Unfortunately, he doesn't have to have one. iMessages do not require an Apple ID, only a phone number and wifi connection on an Apple device. You CAN login with an Apple ID, which will then sync everything to your iCloud account, OR you can use the phone number of the sim card in your phone. You do not have to use an email or Apple ID IF you don't use iCloud. Apple ID IS required if you want to use Facetime or purchases through your account on your phone, which Papaw doesn't do either of those.
Believe me, we have looked into this EXTENSIVELY to try to find an AppleID for Papaw. 1 - he wouldn't know how to set one of those up without help of one of his kids... 2 - he wouldn't be interested in syncing messages to a computer he barely uses for anything... 3 - he doesn't even have an email address... However, you can REQUEST the iMessage logs from Apple with the phone number as the source handle. I explained that to the HCSO in an email and on the phone, see below for a couple of sources.
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/using-imessage-without-icloud
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You can use iMessage even with iCloud completely disabled, or even if youve never setup an iCloud account at all. If youre on an iPhone, you dont even need to sign in with an Apple ID if you only want to send and receive iMessages using your cellular phone number; an Apple account is only required to associate email addresses with iMessage. FaceTime works in the exact same manner in terms of phone numbers and Apple IDs."
https://www.quora.com/Does-iMessage-use-your-phone-number-or-Apple-ID
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[FONT=q_serif]Yes. Either. Both.[/FONT]
[FONT=q_serif]I started using [/FONT][FONT=q_serif]iMessage[/FONT][FONT=q_serif] with my [/FONT][FONT=q_serif]iPod Touch[/FONT][FONT=q_serif] after upgrading to [/FONT][FONT=q_serif]iOS 5[/FONT][FONT=q_serif]. Experimentation revealed I could send messages to both [/FONT][FONT=q_serif]iPhones (product)[/FONT][FONT=q_serif] users by their mobile phone number, or to "registered" E-mail addresses (congruent with, or alternate aliases for a user's [/FONT][FONT=q_serif]Apple ID[/FONT][FONT=q_serif]), ergo the entire ecosystem of [/FONT][FONT=q_serif]iOS Devices[/FONT][FONT=q_serif] can participate - all they have to have is a connection to [/FONT][FONT=q_serif]The Internet[/FONT][FONT=q_serif]."
EMAIL SENT TO HCSO with a link as well:
[/FONT]Good Morning. Hopefully you're not tired of hearing from me yet.
I spoke to xxxxxxxxxxxxxx this morning about the iPhone iMessages, and wanted to pass along an article that explains it a bit.
https://theintercept.com/2016/09/28...sage-contacts-and-may-share-them-with-police/
From the screenshot contained in that article, you can see that the "source handle" is the phone number and not the Apple ID. Papaw doesn't have an Apple ID, because it's only required for Facetime or purchases, which he wouldn't do from his phone.
When you issue a new subpoena for info from Apple, specifically requesting iMessages could also help with location through the IP address that each message is tied to. At the least, this could provide a direction of travel if Papaw had received an iMessage while the phone was in his pocket after he was gone from the residence.
... email continued with a closing that I've not included here with my personal info.