Apple to Help Unlock iPhone of Youth Lost at Sea

[Maura]

AppleInsider reports that 8 months after two teenagers from Florida went missing during a fishing trip, Apple has offered to help recover data from an iPhone that was recently found on the boat where the boys were last seen.

The iPhone 6 that belonged to missing 14-year-old Austin Stephanos was found in a fishing boat that was located 100 miles off the Bermuda coast in March. The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has now confirmed that this is the boat that Austin and his friend, Perry Cohen, were in when they disappeared off the coast of Florida.

Austin’s father, Blu Stephanos, told ABC News that Apple has been in touch and “seems to be willing to help us try to get the phone operational again. That would be the first order of business, since Austin’s phone has been submerged in salt water for over eight months.”

Austin’s family is hoping that the iPhone might provide some clues as to exactly what happened to the two boys, or might even contain a final message left by them.

“Every IT professional that I’ve contacted warned me that there is a very, very slim chance that anything can be recovered from this phone…but I’m not giving up hope,” said Stephanos.

Source: Apple 'seems willing' to help repair, access iPhone of teen lost at sea