SAN FRANCISCO: Apple's AirTag item tracker has been credited with helping a vacationing US family in tracking down their stolen luggage and the thief.

According to 9to5Google, the family "turned their vacation to the North Carolina mountains into a sleuth mission to find their stolen luggage".

The news was first reported by Queen City News. The family arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport last week and was unable to locate one of their luggage at baggage claim, according to the report.

Catherine Gavino (a member of the family), however, had hidden an AirTag inside the luggage. Gavino was eventually able to track the AirTag down to a house in Gastonia, North Carolina, using the location data from the AirTag.

She went to the residence and called the cops when she arrived.

She called the cops, who arrived and informed the homeowners about the situation.

They discovered the family's suitcase as well as the suitcase of another victim whose luggage was also stolen at the airport.

Gavino mentioned the Police informed her that "someone else called with the same issue. And they had an AirTag", the report noted.

Unfortunately, "there was not much left inside the suitcase" when it was found.

The suspect was ultimately arrested and charged with multiple theft crimes, the report said.

Earlier this year, AirTag helped a passenger to track his lost wallet, even after American Airlines could not find it. The passenger shared the incident on X, mentioning that after realising that he lost his wallet, he contacted American Airlines and they said that they couldn't find it.

Luckily, he had AirTag in his wallet with which he was able to track it.