Blue-tooth mobile messages to be sent out in hunt for Rhys Jones killer

Oct 29 2007

NEW mobile phone technology is to be used by detectives in the Rhys Jones murder case to help trace potentially vital witnesses to the shooting.

Merseyside Police is the first force in the country to use a device which will transmit Bluetooth messages to all Bluetooth enabled phones with in a 100m radius at a rate of 21 messages every four seconds.

As a trial of the groundbreaking technology, the transmitter will be based in a police car patrolling the Croxteth and Croxteth Park area appealing for both a woman who was seen driving a red car in the area at the time and a teenager to come forward.

Detectives said if the appeals were not successful, they will then use the transmitter at sporting events and in the city centre to target as many members of the public as possible.

They also hope that the technology, supplied currently for free from Manchester-based company GR Technology, will in the future will be used in other police investigations - particularly in the search for missing people.

The Senior Investigating Officer in the Rhys Jones case, Det Supt Dave Kelly, said: “The investigation is continuing to progress in a positive direction but there are still some appeal points we would like to make.

“These appeals could provide information which is vital to our investigation and we are trialing this new technology to see if it can reach new people.

“We need to appeal to as large an audience as possible and will leave no stone unturned in this investigation.

“We just hope that people who receive this message will open it, read it and then forward it on to as many other people as possible.

“We still believe that the woman in the red car saw something significant and has not come forward either for personal reasons or because the message that we need to speak to her has not reached her yet.

“We will use what ever means we can to progress this investigation.”

Officers have also arranged for an advertising board to be placed at the entrance to Oak Lane, appealing for the driver of the red car to contact police.

The woman police would like to speak to had an empty child seat in car at the time of the incident.

l Anyone with any information is asked to contact Merseyside Police’s Major Incident Room on 0151 777 8722 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.