You neglect to mention the part where the person who found it sold it rather than try to return it. Should that not be a crime?
You know what's a crime ? The fact that Apple has expedient access to the police when they negligently lose a $400 phone at a bar, instead of being told to "fill out a missing property report online" like everyone else when they call to report something missing or "stolen".
Is that true? I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure you have to own something in order to sell it legally... and I don't think you get to claim ownership of every "abandoned" item you "find".
And getting the police to act on information you provide yourself is not the same as filling in a report online asking the police to find your missing phone.