Following a dance at an inner city nightclub, Lisa Parata (23) returned to her handbag to find the iPhone 4 she bought two months ago was gone.
"I was upset ... It was the first expensive phone I ever bought."
After an early morning search with friends failed to find the phone, Miss Parata returned home to track it herself with her laptop.
Having registered the phone on Apple's MobileMe service, she was able to pinpoint its whereabouts using the phone's inbuilt global positioning system.
The service was able to show the iPhone's location, including an image of the home where the alleged thief lived.
Details were given to police, along with her proof of purchase, and she was soon able to track its return in the hands of the law from the house to Dunedin Central Police Station on Sunday afternoon.
"It was great to get it back."
Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken said thanks to the technology, police executed a warrant and found the phone on a 23-year-old Dunedin man.
The unemployed man is expected to appear in the Dunedin District Court on Friday, charged with theft.
Snr Sgt Aitken said if people were able to, they should use the technology for their own phones, as it would act as a deterrent to opportunistic thefts.
"We just can't praise this technology enough. It led us straight to our guy."
