but police wouldn't meet up with them to make an arrest and the 911 operator wasn't happy. >> ma'am, hold on a second. i have been on the phone with someone just like this that was killed over a cell phone and i really don't want that to happen to you. it's just not really worth it. >> reporter: the victims reluctantly gave up. >> if you were in the same situation again, would you still track them? >> yeah, i would. i bet you would, too. >> reporter: police acknowledge the victims' frustration but insist chasing down thieves yourself is a dangerous roll of the dice. neal karlinsky, abc news, seattle. >> over $500 million are spent a year trying to replace cell phones. it's a lot of money. >> our whole lives are in this thing now. with the apple pay, literally your wallet now. you lose that -- >> it's got everything in it. >> we go to all these great