Cellphones have proven to be a valuable, time saving and life saving tool, in search and rescue and they have been regularly used to track down missing hikers and stranded people in the mountains. Privacy? What privacy do we have now in our private lives with private companies snooping on our financial and medical records and credit histories? Stop living in a dream world that your life is private!!! My opinion? One life is worth more than all the so-called "privacy" that's being talked about - unless you have something to hide!

Unbelievable - this is a married couple, the husband had the authority to release the sheriff department to look at the phone records and try to determine activity on that phone from the onset. It is simple, you either have permission from the legally responsible person on the phone or you need a court order. In this case the husband could have given permission on the first day she was missing. Sheriff Rahr can spin it any way she wants, the bottom line - protect and serve is the prime responsibility of law enforcement, they were more interested in making the husband a suspect than finding his missing wife. Isn't it comforting to know that you are in such good hands if you need help!

Although I do care about privacy, I can't imagine anyone who really WANTED to disappear would hang onto a cellphone that has a past tied to it. The first thing such a person would do would be to ditch the phone, as much for not wanting to receive calls on it as for the locating capabilities.

In my opinion, the moment that law enforcement took her case seriously as that of a missing person, they should have been working the cell phone angle. Delays put the missing person further at risk and also increase the likelihood that the battery on the cell phone will have failed.

Agreed. If a person WANTS to disappear, they ditch their cell phone. They get another one, a prepaid one, that can't be traced as easily. They also don't leave their uncashed paychecks at home (as this gal did). And the PD didn't bother to doublecheck that the husband was using the checking account? Wow.

Apparently you're safer to get lost hiking mountainclimbing. At least the Search and Rescue teams don't sit back at home and go ... you know, I don't think they are REALLY that lost YET. Let's give it a week and see if we get any smoke signals first.

But if you are kidnapped, murdered and thrown in a river or in a freak car accident with no witnesses, man, you are S.O.L.

I feel sorry for this couple, and all they have endured. Needlessly. They have a right to be very angry!

I love how everyone immediately attacks the police when they don't have all or even half of the information...or ignore the information that they do have.

The husband took 3 days to report his wife missing. In missing person cases where an adult is missing the spouse is usually eliminated or a person of interest immediately and to not investigate the spouse to either pursue that lead or eliminate them as a suspect is a needed step in the investigation.

For every missing person case that you hear about there are 1000's that you don't hear about. Every time a kid does not come home when they are supposed to a parent wants to file them as a missing person. Police don't have the resources to actively investigate every person that does not come home on time.

Phone companies do not just release information when police call trying to get information. They will not even talk to you about releasing private info without a court order in their hands. It's not as easy as it sounds.

This was a tragic case and the police did a lot more here then a lot of agencies would do in a similar case. People need to stop attacking the police and expecting miracles. The husband in this case drove that road several times looking for his wife and he could not find her and he waited 3 days to report her missing. Maybe he needs to take some of the responsibility in this.

He called the police the same night she didn't return.

He was told he needed to wait 48 hours, since she didn't qualify for their criteria of a missing person.

His wife was fighting for her life while he was drowning in red tape.

What a nightmare.

It's just a miracle that she had her cell phone with her, and that the batteries were strong.

That is really what saved her.

If she were a rich person, or a celebrity, should would have been found within hours. That's the real shame.

I pity the next person who drives off the road in the middle of the night. You'd better hope you are rich or a celebrity. You better hope you've never had any flings in your past, or a little trouble with your marriage. Otherwise, no one's going to come looking for you.

The lesson from this? If you have a lost loved one, never give up hope, never let anyone turn you away with their bureaucracy and red tape and INSINUATIONS!!!

Zita,

You just proved my point..you spout off about something you know nothing about...here is a copy of text from a King5 news story about this

It took Tom Rider three days to call authorities to report his wife missing. He says that's because they rarely see each other during the week because both of them work two jobs to save money for a house.

and here is the link...look for yourself

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_092807WAB_maple_valley_missing_woman_KS.11a2ffce1.html

I have another comment....why doesn't the husband take more responsibility in this whole thing...he waited 3 days to report her missing...now I know some of you will disagree with that statement because you all like to spout off without having all the facts so here is the proof

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_092807WAB_maple_valley_missing_woman_KS.11a2ffce1.html

The above is a link to the news story that says this

It took Tom Rider three days to call authorities to report his wife missing. He says that's because they rarely see each other during the week because both of them work two jobs to save money for a house.

Why are we not attacking the husband for waiting three days to report he beloved wife missing? If he has reported her missing three days earlier then she would not be in the shape she is in now...I am sure you will all find a way to blame the King County Sheriff's office for that one too.

Before we rail on the police how 'bout we discuss for a second the fact that this woman was found off the side of the road on the route the husband knows she takes everyday. I know if my wife didn't come home it wouldn't take 8 days for me to find her car down a ravine on the route she drives everyday.

... but yeah, it's definately the Sheriff's Office that should shoulder the blame for that. Let's all keep this one in mind if that policy does get changed and some husband, whose wife has had enough and left, uses a "missing person" cell phone ping to track down his wayward bride and murder her with the help of the police.

The problem here is that cell phones have become something more than a means of communication. People eat, drive, work, everything imaginable with cellphones attached to their ears and brains. The cell is no longer a means to communicate as it should be! The entire "privacy" issue is the result.

I don't like the way the sheriff acted on the noon report .Saying theres the constitution and other things.He acted very wrong and aloof ,even god like .

Tell me if I am wrong, but I thought when the FCC passed the Federal law to put GPS chips in every single cell phone, it was with the intent to locate you within a couple of yards, not miles! All I am reading about is the cell phone records...Why? Seems GPS could have located her within a few minutes. I know whenever I call 911, my phone makes a chime sound and does it again later after the call ends. I'm sure that is so if you can't talk or whatever, that rescuers can still locate you. Something smell fishy about this whole story.

Today two overdue hikers on the Pacific Crest trail were found the "old fashioned way" by hard working ground searchers between Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass. No cell phones to "ping" in that area where there are no towers. Just saying that you can't rely on modern technology all the time and ground searchers are still the #1 means of searching for lost and missing persons.

Comparing the response of the county sheriff betweee Tanya being "missing" for 6 days and the "overdue" hikers search the other day between Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass. Hikers found safe near Stevens Pass
05:28 PM PDT on Friday, October 5, 2007
There were no delays or red tape in starting this search! Kudos to the sheriff's search and rescue volunteers.

hey yall i wanna get saved