Authorities handling the case of Jennifer Huston said mobile phones with longer battery lives can save someone in peril.

Huston, a mother of two from Oregon, has been missing since July 25.

James Tagg, Chief technology officer of mobile network Truphone, said that if a phone has a longer battery life and the owner goes missing, there's a higher chance the owner will be located.

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Authorities said that if a mobile phone's battery's dies, it becomes very hard to locate the device despite cellphone technologies that aim to quickly find people.

John Minor, a communication expert, said they're now in the race against time. He said that once a battery is exhausted, they'll be unable to track the phone.

According to reports, Huston was last seen in a gas station in the Portland suburb in Newberg last July 24.

Capt. Jeff Kosmicki from the Newberg-Dundee Police Department said that Huston's phone was last pinged at a cellphone tower north of the gas station.

After that at 6:35 pm her phone shut down. POlice can't determine whether the victim's phone battery died or if the phone was turned off.

Tagg said there are a number of ways for networks to locate a missing person through GPS tracking and WiFi connections despite the phone being turned off.

He said that GPS technology is useful, especially when combined with cell tower triangulation.

Tagg said that WiFi access points are mapped out to precise grid references that can be requested through an application on one's handset.

He also noted that if a phone's battery is dead, the owner can still be tracked down using Near Field Communication, a technology commonly used for mobile payments.