Back about 10 years ago, When I lived in the bush. Our cat left one night & didn't return for 5 weeks!
We waited & waited, finally were ready to replace her & She came back

Were We lived there were only 5 families that lived out there year round, So I'm pretty sure no one took Her in.
I don't know were She was or how She found her way back, you would think with fox's & wolves she wouldn't have been able to survive for that long in the bush. But She Did
When we got the new Cat we have now, the vet asked if we wanted to chip her.
I asked if I would be able to track Her with an app or some thing?
The vet said no, just to identify Her if the dog catcher brought Her in

I said that was not worth it, it would be nice if a tracking chip could be used with GPS or even a phone app.