A 24 year-old Georgia Tech student went missing after a sorority event in Atlanta last Friday. Thanks to his friends (and a smartphone!), he was found alive on Monday. James “Jimmy” Hubert reportedly left the party after 11 p.m. with his date’s iPhone in the pocket of his jacket, and wasn’t seen for more than 48 hours after that. According to USA Today, the police were set to resume their search at 10 a.m. on Monday, but Hubert’s friends were too worried to wait.
Emma Jeffery, who went to high school with Hubert, had the brilliant idea of using the Find my iPhone function on his date’s phone to locate him. The app led Jeffery and Alexandria Vandelinde, also a former classmate, to railroad tracks seven miles away from the party.
“We got out of the car, then we jumped over two train tracks and walked,” Jeffery told USA Today. “We walked about 10 minutes past where the ping was. We were about to turn around, which is when I said, ‘Is that a person?'” Jeffery originally thought her friend wasn’t alive, but Vandelinde called his name and he woke up.
Jeffery and Vandelinde had been alerted by Hubert’s Phi Delta Theta brothers, who noticed the disappearance on Saturday. The fraternity helped organize the search party by posting about it on its Facebook page.
There will be a search party meeting at the Georgia Tech Police Department tomorrow morning at 10am, to continue the…
Posted by Phi Delta Theta at Georgia Tech on Sunday, October 18, 2015
Later, the chapter announced that Hubert, the vice-president of Phi Delta Theta, had been found.
WE FOUND HIM. JIMMY IS ALIVE AND NOT IN CRITICAL CONDITION. He is on route to hospital
Posted by Phi Delta Theta at Georgia Tech on Monday, October 19, 2015
It’s still not clear what happened, but Jeffery thinks Hubert was probably mugged. He needed treatment for hypothermia and other injuries.
According to his mother, Hubert suffered serious injuries, including partial paralysis, bleeding and several broken bones. He underwent surgery on Wednesday and has received tons of support from friends and family.
UPDATE: Just heard from the surgeon Jimmy made it through surgery with flying colors.
Posted by Phi Delta Theta at Georgia Tech on Wednesday, October 21, 2015
While the police continues to investigate, we wish the student a quick recovery. What happened to him was horrible, but we’re glad he has such a strong support system to help him through this difficult time.