A few months ago a funny thing happened to me and my phone. The entire plot was displayed in real time on my facebook page so in case you missed it or we are not friends (yet) here’s what went down.

Like any other day I find myself wandering the isles, did I just say isles? sorry the aisles of the supermarket checking out new items, sometime snapping photos along the way. This time I was at Trader Joe’s for peonies and frozen chocolate croissants both were sorely needed. I zipped home, unloaded and noticed my phone was nowhere to be found. Crud. But wait…. I thought to myself I can FIND IT with my computer!

I had downloaded Find my iPhone the same day I got my phone, I was already a MobileMe user so it took literally seconds to set it up. Its very simple. iPhone4 users just download the app, create a free Find my iPhone account (if you aren’t already signed up for MobileMe in which case it comes with the app already installed you just have to link the phone to your Mobile me account). According to Apple you can add WiFi devices too and older version phones and iTouchs but you must have at least one iPhone4 with the app installed and an Apple ID set up. You can visit the app page for more information on that.

I immediately sat down at my computer and launched Mobile Me, clicked on FIND MY PHONE. It took maybe 2 minutes to locate it and come up with a Google Map pinpointing its exact location. Ah ha! I did leave it at Trader Joe’s and Where’s my brain today.

I called he store but no one had seen my phone. Then I couldn’t remember if I actually had my phone or not in the store and that’s when the fun began. YES, we tried calling it while in the store, but it was on silent, since I had been at the movies the night before, dang it. I asked them if anyone had an iPhone so I could log on to mobile me and not one person on the floor had one (ok, strange Trader Joe’s employees… really?).  Then I remembered I had my macbook in my car. I whipped it out found some free WiFi at Peet’s Coffee and then the hunt began, it seem to move every 5 minutes so we thought for sure someone had picked it up and was contemplating walking with it. So I sent a message to it through MobileMe … something like….

“THIS PHONE HAS BEEN STOLEN DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT!”

An hour later still nothing. The poor guy at Trader Joe’s searched every trash can in the parking lot and under every car, Bless your heart Mark, he was as if not more determined than I to solve this mystery. We actually thought a guy siting in his car looking at us strangely might have had the phone because after he made a quick loop in Trader Joe’s he bolted. He was gone but my phone now shifting every so slightly on the map was still not located. I was resolved to the fact that I was going to have to limp home without my new phone and somehow bring myself to admitting to my husband I lost my phone within the first few months of owning it. How craptastic of me.

I thanked the guys at Peet’s for the WiFi and when I told them the map wasn’t quite specific enough they looked at my computer and CLICKED Satellite  and viola… the map transformed to a pirate like treasure map with an X on the MEAT DEPT … tadah!

I sent one last beacon call and someone heard it deep beneath the New York strips. You see even if you have silenced your phone the beacon still sounds!! I recovered the phone, took it home and thoroughly sanitized it and threw out the case.  The end.

If you have an iPhone stop what you are doing and go set this up right now! Don’t tell my kids this but… you can track them as well. Set up their phones on your account and you can go all CSI on them if you really feel the need like right now I can see my son is half way home from his trip, now if I could only see what he’s watching on YouTube I’d be set.