Apple AirTags stalker, who put three devices on woman's car, arrested in Iowa

A stalker who attached three tracking devices to a woman's car has been arrested after tracking them to a police station where she had turned them in as evidence.

Carl Shawver, 63, used Apple AirTags to track a woman he claimed to Iowa cops was his wife - even though the two had never been in a relationship.

West Des Moines Police spotted Shawver loitering in the police station car park after tracking the devices to the department's evidence room.

His explanation for being there was he thought his 'wife' was having an affair with somebody at the station.

'It's stalking by using GPS device,' West Des Moines Police Sergeant Jason Bryan told 4029 News. 'People are now obviously using technology to stalk other individuals.'

Earlier this month two women filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming the company makes it too easy for stalkers to abuse the $29 product. 

Carl Shawver (pictured), 63, was arrested by West Des Moines Police after attaching three Apple AirTags to a woman's car

On December 5 the woman found an AirTag sitting on top of her car's spare tire after she was notified by her iPhone that a device was tracking her, an affidavit says.

Such notifications are part of a security feature that Apple has integrated into the product to protect against stalking. 

The woman took the device she found to West Des Moines Police, who placed it in an evidence room.

The next day, Shawver, who had been tracking the AirTag, showed up to the police station claiming that he thought the woman was having an affair with somebody at the station. He was not arrested on that occasion. 

Then a couple of days later the woman received another alert that she was being tracked and police found another AirTag in a wallet in the car.

After a third notification she took her car to a auto shop where by lifting the car mechanics found a third tracking device.

It was wrapped in plastic and attached to the car's chassis near to the front passenger wheel.

Shawver turned up to the West Des Moines police station (pictured) after tracking devices to its evidence room

The Apple AirTag is a small $29 device that is intended to be used to track personal items

All three AirTags were place into evidence, causing Shawver to return. This time he was spotted in the parking lot by an officer. They later pulled him over an arrested him.

Despite Shawver's claims the two had never been in a relationship and the woman had blocked him from calling and texting her, according to the affidavit.

He is being held in the Polk County Jail on a $3,000 bond and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 19.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Brooks Nader (pictured) previously disclosed how she found one of the Apple AirTags in her coat after going to a bar for drinks

AirTags have been abused in similar ways before. Lauren Hughes, from Texas, found an AirTag in the wheel well of her vehicle, allowing her ex-boyfriend to find her location

Apple made some security upgrades to the devices earlier this year under CEO Tim Cook

Apple's AirTags have attracted controversy since their release in April 2019.

This latest incident comes not long after the company was sued by two other women. The details of their case were similar - one of the two women found a plastic wrapped AirTag in the wheel arch of their car.

Lauren Hughes, of Texas, and a second woman, identified only as Jane Doe, filed a class action suit against the tech giant on Monday, alleging it was negligent in its creation and marketing of the inexpensive tracking devices.

Their suit details how Apple released the devices against the advice of experts who warned the company about potential security concerns and proceeded to downplay the risks.