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Broadband brings kidnapped child home to safety

Broadband technology brought a happy ending to an alleged abduction incident in the United States.

US investigators had the ingenuity to use the broadband Google Street View service to pinpoint the location of a 9-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted by her own grandmother.

As reported by the Times online, the canny use of broadband unfolded after the girl was collected by the grandmother last Saturday for a weekend visit. Her parents alerted the police after the grandmother made comments to them that they would never see her again.

The police in Athol, Massachusetts, firstly obtained the mobile phone coordinates from the mobile phone provider. Then, with the help of a member of the fire service, they tracked signals coming in from the girl’s mobile phone as consistently within 300 yards of each other at a specific intersection in Virginia.

As the police investigating the incident were in Massachusetts it wasn’t possible for them to launch a search themselves. That’s when broadband helped solve mystery . . .

Broadband Street View Saves Day

The fireman, reportedly Thomas Lozier, logged on to broadband to access the Google Street View service and established there was a large building on the intersection in Virginia where the grandmother could be holding the little girl.

Again, using broadband, they discovered the building was a hotel. Using the broadband information they were able to provide clear details to police in Virginia, who acted using the collated broadband information and discovered the pair in hotel.

The grandmother has since been arrested.

10/01/2009
Author: CompareBroadbandUK staff writer

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