San Francisco Police with No Record of Lost iPhone 5 Investigation - MacRumors
Skip to Content

San Francisco Police with No Record of Lost iPhone 5 Investigation

by

cava22 sf 0445

SFWeekly has cast some serious doubts about the lost iPhone 5 report posted by CNet yesterday. CNet had reported that an Apple employee had lost an iPhone prototype at a San Francisco restaurant and bar in July. Apple and the San Francisco Police reportedly investigated and even tracked down the location to a house which was searched.

SFWeekly called the San Francisco Police Department and discovered that they had no records of any investigation nor of any visit or search of the house claimed in the original article.

Esparza says no records of the visit to Bernal Heights by police officers -- which should be recorded in documentation per standard SFPD procedures -- exist at either Mission or Ingleside stations, at least one of which would have handled the incident. (Ingleside station covers Bernal Heights, while the phone was allegedly lost at Cava 22, a bar in the Mission.) Police dispatchers also have no records of any incident involving the address where the search for the phone supposedly took place, Esparza says.

Furthermore, the officer they spoke to said they had told CNet's reporter the same just weeks ago. Despite this, CNet reports their information came from someone 'familiar with the investigation". CNet has yet to clarify.

PCMag similarly contacted the San Francisco police who also denied any knowledge of the incident.

Update: Apple may have posed as police.

Top Rated Comments

caliguy Avatar
192 months ago
Ok, so maybe there was no prototype iPhone lost at Cava 22, but did you know they offer a lime-marinated shrimp ceviche?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bb426 Avatar
192 months ago
Reporting nowadays can be summed up in three words.

It HELLA sucks.

What's up CNet?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BC2009 Avatar
192 months ago
Maybe somebody at CNET is part owner in that bar.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
192 months ago
The whole thing has smelled kind of fishy. You're telling me this thing has been gone for over a month and no has paid to put it on the web?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theBB Avatar
192 months ago
As soon as the rumor came out, there were people who got suspicious as the article was so gushing about the menu options at the bar. It sounds like a publicity stunt for the bar and another low point for CNET.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rudy69 Avatar
192 months ago
CNet lying.... no way :rolleyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 5:09 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26.5 after a few months of beta testing, and while it doesn't have the Siri features we were hoping for since those are being held until iOS 27, there are a handful of useful changes worth knowing about. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. End-to-End Encryption for RCS Support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and...
General Apps Reddit Feature

Reddit Starts Blocking Mobile Website, Pushing Users to App Instead

Monday May 11, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
Social network Reddit recently began blocking mobile visitors to its website while pushing them to download the official Reddit app, and it's fair to say that the move is not going down well with users. If you visit reddit.com on your iPhone today, you may see a new popup that can't be dismissed, asking you to "get the app to keep using Reddit." A Reddit spokesperson told Ars Technica...