VIDEO: How Technology Tracking Benefits A Missing Person Case

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – GPS technology tracked Brian Cantrell to Winston County.

After he was reported missing, the Raleigh Police Department reached out to Cantrell’s cell phone provider and they pinged his phone.

The pinged location is a six mile circle that’s near the Choctaw and Attala County lines.

A story without answers.

23-year old Brian Andrew Cantrell was last seen on video leaving his home Monday morning in Raleigh, MS, and that was the last known trace of him until this.

“They pinged him out on 25, then back around to our car dealership, and the last one came up somewhere around Griffin Road. That’s going to be out by 14 West about to the county line. It’s about three different counties in that area that he could be located,” says Winston County Chief Deputy Keith Alexander.

Alexander says the pinging system is a huge benefit for law enforcement when it comes to finding a missing person.

“Without it, your parents would never know where he went to his last location. He hasn’t called here, I mean, at least the phone service can let us know where, unless the battery runs down, that’s what we think has happened. Either he has turned it off, or his battery has run down, because we’ve tried it again and it didn’t show anywhere else, it’s just that one location, last location.”

Alexander says one thing that is a must is cooperation from cell phone companies, who realize time is of the essence.

“We had to go through AT&T, and it’s just like any of your cell phone companies. We have a good relationship with C-Spire because they’re our local provider, and we can send paperwork into them, and just a few minutes later, they’ll send something back and say this is his last location where the person was located at.”

While the pinging provides clues for investigators, it provides a small bit of comfort for Brian’s mother, Staci Cantrell.

“We’re not quite sure if he may given someone a ride, or you know, we just don’t really know. You don’t have any kind of evidence of anything. We just knew by what the phone was showing, but you know, that was great to have that and to be able to use. It gave us some insight, and actually let us see where he went and where he was,” says Staci Cantrell.

Raleigh P.D., Smith, Winston, Choctaw, and Attala are all working to help locate him.