Found By Sound: Kidnapper Located Via Spotify Sign-Ons

The information superhighway has a lot of vehicles on it, and you might be followed without even realizing it.  Such was the case with one woman who thought she could escape the law, but didn't count on the law looking in on what she listened to, and where...

If Bonnie and Clyde here are jamming Spotify while fleeing the law,
they're gonna get caught!
(Image courtesy musictimes.com.)

According to the Washington Post, a woman named Brittany Dunn was supposed to appear in court to fight for custody of her daughter, but figured that the best way to handle this was just to go ahead and take the kid.  Dodging the court date and kidnapping her kids, she fled to Mexico with her newer husband.  It seemed like she'd pulled off the heist...until her radio records came up.

A user of the Spotify music streaming service, Mrs. Dunn had signed on to kick out some jams while she was on the lam.  An anonymous user pointed out that due to this, Dunn left an overt trail of IP addresses in her wake, allowing law officers to track her and reclaim her children.

"I fought the law and the law won...because we were listening to that exact song."
(Image courtesy washingtonpost.com.)

She had also been streaming kids' programs for the children, which (after some subpoena'ing of tech companies on behalf of the detectives) proved fruitful for the search as well.  Dunn and her husband are now awaiting trial on felony charges of custody violations and unlawful flight from law enforcement.

"As technology gets better and more companies come out, there are more opportunities to go get search warrants and figure out where people are," said Drew Webber, an investigator on the case. "It’s becoming more and more of an investigative tool for us."

"Not every company stores this information," he continued, "but the ones that do is another chance for us to gather intelligence."

So remember, if you ever need to commit a felony, flee the country, and vanish permanently, just be sure you make a bunch of mixtapes or mp3 playlists first!

They didn't flee from these Police, hence, the real ones showed up.
(Image courtesy allmusic.com.)