The Cochran family of Eastvale was loading their baby into their SUV in the home’s driveway. The father, Jason, belted in their 10-month-old baby and came back inside for their 3-year-old.
“Stephanie was finishing brushing his teeth. I went and got him and walked out the door and the car was gone with Wade in it,” said father Jason Cochran.
When the parents called 911 they also realized that the father’s Sprint cell phone with GPS locator technology was also in the car.
NBC4 reported that Sprint wouldn’t provide a location to the parents or to the deputies.
“The deputies were told that Sprint had the location of the vehicle but that they could not disclose it to them because they needed to pay the $25 fee for a subpoena or fill out some forms,” said Stephanie.
“Sprint Refuses To Reveal Location Of Cell Phone In Carjacked SUV,” NBC4.TV News
The story is much worse than it appears, if that can be possible!
I listened to KFI radio station talk show hosts John and Ken interview Stephanie Cochran tonight, who said when she first called Sprint for help, the operator said she could do it and put Cochran on hold to obtain a supervisor’s help.
When she came back she said Sprint couldn’t do anything after all, because the Cochrans hadn’t activated the GPS chip in their phone. Disappointed, Mrs. Cochran hung up and went to work collecting information to police for an Amber Alert.
After the baby was found, a police officer advised Ms. Cochran to find another cell phone provider. Sprint, he told her, really could have told them where Wade was. Angry, Ms. Cochran called Sprint and confirmed what the officer told her: Sprint knew exactly where the child was during the entire episode but refused to help.
According to Stephanie Cochran, Sprint wanted her to pay a $25 activation fee—which she said could’ve easily been taken from her auto-pay account—but also wanted a subpoena before they could release the information.
Luckily the little boy was found unharmed and Sprint will “investigate the incident“.
The Cochran family wasn’t through with making police reports, unfortunately, because a few days later someone stole their other car, presumably the same guy who stole the first one.
What’s even more amazing to me: this happened in December! How come I just heard about it now?
OH MY – that is terrible – Glad I don’t have Sprint and have a crappy van
I’m going to be evil and blame the victim. Sorry, but I’m not down with the idea of locking down baby and leaving him in the car…Not Even For A Minute. I know it seemed like a timesaver, but honestly, use some common sense, s’il vous plait.
Shrugs. But Sprint, like most big corporations, behaved deplorably.
Like yourself i cant believe this has only just come to light.
Just a tragic story. I too though point the finger at the parents as well. No way on this earth should you leave a child unattended in a car for a minute, you are inviting trouble.
Still, the way the events unfolded are reprehensible.
Glad I don’t have Sprint! But leaving a baby unattended even for a second is stupid!
OMG Well, that just settles me NEVER being a Sprint customer.
Although I do agree with Pat. I would never lock a child in a car and leave them. Never had, never will. But, I won’t go so far as to actually assigning blame. Terrible incidences like that should only be concerned with the best probably outcome.
You guys are TOUGH! In the interview, Stephanie Cochran said it was really quick… her husband strapped in the baby, came in to collect the 3-year-old, kiss his wife and go out again.
When Tiger was a baby they didn’t have gas pumps that accepted credit cards. So I unstrapped him to take him in with me to put down a credit card, strapped him back in so I could pump the gas, and then unstrapped him to take him back in to sign the credit card receipt. I was terrified of losing him!
By the time Squirt came along the credit card pumps were in use so I didn’t have to do the routine with two kids.
I think we all loosen up a little by the time we have the second kid, although I knew people who left their kids sleeping in the car (windows down) if they fell asleep on the way home because they didn’t want to disturb them. I thought that was unacceptable.
I can sympathize with the dad. When you are juggling two small children, one of them has to be loaded into the car first (it would have been worse for him to be wondering around the driveway). I, along with I’m sure many other parents, have done the same thing…. run back into the house for another child, your purse, YOUR PHONE…. It’s not like he left the car on the street or in a parking lot. This was his own DRIVEWAY, at his home, where you should feel safe enough to load you car without someone stealing it or it’s contents. The issue here is that Sprint wouldn’t release life saving information to either their customer (the parents) or to law officials without a fee and paperwork. I found it interesting that Sprint reportedly was “working with the Sheriff’s Department” and wouldn’t release the information for 50 minutes, which by that time the baby was already found. How is the Law Enforcement time better spent, filling out paperwork or SEARCHING for a missing CHILD? This time there was a happy ending. Good for John Tavaglione’s and Mike Naggar for catching Sprint’s attention and taking action. Hopefully Sprint and other cell phone companies will improve their policies for faster response time! I’m also glad to hear that the theif was arrested a few days later.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060113005283&newsLang=en
Funny that Sprint is patting itself on the back for promoting Digital Amber Alerts now.
I agree, Joann; the issue is how Sprint could’ve helped but did not.
I also wonder how come news reports don’t mention what Stephanie told John and Ken: that Sprint initially said they couldn’t help because she hadn’t activated the GPS chip in her phone. I mean, that’s a flat-out lie. They lied to the mother of a stolen baby.
Tim, thanks for the link. Too bad Sprint didn’t have a PR rep in the booth when Stephanie Cochran first called. Imagine what kind of press release they could’ve issued if they immediately provided the police with all the information needed to find Wade Cochran! The good publicity would’ve been phenomenal!