A lost, then stolen cell phone was returned to the rightful owner after Chattooga County Deputies sent a text to it.

Last Sunday, Betty Mosteller reported that she had lost her cell phone at the Murphys gas station in Trion. Mosteller stated that she had dropped it but did not realize it until sometime later.

When Mosteller returned to the gas station to look for the missing phone, another individual told her that they had witnessed a male picking up the phone and appeared to have turned it in to the clerk.

After discovering that the phone had not been turned in, Deputies got creative and sent a text to the missing phone stating that it needed to be returned or a warrant would be issued. Several hours later the missing phone was returned to Murphys gas station by an unknown male. Deputies retrieved the phone and returned it to Mosteller.