Can mobile phone pings help investigators in the Madeleine McCann case?

[jassi]

I think, although I could be wrong, that these were local people from villages nearby.  So why would they want to be phoning each other if they were in the same place for innocuous reasons.  Why not meet up for a pint?

You would like to live in a police state where you have to justify every phone call?

[Eleanor]

I agree. If they make them arguidos they can just refuse to answer anyway.

And a jolly good thing too.

[jassi]

I agree. If they make them arguidos they can just refuse to answer anyway.

As did Mrs McCann.

[pegasus]

In 2007 they obtained lists of all calls and txts where at least one party was a mobile using a PDL mast.
From that large amount of data they extracted calls and txts where not just one, but both parties were mobiles using PDL masts.
They then targeted in particular (a) the time around the JT sighting, and (b) the time around the Smith sighting.

What SY did is widened the time period looked at beyond those two short periods.
AFAIK there is no passive ping data and no signal strength data.
The real actual lists of calls and txts for those two target periods are in the published files.

[slartibartfast]

I think, although I could be wrong, that these were local people from villages nearby.  So why would they want to be phoning each other if they were in the same place for innocuous reasons.  Why not meet up for a pint?

It is frequent practice for people to call and text while actually going to meet each other. In the olden days, we used to say to friends "I will meet you in the Black Bull at 7:30", nowadays, it is more like "I will see you in town about 7, will call when there."

[slartibartfast]

In 2007 they obtained lists of all calls and txts where at least one party was a mobile using a PDL mast.
From that large amount of data they extracted calls and txts where not just one, but both parties were mobiles using PDL masts.
They then targeted in particular (a) the time around the JT sighting, and (b) the time around the Smith sighting.

What SY did is widened the time period looked at beyond those two short periods.
AFAIK there is no passive ping data and no signal strength data.
The real actual lists of calls and txts for those two target periods are in the published files.

Not exactly a smoking gun then.

[jassi]

It is frequent practice for people to call and text while actually going to meet each other. In the olden days, we used to say to friends "I will meet you in the Black Bull at 7:30", nowadays, it is more like "I will see you in town about 7, will call when there."

These days people are never off their phones. Some even use them to send messages to others in the same building.

[Eleanor]

You would like to live in a police state where you have to justify every phone call?

I eventually acquired a Cell Phone this last year.  I have no idea how to turn it on or off.  But I am aware of the fact that my Cell Phone can be tracked.
Most people didn't know this back in 2007.  Which is why so many people have been caught.

I have absolutely no worries of being tracked since I have no intention of committing a Crime.  And I wouldn't take the phone with me if I did.  That's progress.  And hardly a Police State.

[jassi]

I eventually acquired a Cell Phone this last year.  I have no idea how to turn it on or off.  But I am aware of the fact that my Cell Phone can be tracked.
Most people didn't know this back in 2007.  Which is why so many people have been caught.

I have absolutely no worries of being tracked since I have no intention of committing a Crime.  And I wouldn't take the phone with me if I did.  That's progress.  And hardly a Police State.

It would be if you were made to explain why you made phone calls.
Even in this country, which has some pretty draconian laws, police aren't permitted to do this sort of thing without strong reason.

I think you might be surprise at how many people knew about phone tracking, even back in 2007.

[Eleanor]

It would be if you were made to explain why you made phone calls.
Even in this country, which has some pretty draconian laws, police aren't permitted to do this sort of thing without strong reason.

I think you might be surprise at how many people knew about phone tracking, even back in 2007.

So what is your point?  They obviously do it in Portugal, and rightly so, as far as I can see.

The fact that The McCann Phone Messages and Texts were not allowed to be used was a decision of a Portuguese Judge who must have seen them.

[pegasus]

Not exactly a smoking gun then.

The whole concept is based on the assumption that there were two (or more) perps.
If there were, it is a reasonable conjecture that they might have communicated by mobile
- while both were in PDL - and close in time to (shortly before, during, or shortly after) the time of the crime.
So the data gets sensibly refined to pull out just those calls and txts where BOTH parties were using pdl masts.
UK experts in 2007 sensibly targeted especially the times of the two uncontained carrying sightings.

[jassi]

So what is your point? They obviously do it in Portugal, and rightly so, as far as I can see.

The fact that The McCann Phone Messages and Texts were not allowed to be used was a decision of a Portuguese Judge who must have seen them.

I'm not aware that the PJ have questioned people over their phone calls and demanded explanations as to why they made them.

They have studied the data, courtesy of UK experts, but it doesn't appear to have led to anything.

[Carana]

I'm not aware that the PJ have questioned people over their phone calls and demanded explanations as to why they made them.

They have studied the data, courtesy of UK experts, but it doesn't appear to have led to anything.

The Porto PJ haven't stated who they've interviewed since they reopened their investigation. And, hopefully, neither will they be leaking to the tabloids.

[VIXTE]

...see

This is even less accurate with only 2 towers.

I was hoping that the second tower is near the Smiths sighing.
Also we don't know if there is a third tower near by and how far.
IMO  a good mathematician can work out a miracle if given this data, even a good programmer or an unix sys admin can also get interesting info.
Even if you give it to me, give me an unix system and  I might work much longer but I am sure I personally can get  a big clue out of there.. let alone some bright young people..

[slartibartfast]

I was hoping that the second tower is near the Smiths sighing.
Also we don't know if there is a third tower near by and how far.
IMO  a good mathematician can work out a miracle if given this data, even a good programmer or an unix sys admin can also get interesting info.
Even if you give it to me, give me an unix system and  I might work much longer but I am sure I personally can get  a big clue out of there.. let alone some bright young people..

Speaking as a mathematician, and a retired sysprog, unless the data is there in the first place, you can't do much. GIGO.

Consider that coverage from phone masts are not nice round circles but follow land contours and building shadows. Trying to locate a phone with any degree of accuracy is virtually impossible.

They now what numbers were in the area and talking to each other, that's it.