Otter, they did do that. The phone gets locked when you activate it. The police found it thrown in the bushes after tracking it.
So all that terror, & the guy didn't get the phone. It was the experience of terrifying violence which was devastating, more than the phone. So - in the end - it was all for 20$...
So sad.
Ps. I even have a tile tracking device in my wallet, but that's mostly because I lose it all the time...lol...