iPhone App Finds Missing Man, Georgia Tech Student James Hubert, In Baffling Disappearance: Injuries Remain Mystery

On Friday night, a Georgia Institute of Technology student named James Hubert was said to have taken a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) train home, and when he got off he was “jumped, beaten up, robbed and left for dead.”

His whereabouts from the time he got off the MARTA train until when he was found, reportedly with an iPhone app, early Monday morning, remain unaccounted for, reports USA Today. The 24-year-old is reportedly too overcome with his injuries to make sense of the time that he was missing.

His friends investigated his iPhone and tracked it to its last known ping location. Not far from that point, they found James Hubert lying on the ground, unconscious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8xZsa39CvQ

Emma Jeffery, one of Hubert’s friends said, “I thought he was gone,” of Hubert’s state when they first found him with the iPhone signal. “I can’t decide if he walked the train tracks or if he was placed there.”

USA Today reports, “Hubert was taken to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia and non-life-threatening injuries.”

WSB Radio reports, “Mrs. Hubert described her son’s injuries as including broken vertebrae, broken ribs, a broken scapula, a punctured lung, blood on the brain and paralysis on his left side, which she is hoping is temporary. Spinal surgery was planned for Wednesday.”

The USA Today report and the WSB Radio report seem to tell a somewhat different story. James Hubert has been unable to help police or his friends with any clues about what happened to him, other than vague statements.

His friend, Emma Jeffery, quoted statements Hubert was purported to have made.

“I was jumped by a homeless person.”

“I was beaten up by a group of people.”

“He was hit by a train.”

The iPhone app that the friends reportedly used is called “Find my iPhone.” The chief of the Georgia Tech Police Department, Rob Connolly, applauded the students’ vigilance.

Police also say that they have been unable to get answers from Hubert. The investigators claim to be continuing to follow information in the case, but foul play is not currently suspected.

Hubert was last seen at a formal gathering with friends before he left to take the MARTA train home. Officials with MARTA are disputing whether Hubert actually ever boarded a train to begin with and speak to the fact that they are unable to find video footage of him, when such footage would likely be available.

Danny Goldman, the president of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity spoke about how they began to become concerned about Hubert’s disappearance through the day on Saturday. Members of the fraternity reportedly started “checking everywhere” and searching through his belongings in an effort to locate their lost fraternity brother.

It was high school friends, including Emma Jeffery, that were quick-witted enough to search for Hubert with his cellphone. It would appear to be a stroke of luck that they were able to find him not too far from where he had gone missing.

Still, the question that everyone wants answered is, what happened to James Hubert for just over two days? Hubert’s case is eerily reminiscent of some of those that have been speculated to be associated with a “smiley face killers” gang, as reported by CNN.

Many supposed victims of the smiley face group were found in water. However, many were leaving parties, or had been drinking, when they disappeared. In many of the smiley face cases, it is suspected that the victims were alive for several days before being horrifyingly killed and their bodies dumped in water. The smiley fase killer theory has been perhaps partially debunked. However, elements of James Hubert’s case and the smiley face cases would seem to share similarities.

Hopefully, James Hubert is able to regain his health and will be able to answer the questions police have for him. Perhaps Hubert might have answers as to why other young men have mysteriously vanished while traveling home after night time gatherings with friends. Perhaps there is another, even more bizarre explanation.

[Feature Screenshot Courtesy Top News 1/YouTube]