Just an update from the videos from Samantha’s mother.
First, in a video last night she said that they are looking at ALL possibilities, but they don’t want to discuss them on the Facebook page. This is hopeful, because it hopefully indicates that they are also considering using cadaver dogs. They just don’t want the Facebook page to get bogged down in that kind of stuff.
Her mother posted a more ranting video this morning, but the main thing is they want to know if they can ping a dead cellphone and are trying to get help from google, sprint, etc. She can’t get an answer from them and is asking the Facebook page to call whoever they can (Google, congresspeople, etc) to get answers. Basically, the issue is (although she doesn’t know it) she needs a subpoena. Because of the vast amounts of data they collect, Google and other telecommunications companies do not just hand over data, even if a person is missing, unless that person is a child. I don’t know if a dead phone can be tracked. It would seem to be unlikely. However, they may be able to get the last known location before it died, but I don’t know if this would be any different from the pings they have.
Second, she asks questions like if the phone is dead, why is it ringing? This is a common issue that missing people’s families have a problem understanding. The ring is the cellphone company trying to find the phone. It does not mean the phone is ringing or even has reception. It’s just a sound they play to make sure the person waiting on the line knows they are searching for the phone.