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GA Tech Students Use Cell Phone Pings To Find Missing Person (ajc.com)
McGruber writes: Georgia Authorities are giving kudos to technology – and the perseverance of Georgia Tech students – for the safe return of a fellow student who disappeared after a Friday night party. The missing student was found Monday morning along railroad tracks, in northeast Atlanta. He had been beaten, was unconscious and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. Georgia Tech Police Chief Robert Connolly said "The students rallied together and then they started searching. The students stayed out until midnight last night, putting out pamphlets and combing the area, anywhere they could possibly find [cell phone] pings along the route." The students "were not going to stop. They checked every hospital, every hotel, they checked everywhere. They didn't give up on their friend."
I had that idea years ago. They could mount one in a chopper and once they get a ping, crank down the range to quickly narrow the search. But of course we wouldn't want to use Stingrays for saving lives when they're much more useful for spying on everyone.
The actual article, once you freaking find it, has a one liner about "Cellphone records showed he was possibly in the area of DeKalb Avenue a couple of hours later." After that, it was just people walking around searching.
How the hell is this 'cell phone pings'? I was expecting some uber geeky geolocation doodad written in an overnight Cheeto induced haze. (no, not THAT "uber")
What, his phone did the auto check-in thing via some standard 'app'?