Cell Phone GPS Tracker Helps Locate Missing Boy

Published on 06 October 2009 by Jimmy Bosch in Security News

Comments

When we think of airports in the U.S., we think of intense security checks and measures that no regular person would be able to bypass. Well this blind trust was proven wrong earlier this week when Dakota Davis, a young 14-year-old with Asperger Syndrome, was able to use his mother’s credit card to purchase an airline ticket, board the plane, and fly there, without proper identification.

But thankfully, police were able to locate Dakota before any real damage was done thanks to the GPS tracking capabilities of his cell phone. With help from AT&T, police were able to triangulate Dakota’s position in Chicago using the signal from his cell phone. AT&T used the GPS service called the “AT&T Family Map” to track Dakota all the way to the Chicago O’Hare Airport. The company also found text messages between the 14-year-old and a female girlfriend in the area. Dakota was never able to see his friend as he was caught at the baggage claim in the airport and sent on the next flight home free of charge.

(Via KOIN Local 6)

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tigers85

Is the writer of this article aware of the rule currently in place stating that minors need not show any form of identification at airport security checkpoints, or the rule that anyone over the age of 14 (it may be even younger than that) can fly by themselves (i.e. no parent or guardian necessary)?

Forcing minors to show ID at airport checkpoints would be a tough rule to implement, and I'm sure lawmakers would agree with me on in that regard. Until we figure out a way to close these loopholes, this type of incident certainly cannot be blamed on airport security. Also, who is this "regular person" you speak of? Is a 14 year-old boy now considered within the legal definition of such a person? I do not believe a minor would be considered a "regular person" in the legal context of this incident. The minor discussed in this article was in a very unique situation.

The fact that the boy was able to purchase a ticket using his mother's credit card worries me. The airline he purchased it from needs to have more stringent security measures in place to ensure that the purchaser has his or her ID compared/matched to the name on the credit card. This is a very simple measure that can go far in the realm of airline security.