Comments on: Thugs torture dog, cell phone company charges owner to help

By: steve a

steve a — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:33:08 +0000

This story really makes me ill. It is one of only a few kinds of story that can really get me angry, and that I cannot get out of my mind. So, there you go, the only thing in the universe that can make me really angry is the deliberate application of evil. This is why I am not angry at the pet food companies for selling tainted products under the system in place at the time, nor for buying from china; I am angry at them for the delays, the avoidance, and so many other things they did to protect the business over the consumer, and of course at the chinese individuals who did it, but enough there…

Many new cell phones do have GPS chips and many still do not, and GPS does not work well unless your location is under an open sky, but there is another way to locate a cell phone that I have worked on the technology for…

All towers in the vicinity receive the signal and the one with the strongest connection collects the call, and that changes as you are driving around and you are passed along from tower to tower…

Each tower measures the strength of the signals it is ‘seeing’ and CAN (but usually does not now) record that information for each cell phone it ‘sees’. For a 911 call it would be live and the signals would be measured in real-time. In this case the data would have to be stored somewhere for at least long enough to decide if it was needed for any reason…

This signal strength tells you roughly how far the phone was from the towers in the area, draw circles and where they overlap is where you look for the origin of the call… Lots of math for most people, but simple in concept.

The recent case in Seattle where the woman was finally located by her cell signal was delayed 4 days because the police won’t even bother to search for someone unless they believe a crime may be involved, they just assumed she wanted to disappear… It’s damn lucky her cell phone battery was not dead after all the days she was trapped - mine does not last more than a few days. They are considering changing that policy, but concerned about the privacy of people who want to walk away from their lives for whatever the reason. They recognize there was no crime yet someone was is grave danger and their policy failed.

By: Jess

Jess — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:49:11 +0000

This story is dealing with Verizon as a landline company, not the wireless company. I wonder if it would have been easier to get the info had the call been made to the guy’s cell.

“The call came in on Whiting’s land line, which was listed on Edna’s name tag but not on the fliers he had posted everywhere.”

This is a horrible story and I hope Edna’s owner gets justice in the end.

By: 2CatMom

2CatMom — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:38:58 +0000

I’m pretty sure all cell phones now have a GPS chip in them - specifically so that an emergency call can be traced. This is laziness on the part of the cell service providers.

So how come our government can get “private” information from cell phone companies without even going through the minimal trouble of getting a FISA warrent. Bet the cell companies don’t make the Feds wait 12 days for the info.

By: Serijna

Serijna — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:09:35 +0000

I just find the story very strange/suspicious and wonder if they really had his dog. And not some type of cruel joke. Afterall they could have collected $500.00 easily without breaking any laws, since that was the reward.

By: ango

ango — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:50:26 +0000

Those considering microchipping, please inform yourselves of mounting research linking the implants to cancer:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/82032.php

By: kb

kb — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:15:58 +0000

Can I hope against all odds that it was a sick joke and they let Edna go? I hope the cops do follow up on this and find and prosecute the heinous, evil psycopaths that did this. Now I’m going to go take my dog for a walk in the newly falling snow.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:29:32 +0000

This is TERRORISM of the worst sort.

It actually makes me physically sick to know that this is something real people did to another human being and more over to an emotional and living animal.

It’s one thing when it’s fantasy violence in a movie. When it’s real and senseless like this, fear and dread well up inside. Fear that my own animals might suffer at the hands of a sadist like the teens in this story.

By: Deb

Deb — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 12:48:52 +0000

Nancy,
For some people it’s not that simple. Verizon is the only game in our state for a lot of towns, and it has just come to light that for years, Verizon has not maintained their landlines and kept up with the technology, choosing to pay fines to the PUC because it’s cheaper than upgrading. #@$%^&* Verizon. And then there was Verizon’s slimy cooperation with Homeland Security, turning over phone records of Maine customers without their knowledge, for which we have to waste our money in a trial in CA in order to find out the truth. Ugh.
Fairpoint has got to be a better option for landline phone service. It certainly can’t be any worse than Verizon.
I am fortunate because I had a choice between a local Maine company and Verizon for my landline and my DSL. Guess which I chose.
As for this story, I am so sickened both by the perpetrators and the behavior of Verizon I don’t know how to respond appropriately.

By: nancy freedman-smith

nancy freedman-smith — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 12:01:58 +0000

Most likley they blocked the number, or he would have been able to dial *69-and been connected. Plus I bet it wasn’t even their phone to begin with.
sigh
what a sad story-
I WAS just going to switch to Verizon and get GPS service built in.
NOT!
Nancy

By: The OTHER Pat

The OTHER Pat — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 06:16:22 +0000

As I understand it, the cell phone providers send you a list of all your calls with your monthly billing (someone who’s had a cell phone for a while - is this the case?). If so, they’ve got the records. Where, then, is the problem?