Crusty Flip-Flops Help Amateur Sleuth Nab Thief at Great Canadian Casino

Posted on: July 21, 2025, 06:42h. 

Last updated on: July 21, 2025, 07:05h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Amateur detective tracks stolen phone using iCloud and persistence
  • Accidental foot photo becomes key clue in phone recovery
  • Chase ends at casino thanks to busted flip-flops clue

An accidental image of a pair of crusty old flip-flops led a determined amateur sleuth to bust a cellphone thief at a Toronto-area casino Monday.

Jason Zhao, iCloud Lost Mode, Great Canadian Casino, iPhone theft Toronto, busted flip-flops
An unguarded photograph of some flip-flops, not pictured, led one man on a bizarre city-wide crusade to recover his father’s stolen iPhone – and good for him. (Image: Shutterstock)

Someone stole Jason Zhao’s father’s iPhone at around 11:30 a.m. from a supermarket in the city’s Scarborough district, which set the wheels in motion for a very unusual treasure hunt, The Toronto Star reports.

Zhao began tracking the phone via iCloud’s “Lost Mode,” and first traced its location to a mall, where he suspects someone unsuccessfully attempted to wipe or resell it.

Moments later, an unexpected development: a new photo appeared on his father’s paired iPad. It seemed that the thief had inadvertently taken a picture of his own feet.

On the end of each of these feet – and pay attention, because this will matter later – was a dusty-ass flip-flop.

From there, the phone’s signal followed a route: it jumped on a bus, flipped to the subway, and flopped to a north-end apartment building.

All Systems Go

By early afternoon, the phone was stationary and unreachable. But as evening rolled in, the GPS pinged again – this time from a casino at the western edge of the city.

Though the Star did not name the venue, details in its report, including travel distance and location, strongly suggest it was Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. That, and the fact that a photograph provided by Zhao and published by the Star clearly shows the frontage of the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto.

The dogged Zhao drove roughly 22 miles to the casino with the image of those gnarly, smelly-looking flip-flops burned into his brain.

When he got there, he started playing iCloud’s “Play Sound” feature to flush out the device, even though the casino’s noise rendered the audio faint. When the sound didn’t help, Zhao switched tactics: he zeroed in on anyone wearing the distinctive flip-flops.

“Eventually, I saw someone wearing a pair that matched the photo exactly,” he told the Star.

Target Locked In

With the target in sight, Zhao triggered the phone’s sound again. Although it remained silent, the suspect reacted by pulling a phone from his pocket and placing it back quickly, confirming Zhao (allegedly) had his man.

When Zhao approached casino security, he was told it wasn’t their problem since the theft hadn’t occurred on casino property. So, he trailed the suspect, dialed the non-emergency police line, and reported the situation.

After 30 minutes on hold, he called 911, emphasizing that the suspect had spotted he was being followed, “seemed agitated, and might become aggressive.” That finally prompted authorities to respond. Toronto Police arrived just as the suspect was stepping out for a smoke, and Zhao flagged them down.

An officer seized the phone, along with another device, and arrested the man, who had removed the SIM card and stashed it in tissues alongside a lighter and cigarettes.

“I laughed that the only reason we found him was thanks to that one accidental foot photo,” Zhao told the Star. “So thank you, busted flip-flops.”