A couple of further comments regarding cell phone forensics and lost person searches.

These days, in a well run search, an investigation happens simultaneously with field searching. Ideally, this investigation is done by a team, composed of a law enforcement officer and an experienced search team member. The search team member knows what questions to ask that will most help the field teams, and the LE officer has authority to obtain some info that the searcher does not (such as cell phone data). In most areas one of the very first question asked will be "does the subject have a cell phone, and what is the number?". The LE officer will then immediately initiate the cell phone forensic effort.

As I noted earlier, how much info can be obtained from a phone depends on a number of factors, especially on how many cell towers recieved pings from the phone. Unfortunately here in Alaska, cell phone coverage outside of the larger towns is spotty at best. Thus, cell phones often only hit on a single tower. I've personally been involved in at least two searches where the only location info we could get from the cell phone was a very general direction. We successfully found one of these subjects, and one remains missing to this day.

The key to any search is combining all the info and clues that are available, and using that to allocate the always limited search resources to the most likely areas. Sometimes, just knowing when the last time the cell phone pinged a tower can be helpful. We do the best we can with whatever info we have.

You all stay safe and have a Happy Holiday Season!