How smartphone led to John McAfee's capture

(CBS News) John McAfee, the security software developer who disappeared last month in Central America, is in a Guatemalan jail cell, facing questioning in connection with a murder case.

Police in Belize call McAfee a person of interest in the murder of one of his neighbors.

John McAfee arrested in Guatemala for illegal entry

But, until a piece of cell phone technology pinpointed McAfee's location, police didn't know where he was.

McAfee's three-week run from authorities came to an end on Wednesday night when the Silicon Valley entrepreneur was detained at an upscale hotel in Guatemala City.

Asked where he was being taken Wednesday night, McAfee replied, "to jail."

With the help of Interpol, McAfee was arrested for entering the country illegally and was taken to a nearby detention center.

For almost a month, McAfee had evaded police who want to question him in the murder of one of his neighbors in Belize.

McAfee was not alone. Reporters from Vice.com joined him on his fugitive run to document McAfee's outrageous lifestyle, which now revolves around drugs, sex, and guns.

To promote its exclusive coverage, the online magazine published a smartphone picture of McAfee with Vice reporter Rocco Castoro -- and that was a mistake.

A hacker noticed the photo had been digitally embedded with precise GPS coordinates of where it was taken. McAfee was in Guatemala, just across the border from Belize.

With his cover blown, McAfee surfaced publicly to deny any involvement in his neighbor's killing, saying he only ran to escape a police witch hunt. McAfee said, "At that point, I decided I had to do something, went undercover. I am now here and I am going to speak out, and I am going to speak out big time."

McAfee made millions developing sophisticated cyber security programs that still bear his name. But, he was tripped up by a basic piece of smartphone technology.

Joel Brenner, who until 2009 was a top counterintelligence official, says unless the GPS function on your smartphone is deactivated, your location is no secret. "Most people don't realize it, but these little things carry a lot of information in them," he said. "This (phone) is a tracking device. There's no question about it and we're all carrying one now."

McAfee, who is no longer connected to the software company that bears his name, has not yet been charged in the murder. But, he remains in a Guatemala jail, and he's asking for political asylum.

For Bob Orr's full report, watch the video in the player above.