According to a CNET report, the case of the ‘lost’ iPhone prototype is being investigated by Silicon Valley police, led by a computer crime task force of the district attorney’s office in Santa Clara County – the county in which Apple’s Cupertino, California headquarters is situated.

The iPhone prototype was ‘accidentally’ left behind by an Apple engineer at a Redwood City, California, bar. The person who found the handset took it to Gawker Media-owned Gizmodo, and sold it for $5,000.

Gizmodo disassembled the iPhone prototype – which was being kept under the wraps by Apple, as the device is still months away from its launch - and ‘leaked’ the details on its web site. Later, Gizmodo said that the specs of the prototype were leaked because there was no certainty about the device being a legitimate Apple product.

Refraining from commenting whether the investigations underway are related to the iPhone, Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, the jurisdiction under which Redwood City falls, said: “If there is a case that is investigated and able to be submitted for prosecution, it will be handled by this office.”

Meanwhile, noting that Gizmodo. com editors have disclosed the details about how the company came to get the iPhone prototype – which apparently was returned to Apple earlier this week – Gawker Media’s chief operating officer Gaby Darbyshire said: “We haven’t been contacted by law enforcement.”