Moran, Blunt, Fischer unveil bill to bolster law enforcement’s location of missing persons

Legislation introduced on Feb. 25 by U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) would expedite law enforcement’s help in locating missing persons during emergency situations by requiring cell phone carriers to provide them with limited cell phone data.

“This legislation will make certain first responders have the tools they need to quickly locate people who have been abducted,” Sen. Moran said. “I urge my colleagues to support this sensible bill to help save lives.” 

Sen. Moran sponsored the Kelsey Smith Act, S. 466, with cosponsors Sens. Blunt and Fischer. According to the bill summary, the legislation would require providers of a covered service to provide location information concerning the telecommunications device of a user of such service to an investigative or law enforcement officer or an employee of a public safety answering point in an emergency situation involving risk of death or serious physical harm or in order to respond to the user’s call for emergency services. 

The bill is named for 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, who was abducted and murdered in 2007.

“The Smith family experienced a terrible tragedy that was made even more agonizing by the delay in finding their daughter, Kelsey,” said Sen. Blunt. “The Kelsey Smith Act will provide law enforcement an important tool in their efforts to find and save the lives of kidnapping victims.”

If approved, S. 466 would create a limited exception that protects individuals’ privacy rights and addresses carriers’ liability concerns. This “narrowly crafted approach” also would “bring federal law in line with the laws that are already on the books in Missouri and many other states,” Sen. Blunt said.

Law enforcement agencies were unable to locate Kelsey Smith for four days following her abduction due to red tape that prevented them from accessing her cell phone location data. After they obtained the data, Kelsey’s body was found within 45 minutes, according to the lawmakers.

“When someone’s life is at risk, it is critical that law enforcement has the tools to respond as quickly as possible,” Sen. Fischer said. “By rapidly providing law enforcement with victims’ call location information, the Kelsey Smith Act will save the lives of innocent people while ensuring there is accountability for such requests.”

A total of 27 states have enacted similar laws to the Kelsey Smith Act and federal legislation would create a uniform law nationwide, according to Sen. Blunt’s office.