The Apple Watch became instrumental in helping Texas authorities solve a crime when Texas police officers used the location services on the device to locate a kidnapped woman.
The Apple Watch once again proved its value, not only in the field of health but also in helping authorities solve a crime when it played a pivotal role in locating the whereabouts of a kidnapped woman in Texas. In what appeared like a scene from a movie, police officers used the location services on the Apple Watch to track down and save the kidnapped woman.
Police officers ping Apple Watch to track down and save a kidnapped woman in Texas https://t.co/haDbcMoZOc pic.twitter.com/WXgfJ0ANZh — iThinkDifferent (@iTDfeed) January 24, 2021
News reports quoted police authorities saying that if not for the kidnapped woman's Apple Watch and its location services, they would have met great difficulties in tracking her down. The woman reportedly used her Apple device to inform her daughter about the kidnapping, who immediately alerted the police. Texas police authorities then used the device's location services to track down and save the kidnapped woman.
A Ping Of Hope
According to News 4 San Antonio, Police responded to a call about an alleged kidnapping and upon arriving at the address provided, they found a girl who told authorities someone kidnapped her mother. She also told the police that her mother used her Apple Watch to inform her daughter about the crime but the call abruptly ended before she could tell her daughter her whereabouts. Texas authorities then tried to track down the kidnap victim using the device's location services so they can mount a police operation to save her.
The daughter said that her mother and the alleged kidnapper, Adalberto Longoria, were arguing outside an apartment when she heard her mother screaming from the parking lot. She went to look but she did not see them anymore, but some 10 to 15 minutes later, her mother called her using an Apple Watch.
While the call ended suddenly without the victim telling her daughter where she was, Texas police authorities managed to discover her whereabouts and save the kidnapped victim using the location services to perform an "emergency cellular ping" on the Apple Watch.
A Guiding Beacon
Officers used the data returned when they performed the "emergency cellular ping" on the victim's Apple Watch. The device showed the woman's location at a parking lot near the Hyatt Place Hotel on East Sonterra Blvd. Unfortunately, the alleged kidnapper was reportedly able to elude police arrest by fleeing the scene on foot.
Nevertheless, police officers were glad to track down and save the victim using the location services of the Apple Watch. The incident showed the immense value of the Apple Watch, not only in terms of keeping fit but also in emergencies.
