TX TX - Caleb Harris, 21, Texas A&M University student, Corpus Christi, 4 Mar 2024

[fred&edna]

IF a person direct-messaged Caleb from a burner phone AND there is no vehicle (or person) visible (due to fog) on any cameras in the area... is there any possible way for LE to track/locate this unknown person??

Wouldn't a geo-fence warrant only inform LE as to where and how the phone was purchased... Or is there additional information that could be obtained?? If the burner phone purchaser paid with cash can there still be an evidence trail to follow??

 

[Sundog]

IF a person direct-messaged Caleb from a burner phone AND there is no vehicle (or person) visible (due to fog) on any cameras in the area... is there any possible way for LE to track/locate this unknown person??

Wouldn't a geo-fence warrant only inform LE as to where and how the phone was purchased... Or is there additional information that could be obtained?? If the burner phone purchaser paid with cash can there still be an evidence trail to follow??

No-contract phones have to be activated, and the first step when you buy your phone is that the store where you buy it (Verizon store, Walmart, other) does their activation whether you pay in cash or credit/debit card. Then you have to activate it yourself and, of course, you can give a fake name and address but the phone itself has an ID number (I forget what it is called) like an IP address for your computer. So I think there are a lot of ways that LE can get more information from a no-contract phone from the phone's ID when it pings on the wireless company's towers.

I'm not an expert on this and not very tech savy, but we do use no-contract phones and I have bought a few of them over the years and have had to activate them as described above.

 

[fred&edna]

No-contract phones have to be activated, and the first step when you buy your phone is that the store where you buy it (Verizon store, Walmart, other) does their activation whether you pay in cash or credit/debit card. Then you have to activate it yourself and, of course, you can give a fake name and address but the phone itself has an ID number (I forget what it is called) like an IP address for your computer. So I think there are a lot of ways that LE can get more information from a no-contract phone from the phone's ID when it pings on the wireless company's towers.

I'm not an expert on this and not very tech savy, but we do use no-contract phones and I have bought a few of them over the years and have had to activate them as described above.

Thank you for the info. IF that type of scenario occurred, then it seems it may be possible to identify the unknown person via their phone - even if they registered it with fake info.

Caleb needs to be found.

 

[Tricia]

Hey Everyone,
Let me clear up some confusion on the Gray Hughes video about the Reddit thread. While Gray is an approved source, discussing the Reddit thread violates our rules, so this episode of Gray's will not be allowed to be discussed. It has not been confirmed that Caleb is posting on Reddit. However, not having the Reddit information should not stop you from discussing, in general, what could have happened to Caleb. In cases of missing persons, discussing the possibility of Caleb meeting up with someone is common and allowed. However, what is not allowed would be accusing the missing person of meeting up with someone for some random, nefarious reason without backing from law enforcement or a mainstream media source. This is how rumors get started and become out of control.
I hope I am making sense. It is late and I'm old. LOL
Thanks, everyone,
Tricia

 

[CuriousCricket]

No-contract phones have to be activated, and the first step when you buy your phone is that the store where you buy it (Verizon store, Walmart, other) does their activation whether you pay in cash or credit/debit card. Then you have to activate it yourself and, of course, you can give a fake name and address but the phone itself has an ID number (I forget what it is called) like an IP address for your computer. So I think there are a lot of ways that LE can get more information from a no-contract phone from the phone's ID when it pings on the wireless company's towers.

I'm not an expert on this and not very tech savy, but we do use no-contract phones and I have bought a few of them over the years and have had to activate them as described above.

Glad to realize the stores activate or release the phone as it's purchased. I had not considered that they have to be released in order for the customer to have use of them.

I've known stores - Walmart, etc., Tesco - to activate phones for customers IF asked. However, they don't always. I've activated several purchased online, then from my home computer. However, I remember waiting in line in the electronics dept. of a local Walmart. A man in front of me had 2-3 phones and a handful of activation cards. He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket to pay for them and left.

Naturally, I've always wondered what he was up to. And hoped Walmart had cameras in that department for just that kind of customer.

 

[sunflowermomma]

It's way more likely (imo) that someone is just using WhatsApp, Kik, or another anonymous messaging app instead of buying a separate burner phone. Especially if they use websites to meet up with people.

 

[SMK777]

It's way more likely (imo) that someone is just using WhatsApp, Kik, or another anonymous messaging app instead of buying a separate burner phone. Especially if they use websites to meet up with people.

So do those apps mean that law enforcement will be unable to trace the person?

 

[Fireflye]

Possible Scenarios,
1. Meet up went wrong, an accident occurred, drug overdose, fell in water, etc
2. Meet up person intentionally killed him, or holding him hostage
3. Meet up set up to teach him a lesson
4. Was out late possibly because of meetup and was picked up by others, kidnapped or taken due to mistaken identity

 

[Shamrock1]

IF a person direct-messaged Caleb from a burner phone AND there is no vehicle (or person) visible (due to fog) on any cameras in the area... is there any possible way for LE to track/locate this unknown person??

Wouldn't a geo-fence warrant only inform LE as to where and how the phone was purchased... Or is there additional information that could be obtained?? If the burner phone purchaser paid with cash can there still be an evidence trail to follow??

Reverse search warrants are usually found unconstitutional.

Geo-fence warrant - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[SMK777]

Possible Scenarios,
1. Meet up went wrong, an accident occurred, drug overdose, fell in water, etc
2. Meet up person intentionally killed him, or holding him hostage
3. Meet up set up to teach him a lesson
4. Was out late possibly because of meetup and was picked up by others, kidnapped or taken due to mistaken identity

I believe #s 1 and 2 are the most likely. I’ve read quite a few cases over the years about hiding a dead body because the person is afraid of being held criminally liable for having supplied the drug that led to an accidental fatal overdose.

 

[Sundog]

Glad to realize the stores activate or release the phone as it's purchased. I had not considered that they have to be released in order for the customer to have use of them.

I've known stores - Walmart, etc., Tesco - to activate phones for customers IF asked. However, they don't always. I've activated several purchased online, then from my home computer. However, I remember waiting in line in the electronics dept. of a local Walmart. A man in front of me had 2-3 phones and a handful of activation cards. He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket to pay for them and left.

Naturally, I've always wondered what he was up to. And hoped Walmart had cameras in that department for just that kind of customer.

I guess it's changed, because now even if you order a phone online from Walmart, when it's delivered you have to take it to a Walmart store to be activated, you can't get it working until that is done.

 

[MassGuy]

Possible Scenarios,
1. Meet up went wrong, an accident occurred, drug overdose, fell in water, etc
2. Meet up person intentionally killed him, or holding him hostage
3. Meet up set up to teach him a lesson
4. Was out late possibly because of meetup and was picked up by others, kidnapped or taken due to mistaken identity

Out of those 4, I’m all in on #2. If he was in fact meeting with someone, there’s no reason for his phone to quickly go dark as soon as the meetup would have occurred.

He gets in the car, he’s subdued, his phone is shut off. In this scenario, he’s almost certainly no longer alive.

ETA: I absolutely hate leaning towards this scenario because it just doesn’t happen to someone with Caleb’s victimology. It’s a spectacularly rare event, and if you were to select this scenario from the outset, you’d be wrong virtually every time.

To me though, it’s the only thing that makes sense right now.

 

[Rosiebones]

Have we ever known who he was going fishing with the next day after classes? His father says he never fished alone, always with someone. Could he have agreed to meet and pick up something for his friend for the next day as a good deed and the pick-up went sideways? MOO MOO MOO

 

[SMK777]

Have we ever known who he was going fishing with the next day after classes? His father says he never fished alone, always with someone. Could he have agreed to meet and pick up something for his friend for the next day as a good deed and the pick-up went sideways? MOO MOO MOO

It’s possible. I don’t think they ever said who he planned on going with, but I think law enforcement would want to check that out, since the Dad kept mentioning it.

 

[bkgregg5]

Out of those 4, I’m all in on #2. If he was in fact meeting with someone, there’s no reason for his phone to quickly go dark as soon as the meetup would have occurred.

He gets in the car, he’s subdued, his phone is shut off. In this scenario, he’s almost certainly no longer alive.

ETA: I absolutely hate leaning towards this scenario because it just doesn’t happen to someone with Caleb’s victimology. It’s a spectacularly rare event, and if you were to select this scenario from the outset, you’d be wrong virtually every time.

To me though, it’s the only thing that makes sense right now.

I'm leaning toward this scenario as well. At this point, I would be surprised if it wasn't a meetup gone bad.

 

[SMK777]

ETA: I absolutely hate leaning towards this scenario because it just doesn’t happen to someone with Caleb’s victimology. It’s a spectacularly rare event, and if you were to select this scenario from the outset, you’d be wrong virtually every time.

I agree, especially if his phone went dark immediately. Could he have deliberately shut it down to avoid detection? What would the motive be? Some sort of <modsnip> serial killer, since robbery doesn’t seem plausible in this context?

 

[MassGuy]

I agree, especially if his phone went dark immediately. Could he have deliberately shut it down to avoid detection? What would the motive be? Some sort of <modsnip> serial killer, since robbery doesn’t seem plausible in this context?

<modsnip: quoted post was snipped>

There would be no reason for Caleb to shut his phone down unless he allowed someone to access his location. Only then would it make sense.

 

[bkgregg5]

I agree, especially if his phone went dark immediately. Could he have deliberately shut it down to avoid detection? What would the motive be? Some sort of <modsnip> serial killer, since robbery doesn’t seem plausible in this context?

He could have shut it down so his snap location wouldn't be shared.

 

[Ressler]

I agree, especially if his phone went dark immediately. Could he have deliberately shut it down to avoid detection? What would the motive be? Some sort of <modsnip> serial killer, since robbery doesn’t seem plausible in this context?

IMO, if it was a meetup scenario, I could see how the person might’ve stalked CH a little prior to the meet and CH rejects the individual. Whether it be a catfish type scenario or CH wants a casual hookup & the other wants more.

 

[SMK777]

<mossnip: quoted post was snipped>

There would be no reason for Caleb to shut his phone down unless he allowed someone to access his location. Only then would it make sense.

I think you’re right.