How do I return an iPhone to the rightful owner?

THANK YOU for wanting to do the right thing by trying to reunite the phone with its rightful owner. Unfortunately, there's really no way you can do so. Apple doesn't get involved in lost or stolen devices, so they won't help you. We can't help you as this is a user to user only forum.

If there is no message on the screen letting you know how to contact the owner, turn it over to the authorities where you live and hope someone filed a lost or stolen iPhone report. Otherwise, the phone is useless as it is locked.

Thanks again. It's great there are good and honest people out there!

If the owner has chosen not to disclose their name or address on the Activation Lock screen, Apple will not tell you this information.

Your best bet is to turn the phone in to the Lost & Found department at a nearby police station, store, etc. Maybe that will make it possible for the owner to get the phone back. If the phone is Activation Locked, that implies that the phone will be reporting its location to the owner whenever it gets the chance.

Try asking Siri ‘who does this phone belong to’.