Google Street View helped solve the case of a missing person in Spain through a random photo

An image taken by a Google Street View vehicle helped the Spanish national police find two people who were recently arrested in a missing person case last year, UNN reports citing the New York Times.

Details 

A regular Google Street View image  shows a man loading a white bag into the trunk of a car.

But this ordinary photo became one of the clues that helped them find two people who had recently been arrested in a case involving a man who disappeared last year.

Spain's National Police reported that police detained a woman identified as the partner of a man who disappeared in the province of Soria in the north of the country, along with a man who they said was also the woman's partner.

The woman and man were detained last month in two locations in the province. Investigators later found human remains that they believe may have belonged to the missing man. 

Police described the pair as "the alleged perpetrators of a crime of illegal detention" and said they would be charged with the victim's disappearance and death.

Among the clues that investigators had to solve the crime, although they were not necessarily decisive, were some images they found during their investigation on Google Maps. This was reported by the police.

The disappearance of the man became known in November 2023 from a relative of the missing person. He told the police that they had been in regular contact by phone. After a period of silence, the relative began receiving suspicious messages from the man's phone number. The messages claimed that he had met a woman and moved from Soria. The applicant suspected that the messages were sent by the man who had not disappeared, so he decided to contact the police.

According to police, investigators focused on two people who were eventually arrested, and authorities received permission to search their homes and visually inspect their cars.

Police did not specify when investigators received the image taken by Google or whether they found the suspect using the publicly available Google Maps search tool known as Street View.

Google did not immediately respond to the request for information.

After the arrest of the two, investigators focused on finding the missing man, police said, which led to the discovery of a human torso that was buried in a cemetery in Soria. Police said the remains were handed over to a team of forensic experts.

Addendum

This is not the first time Google Maps has helped criminal investigators solve a case. In 2022, the Italian authorities used Google Maps and Street View to help them track down a Sicilian man who had been convicted of murder and was on Italy's most wanted list. He was also found in Spain.

While Google Maps has played a role in helping law enforcement solve crimes, the company's camera-equipped Street View cars have also raised privacy concerns and angered some people.