Update: The families of two Tequesta, Florida teens lost at sea have agreed to send an iPhone found in March to Apple for analysis, said the judge presiding over a lawsuit filed by the family of Perry Cohen.
The phone belonging to Austin Stephanos, the other missing teen, will be sent via FedEx to Apple, which has agreed to look at the phone to determine if information can be retrieved that leads to clues about the boys’ disappearance.
The results of the analysis will be shared with the judge, who will pass the information to each family.
Original story: Apple has agreed to a request to forensically analyze an iPhone belonging to a Tequesta teen lost at sea, the attorney for the family of Austin Stephanos said in court this afternoon.
The phone is the subject of a civil lawsuit filed by the family of the other teen, Perry Cohen, who was with Stephanos when the two disappeared. Perry Cohen's mother Pamela Cohen filed the suit against Stephanos' parents and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, seeking to have the phone examined by an impartial third party. The Stephanos family's attorney said that Stephanos mother, Carly Black, is preserving the iPhone.
The device was recovered March 18 with the boat that carried the teens out to sea.
Black agreed to send the iPhone to Apple, the manufacturer of the iPhone 6, to analyze the phone and determine if any information can be retrieved.
Black has agreed to share “any relevant information” with Cohen, the Stephanos family attorney said in court Friday.
FWC turned the phone over to the Stephanos family, despite attempts by Cohen to keep it in the hands of law enforcement.
Cohen’s attorney, Guy Rubin, said in court that Cohen is entitled as a parent to potential information about what led to the 14-year-old boys’ disappearance July 24.
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