototype may have been lost in a bar recently. AGAIN. Like they couldn’t learn from the first time. Anyway, the story goes on to say that the San Francisco Police Department tracked the prototype down to a Bernal Heights home, where the resident claimed he didn’t know anything about a missing iPhone or a scrumptious lime-marinated shrimp ceviche.
(MORE: Oh, Here We Go: Apple Loses New iPhone in a Bar Again?)
But uh oh. SF Weekly says they talked to SFPD. And, well, so did gadget blog Gizmodo (the same blog reportedly paid for the missing iPhone 4 after it was lost in a bar last year). But there are no records. Nada. Zip. Zilch. The spokesman for the police department told reporters that “I don’t know who [CNET’s] source is, but we don’t have any record of any such an investigation going on at this point.”
There are also apparently no records of a visit to Bernal Heights, or the home where the “search” supposedly took place. The city’s police department also says they relayed that information to CNET, when CNET came calling weeks ago initially. Which really makes you wonder, why would there be no records? What has happened to the phone since then? Does Apple have its own secret mafia? Why is the sky blue?
(MORE: The Story and Aftermath of the Lost iPhone)
Apple lost an iPhone prototype last year when an engineer by the name of Grey Powell left it in a bar. The phone was later sold to Gizmodo, which then published photos and video footage of the device.
Erica Ho is a reporter at TIME and a proud Android owner. Find her on Twitter at @ericamho and Google+. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.