Bluetooth · Missing Persons · Humanity
BLEACORN turns every smartphone into a silent search tool. When someone with a medical device goes missing, your phone helps find them — without you doing anything.
How It Works
Rewards
You won't even know it happened. If your phone detects a signal, it silently reports the location to authorities. You go about your day. If your detection leads to bringing someone home, the posted reward may be shared with you. Just register your device in the app with your name and phone so we can reach you.
BLEACORN does not determine or guarantee rewards. Eligibility is decided by the reward poster and applicable law.
Our Mission
"While helicopters search one spot,
millions of phones can search everywhere."
BLEACORN was inspired by watching search efforts for missing persons rely on expensive, limited resources — while millions of Bluetooth-enabled smartphones sat idle in people's pockets.
Modern pacemakers, glucose monitors, and other medical devices broadcast Bluetooth signals continuously — 24 hours a day, for up to 15 years. BLEACORN turns every phone into a passive detector for those signals, building a crowd-sourced search network that grows with every install.
This is not a commercial product. There are no ads, no subscriptions, no data sold. BLEACORN exists for one reason: to help families find their loved ones.
SUBMIT A CASE
About
In February 2026, the FBI mounted a signal sniffer1 on a helicopter and flew low and slow over Tucson, Arizona, trying to detect Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker. The technology worked in principle. The problem was coverage. A helicopter can only be in one place at a time, and a pacemaker's BLE signal only reaches a few dozen feet. Meanwhile, thousands of people were going about their day — driving to work, stopping for coffee, hiking, running errands — within range of wherever Nancy was. They just didn't know to listen. BLEACORN makes every one of those people part of the search, without asking them to do anything differently.
The insight is simple: modern pacemakers and neurostimulators emit Bluetooth Low Energy signals every few minutes, around the clock, for the lifetime of the device (typically 10 to 15 years). These signals are detectable by any standard smartphone within range. An estimated 3,000+ missing persons cases per year in the U.S. involve someone carrying a BLE-enabled medical device.2
BLEACORN builds a passive, crowd-sourced detection network from those phones. When someone with the app passes within range of a target signal, the GPS coordinates are silently reported to authorities. The person with the app doesn't need to do anything, just live their life.
The name comes from Bluetooth Low Energy + Acorn — the small thing that becomes something mighty. And it sounds like Beacon. Because that's what every phone with BLEACORN installed becomes: a beacon for humanity.
BLEACORN is a public safety initiative. There are no ads, no subscriptions, and no personal data is ever sold or shared. Detection reports contain only an anonymous identifier, GPS coordinates, and the matched signal, nothing that identifies the reporting phone's owner.
1 A signal sniffer is a portable radio detection device that scans for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmissions. In the Nancy Guthrie case (Tucson, AZ, 2026), the FBI mounted one on a helicopter to sweep for her pacemaker's signal. A pacemaker's native BLE range is roughly 10–15 feet — extendable to several hundred feet with amplifiers and high-gain antennas, but still limited by body tissue attenuation and physical terrain. Notably, the signal is weakest directly above and below the implant, and strongest at roughly the same horizontal plane — the exact range where a passing pedestrian, driver, or shopper would be.
2 Estimate based on: approximately 61.2 million Americans age 65+ (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024); pacemaker prevalence of roughly 3 per 1,000 adults, rising sharply with age (NIH/PMC, 2025); over 3.5 million Americans living with implanted cardiac rhythm devices (U.S. Pacemakers Market Analysis, 2025); approximately 600,000 missing persons reports filed annually (FBI NCIC, 2024); and BLE-enabled pacemakers entering the market starting in 2018-2019 via Medtronic (BlueSync/Azure) and 2020 via Abbott (Gallant). Younger pacemaker recipients and neurostimulator patients increase the addressable population beyond the 65+ demographic alone. Full methodology: 3-4% pacemaker prevalence among 65+ population, applied to estimated annual elderly missing persons cases, adjusted upward to include younger device carriers.
Contact
For case submissions, use Submit a Case in the menu. For press inquiries or partnerships:
[email protected]
Last updated: March 2026
BLEACORN collects only the minimum data necessary to operate. When the app detects a matching BLE signal, it reports: the matched signal identifier, GPS coordinates at the time of detection, signal strength (RSSI), and a non-identifiable app installation ID.
We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, or any other personal identifying information.
Detection data is transmitted securely to our servers and made available only to authorized law enforcement personnel investigating the relevant missing persons case. Detection data is automatically deleted 90 days after a case is closed.
We never sell, rent, or share data with advertisers, data brokers, or any third party for commercial purposes.
BLEACORN requests "Always On" location permission so it can report detection coordinates when your phone is in your pocket and the app is in the background. Location data is only captured at the moment a matching signal is detected — we do not track or store your continuous location.
BLEACORN scans for Bluetooth Low Energy signals. It does not connect to, read data from, or interact with any detected devices. It only checks whether a detected signal's identifier matches a registered missing persons case.
All data is transmitted using HTTPS encryption. Detection reports are stored on secured servers with access restricted to authorized law enforcement personnel only.
Since we do not collect personal identifying information, there is no personal profile to delete. If you wish to stop contributing to the network, simply delete the app.
Privacy questions: [email protected]
Last updated: March 2026
By downloading and using BLEACORN, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, do not use the app.
BLEACORN is a public safety tool designed to assist in locating missing persons who have Bluetooth-enabled medical devices. It is not intended for any other purpose.
You agree not to attempt to reverse engineer, modify, or misuse the BLEACORN app or its detection network. You agree not to submit false or fraudulent missing persons cases.
BLEACORN users are not notified when a signal match occurs. All detection data is reported directly to law enforcement.
BLEACORN is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not guarantee that the app will detect any specific signal, or that detections will result in the recovery of a missing person. BLE detection range varies significantly based on environment, device, and interference.
Where a family has posted a reward for information leading to recovery, BLEACORN facilitates but does not guarantee reward distribution. Reward eligibility is determined by the posting family and applicable law.
BLEACORN and its operators shall not be liable for any damages arising from use or inability to use the app, including but not limited to failure to detect a signal, inaccurate GPS coordinates, or delayed transmission.
Legal questions: [email protected]