RAMSEY - It's a classic detective case with a high tech twist.
"It's unbelievable," says John Mylrea of Ramsey. "It's rewarding because of the outcome and fascinating through the process."
Mylrea's car had been broken into while inside the garage Tuesday. He quickly realized his $1,000 iPad was gone along with other smaller items. After alerting police he remembered he had downloaded a "Find my iPhone" app on his iPhone.
"So I hopped in my car and took off in search of it," said Mylrea. "I was enroute when I called the officer that filed the report."
The app had detected the location of the stolen iPad and Mylrea was hot on the trail.
"It was an invasion of my privacy and I was agitated."
Eventually, Mylrea arrived at a home and waited for authorities to arrive.
"Within five minutes they had one kid in cuffs and then the other kid in cuffs," he recalls. "It took about three hours to get my iPad back."
Police confirm that those arrests have actually led to the discovery of an entire ring of thieves in Anoka County.
"It's going to end up clearing the other burglary thefts from that night," said Ramsey Police Chief Jim Way. "It's also led to some narcotics, we've seized two vehicles, and that might just be the tip of the iceberg."
The Chief also tells KARE 11 they've seen an increase in people reporting stolen electronics that have tracking devices, but if you plan on using a "Find My Phone" app proceed with caution.
"Always call police before heading out," he says. "The coordinates could be inaccurate, but it could also be a very dangerous situation."
As for John Mylrea feels his action to crack the case not only brought his iPad back, but helped to keep others safe, too.
"Because of that these kids won't do that again," he says. "They weren't making good decisions and who knows where that leads."
To download the app search "Find my iPhone" in your iTunes search tool. Similar apps are available for Android users.