The case of Jennifer Huston, a missing Oregon mom who committed suicide in August, has shone a spotlight on technology's important role in finding missing people - as well as its limitations, Fox News reported.
The trail to finding a missing person can be lost when a device is out of power, despite cellphone location technologies that can quickly locate users.
Huston, a 38-year-old mother of two, was last seen alive in gas station surveillance camera footage in the Portland suburb of Newberg on July 24, which prompted a massive search before she was found dead.
Capt. Jeff Kosmicki of the Newberg - Dundee Police Department said the last cellphone tower pinged by Huston's phone was located north of the gas station. By about 6:35 p.m. her phone shut off and investigators don't know if the battery died or if the phone was turned off.
The scenario is described as a race against time by communications expert John B. Minor, who has assisted in suspected murder cases and attempts to locate lost hikers.
"If the battery is exhausted, there is no general tracking," Minor told Fox News.
Before a phone is off there are a number of ways law enforcement and networks can locate a missing person. James Tagg, chief technology officer of mobile network Truphone, said cell towers, GPS and Wi-Fi can all help.
"In simple terms, cell phones, as the name suggests, connect to a cell," he explained in an email to Fox News. "A mobile operator always knows which 'cell site' you are using and this gives them a rough idea of your location."
Despite available location techniques, the issue of battery life remains a huge hurdle. Authorities can find a location and even the direction a person is traveling up to the point when the battery dies. After that, the task becomes more difficult.
Near Field Communication, a service used for mobile payments, is the only option still functioning in some phones after the battery dies.
"Even if you cell phone is dead you could still buy a coffee or gain entry to your office using NFC technology," Tagg told Fox News. "When you do this, the bi-product is you report location as you do so."
But he said he is not aware of any service which aggregates this information currently.
