Apple has been unable to recover any data from the iPhone belonging to the teen who went missing last summer, the Sun Sentinel reports. Fourteen-year-old boys Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen went missing at sea last summer, with no clues as to their fate until this past March, when their capsized vessel was discovered by a Norwegian supply ship, with some of their belongings, including Austin’s iPhone, still on board.
Apple offered to help recover data from the iPhone when approached, but with the device having been submerged in salt water for over eight months, the chances of recovering any information were considered to be slim from the very beginning.
The attorney for Austin’s father, Blu Stephanos’, advised his client earlier this week after speaking to Apple representatives that the phone couldn’t be restored by Apple engineers, and said in a statement that the news was “devastating” to his client. Pamela Cohen, the mother of the other teen, Perry, said in a statement that Apple had noted that there were other experts who might have more success in extracting data from the iPhone, and that Apple would be willing to hand the iPhone over to experts if the families can come to an agreement — the topic triggered a brief court dispute between the families last week, although the families ultimately agreed to give Apple a chance to recover the data from the iPhone before discussing any further action.
.
