Mrs. Cochran

Posted on kctalk.com (1/18) from Stephanie Cochran

All the stars were aligned for us last month. We got our son back safely, which is all we care about. As an added bonus, we got both of the cars back that the thief stole, and the guy is in jail. What more could we ask for? We wish that Sprint would have handled things differently during this situation and not made the Sheriff’s Department jump through all the hoops for the last 50 minutes of the search (every minute counts in situations like these). However, all we can be is happy that Wade is home with us.

There is no lawsuit with Sprint, but we have changed our service to Verizon and we hope that our tragic experience can change some laws and save the life of another person in an emergency situation. At least our son didn’t have to die for people to take notice of the flaws in the system and Sprint’s policies. Let’s hope the next person is just as lucky.
Thanks for your support and telling our story. -Stephanie

Kctalk.com (1/19)

Yes. I’m Wade's mom and this really did happen to us. When I did a search, your website came up. So I became a member so I could put my 2 cents in without it being edited by the press. We are surprised that our story has gotten so much attention and glad that something positive might come from it.

Here is where our tragedy took a new twist with the Sprint issue. As I was getting off the phone with the detective working on our case, he told me as a side comment that we should change our provider. He told us that they would have found our son about 50 minutes earlier, but Sprint who knew the coordinates, wouldn't release the GPS location without $25 and a Subpoena or some paper work (with required signatures). (By the way, where would the detective get the exact dollar amount Sprint charges if it didn’t come from Sprint?)

The detective caught the criminals within 4 days of the first incident (and the same day that the thief came back and stole our 2nd car) and has no reason to lie about his statement. I’m inclined to believe the detective. If you want to read about the first story (which includes the detective’s statement) that brought this situation to light, go to WWW.PE.com and search for Sprint & Cochran.

As a side note, it amazes me that Sprint considers a 50 minute delay for paperwork “working with law enforcement”. I’d hate to see what they do when they aren’t cooperating. I don’t care about the $25 fee. Heck, I would have given them anything for the location of our son. We were so lucky to get our son back and we just hope this doesn’t happen to someone else who might not be as lucky.

What's funny is Sprint ran a major ad in a publication that was blasting them (below)!!!

Sprint does not cooperate with local authorities.

Can you trust your cell phone company, or any other corporation to help you in time of need? Well, one thing is for sure Jason and Stephanie Cochran, will definitely change their cell phone service. It all started when Jason after loading his 10-month-old baby into their SUV went back for their second child. Upon coming back to the car, he noticed it was gone. The parents immediately called 911. They also phoned Sprint upon noticing, that their cell phone left on board the SUV had a GPS built in.

"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. Even though the car, with the baby still onboard, was found 2 ½ hours later, this whole situation could have been shortened by at least an hour, if only Sprint had cooperated. The Riverside sheriff's authorities were furious that Sprint did not cooperate, as this could have been a life or death situation. “NBC reported that the Riverside supervisors were considering prodding Sprint with a regulatory stick but they discovered they don't have authority.”

by Angela ( reply )

I have a Sprint cell phone - but I am going to cancel my service after reading this story!! Unbelievable!!