Relatives of the 86-year-old mountaineer killed in Gorbeia angry at the judge's decision not to allow geolocation

On Wednesday night, the 86-year-old man who had been missingsince Tuesday in the Gorbea  was found dead. The experienced Alavés mountaineer was located by a Ertzaintza helicopter in a rugged area. The judge did not agree to his geolocation, but his cell phone was still giving the signal.

The controversy has arisen because sources of the search device claim that in other similar cases the geolocation of the mobile phone has been authorized judicially.

The judicial decision to deny this measure has caused angerboth among family members and in the search device itself, which had been tracking Gorbeia Park since early morning to locate the man.

The family explained to the Ertzaintza that the missing person's mobile phone was still giving the signal, but no onewas answering the calls.

Sources of the device have indicated that in similar cases this permit has been authorized, which significantly facilitates tracing. In this case, the court decision was takenaround 3 p.m. , which was the opposite, making the search difficult, since the mobile signal did not allow the area to be restricted.

Iñaki Pariente de Prada,a lawyer specializing in new technologies  and expert in data management and protection, explains on Boulevard de Radio Euskadi that the European Data Protection Directive allows telephone companies to request geolocation directly in case of emergency.

For Pariente de Prada, at a time when the digital world is invading us, whoever makes the decision, whether it be judges or companies, "should not be so strict and have proportionality." "Moreover, considering that they can have us located through applications like Google Maps," he added.

However, the expert has acknowledged that this has happened before, and has therefore called for protocols "to enable the police to act quickly in very limited circumstances".