How tracking app helped solve Pheobe Bishop alleged murder, detects crashes

Tracking tech is playing a role in these high-profile police probes and speeding up emergency response, but an expert warns it’s not without risk. SPECIAL REPORT.

The Life360 app has played a big role in the Pheobe Bishop case.

From the alleged murder of Pheobe Bishop to the mystery death of a young Noosa man in Bali, a popular albeit controversial tracking app is increasingly emerging as a common theme in high profile investigations and stories.

So crucial was the Life360 app in pinpointing 17-year-old Pheobe’s last known location and what allegedly happened to the phone in the moments after, that the teenager’s mother has urged every parent to download it. 

The evolution of tracking has allowed parents to keep tabs on their children and grabbed the attention of caregivers due to its ability to track phone locations through its smartphone application or triangulate the position of objects marked with Tile, a tracking device similar to Apple’s AirTag.

Created in the US in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a major point of difference is that it can be used across multiple devices and brands, unlike Apple’s Find My features, which only works with Apple products on the same iCloud account.

Here’s how it’s been used in recent tragedies and a near-miss why an expert says the pros and cons “overlap”.

WHY APP WAS CRUCIAL IN FINDING PHEOBE

Pheobe Bishop's mother Kylie Johnson speaking and sister Kaylea Bishop on right at a vigil for Pheobe. Picture: NewsWire / Paul Beutel

A ping on the Life360 app was the smoking gun which alerted Pheobe’s family and police that something was terribly wrong.

It also gave them the last location it was used before being allegedly manually switched off – not because it ran out of battery.

“It last pinged at the airport then phone was switched off,” Ms Johnson told this publication.

“The phone was fully charged”

Without the app, Ms Johnson believes she might still not have at least some of the answers about where her daughter had been before her remains were discovered in the Good Night Scrub National Park three weeks later.

Speaking about the recent candlelight vigil held for Pheobe, Bundaberg Mayor Helen Blackburn reiterated the message for parents to download the app.

Kylie Johnson and her daughter, Pheobe Bishop

“Kylie said if there was one message she could get out to parents of children, if they’ve got a mobile phone, if they could get this app (Life360) it allows parents to know where they are and that they’re kids are safe and that has been such assistance in this process,” Ms Blackburn said.

Pheobe Bishop’s two housemates that she was living with at the time of her disappearance, Tanika Bromley and James Wood, have both been charged with murder and two counts of interfering with a corpse.

They have not entered any pleas.

PARENTS KNEW SON WAS IN TROUBLE IN BALI BEFORE COPS

Robbie and Chantal Haddow are grieving their son Byron Haddow, 23, as questions remain over what caused his death. Picture: Patrick Woods.

On the Sunshine Coast, grieving mum Chantal Haddow also shared this week how a look at the Life360 app while her son was travelling in Bali had her worried hours before her worst fears came true.

 Noosa FIFO worker Byron Haddow, 23, died on May 26 in the Indonesian island paradise and, as his family waited for his body to be returned to Australia, Mrs Haddow reflected on the sense of dread she’d felt.

She’d checked the Life360 app and saw his phone went uncharged throughout the day and he had not left the Balinese villa which was completely out of character

Byron Haddow tragically died while on holiday in Bali on Monday, May 26.

Husband Robbie Haddow recounted the last interactions between his wife and their son.

“Chantal being Chantal wanted to hear his voice and make sure he’s okay,” the grieving dad said.

“The last text he says, ‘I’m all right, Mum, I’m still alive’.”

But the app told them something wasn’t right and that night, back in Australia, police officers arrived at their door to deliver the tragic news.

An investigation into the cause of Mr Haddow’s death is ongoing.

DETECTION FEATURE KEY AFTER APPRENTICE’S COW CRASH

The young 18-year-old driver in the hands of paramedics after crashing his ute into a cow and rolling off the Bruce Highway in Alligator Creek on June 11, 2025

Life360’s premium subscription includes additional features to its base version, including crash detection, an attribute that may have helped save a young Sarina man’s life.

As reported this month, the 18-year-old was driving home at 100km/h when he crashed into a cow that had escaped from its paddock.

“As the cow came up and I hit it, I lost all visibility because of the airbags,” he said.

The extent of damage after the large ute crashed and rolled off the Hwy.

Police, paramedics and family members were alerted to the emergency thanks to Life360, after the crash detection feature rang everybody in his family circle.

Scans later revealed he suffered a fractured L4 vertebrae which would put him in a back brace for up to six to 12 weeks before rehab begins, but the family dreaded to think what could have happened if he’d remained on the remote road alone for hours.

TRACKING APP BENEFITS ‘OVERLAP’ WITH RISKS SAYS EXPERT

USC Computer Science Lecturer Dr Erica Mealy.

For Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast Dr Erica Mealy, the evolution of tracking apps is proving useful for many families but is not without its sinister side.

“The list of pros and cons overlap,” Dr Mealy said.

“In a healthy family environment, they can give you assurances of where people are and they can help us get help to emergency situations faster.

“By the same token, if nefarious actors get access to that, that creates a lot more of a problem.”

Data storage was also a risk to be aware of after Life360 Inc. suffered two data breaches in June, 2024.

These breaches resulted in the exposure of names addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and device IDs.

Dr Mealy cited instances in America where Tile and Life360 had been used for stealing cars and stalking women.

In February, this publication revealed Queensland child predator Christopher Paul Wakefield had become so infatuated with a boy, he’d installed the tracking app on his phone to follow his movements.

Dr Mealy warned tracking apps were also being used as a form of domestic abuse and families who uses tracking apps should base their principles on “respect and understanding”.

“It’s not a given that a partner should have to share their location,” she said.

“There have been cases of situations where tracking has been used to implement coercive control.

“It’s a very grey area. How do we keep our kids safe but also empower them to turn it off when they need to?

“While these technologies give us certainty as the person who’s watching, perhaps it’s a bit invasive of the person who is being watched.”

Speaking about the recent criminal investigations where Life360 had been highlighted Dr Mealy believed it still wasn’t of great benefit to police in all situations.

“The people that we probably want to be able to track like this are probably not the people who are going to have these turned on,” she said.

“For missing persons (however) and being able to locate them faster it would hopefully make for a better outcome.

“There is space for these apps being helpful, but we just have to be mindful in who has this information.”

Originally published as How tracking app helped solve Pheobe Bishop alleged murder, detects crashes