New Bill Proposes Phone Tracking To Find Missing Persons
The government is trying to pass a new bill obligating cell phone companies such as Verizon to give up the location of their customers if that customer is in danger of harm or death.
An example of how this can save lives can be shown in the context of the Kelsey Smith murder case. The 18-year-old Kansas girl was kidnapped in 2007 where she was found dead four days later. During these four days, authorities were battling with her cell phone carrier, trying to get them to release her GPS location. When Verizon finally released the ping data from her phone, it took the police only 45 minutes to locate the body. If this bill was in effect back then, Kelsey Smith could have been found much sooner. Unlocking a victim’s cell phone to allow authorities to find their GPS location could conceivably help find missing persons more effectively and possibly help save lives.
(Via Wired)
