airpods pro 2 gen missing or stolen

Good morning, unfortunately, we have found ourselves in an unpleasant discussion with friends. One of them lost their AirPods 2 Pro two years ago. In short, it is being suggested that my son may have taken them.

We were with them yesterday, and this person picked up my son from the train station. As my son approached the car, this friend received a notification that their AirPods were suddenly detected at that location. After that, the signal disappeared again. Over the past two years, they haven’t been able to locate the AirPods, nor have any notifications appeared before now.

It is now being implied that my son might have stolen them two years ago. He’s not perfect, but this would be something entirely new—stealing, and from friends?!?

Last year, we gave our son his own AirPods 2 Pro, and before that, he already had his own AirPods. Without saying anything to him yet, we checked his AirPods. His name is engraved on the case, and the serial number doesn’t match the one of the friend’s missing AirPods. We also checked the AirPods themselves, and on his phone and iPad, we verified the serial number listed under Bluetooth. Again, it does not match the serial number of the missing AirPods.

We called the friend and explained that we find the situation very upsetting but that we see no reason or evidence to believe that our son has their AirPods.

However, this person keeps insisting that it’s very coincidental that as soon as my son approached their car, they received the notification. We suggested that perhaps the AirPods are still in their car and that the notification could have been triggered because my son approached with two Apple devices (his AirPods and his iPhone). We also mentioned that if my son had taken them, a notification should have appeared two years ago when they were first used. I don’t think a 14-year-old could use stolen AirPods without Apple detecting them, right?

But they didn’t seem convinced. It’s such a frustrating situation. Could anyone perhaps think of another reason why that notification might have appeared at that specific moment?

We find this situation extremely unpleasant, especially because it shows such a lack of trust. Help!