A smartphone app was being credited with helping to save the life of a Northern California crash victim who had been missing for 17 hours, according to a report.
Melissa Vasquez, 28, was driving along a road in the San Jose area on Monday when her Chevy Cruze somehow veered off the road and tumbled 500 feet down a ravine, according to CNN-affiliate KGO.
A search party was formed Monday afternoon, but rescuers were unable to locate her.
One tech-savvy officer obtained Vasquez’s iPad from her family and used it to active her “Find My iPhone” app, the television station reported.
But before he could access the app, David Cameron of the Campbell Police Department had to crack her iPad pass codes. He was successfully able to on the third attempt.
“I made an educated guess based on a series of common numbers people use for passwords and on the third attempt I was able to get in,” he explained to the station.
A short time later, at around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, officers found the Chevy Cruze. They were then able to locate Vasquez, who had been ejected from vehicle.
Vasquez sustained serious injuries to her legs and abdomen and was airlifted to a hospital, according to the station. She was last reported to be in stable condition.
Cameron said he planned to visit her in a few days.
“I think somebody was looking out for her. Things fell in place and had those things not fallen in place, it could have been a totally different story,” Cameron told KGO.
