Manolo the bull, in better days
A Texas restaurant recovered its beloved 6-foot-tall, 150-pound fiberglass bull statue thanks to a well-placed Apple AirTag.
The statue, dubbed Manolo, sat outside San Antonio's Tacos Don Manolito. The bull, who had been there since January, was chained to a bench that was cemented to the ground. Owner David Barquet assumed that no one would be bold enough to try to steal such a large object.
However, on June 12, Manolo was missing from his usual spot. The chain that kept him secure for the last six months had been cut.
What thieves didn't anticipate, however, was that Barquet had placed an AirTag inside Manolo — just in case.
Barquet checked the AirTag location via the FindMy app and learned that the statue had been relocated to a home in Southtown — nearly 20 miles from the restaurant.
"They were saying they bought it from someone," Barquet told ExpressNews.
Barquet doubts that was the case, as the statue was located shortly after it was stolen.
As a precaution, staff bring the mascot indoors every night and place him back on his perch in the morning.
Apple's quarter-sized tracker has often made news for foiling would-be thieves.
In May, a hidden AirTag thwarted a $1.1 million armored truck robbery.
In March, a search warrant revealed how the Drug Enforcement Agency used an AirTag in an investigation, the first federal agency known to do so.
