Old Flip-Flops Help One Man Track Down Phone Thief in Toronto Casino

A chance photo of a pair of worn-out flip-flops helped a determined amateur detective named Jason Zhao find his father’s cellphone at a Toronto-area casino. The unusual chain of events began around 11:30 am on Monday this week, when someone stole Zhao’s father’s iPhone from a supermarket in Toronto’s Scarborough district, kicking off an unexpected high-tech manhunt that ended at a Great Canadian Casino. 

Phone Thief Sets Off His Own Manhunt Thanks to His Old Flip-Flops

Using iCloud’s “Lost Mode,” Zhao began tracking the device and first traced it to a mall, where he believes someone may have tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe or resell the phone. However, not long after the theft, an unexpected twist occurred. A new photo showed up on his father’s linked iPad, which showed what appeared to be the thief’s feet. It seems they had inadvertently taken a picture of their legs, which were adorned in old flip-flops that would prove to be the thief’s downfall.

From that moment, Zhao tracked the phone and subsequently the thief, on their route as they went on a bus and ended up at a north-end apartment building in Toronto. By early afternoon, the phone had gone still and couldn’t be reached. But by evening, the GPS signal reappeared — this time coming from a casino on the city’s western edge.

While details about the exact venue have not been officially announced, clues in the report, including travel distance and location, strongly point to the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. That’s further supported by a photo provided by Zhao and published by The Toronto Star, who dirt reported on the peculiar case. The photograph clearly shows the casino’s exterior.

The Case Unfolds At the Casino

Zhao drove about 22 miles to the casino, with the image of those grimy, well-worn flip-flops etched in his mind. Once there, he activated iCloud’s “Play Sound” feature in hopes of locating the phone, though the ambient noise of the casino made the alert hard to hear. Unfortunately, this tactic didn’t work very well. In this case, Zhao started looking for anyone wearing the distinctive old flip-flops.

With the suspect now in sight, Zhao activated the phone’s sound again. Although no audible alert came through, the man’s reaction was enough to convince Zhao he had the right person. When Zhao approached casino security for help, they told him it wasn’t their responsibility since the theft had occurred off-site. Undeterred, Zhao began following the suspect while calling the non-emergency police line to report what was happening.

After spending 30 minutes on hold, he switched to 911, explaining that the suspect had noticed he was being followed, “seemed agitated, and might become aggressive.” That finally triggered a police response. Officers from Toronto Police arrived just as the man stepped outside for a smoke, and Zhao flagged them down.

Police seized the phone, along with a second device. They also arrested the man, who had removed the SIM card and hidden it inside a wad of tissues along with a lighter and cigarettes.