Don't you need a subpoena for cell tower tracking/call records? I could see why Verizon would be stingy if they didn't have a subpoena (if something like this requires one). If it wasn't needed, it was a little cold of them to wait so long.

I'm sure some paperwork and an approval and confirmation process is required. I mean, what if I'm an abusive boyfriend and I call up Verizon asking for location of my girlfriend. Are there standard forms to fill out for this? If I say I'm Sheriff Coltrane from Hazzard County, will that suffice? Is Verizon supposed to just hand that stuff over?

@Jonbo298: I can't. As the article points out: "Verizon, which has no problem helping the government spy on its customers [without a warrant], suddenly turned stupid in June..." I added the implied bracketed part.

@Jonbo298: A subpoena isn't required. The purpose of a subpoena is to compel discovery that the target of the subpoena initially refuses. For something like this, where there's an abduction caught on tape, the FBI is involved, etc. Verizon should have dropped everything and provided the necessary information as quickly as possible. Their corporate policy for issues like kidnappings/abductions where they're contacted directly by the police/FBI during an active search should be to provide the location information immediately.

@testsicles: "Is Verizon supposed to just hand that stuff over?"

I assume they would to confirmed law enforcement.

Clearly the sheriff department has never read The Consumerist. If they had, they would have launched an EECB and gotten this resolved in a matter of hours.

I do wonder how a different cell provider would have acted...

@testsicles: If the police properly identify themselves and they have an open abduction case absolutely. It's not like it was a casual call they had a widespread police search happening and were seeking assistance.

They have provided this information when needed in the past - that family who was lost in the Rockies was saved by a particularly dedicated technician who managed to track down a location based on their attempts to get a signal to call for help.

I would say in this case - Boo Verizon.

I live in KC where this all went down, the news of the city is this guy got life in jail, no chance for appeals, nothing. They were seeking the death penalty, but apparently Kelsey had a conversation with friends, not supporting the death penalty.

@snoop-blog:

In the video they say that Sprint says they would of had the info in an hour.

Sprint also donated $10,000 to the reward fund and supplied the family with phones.

This is so wrong, I really hope Verizon gets slammed with an obstruction of justice charge.

@Nick1693: But there must be some level of documentation that a corporation must do before they can confirm that. How can it be done over the telephone? I would imagine a police officer at a local Verizon retail store would be pointless. You'd need police officers at some Verizon HQ, speaking with someone in authority.

@Moonshadows: I hear you, they should definitely acted quicker. But I was just wondering what situation would yield common sense confirmation that this is a proper course of action. Surely it's not a police officer on the telephone. And surely it can't be done at a local Verizon retail point. I'm just trying to figure out what the quickest way to get action would be. It sounds like the law enforcement agents in this case went through the 1-800 number. That's the long way as it starts at the very bottom of the chain.

On the plus side, Verizon has probably already sent the family's account to collections and reported them to credit bureaus.

@godai: Good to know, as Sprint is my service provider, though, I hope I'll never need this kind of service from them.

Vile. That's all I can say. It's up there (or worse) with not letting a customer use the phone to call 911. They will probably claim that this was simply a training issue. What dirtbags.

Yeah, I realize they have to be tough to combat fraud, and all, but if I ever get abducted on camera and the police are yelling at sprint, I hope they find me asap.

Then again, unless the police know the consumerist hotline, I would probably be bleached white bones by the time they got a live person :)

Having a police department asking for the information is not enough. They should have had a Judge subpoena Verizons' legal department. The failure of Verizon to timely assist the authorities in the location may have doomed Kelsey Smith. Verizon will certainly be sued, but how do you put a price on such negligence? What is a human life worth to Verizon? Apparently, not much. Shame on you Verizon, your lack of effort shows your true colors.

I live in the KC area also and I doubt Sprint would have had the info in an hour. This same company has the worst network coverage of all the providers and IN THEIR HOME TOWN! The odds are that they wouldn't have been able to find the signal from her phone at all.

@Jonbo298: I believe there is something called 'exigent circumstance' when it comes to protecting human life, such as in the case of a kidnapping. If my understanding of the law is correct, no warrant/supoena would be necessary.

I'm not sure if this is aplicable, but if you have "probable cause" to think that some1's life is in danger (cough abduction tape cough) then a warrant is not required.

Unacceptable. While they've found that this young lady's life wouldn't have been saved had they gotten the information in a timely fashion, what if it COULD'VE been? What if her parents had to have a closed-casket service as a result?

While I'm sure Verizon will try and use this as a means "improving training", this is absolutely unacceptable. We're talking about somebody's child who is in danger.

Do what you have to do to properly verify that this is law enforcement and cooperate fully.

*scoff* And then you show up with an entourage of lawyers. How severely tacky.

@spazztastic: Everybody is saying what's not necessary but no one is saying what is and I think that's the important thing to figure out. I mean, if the police came into my office and just asked for copies of contracts I issued, I couldn't let them have them, no matter the reason. I'd have to direct them to my supervisor who is over 2 hours away. I don't think we have a policy in place to release that type of information. I'm just saying I don't know at what level and what form of documentation would be necessary in my case and I'm guessing many Verizon employees are in the same boat as me.

@tenio: "Probable cause" is used when you have a suspect and are trying to ascertain facts in the suspected commission of a crime. They didn't have a suspect but already had proof (facts) that a crime occurred. I see what you're saying though - they had the goods in-hand. Verizon should've cooperated.

@testsicles: Which is why you escalate and if that supervisor can't give the green light, THEY escalate. A couple of hours, I hear ya. I do. But FOUR DAYS????

Unacceptable.

I'm sorry - this one just really gets me, man.

@testsicles: A fax of something legal/official to corporate proving they're real law enforcement officers?

I keep looking for a good reason to give up "the network" and this might be enough.

I am SURE there is the "other side" to the story, but I also figure if it was that compelling a story to tell, maybe the 3 lawyers weren't necessary.

Have a PR person get up and do a brief press conference explaining exactly WHY they couldn't comply if there was a damned good reason.

Yeah, on second thought, if there was a good reason, they'd have probably made it clear, quickly and publicly.

In the interest of complete information, one must keep this in mind while reading any story with his name in it: Phil Kline is an asshole. A self-serving, egocentric, power-abusing, right-wing, fanatical asshole. This is a guy who issues a subpoena to a hotel in Wichita because it was near an abortion clinic and he wanted all the names of women who had ever stayed there. This is a guy who made plans for an ARMED raid of said clinic and told the officers (before a judge stopped it) that the doctor was probably armed so "don't take any chances"

If Phil Kline thinks Verizon has done something wrong, that is strong evidence that they did not.

@shorty63136: Yeah, when its the po-po on the line, things get escalated quickly too.

I've worked at a customer service center and we had the police call for info - believe me, if you can't help the police, you find someone who can.

"Verizon, which has no problem helping the government spy on its customers"

Correct me if I am wrong (with a link to reputable source), but Cellco Partnership d/b/a/ Verizon Wireless has never been named in an article referring to pre-FISA reform cooperation. Any article that has referred to Verizon, has been that of the parent company.

It should be noted that Verizon Communications and Cellco Partnership d/b/a are infact NOT the same company.

The Ownership of Cellco Partnership consists of Verizon Communications and the minority state held by Vodafone PLC. Verizon Wireless is a subsidiary, and NOT wholly owned.

"Verizon Wireless Denied Involvement"
One of many sources;
[encarta.msn.com]

From the EFF's mouth directly (cached whitepaper)
[72.14.205.104]
[www.eff.org]

Just wanted to insert a counterpoint to the statement made. In the interest of full disclosure I am involved in the telecom industry, and a former employee of Verizon Wireless. I do my best to stay involved in issues surrounding legislation and telecom reform.

@shorty63136: and that's what would happen in my case, escalation up the chain, a few hours at most. But it sounds like police called the lowly call center and we all know what kind of service you get when you start there, takes forever to get a person and even when they do promise to escalate, they probably get so many that it doesn't get any importance addressed to it.

Not saying it's right, I'm just saying I can see how it happens and I just think it would be a good idea for both police and sell phone companies to address the issue proactively.

@spazztastic: Exactly correct, sir.

@Rectilinear Propagation: A fax of what? Police Department letterhead? Easily faked. I propose that cell phone companies and state police organizations should set-up account codes or something like that for quick confirmation in instances like these.

@Bladefist: I haven't read the non-consumerist coverage of the story, but isn't it illegal to deprive you of the right to the appeals process?

Might I add a cursory review will show instances where VZW strongly protected customer data (Cellphone Whitepages, telemarketing, DNC LIST, FISA).

The burecracy of a company with a company approaching 70 million customers, with 70,000 employees is the culprit here. The policy is normally on the side of consumer protection (That in my opinion is the area VZW is starting to fail in, getting too big again)

@badhatharry: He has the right. He signed off on it, as part of the deal. I think Phil Kline was still pursuing the death penalty, even though Kelsey was against it. And in signing off on appealing, he got life instead.

A fax of what?
@testsicles: Not being a law enforcement officer I wouldn't know.

I think a lot of this has to do with the technicians and not the company. Whomever was on the call made the call, I don't think they have company standards on this and this is where the issue arose.

Its very sad. I would hate to think that if they started immediately that they would have found her alive.

Christ that is heartless. So if the FBI/NSA/CIA can spy on us, why do they have to plead with Verizon to help locate a missing woman?

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad I'm with Sprint.

Sad. Verizon can spy on customers but not help this family in a timely manner?
And then when Verizon meets with the family they bring lawyers which sets a defensive tone.

Verizon, I can hear you and what you're saying is crap.

@shorty63136:

"what if her parents had to have a closed-casket service as a result?"

just what do you suppose a corpse looks like after four days in a wooded area like the one in the picture, with buzzards, coyotes, bobcats, rodents and insects nibbling on it?

@testsicles: How about... the police officer who called identify himself as from such and such a police department and - wait for it, this is going to be a spectacularly amazing stroke of genius - have the CSR's supervisor (or whomever) look up the contact for that station and call back to confirm they are who they say they are?

What's wrong with that?

@dj_skilz: I dug a little deeper and Verizon never said they did not cooperate with the NSA regarding the wiretapping. They only said the would not cooperate with the FBI unless the proper warrants were obtained. In fact, they are part of a suit regarding the tapping.

EFF page showing cases against Verizon:
[www.eff.org]

CNET article regarding a judge refusing a Bush administration's request to stop the lawsuit:
[news.cnet.com]

This is really disturbing about Verizon, but couldn't the DA do something more than argue on the phone with cell phone technicians? Couldn't he have gotten a subpoena or emergency court order that night or certainly in less than 4 days; a document that would served on a company official who would know they had to comply immediately?

Kline was an inexperienced prosecutor who wasn't even elected to the DA job. He's been a state legislator and then a one-term AG who lost his bid for reelection in part because he virtually dismantled the state's Consumer Protection division it was his job to run; and instead targeted abortion clinics for prosecution. When the successful Johnson County DA beat Kline in the AG election, the Johnson County Republican cronies appointed the dethroned AG Kline to fill out the DA's term. He won't be elected to the DA job because he lost in last month's primary.

I'm picturing seasoned police detectives on a race to solve an abduction and possible murder, and all the DA knows how to do is get on the phone and argue with cell phone technicians. Maybe Phill Kline needed to log onto Consumerist and read up on how to do an EECB. Wow.

Kelsey's family and friends endured so much pain, and I don't want to detract from that. But I can't help but think they would have found her more quickly if they'd had a more experienced DA working on the Verizon yokels.

@the-perfect-face-for-radio: I understand that, but the quote above from her mother implied that they might've had an open-casket service. I'm well aware of the effects of decomposition with full exposure to the elements.

Still - 4 days. Unacceptable.

@Bladefist: Hm. Didn't know that was an option. Thanks.

It's weird to me that Verizon doesn't have a policy for this kind of situation. Almost anyplace I can think of that I've ever signed a contract with for communication services includes a clause that says something along the lines of, "We will totally protect your personal information unless we have to give it up to law enforcement personnel." So it's not like they didn't know this was a possibility.

They still have been able to obtain a warrant or subpoena. It generally would have taken less than an hour to call the emergency Judge on staff in that area to request it, get it signed off, and issue it to Verizon via Fax - who would probably have jumped at it.

What gets me is the institutional incompetence in not issuing a request through that means (at least does not appear to have attempted to from the article). Most Judges would issue an order to a request like, "Judge, we have a girl, she was abducted on video, we need to locate her phone, Verizon is in charge of it, please issue an order for them to release the information to us."

If you are really in a hurry, have one person call Verizon and work on them, while the other gets the court order.

Here's what I wonder. Did she try dialing 911? If so, did she have the mandatory 911 tone on her phone? Could THAT have lead to her murder?