Stolen MacBook Air

Question

My 13" Macbook Air, S.N. RM632234U9B, was stolen from my office in Glendale, CA over the Christmas Holidays. I reported it to both company security and the  Police. I had Find My iPhone on it, so I activated the lock code and set the erase function. 
This evening, two weeks later, (January 10th) I received a notice that my MacBook Air was being erased. When I logged into Find My iPhone I discovered that it was no longer possible to track the location of the computer. Although I am relieved that my data has been wiped, I'm quite frustrated that the erase function also removes the tracking ability. (I don't recall seeing any explanation to that effect when I selected that option.)
Given the cost of Apple hardware and the sophistication of the product, I was expecting to have the ability to report stolen product to Apple and a way to track it even though personal data has been erased. Have I just made it easier for the thief to fence a six month old MacBook? Apparently Apple does not offer this, even though I registered so they have the serial number and mac address.
There ought to be a better way to handle this sort of situation.

Answer 1

After having browsed around a bit on the web, I'm very disappointed at the fragmentary nature of the information that is available about how Find My iPhone works.  I've read that once you erase the computer it can no longer be tracked, that the system will only report the last known position for 24 hours and that if the computer is eventually found you can unlock it with the four digit code you used to lock it. Currently when I log into iCloud and do a search it reports that computer was erased an hour after the earlier message. I have to say that the User Interface for Find My iPhone appears simple, but the details deserve a much better explanation. There should also be a way to track and hold the last known position indefinitely and immediately scroll to it wherever it was.