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Original poster

Found a phone in my garden - isolated property - shit scared

791 replies

ScarredBunny · 24/04/2020 19:12

Name changed for this - Sorry if this seem trivial, I know people are dealing with far bigger things at the moment.

I found a phone lying on the ground, about 5 yards from my house.

We live in an isolated property about a mile away from the first road. We have not have any visitors , maintenance people for many weeks (obviously). Delivery drivers, yes, but they would not have any reason to go to this part of the garden/couldn't access it during daytime without us seeing something.
At first I assumed it belonged to one of us, but no! Confused
Phoned the police, have a ref./case number, etc. but they're busy and will get back to us when they can.
The police said to take the phone indoors and wait for their call/visit.

I am worried that the next visit is going to be from whomever the phone belongs to.
The phone is dead as a dodo but I assume it still can be found?

What should do?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
Mythologies · 24/04/2020 19:42

I found a dead iphone in the park - checked on google - the best thing to do seemed to be to plug it to charge so the owner could trace it.
It charged and a message appeared on the screen saying the phone had been lost with a landline to call. I called the landline and returned the phone.
Happy ending for all
It appears that you can send a message to appear on your phone's screen if you lose it - but only if it is charged and turned on.

WeAllHaveWings · 24/04/2020 19:41

Completely normal to be concerned op.

If you tried to charge while still damp inside chances are it has fried it.

You could try putting in rice for a couple of days until the police come to pick up. I wouldn't try to switch on again. Best outcome is they find out who it belongs to and why it is in your garden.

coconuttelegraph · 24/04/2020 19:41

Do you have a charger that fits the phone? My first step would be to charge it up and see what you can access

Original poster
ScarredBunny · 24/04/2020 19:39

Ah sorry Slith I'm hopeless with double consonants Smile

We have fences and if someone was fly tipping they would have to be amazing at throwing for it to land there. I don't want to go into details too much but it would be very peculiar for a throw to land in that spot.

I will try charging it for longer but I think I will put it outside far from the house tonight.

The secret phone theory: this kind of phone is out of our price range really, so probably not.

OP posts:
vanillandhoney · 24/04/2020 19:38

Oh, and I would charge it up and see if I could find any information from it.

vanillandhoney · 24/04/2020 19:38

Are you sure it doesn't belong to someone in your household?

PerfidiousAlbion · 24/04/2020 19:37

Is it just you and dp in the house? Kids? Grandparents? Others? Dogs?

Is your garden surrounded by fields? How close is the road to where it was found?

Plug it in again and wait.

Is your dp trustworthy? Any ofher odd things happened? Drugs? Crime?

RandomUser3049 · 24/04/2020 19:37

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

rjebgf · 24/04/2020 19:36

Sometimes you can track the last location of a phone even if it’s dead

SordidSplendour · 24/04/2020 19:34

Someone in the houses secret phone I’d say

Rathersexyfortysomethingblonde · 24/04/2020 19:34

This is scary really, how far are you nearest house,?
Maybe someone chucked from car when passing your road?
Kids? I once saw a phone in our street, it was smashed into pieces so I presumed somebody did it on purpose.
It was there for few days, no one picked it up...

Beeep · 24/04/2020 19:33

Also, who is in your house? How old are your kids?

Beeep · 24/04/2020 19:32

Can you charge it up?

avocadont · 24/04/2020 19:32

Could it be a fox or something of the like that's picked it up and dropped it in your garden?

perniciousdot · 24/04/2020 19:31

I'm pretty sure on an iPhone it needs to be turned on and connected to the internet to track the location. Mine definitely does.

It will give the last location

perniciousdot · 24/04/2020 19:31

we find random stuff in our garden from time to time, I think carried and dropped by birds.

This. I would expect it to be crows.

Secret phone option - presumably OPDH would t let her get as far as phoning the police!?

Emelene · 24/04/2020 19:31

I'm pretty sure on an iPhone it needs to be turned on and connected to the internet to track the location. Mine definitely does.

Original poster
ScarredBunny · 24/04/2020 19:29

Thank you all, it's good to have your opinions/reactions!
It looked as if it had spent the night outdoors, a little wet, but maybe it has been there longer if it is dead? I don't know.

The dog was barking at something last night but I didn't take it seriously.

Nothing is impossible but it would be odd for a bird to drop it, it's one of the big ones...

I even thought of the secret phone option - seems unlikely - but who knows.

I googled it and apparently there is still a signal for location even on a dead phone. If that's the case I don't really want someone to try and break in to get it. Anyone knows about this sort of things?

OP posts:
OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow · 24/04/2020 19:25

@Slith ha! Nice one😂

Op, it could very well be someone taking a walk, sorry, exercising, and ignoring that it's a private property. There was already thread mentioning stuff like this. Do you have fences?

ChipotleBlessing · 24/04/2020 19:24

How long have you tried keeping it plugged in to charge for? Sometimes if it hasn’t been charged for ages they take a while to come on.

How old an Apple is it? If it’s old and the battery is dead then it’s basically worthless and may just have been chucked by someone fly tipping.

FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue · 24/04/2020 19:22

Why do some people not bother reading the OP properly before commenting?

Why on earth would a drug dealer drop their phone in the garden of a property that is a mile from the nearest road? They were just passing through on their way to do some bird watching before the next drug deal?

Of course OP is a bit freaked out, as it obviously means someone has been in her garden, which is isolated, and therefore vulnerable.

OP, all you can do is follow the police advice, I think, but also check the security of your doors and windows.

ofwarren · 24/04/2020 19:22

Slith is joking with you because it's scared not scarred. Scarred means you have an injury, a scar.

Are you sure it's not your husbands secret phone?

Spanneroo · 24/04/2020 19:22

A local crow used to bring us aging things (spoons, coins etc) and leave them on our garden wall. It once brought a knife. Obviously, this could have been very scary had we not seen him at it months prior.

1moreRep · 24/04/2020 19:21

could someone in your house have a secret phone?

Abbccc · 24/04/2020 19:20

Isn't it obvious that the OP is worried because someone who shouldn't be in her garden has been there? That's quite scary! Especially when you live in an isolated spot.
I can't imagine it can be traced when it's out of battery, but I could be wrong. Hope the police contact you soon OP.