A recent incident at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport highlights the effectiveness of Apple AirTags in tracking lost items, even when faced with unhelpful authorities. A woman traveling with friends lost her purse before passing through security. Fortunately, an AirTag attached to the purse allowed her to track its movements.

Initially, the AirTag indicated the purse was at the TSA checkpoint. Despite repeated attempts over three hours, the traveler reported unhelpful and rude behavior from TSA agents. Resigned, she boarded her flight back to California. The next day, the AirTag's location showed it had moved to a METRO bus terminal, while her AirPods, also in the purse, were tracked moving along the East Freeway before their signal was lost.

Frustrated, the woman contacted a local news station, KTRK, for assistance. The station contacted METRO, who located the AirTag in their lost and found. METRO also identified the bus and route where the AirTag was found – the Bush Airport route. KTRK then involved the Houston Police, who requested the bus surveillance footage. The woman reported that investigators are working to identify a suspect seen in the video. Both the victim and her friend suspect an airport employee may be involved, though this remains speculation. They are hopeful the suspect will be apprehended.

This incident underscores the growing reliance on tracking devices like AirTags to locate lost items and the potential for their use in solving thefts. It also raises questions about the responsiveness of authorities in such situations.