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Cell phone triangulation nabs the 'serial bomber' suspect in Texas within a day

By Daniel Petrov

Published: Mar 21, 2018, 8:15 AM

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OIS https://t.co/cSvgqOv9nW
— Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) 21 март 2018 г.

The mysterious "serial bomber" that terrorized Texans is no more, as cell phone triangulation techniques revealed the Round Rock, TX hotel, where the suspect was hiding, and SWAT teams swooped in to enter in a car chase with him. According to the chief of Austin Police, Brian Manley, "as members of the Austin police department SWAT team approached the vehicle, the suspect detonated a bomb inside, knocking one of our SWAT officers back, and one of our SWAT officers fired at the suspect as well."

Cell phone triangulation nabs the 'serial bomber' suspect in Texas within a day

The deceased was only identified as a "24-year-old white male," as it still has to have his identity confirmed, and family notified. He was responsible for a string of high-profile bombings that had killed two people so far, sending mail packages that detonate. One such package exploded in a FedEx storage yesterday near San Antonio, and the postage on it helped identify the sender.

Later on, combining knowledge from the Google searches on his computer, and triangulation results from his cell phone, the authorities were able to pinpoint the exact location of the bomber, resulting in the SWAT raid on the hotel hideaway. While triangulation is based on cell phone towers that the phone connects to, and is not as precise as GPS coordinates, it has gotten pretty reliable with time, combining hybrid tracking techniques to find someone within a 100-feet radius with a great degree of certainty.

source: USAToday

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.