A smartphone can take a life and it can also save a life — This time, it has saved a life.
Technology has once again come to the rescue of humans. This time Apple’s “Find My iPhone” feature has helped a young woman rescue from her ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend was trying to take her out of Pennsylvania and had used a duct tape to bind her legs, feet, and mouth.
The kidnapped and the kidnapper was tracked thanks to a quick message that the victim was able to send to her mother about her abduction. The mother used the Find my iPhone app and traced her daughter’s location. Later, her daughter was found in a car 150 miles east of Pittsburgh, in Milesburg.
The victim was found bound and gagged in a car parked in a McDonald’s parking lot. The kidnapped has been identified as 18-year-old Joseph Boller. The bail for his release has been set at $150,000.
According to the statement of the Pennsylvania state police, the mother of the victim was receiving texts messages from her daughter asking for help. She then traced the location of her daughter’s cellphone using the iCloud and Find My iPhone app.
The rescue process would not have been possible had the victim not enabled the Find My iPhone feature on her phone and had her mother not reacted quickly to such an adverse situation.
This is not the first time that Find My iPhone app has helped avert a crime. A year ago, Melissa Vasquez, trapped in a 500-foot South Bay ravine for 17 hours, was located using this service. Similarly, the same app was instrumental in the arrest of the suspects in Atlanta Robbery case. Further, police were able to recover stolen computer with the help of this app.
The app has several utilities and is extremely useful in case of kidnapping or to locate your missing phone. To enable this service, you need to:
- Go to the Settings
- Tap on iCloud
- Sign into your Apple account
- Now, turn on Find My iPhone
Similar to Find My iPhone, is Android’s service called Android Device Manager. Using this feature, the users can locate their phones in case they go missing. You need to make sure that the service is turned on and with the help of the internet, it can be traced very easily.
Both these services allow you to wipe your devices clean in case there is no hope of recovery. It is always advisable to keep the service turned on. Who knows, when you might need it?
This is not the first time when an iPhone has saved a life.