It doesn't appear there was a search for his phone:
"The search over the first two days focused heavily on the beach and bushland at
Wategos and the Pass (to the west of the lighthouse), guided to a large extent by
the wedge map provided by Telstra. However, there was also some coverage of
the areas where Theo was subsequently discovered to have been, including Cosy
Corner, the bushland near the Recreational Grounds, and Arakwal National Park.
In this respect, Senior Constable Papworth said that he also factored into his
decision making the fact that Theo’s last known direction was east bound on
Kingsley Street, in the opposite direction of his hostel."
"The
searches of those areas were general in nature. In his evidence, Senior
Constable Papworth said that if he had had access at that time to the Google
location data, he would have approached the search with a lot more intensity and
ordered “contact forensic” searches (shoulder to shoulder, on hands and knees)
of areas where it was known that Theo spent some time"
"The evidence suggests that a more thorough briefing and better equipment could
have been given to the search team, particularly on the first day. Senior Constable
Papworth only had one photograph of Theo, which he showed to the search team
but did not have copies to hand out.
Theo’s phone was not mentioned as an item
of significance"
" The searchers were not given GPS devices to record the
search areas. In addition, although Senior Constable (now Sergeant) Vidler, who
was a more experienced search coordinator but not on duty on 9 or 10 June, had
recommended via text message to use a Queensland PolAir helicopter with
thermal imaging technology, this was not done. This technology identifies heat
signatures and can outline a human person in bushland. "
"On 11 June 2019, Senior Constable Stirling took over as search coordinator. The
focus of the land search that day was on the areas around Belongil Beach and
the swamp near the Wake Up! hostel. In addition to the Telstra data and the belief
that Theo had probably walked back to the hostel after Cheeky Monkeys, the
search was being guided by the CCTV footage of the man on Shirley Street who
it was still believed may be Theo."
"Senior Constable Vidler’s first substantive involvement in the search, as
coordinator, was on 17 June 2019. She was asked to arrange another
coordinated search based on new information from Theo’s phone. In the briefing
that morning, Detective Rudens told her about the conflicting data from Telstra
and Google and said that it was not yet clear how to differentiate between the
two. She was provided with the different maps based on the Telstra and Google
data. "
"Senior Constable Vidler’s search team was made up of 17 SES volunteers and
10 police operational support operatives. In general, SES volunteers are trained
in searching although she could not say whether all of those present on the day
were in fact trained. There were given a description and photograph of Theo and
the clothes he was wearing on the night he disappeared, including his hat.
There
was not a focus on the phone. "
"On 18 June 2019 (day 9 of the search) Senior Constable Papworth returned as
the search coordinator. At the handover briefing, he was provided with the map
with blue box from Telstra. He was also given a description and photograph of
Theo’s phone, some stills from the CCTV footage at the Great Northern and a
photograph of a lanyard from the hostel. With the benefit of hindsight, it would
appear that this material could and should have been provided to the searchers
from the first day of the search.
Later that day, Senior Constable Papworth was provided with the map showing
the more accurate Google location points. It was at this point that the focus of the
search operation shifted to the other side of the cape."