The power of social media helped Nanaimo RCMP trace a suspect seen in an uploaded “selfie” taken on a stolen iPhone.

“It struck a chord with people for a number of reasons … phones are lifelines,” said RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien. “Plus, the picture was so clear.”

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On July 5, a Nanaimo woman’s purse and iPhone were stolen when she stepped away from her car to put garbage in a nearby trash can. The woman said she saw a man near her car, where she had put her purse down.

When the woman got a new iPhone, pictures from the stolen phone were uploaded to it automatically. Included in the photos was a self portrait, or “selfie,” of a man. The woman recognized him as the man she suspected of stealing her purse and phone.

O’Brien said that when police released the photo on Twitter and Facebook, the response was huge.

“We had so many direct messages, Crime Stopper tips and shares,” he said.

Police made an arrest within 48 hours of the photo being released.

A 39-year-old man, who is homeless, faces charges of theft under $5,000 and is scheduled to appear in Nanaimo provincial court on Aug. 8.

The woman’s phone was not recovered.