Mark Simpson is a lawyer in England. He and his wife, Mia Forbes Pirie, woke to a nasty surprise. Their Jaguar E-Pace EV had been stolen from the driveway of their West London home overnight night.

After having a previous vehicle stolen, the Londoners had even installed a “ghost immobilizer” on the E-Pace, so they could only start it with a PIN. They realized they were the victims of what was, “likely to have been a reasonably sophisticated operation involving a flat bed truck.”

The two immediately called the London police, who promised to investigate. Then the couple remembered something: They’d left an old keyring in the Jag, with an AppleAirtag attached. They worried the thieves had found the keyring and tossed the GPS tracker, but they pulled up its location anyway. It was sitting three miles from their house.

The couple shared their AirTag’s location with the police. The response? They’d send a patrol car when one was available. So Simpson and Pirie looked at the map and realized they were just a nine minute drive from the location. They told the police they wanted to go by and check it out. With keys in hand–just in case the stolen car was actually there.

Police later said Simpson “shared his intention to recover the vehicle himself. An Apple AirTag was inside, allowing the victim to view its location and trace it…The victim was reminded by officers to contact police again as needed or if police assistance was necessary at the vehicle’s location.”

“My partner in un-crime” re-steals Jaguar E-Pace

The couple cruised over to the AirTag’s location. There sat their stolen Jaguar E-Pace, in all its glory. The thieves had desperately tried to find the immobilizer device, tearing out the carpets and interior in search of the wiring. Then they’d seemingly given up, abandoning the car.

Simpson wasn’t messing around. He immediately called a tow truck to haul his car home. Pyrie later posted a picture of her “partner in un-crime” un-stealing the Jaguar on her LinkedIn.

She also complained, “The police seem to have no interest in investigating… if there are no consequences, what is the incentive for people not to do more of this?”

On Monday, the 48-year-old professional mediator and Ted Talk speaker changed her tune. She told the news, “We both have huge sympathy with how stretched the police are on such low resources. We realise that they have to focus their limited resources on more serious crimes.”

The official police report said, “The victim confirmed with police that he had found the vehicle and that it was being recovered by a truck back to the victim’s home address. This investigation is ongoing and police are working with the victim. No arrests have been made at this stage.”

Pirie says the police are sending an officer to the couples’ home Tuesday to take a look at the stolen car and open an investigation.