My iPhone is gone. It disappeared at the HARRA Cross Country Relay this evening. It was in my bag at the beginning of the night, when I lent it to a friend to make one call. She gave it back to me, I put it back in my bag, and perhaps it was still visible. Maybe it wasn’t, and someone just saw where I put it. Either way, it disappeared from my bag where it sat in the Striders tent, sometime between 5:00 and 6:45.
The sad thing is that it was stolen. It was not lost. I know that I put it into my bag, and when I went back to my bag later, there was an empty spot where my phone would be. Hoping that I’d just misplaced it, I checked every pocket in my bag multiple times. I checked under everything in a 20 foot radius around my bag. I picked up other people’s bags (there were dozens) and looked under each one. I called the phone and walked around the entire Strider tent listening for a ring. It was gone.
No one was specifically watching bags, though there were dozens of bags and dozens of people. Runners. People who can afford to spend $100 on running shoes, people I’d assume could afford their own iPhone if they wanted one. But I guess not.
I’m pretty angry, but it’s gone. It’s done. I put a hold on my number and account, so whoever stole it can’t use it. I sent an email to the HARRA list just in case someone mysteriously finds it in their bag. Beyond that, there’s nothing I can do.
They left everything else. My wallet was still there. My digital SLR and second lens were still there. Everything else was there; that’s why I thought I’d just misplaced it at first. So it could’ve been worse. The iPhone was just the easiest thing to steal, and probably easiest thing to sell on ebay.
At least I have a $100 credit at the Apple store. And the big price drop is looking pretty good right now.
Update: Found out this morning (Sunday) that at least one other person had items that “disappeared” from a bag in the Strider tent. A cell phone and brand new iPod. Sounds like someone just made a pass through the tent — it was one of the tents closest to the street, so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt that it wasn’t a runner who did the stealing — picking up whatever they could see. Still sucks.
So I don’t suppose it ever turned up? Maybe a GPS implant?
I’ll admit to being the village idiot when it comes to running events – I assume that any runner, my club or otherwise, will respect my things. I hope it was a random, passerby scumbag – pretty brave to steal from a racer, right?