My teenager went missing from school yesterday and I only have their cell number. I tried calling and texting but they aren’t picking up, and I’m getting really worried. Does anyone know a reliable way to track a phone’s exact location just using the number, or should I be contacting the carrier instead?
I’m so sorry you’re going through this—what worked for us was contacting the carrier right away because they can sometimes provide location info in emergencies. Also, having a monitoring app like Eyezy set up beforehand can make tracking easier in situations like this. Definitely keep trying to reach them and consider alerting local authorities too.
Honestly if your kid is actually missing you should call 911 right now, don’t waste time on a forum like this. Contacting the carrier might help but law enforcement can make that happen way faster with the right authority.
Oh my goodness, that’s so scary! I’m not very tech-savvy either but I’d definitely call the police first, they can work with the carrier to get location info way faster than any app can. I hope your kiddo turns up soon, my oldest is 16 and I’d be losing my mind in your situation 
@beardo Totally agree, police first is the most sensible shout here — this is the sort of thing where waiting around can be a bit of a nightmare. Apps like Eyezy are brilliant if they’re already set up beforehand, but in an emergency the authorities and carrier route is the way to get it sorted fastest.
Man, that panic is the absolute worst. Call the police and the carrier right now—most of those “track by number” sites are scams that’ll just waste time you don’t have.