FBI Used Nintendo Switch To Locate Abducted Child (kotaku.com) 85
According to a local report, the FBI used a Nintendo Switch to locate an abducted 15-year-old girl, who had been missing for 11 days back in August 2022. Kotaku reports: When the girl went missing on August 3, folks in Virginia put up fliers to locate her. Keitra Coleman, a volunteer with the local nonprofit Hear Their Voices (which helps find missing and exploited children, domestic violence victims, and people experiencing homelessness), told ABC15 they were on the case. [...] Unfortunately, no one was able to pinpoint her location -- until the girl booted up her Nintendo Switch to watch YouTube videos and download a game. A friend saw that she was online and informed the authorities. With Nintendo's cooperation, the FBI culled the Switch's IP address, uncovered her location, and moved in to arrest Roberts. Retired Arizona DPS Director Frank Milstead, who was not involved with the case, told ABC15 that police agencies often use digital device tracking info to apprehend suspected criminals and find missing people. "Thanks to the local police department's quick response and FBI Norfolk's ingenuity, we were able to locate the missing victim through her gaming account and reunite her with her family," an FBI representative said in a statement to Kotaku. "As the world evolves, so does the FBI and how we solve cases. This is just one example of that. And while criminals might think crossing state lines will help them get away, this case also serves as a reminder that because of the FBI's wide reach and partnership with local law enforcement -- these predators will be caught, and they will pay the consequences."
If they used NordVPN... (Score:3)
Re:If they used NordVPN... (Score:4, Interesting)
NordVPN might hide the IP address, but this could be solved by GPS and the downloading of the game to the victim's account.
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Most home gaming consoles do _not_ have GPS. They may have other location services enabled, typically based on wi-fi access point information.
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Switch is a dual home and portable system, and nearly all portable devices have GPS these days.
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Switch does not. I do suspect you're mistaking the quite common blue-tooth or wi-fi based location and tracking tools for GPS. GPS circuitry costs power, and money, for features that are used so rarely: the built-in communications with bluetooth or wifi networks is quite sufficient for tracking in most environments.
Re: If they used NordVPN... (Score:2)
Re: If they used NordVPN... (Score:1)
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If a VPN would qualify as a type of ISP, wouldn't they be required to keep the logs? Not retaining the logs would be treated legally as destruction of evidence.
In this case, Nord operates out of Panama.
Re: If they used NordVPN... (Score:1)
Re: If they used NordVPN... (Score:1)
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Re: If they used NordVPN... (Score:1)
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Re:If they used NordVPN... (Score:5, Interesting)
The FBI has done some astoundingly incompetent things.
I know someone who was involved in a dark web murder-for-hire case in Minnesota.
The name of the victim was handed to them by a hacker in the UK. So the FBI went to the targeted woman's home. Her husband answered the door. So the FBI sat down with her and her husband and asked if they had any idea who would want to kill her.
Yes, they were that idiotic. If you don't see what is wrong with the above scenario, don't ever even think about going into police work.
She was killed a few weeks later. The FBI's incompetence cost the woman her life.
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Cool story bro!
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would be interested in seeing a citation for that story.
Not clear why the husband would go through with a murder plan after being informed that the FBI was watching. (And its not even clear why the FBI would be involved in the first place.)
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"Dark web" = interstate commerce = the FBI is involved.
Doesn't mean I'm saying the story is true, I just know how that part works.
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"Dark web" means the FBI spends money on it as a project. It does not mean they understand or are willing to do anything about what they learn.
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would be interested in seeing a citation for that story.
A fake dark web hitman site is linked to a real murder [vice.com].
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Thanks.
Re: If they used NordVPN... (Score:1)
some people are saying, check
unverifiable ridiculous story, check
denegrating the fbi, check
Just needs some swearing and saying Jack Smith is mean.
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The FBI has done some astoundingly incompetent things.
I know someone who was involved in a dark web murder-for-hire case in Minnesota.
The name of the victim was handed to them by a hacker in the UK. So the FBI went to the targeted woman's home. Her husband answered the door. So the FBI sat down with her and her husband and asked if they had any idea who would want to kill her.
Yes, they were that idiotic. If you don't see what is wrong with the above scenario, don't ever even think about going into police work.
She was killed a few weeks later. The FBI's incompetence cost the woman her life.
They could have been trying to gauge the husband's reaction to the question, if the husband was planning the murder not a lot of people would have been able to stay cool under that scenario.
If they did so could have found the opportunity to later talk to the wife on her own, it's hard to check since you didn't supply any links.
Assuming the facts you presented are accurate I kinda suspect the husband was innocent. If I was planning to murder my wife via the dark web and the FBI showed up and told my wife "he
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It's important to remember Hanlon's Razor when dealing with government offices, especially the FBI.
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
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It's important to remember Hanlon's Razor when dealing with government offices, especially the FBI.
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
Sure, but at the same time remember Quantaman's Machete.
"Don't drawn conclusions based on an unsourced second-hand description of an event that no one else has heard of."
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I kinda suspect the husband was innocent.
He's currently in prison for life.
I sure as hell would cancel the hit.
The hitman site was fake. A scam. They all are.
He murdered his wife himself.
A fake dark web hitman site is linked to a real murder [vice.com]
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From your article:
After the Besa Mafia hack, the FBI read Dogdaygod's messages, and saw the user had ordered a hit on Amy. On June 1, FBI Special Agent Silkey and Detective Raymond met with the Allwines, and had Amy go to the local police department for more information. Officers advised Amy to install new security measures in light of the threats; the couple added an alarm to the house.
So they didn't just interview them both and move on. They interviewed the couple (presumably the detective was local) and
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They should have done less.
When a woman is murdered, 75% of the time, it is her husband, boyfriend, ex-husband, or ex-boyfriend.
He should have been the prime suspect from the very beginning.
Informing him about the investigation, thus allowing him to destroy evidence, was profoundly incompetent.
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This depends on what features Nintendo has built into the device. If the Switch can see other WiFi APs that are in a geolocation database, they could triangulate the location even if it never connected to the other netoworks.
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Since the FBI is demonstrably incompetent at tracking _anything_, it's not a meaningful question.
Abduction? (Score:5, Interesting)
What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
And then if she had internet access, why did she have to be tracked down? Why did she not use it to try and contact someone for help?
This all sounds rather suspicious.
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It usually takes a mistake to catch a criminal...
If she placed a phone call, she'd be caught by the kidnapper. Downloading a game on her online account seems briliant.
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What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
Well, his plan was to kidnap a kid to sell nudes. Ignoring the horror, the risk-profit ratio seems really bad. Probably not the brightest of his kind.
Why did she not use it to try and contact someone for help? This all sounds rather suspicious.
I don't know if it is possible to send messages with a switch or even use a web browser. Nintendo usually doesn't like this to prevent weird people talking to kids.
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From the Nintendo FAQs... [nintendo.com]
Online play and Nintendo Switch Online app
The Nintendo Switch Online service lets Nintendo Switch owners enjoy online play in compatible games like Splatoon 2, ARMS, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Nintendo Switch Online members can also access the Nintendo Switch Online app to send play invitations and participate in voice chat (restricted to members aged 13+) for compatible games such as Splatoon 2.
Seems like the Switch Online app has a way to notice friends online like AOL's Buddy List used to.
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Yes, but you have to exchange a 16 character code out-of-band first before you are allowed to become connected on switch.
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What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
And then if she had internet access, why did she have to be tracked down? Why did she not use it to try and contact someone for help?
This all sounds rather suspicious.
If you read TFA it's a loverboy scenario a man grooms a child and use her to sell sex.
Re:Abduction? (Score:4, Funny)
What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
And then if she had internet access, why did she have to be tracked down? Why did she not use it to try and contact someone for help?
This all sounds rather suspicious.
If you read TFA it's a loverboy scenario a man grooms a child and use her to sell sex.
But the real question is, is he a drag queen? That's the important part.
Re: Abduction? (Score:1, Troll)
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Not a bad guess, given how many of those cases we've seen lately, but in this case it was just some guy she met online.
Re:Abduction? (Score:4, Insightful)
It indicates that he trusted her enough to let her keep her possessions and was right in so far as she didn't contact authorities on her own. Which could mean the abduction wasn't as unconsensual as the term might suggest.
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It indicates that he trusted her enough to let her keep her possessions and was right in so far as she didn't contact authorities on her own. Which could mean the abduction wasn't as unconsensual as the term might suggest.
FTA:
The unidentified Virginian teenager is a homebody, said family and friends, and unlikely to run away. However, she met a stranger—then 28-year-old Ethan Roberts—on the online chatting platform Omegle in January 2022, when she was just 14 years old. The two talked for a few days, then moved their conversation to Discord and Snapchat. Roberts sent nudes of himself to the girl and requested explicit images of her as well, to which she complied. Later, Roberts traveled 2,000 miles from his apart
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It indicates that he trusted her enough to let her keep her possessions and was right in so far as she didn't contact authorities on her own. Which could mean the abduction wasn't as unconsensual as the term might suggest.
She was under 18, not an emancipated minor, and not the subject of a custody settlement. The law does not recognize any ability on her part to consent to leave her parents' house, regardless of what she actually wanted.
And for good reason. Guys like him have a fetish for a particular age, which teenage girls very quickly grow out of. He'd have turned her out eventually, with no money, an interrupted education, no skills other that prostitution, and very likely a newly acquired drug habit.
High school suck
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Not seen much about this case, the guy was sentenced to 30 years
https://ktar.com/story/5490359... [ktar.com]
The justice gov website doesn't mention abduction at all, though there was clearly a 28 years adult man with the 14 years girl in a probable sexual relationship.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-e... [justice.gov]
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Gotta say, the law is weird in this one. This should've been straight up grooming and child abuse/rape.
But production of child porn for... receiving it from the girl herself who did it on her own by his request? That's just such a weird point to prosecute for. I'd think this would fall under grooming, not a separate thing.
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I've highlighted the part of your own post that you seem to have missed:
receiving it from the girl herself who did it on her own by his request?
If it's "by his request" she didn't do that "on her own". She's a child. She can't consent. She can be easily manipulated.
Maybe you don't understand the concept of coercion. Maybe you just want to blame the victim. Whatever it is, simping for pedos is not a good look.
Also, she was missing for 11 days. Odds are good that he played photographer ... and co-star. In cases like this, a lot of worst things are kept quiet to protect the
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You didn't read the actual story, did you?
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Read the article, it's pretty obvious what went down.
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Re: Abduction? (Score:2)
Re:Abduction? (Score:5, Insightful)
Did not read anything but the summary so I have no idea in this case.
In a lot of these cases though the kidnapper is a mom or dad who has part time custody and wants the kid full time or to keep them away from their ex, etc.
In this case the 'victim' might not be in any distress at all, might not even understand they are being 'kidnapped' in the sense they are violating some court custody order, they might very well think its just a "road trip with daddy/mommy". A 'kidnapper' of this variety might very well make some excuses why they can't have a phone or call the other parent but think nothing of handing them a tablet to play games on.
Re:Abduction? (Score:5, Informative)
What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
TFA is using "kidnapper" in the legal sense. She was underage and he had no right to be with her or transport her across state lines. But she appears to have gone with him willingly, and it is likely that she didn't consider herself "kidnapped".
Do you remember when missing kids were on milk cartons? Do you ever wonder why they don't do that anymore? They stopped because most of the "kidnapped" kids had been taken by other family members, such as a noncustodial parent, concerned grandparent, etc. The kids were often taken out of abusive situations, and the milk carton enabled "rescue" put them back into it.
The same thing may be true here. Perhaps she was happier with the "kidnapper" than she was at home.
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They stopped because most of the "kidnapped" kids had been taken by other family members, such as a noncustodial parent, concerned grandparent, etc.
And that is a shame too, because its not really good policy. If that grandparent is really so concerned and can't satisfactorily address those concerns within the family, well they should contact child services. Its why we have it. That is one of the few times CPS really should act when someone close to the situation makes a report, where they should than investigate the matter with some bias in favor of parents.
My own mother was abducted by here non-custodial parent (her mother) who was pretty crazy and un
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Most child abductions are done by someone the child already knows. And it may not be as simple as "the child was abducted by caring family members taking them out of an abusive situation". There have been many abductions where a non-custodial parent simply wants custody of the child.
Family law is a messy and nasty process, and unfortunately brings out the crazy in even the most sane people. One parent or other gets the idea that their child is not in as good a home as they would be with them, or that their
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What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
TFA is using "kidnapper" in the legal sense. She was underage and he had no right to be with her or transport her across state lines. But she appears to have gone with him willingly, and it is likely that she didn't consider herself "kidnapped".
FTA:
Later, Roberts traveled 2,000 miles from his apartment in Tolleson, Arizona to the young girl’s hometown. Their encounter culminated in Roberts kidnapping the girl and bringing her back to Arizona. Roberts coerced the teen, “insisting” she meet strangers on Omegle to sell them nudes via Snapchat between August 3, 2022 and August 14, 2022, according to court documents viewed by Kotaku.
Yeah, totally sounds consensual with no hint of manipulation or abuse.
Do you remember when missing kids were on milk cartons? Do you ever wonder why they don't do that anymore? They stopped because most of the "kidnapped" kids had been taken by other family members, such as a noncustodial parent, concerned grandparent, etc. The kids were often taken out of abusive situations, and the milk carton enabled "rescue" put them back into it.
It sounds like you have a bit of
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Do you remember when missing kids were on milk cartons? Do you ever wonder why they don't do that anymore?
Er, except that we do, in other ways; the missing kid photos and info are on advertising circulars that go in everyone's mailbox, and, when it just happened, they are blasted out to any cell phone that is not configured to ignore the amber alerts.
Didn't think of it (Score:2)
What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
Never had to deal with kids have ya.
But on a more serious note, he probably didn't realize it could be used to send messages or help track her.
Luckily for her criminals are mostly stupid.
Why did she not use it to try and contact someone for help?
That is a good question but she probably didn't understand herself the bad position she was in, which probably would have led to death. Kids make bad judgment calls.
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Never had to deal with kids have ya.
Well if you're already guilty of abduction, deal with them using ropes, a gag, a beating and perhaps some drugs.
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What kind of kidnapper allows their victim to have internet access in the first place?
Alright, listen. The vast majority of kidnappings are family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriends, and what not just "going somewhere else" without anyone knowing. That's still kidnapping. Like in Tennessee, well over 60% of the kidnappings are one of the parents "taking" the kid on "vacation" and then "uh oh! We just 'forgot' to tell anyone."
Like the kind of kidnapping where someone random just ups and takes someone away randomly is really rare. It happens, don't get me wrong, but the vast majority are the
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Because the article title explicitly states "abducted".
It's quite possible she was a runaway and went willingly. She was also 15, so it's equally possible that the adult she was with was unaware of her age and thought her to be older, she may even have explicitly lied to him about her age or even shown fake ID to him so that he believed he wasn't committing any crime.
A bit optimistic (Score:4, Interesting)
"These predators will be caught" seems to be broadly but not entirely true. Depending on country, it looks to me like between 0.2% - 3% of people are never found (dead or alive) after being reported missing, at least in modern times. That's a high percentage of cracked cases (between 97% and 99.8%, depending on country), but given the high numbers who go missing, it still means a lot of people are never found after being reported missing.
(According to Quora, 90,000 people a year are never found. However, you can take anything on Quora with an entire salt mine. Wikipedia isn't particularly helpful, but does say 1.3 million children go missing each year, with 0.2% never found. That would imply 2,600 children a year are never found. How this breaks down between runaways, accidental deaths, suicides, and abductees is unknowable by definition. The FBI kinda implies 0% are abductees, with their "will be", but I understand for PR reasons it would be really bad if they said that potentially thousands were abducted and used in the sex trade. That might also lead to an increase in abductions.)
Don't reveal methods (Score:5, Informative)
Good pplice work there (Score:2)
who had been missing for 11 days back in August 2022
Took them 11 days to think of this? I thought this would be step one nowadays. Asked the companies to put alert on kids social things.
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Saying "they have a Switch" won't be helpful. If the parent doesn't know the Nintendo Online user ID it would be hard to get very far. They're very unlikely to know the serial number or any other identifying information. That's where the friend comes in. And if the kid is 14, they can create their own account online without lying about their age.
On the reverse side, knowing your kids' online IDs is a good idea just in case.
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If the parent doesn't know the Nintendo Online user ID it would be hard to get very far./quote> This is bad parenting and shouldn't become my problem.
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A child at her age can create a new email address and a new Nintendo online account as soon as they finish setting up the fake one to show the parent. That's if the parent even knows an online ID is required for anything.
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From the article:
Unfortunately, no one was able to pinpoint her location—until the girl booted up her Nintendo Switch to watch YouTube videos and download a game. A friend saw that she was online and informed the authorities.
The breakthrough had nothing to do with the FBI's "ingenuity". It happened because a smart kid realized the significance of seeing her friend online and got help.
What kind of writer? (Score:2)
From TFA:
With Nintendo's cooperation, the FBI culled the Switch's IP address,
"culled"? How is that word appropriate in the sentence?
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It's, I don't want to say archaic, an old way to say pulled/gathered in some contexts. From a dictionary example for "select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources" - "anecdotes culled from Greek and Roman history". Or, in a modern context "an IP address culled from a database of IP addresses and user login information".
It's definitely an appropriate term and usage, but not exactly common and I suppose indicative of an older writer or someone who went through a thesaurus to make themselves
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The implication of "culling" when used in the context of selecting from a large quantity is that the items that are culled are removed from that list.
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Look it up. To cull means to select from a large quantity.
Generally, select and remove from a large quantity. Look it up.
Probably Not "The FBI" (Score:2)
"abducted"? (Score:2)
The real story (Score:2)
The interesting part of the story here is how all this was done lawfully with a warrant. We didn't need new laws to break encryption or to hold Nintendo liable or something equally silly.