This story is to show that Social Media can be used for just way more than just liking your friends pictures and sharing gossips. It can be used to help in genuine life issues. Just like this case of an apparent drug murder in Colorado in 2016. A man called Devon Smeltz disappeared in August 2016, shortly after a late-night disturbance was captured on surveillance video near his home in Fort Collins. Eight days after the incident, Smeltz’s body was discovered in a rural county one hour east of the city, therefore launching an investigation by Fort Collins police.
Of course as in any criminal case there were prime suspects who were a group of five associates from Cincinnati. Shortly after Smeltz’s disappearance, the group was stopped by Illinois highway police driving a white Mercedes sedan registered to Smeltz. A subsequent search of the car turned up a loaded firearm, traces of blood, and 115 grams of cocaine. According to police interviews with friends, the group had traveled from Cincinnati to Fort Collins with roughly $60,000 in cash, intended for purchasing drugs. Smeltz’s mother had separately heard that her son was preparing to meet with “some people from Cincinnati.” This was as Police weren’t able to find any calls or texts between Smeltz and the suspects, but in an audio recording taken from one of the suspect’s phones, a voice makes reference to a “snap,” leading investigators to believe the deal was arranged over Snapchat.
It is Snapchat policy is to retain chats and user access logs for only a month, according to the company’s law enforcement guide. According to the company’s most recent transparency report, it receives roughly 370 search warrants per month and produces data for 86 percent of those requests. Thus next time someone complains that you spend too much time on the Internet, tell that you might be helping someone so