Orlando Police Recover More Than 70 Stolen Phones After EDC

Phone thieves have struck again, this time at EDC Orlando over the weekend. 

Music festival goalers know that pickpocketers are an unfortunate reality of the large crowds. Thieves often gravitate to music festivals to catch their victims off guard. Sadly, those victims are unsuspecting music fans who end up leaving the event without their phones. 

This past weekend, a number of fans left the festival in Orlando without their cell phones. One fan tweeted, “Shout out to the person that stole my phone last night at EDC…professional work bro” whole another person said, “Well, I’d post about EDC day 2 with cute photos, but unfortunately someone stole my phone (5 out of the 13 people in our group had their phones stolen). I’m not really sure what to do and am way too exhausted to deal with this so…good night. Countless other social media posts indicate that phone thieves were a widespread issue this year.”

Luckily for some, today, the Orlando Police Department revealed that they recovered more than 70 stolen cell phones. It’s not uncommon for local police departments to recover stolen items after a festival, but it’s clear this effort was monumental. 

On Instagram @orlandopolice posted, “Detectives are currently in the process of identifying the owners of over 70 stolen cell phones during EDC weekend. Through taking proactive steps in their investigative efforts, property detectives were able to arrest 3 individuals who had a backpack containing the stolen cellphones.”

People rushed to the comments in thanks and in effort to locate their own fans. One comment reads, “Yep, one of those was mine. Stolen right out of my pocket.” Another person said, “Mine was stolen at circuit grounds too as I was helping some passed out dude get to medical. Probably a setup.”

No details on the owner of the phones or the thieves has been shared. The Orlando Police Department has recommended that anyone who lost their phone at EDC to visit their website and submit their information.