Apple Can't Get Data From Missing Boater's iPhone

Mom of other missing teen wants to hand it over to other experts
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2016 2:14 PM CDT
Apple Can't Get Data From Missing Boater's iPhone
This file combination made from photos provided by the US Coast Guard shows Perry Cohen, left, and Austin Stephanos.   (U.S. Coast Guard via AP, File)

Bad news for the parents of the two Florida teenage boys who disappeared while boating last summer: Apple can't get into the iPhone 6 belonging to one of the boys to retrieve the data it might hold inside, NBC reports. "Unfortunately, Austin's iPhone could not be restored to working order," says the father of Austin Stephanos, 14, who went missing along with Perry Cohen, also 14. The phone, which belonged to Austin but which was used by both teens, was found in the boys' boat after the vessel was discovered off the coast of Bermuda in March. The families turned it over to Apple, but it had no case and could very well have been waterlogged for months.

But Perry's mother isn't giving up hope that the phone can be useful, the Sun Sentinel reports: In her own statement, she says that Apple told her there are other experts who may be able to get in, and she wants to turn the phone over to them next. It's not clear whether Austin's family will agree; in his statement, Austin's dad says he plans to keep the phone as a memento of his son. As the AP reports, the families have clashed multiple times in the past. The Cohens took the Stephanoses to court after the phone was initially discovered to ensure it would be preserved properly, and they also asked the Stephanoses not to use Perry's name or likeness in fundraising efforts for their new foundation. (More missing boater stories.)

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