Gardaí were able to use data stored in the satellite navigation (satnav) system of the Nissan Qashqai driven by 40-year-old builder Mark Hennessy to track the vehicle’s movements from Saturday evening. A connection between the satnav in the vehicle and three satellites has to be achieved for the locater system to operate. Data is stored for a time in the satnav records where the vehicle has been at any given time, noting the GPS co-ordinates. “To retrieve the data, all you have to do is put a UBS stick into the back of the satnav and download the information,” explained a vehicle data retrieval expert yesterday. In the urgent search for Miss Valdez, once Mr Hennessy’s vehicle could be searched, gardaí were able to download the satnav data.

Source: The Irish Times May 21, 2018 18:45 UTC