UK Police Search For Man Who Took Selfies With Stolen Phone

It's a story that keeps showing up in the papers.

Police in Newcaslte, England, are looking for a thief who took selfies with a cellphone he allegedly stole from a nightclub, the Daily Mirror reported.

The suspect took the phone from someone's bag at club LQ in Newcastle in May. Since then a series of selfies taken with the Motorola have been uploaded to the owner's social media accounts.

One picture shows a young man in a white hoodie beaming at the camera giving a thumbs up.

Police obtained the alleged mugger's selfie and are now using it to track him down, the newspaper reported.

"We're keen to speak to the man in the image as it's believed they may have important information about the theft or the whereabouts of the stolen phone," said officer Emma Tatusko of the Northumbria police, which covers Newcastle.

"They may have come into possession of the phone in good faith and I'd urge them or anyone who recognises them to contact police as soon as possible so they can help with our inquiries."

Some smartphones allow the owner to alter their settings so pictures and other multimedia automatically upload to the Internet. That means whoever took the phone may not even know they are leading the police right to them.

Other criminals have met their downfall by taking selfies after their unlawful deeds.

A New York City man was arrested in March after he uploaded selfies on Facebook of him holding the gun he used to rob a bank in Michigan.

In January, the naked pictures one couple took on a phone they allegedly stole that were uploaded to Dropbox prompted the owner to contact the police.