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Lost Phone Found After Decade in Desert
20 Feb
Summary
- Retired teacher discovered a 2012 phone in the desert.
- The phone was found 10 years after its owner lost it in 2015.
- Remarkably, the decade-old phone still powered on and charged.

In a remarkable find, a retired teacher in Prescott, Arizona, discovered a 2012 Samsung Gusto 2 phone buried in the desert. The phone, lost by its owner, Maddie, in 2015, was found by the teacher who was on an 'amble' off a less-traveled path. She retrieved the dusty, damaged device, thinking it might be interesting to take apart.
However, the teacher found a compatible charger and was astonished when the decade-old phone powered on. Examining the messages, she pieced together clues about Maddie's life and determined the phone was lost in either 2020 or 2015. A reverse phone lookup eventually led to Maddie's father in Chicago.
Maddie, coincidentally visiting her father for the holidays, was contacted by the teacher. She confirmed losing the phone in 2015 while hiking in the exact location it was found. The Samsung Gusto 2's extraordinary resilience, surviving ten years of harsh desert weather, has garnered attention, highlighting a surprising durability in older technology.



