Hi, I am not an engineer, though I do have a bit of an interest in it. I apologize in advance if my question is foolish. My question actually comes from an unsolved mystery.
A few years ago, a man in my hometown disappeared, leaving behind two kids, a girlfriend and his entire family and friend base. These are the facts that are important for my question;
Jacob Cabinaw was last seen at 7:30pm on March 31st, 2010 in Traverse City, located in Northern Michigan. At 9:00pm his debit card was used at a gas station just south of Traverse City. At 1:00am, April 1st, a call was placed via his cell phone to an Army Reserve Office. He had to make a call like this every month to confirm he was still in school. This call was allegedly "pinged" to a tower at an unspecified location in Oklahoma. At 2:00am his bank card was used near Kalamazoo, in southwest Michigan. A video from the gas station surfaced and family members positively identified him. There is no record of him until an unspecified hour on April 2nd when his debit card was again used at a gas station in Ft Worth TX. A few hours later it was used at a gas station in Sweetwater TX. This was the last confirmed location of anything associated with Jacob. There was no video from the Ft Worth location, but a video from the Sweetwater location could not confirm that the man who used the card was Jacob.
With all this in mind, what I found odd was the ping. Several sources state that the call made at 1:00am on 4/1 was "pinged" to a tower in Oklahoma. They go on to state that just one hour later, Jacob was seen on video (confirmed to be him by family) In southern Michigan. As far as I can tell there are three explanations. I am wondering which is most likely, or if there is another explanation that is more likely.
1) The ping was not accurate. Somehow it pinged in Oklahoma but was really in Michigan. (I first thought this was the most likely explanation, but the bits that I have read suggest this is very, very uncommon).
2) The ping was accurate and the call was made from Oklahoma. If this is true it means that the Jacob was either misidentified in the video and he somehow hopped a plane to Oklahoma. Or that someone with knowledge that a call needed to be placed to the military regarding his school status after midnight on the first, took his phone, and flew to Oklahoma. This one is obviously a bit far fetched as well.
3) The facts of the case were misreported, and the phone was pinged while he (or at least the phone) was in Oklahoma on its way to Texas. This seems most likely to me as he was reported missing around the time that the phone would have been in Oklahoma.
Let me know what you think.
A few years ago, a man in my hometown disappeared, leaving behind two kids, a girlfriend and his entire family and friend base. These are the facts that are important for my question;
Jacob Cabinaw was last seen at 7:30pm on March 31st, 2010 in Traverse City, located in Northern Michigan. At 9:00pm his debit card was used at a gas station just south of Traverse City. At 1:00am, April 1st, a call was placed via his cell phone to an Army Reserve Office. He had to make a call like this every month to confirm he was still in school. This call was allegedly "pinged" to a tower at an unspecified location in Oklahoma. At 2:00am his bank card was used near Kalamazoo, in southwest Michigan. A video from the gas station surfaced and family members positively identified him. There is no record of him until an unspecified hour on April 2nd when his debit card was again used at a gas station in Ft Worth TX. A few hours later it was used at a gas station in Sweetwater TX. This was the last confirmed location of anything associated with Jacob. There was no video from the Ft Worth location, but a video from the Sweetwater location could not confirm that the man who used the card was Jacob.
With all this in mind, what I found odd was the ping. Several sources state that the call made at 1:00am on 4/1 was "pinged" to a tower in Oklahoma. They go on to state that just one hour later, Jacob was seen on video (confirmed to be him by family) In southern Michigan. As far as I can tell there are three explanations. I am wondering which is most likely, or if there is another explanation that is more likely.
1) The ping was not accurate. Somehow it pinged in Oklahoma but was really in Michigan. (I first thought this was the most likely explanation, but the bits that I have read suggest this is very, very uncommon).
2) The ping was accurate and the call was made from Oklahoma. If this is true it means that the Jacob was either misidentified in the video and he somehow hopped a plane to Oklahoma. Or that someone with knowledge that a call needed to be placed to the military regarding his school status after midnight on the first, took his phone, and flew to Oklahoma. This one is obviously a bit far fetched as well.
3) The facts of the case were misreported, and the phone was pinged while he (or at least the phone) was in Oklahoma on its way to Texas. This seems most likely to me as he was reported missing around the time that the phone would have been in Oklahoma.
Let me know what you think.
