TheVat
Valued Senior Member
First let me acknowledge that most kidnap victims aren't the mother of a celebrity and are not getting the media or law enforcement attention which Nancy Guthrie is. That's not right. But until we create the perfect world, I'm using the Guthrie kidnapping as my example.
Basically, we have an 84 year old woman with a pacemaker which sends signals out on the Medical Implant Communication Service Band. Pacemakers transmit data via low-power radio signals (often 402–405 MHz MICS band) to a nearby bedside monitor, typically with a maximum range of up to 50 feet. These signals are designed for short-range communication, such as downloading data to a home monitor or an in-clinic device, and do not transmit over long distances.
So here's an idea, when the investigation reaches a point where they know the area she might most likely be held. Say it's Tucson, area 240 sm. Now let's say that law enforcement can rule out some neighborhoods as likely locations for a kidnapper's holding place, get it down to 100 sm. So I get an estimate that a fast drone could do a low search flyover of a square mile in 4-12 hours. It would whiz along just a few feet over rooftops ) to be within that 50 foot range) with an MICS receiver onboard and a way to log the device ID codes it detects.
So (taking the conservative estimate, 12 hours), we would need 1200 drone-hours, say a team of 20 drones searching for 60 hours. Let's round up to three days.
Practical problems
Expense. This cost would be less per mission if this became a widely
used method involving a dedicated drone team with MICS receivers.
Public knowledge. If such a method is known to the public, then kidnappers of victims with medical implants could try to sequester them in rooms with Faraday shielding. I am unsure how difficult that would be for MICS frequencies.
Privacy considerations. Possibly MICS receivers for this purpose would have to be programmed ignore all pings from non-target devices? Or somehow anonymize all logged device codes except the victim's?
Geographical evasion. If the proposed system is known, then kidnappers might turn to more remote locations, less likely to be on a search grid. However, unusual activity is generally more noticeable in such locations (the "small town effect" where everyone notices a stranger, or an out-of-county license plate), so that could be some compensation.
Anyway, I welcome any shredding or suggestions on this. The basic idea, that a drone team could scan a small/medium city in just a few days, seems worth looking at, especially in light of the huge numbers of people [ETA Nope, not that huge, my erroneous assumption corrected in next post] with medical implants and how easily drones can pass within broadcast range of such devices.
Basically, we have an 84 year old woman with a pacemaker which sends signals out on the Medical Implant Communication Service Band. Pacemakers transmit data via low-power radio signals (often 402–405 MHz MICS band) to a nearby bedside monitor, typically with a maximum range of up to 50 feet. These signals are designed for short-range communication, such as downloading data to a home monitor or an in-clinic device, and do not transmit over long distances.
So here's an idea, when the investigation reaches a point where they know the area she might most likely be held. Say it's Tucson, area 240 sm. Now let's say that law enforcement can rule out some neighborhoods as likely locations for a kidnapper's holding place, get it down to 100 sm. So I get an estimate that a fast drone could do a low search flyover of a square mile in 4-12 hours. It would whiz along just a few feet over rooftops ) to be within that 50 foot range) with an MICS receiver onboard and a way to log the device ID codes it detects.
So (taking the conservative estimate, 12 hours), we would need 1200 drone-hours, say a team of 20 drones searching for 60 hours. Let's round up to three days.
Practical problems
Expense. This cost would be less per mission if this became a widely
used method involving a dedicated drone team with MICS receivers.
Public knowledge. If such a method is known to the public, then kidnappers of victims with medical implants could try to sequester them in rooms with Faraday shielding. I am unsure how difficult that would be for MICS frequencies.
Privacy considerations. Possibly MICS receivers for this purpose would have to be programmed ignore all pings from non-target devices? Or somehow anonymize all logged device codes except the victim's?
Geographical evasion. If the proposed system is known, then kidnappers might turn to more remote locations, less likely to be on a search grid. However, unusual activity is generally more noticeable in such locations (the "small town effect" where everyone notices a stranger, or an out-of-county license plate), so that could be some compensation.
Anyway, I welcome any shredding or suggestions on this. The basic idea, that a drone team could scan a small/medium city in just a few days, seems worth looking at, especially in light of the huge numbers of people [ETA Nope, not that huge, my erroneous assumption corrected in next post] with medical implants and how easily drones can pass within broadcast range of such devices.
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