AI Service Gemini Helps Israeli Police Locate Missing Woman and Daughter in Vienna

Mali Yahilomi and her daughter Liel Yahilomi, two Israeli women who disappeared in Vienna, took extensive measures to avoid detection, including withdrawing large sums of cash, traveling between countries, and frequently changing SIM cards. Initially, their disappearance prompted serious concerns, including the possibility of nationalist motives or terrorist involvement. Friends and acquaintances with intelligence and cyber backgrounds joined a civilian effort to gather and analyze information to aid the search.

When the Israeli police's Lahav 433 unit took over the investigation, they received collected findings from these civilian contributors, which helped them quickly form a clearer picture and advance the search. A key breakthrough came from data linked to Mali’s Google Gemini artificial intelligence account, along with information from other apps she used. This digital trail provided crucial clues to the investigators.

How the authorities accessed this data remains unclear. Possible explanations include direct access to devices left behind with active accounts, forensic extraction from locked phones, or legal requests to Google for account information. There is no confirmed indication that Google was formally approached, nor that any sophisticated hacking was involved. The simplest explanation is that digital traces remained accessible on personal devices.

The civilian team continued to assist Lahav 433 throughout the investigation. Contrary to rumors, the Mossad was not involved. However, early in the case, the possibility of terrorist coercion was investigated and not dismissed outright. The combined civilian and police efforts, aided by technological clues from Gemini, were instrumental in locating the missing women.