VW Wouldn't Help Cops Find Car with Abducted Child Until GPS Subscription Was Restored

Police in Lake Country, Illinois weren’t able to track a stolen Volkswagen with a two-year-old child inside because the automaker wouldn’t provide access to its Car-Net vehicle tracking service. The 2021 Volkswagen Atlas’s subscription had expired, according to The Chicago Sun Times.

A representative from Car-Net reportedly wouldn’t give access to the service until someone paid the $150 fee to restart the service and locate the Atlas. This happened despite the fact a detective reportedly pleaded and explained the “extremely exigent circumstances.” The representative apparently cited company policy as the reason.

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“The detective had to work out getting a credit card number, and then call the representative back to pay the $150, and at the time the representative provided the GPS location of the vehicle,” Christopher Covelli, the sheriff’s office Deputy Chief, told the Sun Times.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t even matter at that point. By the time tracking was restored, nearly 30 minutes had passed. Police had already located the Atlas.

“So it was at that point worthless,” Covelli said.

Volkswagen gave the following statement to Jalopnik in regard to the situation: