Airport car thefts are on the rise. The busiest airports in the United States deal with hundreds of stolen cars annually. However, not every airport car heist ends badly. One BMW M8 Competition owner’s well-placed Apple AirTag led to the timely recovery of his beloved performance luxury car after a car chase with police. 

An airport grand theft auto was foiled by an Apple AirTag, leading to the recovery of a pricey BMW M8 Competition

It’s perhaps one of the worst ways to end a trip. You disembark your flight, tired from travel. After collecting your bags and moving through the airport, you arrive at the parking garage where you left your precious ride. There’s something wrong, though. There’s an empty space or a different vehicle where your car once existed. That’s right, someone stole your vehicle while you were away.

A stolen car was the unfortunate reality for West Clark, a recent victim of an airport car theft at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). To add to the frustration, Clark’s missing car was a BMW M8 Competition. It’s a luxury performance car with a starting price of around $141,000. Clark was understandably disturbed by the theft. “You see so many really nice cars at the airport, people just don’t park there thinking that their vehicle is going to be stolen,” Clark told Atlanta News First.

Fortunately, Clark left two Apple AirTags in his M8 Competition. He claims that the first AirTag was in the trunk. Not exactly a difficult place for a criminal to find a tracker. However, he also placed an AirTag “farther into the body of the car.” As a result, police were able to track the car while Clark was out of the country using the information he provided.

The BMW M8 Competition, a low-slung, two-door grand tourer (GT) is one of the brand’s ultimate offerings. Based on the 8 Series coupe, convertible, and four-door Gran Coupe, the M8 takes the luxury tourer and adds M car spice. In this case, it’s a 617-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8. It’s one of the most potent production BMWs ever. Understandably, then, chasing the car wouldn’t be an easy feat for a police interceptor.

Fortunately, thieves weren’t able to find the second Apple AirTag. As such, police were able to chase down the M8 Competition and recover it. Still, Clark can count himself somewhat lucky compared to other cases. Over 300 passengers traveling through ATL have fallen victim to car thieves this year so far.