Posted on 02/14/2026 7:51:40 PM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie
Fox News Digital learned authorities have used a high-tech Bluetooth scanner placed on the bottom of law enforcement helicopters to detect Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker signal.
The helicopters fly low, typically in grid patterns, at a slow pace to pick up signals.
Fox News Digital spotted one of the low-flying helicopters near Guthrie's home on Feb. 4, just three days after her disappearance.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
This is total bs. They have a better chance of picking up a signal from Voyager.
I’m skeptical that it’s possible, logic would say that something implanted inside a person’s chest would have to be low powered because anything high powered would probably disrupt normal bodily functions.
All I know for sure is my pacemaker keeps my heart beating and without it I would in serious trouble and likely 6-feet under.
A pacemaker has a transmitter power of up to 1.3 watts.
The Voyager2 probe had transmitter power of 23 watts and is still being received from 13 billion miles away.
They said these receivers being used are high tech.
EC
From what I’ve recently read max pacemaker bluetooth output is up to 1 mW(.001 watts)
I would imagine they can pick up fainter signals.
a pacemaker running does not mean she isnt dead.
Also, as far I know, the functional range of Bluetooth is less than 40 feet.
“Also, as far I know, the functional range of Bluetooth is less than 40 feet.”
That only has to do with consumer grade electronics. A receiver and antenna designed to pick up weak signals could pick up Bluetooth many miles away.
You are correct. I was just pointing out that high tech equipment has much higher range of detection. Using the Voyager probe example, 1 milliwatt would be detectable at over half a million miles. (565,227 miles)
The Bluetooth signal doesn’t hit a wall and stop at 10 feet. It keeps going.
EC
The signal can radiate infinitum if it’s not blocked. It’s the receiving device that’s key.
Sadly, I agree that's probably the truth.
My aunt had an older version of that back in 2012. The doctor would call and they could read her heart function over a landline. I’m sure it is more advanced. When I was in the hospital in 2015 I wore biometrics that allowed me to wander the hospital grounds and be continually monitored.
I’m sure that is true.
I have a Medtronics pacemaker as well, which is scheduled to be replaced this summer. I don't have a phone app though there might be one available. How do you use the information that it provides? I go in about once every 6 months and the Medtronics people read it and provide my cardiologist with about 20 pages of data.
Maybe you should get chipped, like a pet.
In reality I pay very little attention to data produced by my pacemaker.
I check to make the App on the iPhone is always running and I sleep with the phone near my bed so they’re not far apart.
About once a month I get a message on the App and from my doctor that the App has successfully transmitted data to the provider and thankfully each time the provider has sent me a response that says, the data has been reviewed, and no further action needs to be taken.
I’ve only had the pacemaker since June of 2024, not even two years.
What was the reason you had the pacemaker implanted ???
I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve and to repair an aneurysm on my ascending aorta.
The pacemaker was implanted while I was in the hospital recovering from the surgery, my heart rate dropped to 30 beats per minute, it was during a walk around the Cardiac ICU, the nurse got me back into my room quickly and turn on the temporary pacemaker that I was connected to.
An electrophysiologist came in and reviewed my situation and determined I had gone into Stage 3 heart block and the only way to fix it was implanting a pacemaker, later that day I was hauled into another surgery to have the pacemaker implanted.
Since then, I’ve felt great and workout at a gym 4-5 times a week.
Wouldn’t it be more practical to do this with a fleet of small drones rather than helicopters? Vastly cheaper, can fly lower with much less danger or noise, etc.
That’s for communication between two bluetooth devices, with low-power electronics (for long battery life) and a miniature antenna.
They were undoubtedly using a large antenna, perhaps several feet across, or an array of antennas. Also they were probably using military-grade receiver electronics that pull a lot of power from the helicopter’s electrical system. Together, those elements could be orders of magnitude more sensitive than an ordinary Bluetooth receiver.
But sensitivity means the noise gets amplified too; in this case, the “noise” includes other nearby Bluetooth devices; if they’re flying at altitude, “other nearby devices” could mean tens of thousands of others, at least in an urban or suburban environment. That’s what I’m having trouble understanding.
A pacemaker is not a star.
I found this a few minutes ago.
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-far-bluetooth-range/
Yep, they need to be running a grid over the desert.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.