Having a single apple device on an iCloud account sounds like a security risk. I was in a similar situation out of sheer stupidity (new device, went on vacation, forgot unlock code), but I was eventually able to recover using an old linked iPad, the iCloud password, email, and time.
The interesting bit is theives ability to disable FindMy, it's effects, and following sequence of events.
The interesting bit is theives ability to disable FindMy, it's effects, and following sequence of events.