A trail camera helped find Vance Boelter. Here’s what they’re typically used for and how they work.

A trail camera — a small, battery-operated camera marketed to hunters to track wildlife movements — likely helped authorities find suspected shooter Vance Boelter on Sunday.

Modern trail cameras can transmit images instantaneously to an owner’s cellphone even when the camera is out of Wi-Fi range.

Brian Smith, an outdoor industry marketing agency owner, said such cellular-linked cameras are popular in rural areas not only for hunting, but also increasingly for property security and surveillance.

“In the past five years it has really, really become a big thing,” said Smith, who works with manufacturers and retailers in southeastern Minnesota and across the country as owner of STUBZmedia.

Smith said common setups coordinate a user’s camera to his or her phone via various apps. For a monthly fee, camera owners can buy an app that connects their camera to the best available cellular service. A $5-a-month app will collect and store as many as 250 high-resolution, motion-activated images on a phone, Smith said. For $13 a month, an app would provide unlimited images, including videos. Users can choose to receive phone alerts of new images in any interval they desire.

“You can set your app to notify you that such and such camera just got an image,” he said. “You click on the app and you can see the photo instantly.”

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who had SWAT officers and deputies deployed to the area of Boelter’s arrest, said that around 7 p.m. Sunday a Sibley County resident reported that their trail camera captured an image that “was consistent with Boelter.”

SWAT teams were sent to the area, and eventually arrested Boelter without incident.

Smith said advances in battery options have helped raise the popularity of trail cams. For instance, a battery belt paired with a well-positioned solar panel would allow the camera to operate hands-free year-round.

“There’s some crazy technology available out there and for what it does, it’s pretty affordable,” he said. For about $200, consumers this year can buy a premium camera with the latest technology, Smith said.

Even if someone with bad intentions sees a camera and destroys it, any photos taken before or during the theft will be saved to the app, Smith said. If the camera is removed by someone and its batteries removed, a backup battery will power the camera to emit a GPS location signal.