Unconscious jogger identified through iPod

Various San Francisco-based news outlets reported this week that police identified an unconscious jogger, who was an apparent hit-run-victim, by contacting Apple Computer and getting information from the iPod she was carrying.

The 27-year-old woman was jogging early Thursday morning near the Presidio when she was apparently struck and thrown off the side of the road, according to news reports.

Apple declined to comment on or even confirm the story Friday, but NBC11 and others reported that the woman was carrying no identification, so investigators took her iPod to the Apple store, which contacted headquarters. Apple helped identify the woman, we can only presume, through her iPod registration.

If not for her iPod, she might still be a Jane Doe. As of Friday she was still hospitalized in critical condition.

But we couldn't help but wonder under what circumstances Apple releases such information. Did the police have to get a warrant? What if my iPod was left behind at a crime scene? Would I be considered a suspect or linked to the case in any way?